Sunday, October 10, 2010

At My House

I just printed out 40-some-odd pictures of John Wayne and decoupaged them to a table.  Does this make you worry about my mental health?  (Please say yes. Otherwise, I'll worry about yours.)  Let me explain:  The Mister is out of town.  Which means, of course, that a) I'm free to do any crafty old thing that pops into my little wooden head, and b) that I can make a surprise for the aforementioned Mister without having to hide in the basement closet.

 Esti and I decided a few days ago that this dreadful little table was in dire need of a remodel. (Frankly, if my dearest one wasn't so attached to it, I'd have just stuck it out with the garbage--it's become a Table of Much Contention over the years.)  We figured that Wayne-papering it could be a Good Thing, and agreed to get to work as soon as the baby was settled in for her nap.  (And kindly refrain from reminding me that "the baby" is 2 years old and fully--well, almost fully---potty-trained.  And from pointing out that normal people don't bed down their 2-year-olds at five-minutes-till-suppertime just so they can work on an art project.  Because, really, people---I'm not a moron.  Just a free spirit, of sorts.)  Right, so I got the baby down for her 5' o clock nap.  And then it was just me, the big kids, The Duke, the table, and The Computer That Wouldn't Print.  After a brief bout of plugging and unplugging (and a vocabulary lesson that would not have met any of the Iowa State Standards---lucky thing the baby was asleep, eh?) we managed to de-bug the computer sufficiently to print out a vast collection of pictures of the esteemed Mr. Wayne.  The tough technical part being done, we formed an assembly line: Esti cut, I glued, Chevi got in the way, and Rachmy touched everything.  Especially the things that I'd coated with glue already.

Once we'd gotten all of the photos in place, we covered them with a thick layer of Martha's decoupage medium (50% off at Michael's---thanks for the coupon, Kerry!--- and it has a built in brush!) and set it on top of the organ to dry.  (Which warms the cockles of my heart, as it's the first time the organ has been used in the entire time that we've lived here.  Makes me feel like we're getting our money's worth, you know?)

Tomorrow we'll cover the whole shebang with some nice, toxic resin and get the heck out of the house for the day.  So we don't asphyxiate.  Do I know how to avoid packing, or what?


Check out Lou's place to see what everybody else is up to...

11 comments:

  1. Yup, you certainly know how to avoid packing! It looks great though, and it sounds like you all had fun! (Not to mention that you finally had a use for your organ...)

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  2. :) I always start something new when it is time to move:) Have a great day out tomorrow.

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  3. I was dubious about John Wayne, but it does look good.

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  4. I think that will look fabulous - very original - oh those fumes ARE bad. I've decoupaged once, and I had to escape my house.. to the pub. (we are talking 10 years ago folks! xx)

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  5. Thanks for this post (& your Oct. 6th post.) I needed something to make me giggle over my coffee before I hoisted my exhausted self over to the hospital this morning (I'm not sure who is feeling worse this week, me or my Sweet Husband...) Mind you, I did not giggle hard enough to spit my coffee across the table. For that, you'll have to try harder...

    And by the way, while you're packing up to move, why don't you just skip that whole Milwaukee business and move to Northern California? Then you could cook up some of those potato knishes for which my heart is just aching...

    xox
    MB

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  6. I was going to say i am worried bout the John wayne thing but I get it... yes stay out of house with resin smell- eeewww

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  7. Hope your husband loves his surprise!
    Thanks for having us at your house again this week. Lou.

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  8. Wow - that is a great ikes - what a lovely surprise!

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  9. I've lost count of the number of times you've made me cry from laughing Wendy. Love it!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment...it makes me feel a little less like I'm talking to myself again.