Crafts: the gateway to insanity

Owing to a barbaric travel schedule of late, I have been lurking in a creative wasteland.  I attempted to make up for lost time this weekend by tackling two major art projects.  Which is a little bit like running a half marathon the day you roll yourself from the couch you've been glued to for the past year.  Read:  not smart.

My new-ish mantle

First, I turned our barren mantle into something with a little more personality.  I'm actually kind of pleased with the way this turned out.  Looking at the finished product belies what a pain in the ass it was to make it.  It took probably six hours of masking, arranging, making stuff, Kinkos, cussing, and good ole fashioned sweating.  Because of that, I am never moving again.  (Note:  If you plan on trying this in your own home, it's best you recruit slave labor like I did.  Good thing Ryan's cheap.)

With that success behind me, I figured I'd try my hand at a project I started 18 months ago.  It's been slow-going, but I kicked things into high gear when I bought my very first power tool this weekend!  When I last touched this project, I had painted it with three coats of Gesso, and then became completely demoralized from the countless hours spent sanding it by hand.  With that memory haunting me,  I broke down today and purchased a sander.  Buying your first real tool is a little bit like being allowed to drink coffee for the first time -- you just feel so grown up.  I really should have stopped there.  Emboldened by finding my new inner handyman,  I soldiered on, ignoring the instinct to work on it when I'm less tired/more patient/caffeinated.

The state of my project

Without going into all of the details, I failed miserably.  Fortunately, by the time I failed, it was getting dark, so I reasoned that the neighbors wouldn't like to hear power tools at 5 p.m. on a Sunday night.   The picture above illustrates where my project will likely remain for the next 18 months.

And since you can't leave the court on a missed shot, I ended the night with some fun in Photoshop.  It was easier than cleaning up my project mess.

If I were a corporation and I needed a new logo, here's what I'd make for myself.  Which I did.  (Though I'm not a corporation.)

©2010 vanessafiola