A Tale of Two A's

I have a confession.  I have never ever decoupaged before this project.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit it.  I mean, it's a pretty basic craft and even kids do it, but I decided it was time when I saw the paper-mache letters at Michael's.  I already had the paper napkins and thought of them right away when I saw the A.  I remembered seeing a tutorial a while back using the napkins, so I got started by pulling apart the layers and then tearing the printed side in pieces.

I had a vision of how it would look when it was finished and this A looked nothing like that vision!  It was dark and wrinkly and clumpy.  I definitely used too much glue and paper and I think the napkin was too sheer for the paper-mache.  So, I went back to Michael's and got a second A and painted it white.  I used less glue and paper and it turned out exactly like I envisioned.  Why did I wait so long to try this?!  It's one more thing I'm hooked on now!

Have you tried something new lately?  Have you decoupaged before?  I want to hear all about it!

xo Annette xo

317.  listening to Shylee read

318.  letting go of the need to be perfect

319.  a book that draws you in on the first page

320.  making time to read

321.  the privilege of praying for others

322.  finding a new stress reliever

323.  realizing I can do more than I think I can

324.  binge watching a tv show

A Peek At My Sewing Table

My sewing room is in a permanent state of chaos.  I don't want to risk losing a single one of my beloved readers by revealing the mess!  However, I will show you what my sewing table looks like right now.  It might be a mess, but it only looks like this when I'm working on a project.  It is the only part of my sewing room that actually gets cleaned up after each project is finished.  Then it's neat and clean for the next creation.

Thursday was the last day of National Craft Month.
Did you do any crafting?

I'm linking to these fabulous blogs today:

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Inspiration Friday at The Picket Fence

Have a fantastic Friday!!!

Mish Mash Monday

Audrey, over at Audrey's Country Crafts, started Mish Mash Monday and I thought it was such a great idea I wanted to do it too!  It's taken awhile to get it started but today is the day!  Mondays will be the day that I tell you all the 'little things' on my mind that don't really fit anywhere else or aren't enough to fill a whole post.

There are so many fantastic giveaways going on and here are two of them I've entered.  The first one is from The Empty Nest and it's for this bright and beautiful tote bag. You can enter to win here.  Be sure to check out her Etsy shop also!

The second giveaway is from Sew Kim and it's this adorable hedgehog pin cushion.

Enter the giveaway here and visit Kim's Etsy shop Sewn Kim.

One of my personal goals for the year is to read more.  I used to read everyday and read book after book after book.  I miss that simple pleasure so I've committed to reading at least one book a month.  This month I'm reading Lewis Carroll's, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.  I've never read it and I think it's about time!

Another goal is to work on sewing or other crafting everyday.  I was excited to come across the 20 Minute Challenge from MarmaladeRose.  A group of bloggers have committed to crafting at least 20 minutes a day for a year!  Although I haven't officially signed up, I am committed to 20 minutes a day.  I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish.  If you would like to read about the challenge or join the group you can do that at MarmaladeRose.

Lastly, please go visit Audrey's Country Crafts, the blog and the Etsy shop!  You can get lost there for hours!!   And thank you Audrey for featuring my blog on your Mish Mash Monday!!

How did you spend your Monday?  Whatever you did, I hope you had a good day!!