It’s been a
while since my last blog post. Lots of factors contributed to this though some reasons weigh in more than most...My top 5
reasons being:
1.
December was a super busy month. Closing the year at
work, planning of the traditional wedding ceremony (though Mr. Right carried
most of this one), producing a super cool show, catching up with a diva who'd conquered Europe etc . Blogging kinda got pushed to
the background *sigh*
2.
Fatigue coupled with severe writer’s block. I would
stare at my screen for ten minutes hoping that words would magically appear on
the screen…they never did. Even when I chanted the words ‘I solemnly swear that
I am up to no good’ and ‘I do believe in fairies’. Where are the magical
blogging elves when you need them!
3.
I had a few hits and misses in terms of my DIY projects
over the December period and wasn’t sure which project to blog about. Case in
point; decor for the traditional function. I had the idea of making roses from
plastic spoons which I planned to float in water filled vases. Got the idea of
the rose from here. Anywho, 30 minutes, a couple of burned fingers and candle
wax stained table later I only had one rose to show for my effort. That idea
was canned…The rose was pretty though.
4.
I was starting to be a victim of my own success. People
were reading the blog; loving it, sharing it…I was loving them for reading it
and sharing it…Lots of love going round. Any writer or blogger knows how
exciting it is to put your thoughts out there and have your stuff
read/appreciated. But it started getting
scary when I realized that for some people reading the blog = being invited to
the wedding. When you are planning a wedding on a budget and limiting numbers
to what you can afford it means your guest list is made up of actual friends and family. It was
unnerving to realize that friends of friends, people I’ve talked to a total of
3 times in my life, someone I sat next to once in church, childhood bullies and
curious onlookers were all planning to attend. I contemplated quitting the
blog when I had a heart to heart with the Guru (full of wisdom that one). She
helped me realize the whole reason I started the blog was to share DIY
alternatives, period. I love DIY and I love sharing…so will keep doing it. For
everyone who wont get an invite to the wedding, it’s not personal, it’s budget but
there’s still love…continue to read and get some tips.
So now that my
little intro is over, how about a little DIY? This is a simple one which I
hinted at a couple of weeks ago ahem, that's a lie, a couple of months (time flies) ago. It is a nice alternative to traditional centrepieces.
What you’ll
need:
·
Twine/ thick string/yarn;
·
PVA glue (aka white glue- refer to my previous
post on the tools of trade);
·
Scissors
·
Empty bottle, tin can, glass jar etc- whatever
it is you want to yarn. This is a great excuse to open a bottle of wine- it’s
for a good cause J
It’s really
straight forward, just follow the pictures.
Presto!
Some helpful Tips
1. Remove the labels on your bottles/tins/jars so they
wont show through the spaces in the yarn. Don’t worry about getting the gum out
though, it actually helps the yarn stick to the bottle.
2. Cut a piece of kitchen sponge to help apply the glue.
It washes off your hands pretty easily but you can avoid the mess altogether.
3. Apply the glue
on small areas at a time. If you smear the whole bottle, it will dry before you
reach the bottom and you will have to reapply = wastage. Plus you won’t have a
surface to hold while wrapping the string/yarn.
4. White glue dries clear but if you smear too much it
might retain some of the white. If you have a hot glue gun this might be a
great way to fasten the tail end of the yarn to the bottle versus what I did -applying
lots of white glue at the end.
5.
Take your time, especially on the curves because the
yarn might begin to bunch up.
6. You can go over the bottle twice if you want to cover
all the spaces completely. I don’t mind the spaces so much but If you do,
that’s the quick solution.
My parting shot- the bottles once the glue is almost completely dry. Notice how there are very few white spots :-)
Cheers
DIY awaaaaaaaaaayyyyy!!!
