Just Hangin' Around

After seeing this blog post on Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at something I considered actually "crafty" (meaning, it had more than 3 steps in the process).

This clothespin heart wreath caught my eye...

I decided I didn't like the decoupage approach (I don't have that much patience) and took the spray paint route (which ironically probably took longer in the end). To do this project, I needed: 2 wire hangers, 24 clothespins, 4 cans of spray paint, tooling, and a giant work space (aka our living room floor).

First I primed all the clothespins

Then I divided up the clothespins (unevenly on purpose) and
painted all 4 sides. That took three days to do because I had to
wait for them to dry in between. But spray painting sure is fun!

This is a wire hanger that I just bent into the shape of a heart.

I decided to wrap the wire hanger in tooling so that
you couldn't see the wire part.

It's not shown here, but we ended up using a second
wire hanger to create a "hook" to hang the wreath over
the edge of the mirror. Kyle handled that part of things
as it involved cutting wire, which I'm not keen on.

This was the fun part!
I'm glad I did the tooling because it gave the clothespins
something "more" to grab on to. 

Voila!
(Sorry for the weird side angle...I was trying to avoid having
my reflection in the mirror showing. )
More on the heart frames next.

I don't consider the heart frames a "craft" because it involved three steps. Anything three steps or less I just consider "decor". Only I would differentiate, I know.

Step 1: Get a frame. I got this frame (originally a yucky wood
color) at Value Village for $1.09. This frame didn't even come
with glass, which was perfect for this decor project. 

Step 2: Prime and Paint white (the photo above is
showing the frame with primer on it).

Step 3: Hang heart bulbs inside the frame with tooling. I got the heart
bulbs at Ikea last year as a part of a Christmas ornament package.
The tooling was left over from our wedding.

Done!

Giving it grace: This isn't a earth-shaking revelation here, but it does involve Kyle and I working together to accomplish something. While I was "crafting" and "decoring" (and filling the living room with fumes from spray painting), Kyle was trying to catch up on some of his TV shows. The living room was so fummy that even the pizza delivery guy (don't judge us, we were both too tired to cook) said something, yet Kyle was patient while I worked on my project. When I was finally done a few days later and ready to hang the wreath, I encountered the issue that my "hanger" was too short. Kyle was able to help me cut another hanger and fashion a hook, and then helped me hang the wreath (several times until we got it justttttt right) on the mirror. I really appreciated that while crafting and decor (and breathing in paint fumes) really isn't his cup of tea, he was still eager to help me finish a project that was important to me. I think it's easy for men and women to take less interest in things that excite the opposite sex, and it shows a lot of grace when we're able to say to ourselves "ok, this might not interest me, but it interests him so I'm going to give this thing my attention". After we were done with the wreath project, I sat and watched some South Park with Kyle, and if anyone knows me well, they know just how much grace that took! Although, I have to admit, it was kind of funny...