I've come to accept the fact that although practicing yoga has given me greater awareness, clarity and focus, there are still moments when I feel completely overwhelmed and confused.nbsp; I still spend unnecessary time each morning debating what to wear (especially if I ended the night before eating a huge bowl of ice cream while watching Project Runway), and I don't dare attempt grocery shopping without first developing a detailed list.nbsp; It took weeks to choose which veggies to plant in my garden and a year before I finally decided to color my hair (which I love, by the way).nbsp; This week, I've faced yet another round of decision drama...what color should we paint our kitchen?This really isn't a new question, since we've been planning our kitchen remodel for months.nbsp; Still, I've changed my mind at least 50 times to the point that my husband, Crawdad, finally gave me a deadline andnbsp;vowed he wouldnbsp;pick the color himself should I fail to make a decision.nbsp; So, faced with such a scary ultimatum, I moved everything out of my kitchen, Gentry and I primed the walls, and I sat back to take it all in...Now, you really need to understand that chaos may be thenbsp;intricate border that outlines my daily life, but physical disorder gives me vertigo...seriously.nbsp; My hands were shaking just taking this picture and I get slightly sick at my stomach every time I walk through this room...I just can't think straight when things are all piled up.nbsp; Not the best situation to be in when faced with decision making.nbsp; Add to that the fact that the artistic side of my brain thinks in multiples...if blue is good, then purple, pink and yellow are even better...you get the idea!nbsp; Still, I really want my kitchen to be a peaceful place and, since the room is tiny with no real options to expand, I plannbsp;to use lighter shades to open the space and give it a little room to breathe, so multiple color combos are, unfortunately, out.I've spent weeks going through magazines and color swatches.nbsp; I researched painting techniques and interviewed dozens of friends and co-workers regarding their personal color choices.nbsp; I've meditated and calculated and spent at least 3 hours at Lowe's in the last two days.nbsp; Finally, I think I've made a decision...Pale lemon yellow and a pretty light grey.nbsp; Crawdad gave in and agreed to use tile instead of a traditional chair rail (henbsp;is debating whether to tile the back splash behind our kitchen counter as well) because I told him it would take me at least another week to decide what color to paint it!nbsp; I'll have to deal with the chaotic clutter for a few days, but the kids are having a blast eating Chinese take-out and pizza, since my oven has been temporarily relocated to the middle of the kitchen.nbsp; At least the fridge is still plugged in and full of cold beer - a home improvement must have!Today, I'm taking a deep breath and a couple of ibuprofen before I finish sanding and priming.nbsp; I feel so confidentnbsp;sincenbsp;decisions have been made and really can't wait to see it all come together.nbsp; Now, if I could just decide on paint for the bathroom... <
As I am making my versions of the 12 Tags of Christmas, as developed by Tim Holtz, and available for learning and viewing on his blog-and, seriously, for technique and style, these are not to be missed! ( ...it occurs to me that I would like to have multiples of a lot of the items that are used...especially if I am doing some sort of swap......so I am turning to the Mold-n-Pour material ( a Ranger product) from which one can make multiples of any dimensional item...within reason, of course. The first thing to do is to make a little glob of each color, the same size,ugg boots sale, with each glob being about half the size of your item. (Thus, when mixed, it is the size of your item...I always go a tad bigger.) Then gently mix the two colors together, not crazy rubbing, just gently mixing, until you get all the same,www.uggbootsshop-ch.com, light purple color. (pictures 1, 2, 3) I took a bird charm, removed the ring at the top with the Tonic Tim Holtz scissors, and pressed the bird charm into the ball of mold-n-pour, nice and deeply, and drew the purple stuff up around the edges to form walls...you will want the bottom to be flat so the heated liquid doesn't go anywhere...usually I will make it on the back of a wood stamp, so I can set it aside for the seven minutes it usually takes to cure. You can tell it is done if you press your fingernail into the side and it doesn't leave a permanent impression. See the next three photos. While it is curing, this is a good time to get out your melting pot, and, for this silver bird, I am using the platinum Ultra-Thick Embossing Enamel (now to be known as UTEE). Place it in the melting pot, at the highest temperature, and see it melt, as in the photos below. Once it is liquid, carefully pour into the mold. The pan itself is hot--be sure to be safe and use the handles on the outer edges. Let this sit until is is really set. Do NOT touch it with your fingers to test it...it could burn. Setting will take a minute or so...it always depends on the thickness of the item. The mold is rubbery, so it pulls away from the new charm easily, and the charm pops out, and is now fairly flat on the bottom,Boots UGG Pas Cher, so it can be glued onto a project very easily. The platinum UTEE makes a duller silver than I wanted, so I added a bit of Viva InkaGold in silver ---it just rubs on. The difference can be seen in the two photos. I went on to play some more, now with the numerals from the metal number set. Make the mold, pour, in this case, white UTEE in. UTEE can be brittle, so for thinner pieces you can add a product called UTEE Flex (directions on jar.) When you remove the items from the mold, it is still possible to trim off unwanted pieces on the edges. Go play! I will answer any questions you have...just leave a comment and I will check them each day. Melting pots, Viva products, UTEE, and Mold-n-Pour are available here and they may even be up on the web shop by now! <