An Intro, and some easy wall art

Welcome 

Thanks for checking out my blog.  My name is Heather.  I live at the Jersey Shore, which is not as bad as you've heard.  Well, sometimes it is, but I do love living here anyway.  If you know anyone from Jersey, you'll endlessly hear them list NJ's attributes: close to NYC, Philly, the beach, boardwalks, mountains, forests, great restaurants, hiking, biking, really, I could go on for sentences and sentences, but you get the picture.

So what else...?  I'm a scientist, a vegan, a dog mom, a girlfriend (well, technically domestic partner - it was really glamorous and fancy.  Redneck homeboy and I filled out some forms and I got health insurance), a roller girl, a do-it-yourselfer.  I try to live a green, clean, adventurous, fun life.  I love books, music, movies and TV (even though it's not cool to say that), the color blue, and anything vintage.  I've recently figured out that I love clothes, make-up and things that makes my hair look pretty.  I'm pretty sure I have a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and I hate clutter.  I'm socially awkward and I'm missing the gene for a filter from my brain to my mouth.  I travel for work, and sometimes for fun, and I wish I could do it more.  I have a spate of hobbies that I'm marginally talented at, but I'm constantly trying to be better.  I used to hike, and bike, and do other stuff that got my heart pumping and the endorphins flowing, but I've had to stop, for a multitude of reasons.  I'll get into that later...Oh, and I love the Yankees. 

Onto the blog content!

So, growing up, I had a neighbor that I called Tante.  (That's aunt in German.)  She emigrated with her husband from Germany to the United States sometime around the mid-century.  As a wedding gift to my grandparents, her husband (who died before I was even born) hand-carved a beautiful mirror that's been hanging in my family's dining room as long as I could remember.  I off-handedly commented a few weeks ago while visiting that I would someday like to inherit that mirror.  My mom surprised me by telling me it had a twin that was carved for another (now deceased) couple for their wedding and would I like it?.  Um...It's since been hanging in my dining room.  I love the old wood and the classic feel that it brings to my house.  But it was the only thing hanging on the wall, and it looked sad, so I turned to Pinterest for some inspiration, as I usually do when I'm in need of motivation.  And the result is awesome.  So awesome.  It couldn't have turned awesomer. (Sorry about the terrible wall color.  We rent.)

Materials:

- Embroidery Hoops (In whatever size/quantity you want; I used a bunch of different sizes for some randomness in the pattern - or whatever)

- Scrapbook Paper (whatever strikes your fancy - enough to fill your hoops; mine came from Michael's and A.C. Moore, and some other stores I can't remember.  I gravitated toward texture and sparkle, but grab whatever makes you happy when you look at it.)

- An X-Acto Knife

- Scotch Tape

What to do:

1. Separate the embroidery hoop. 

2. Position the scrapbook paper the way you want it to look in the hoop.  Lop off the extra paper, and save it for whatever other projects you might come up with. 

3. Make some cuts in the paper, so that when you pull it up, it looks smoother and doesn't bunch.  (There's physics at work here.  The outside of the circle is longer than the inside of the circle. Science is everywhere.)

4. Bring up each section of the paper and fold it over the inside hoop.  Use the Scotch tape to secure it.  It doesn't have to look neat (the tape), just secure it temporarily.  Work your way around the hoop, pulling the paper up as tightly as possible, without bunching. 

 

 

5. Flip it over, and smooth down any bumps.  (It will look neater once you secure the top part of the hoop)

6. Replace and tighten the top hoop.

7.  Once you are confident it's in place, flip it over, and take this last opportunity to "tighten" the paper over the bottom hoop, by pulling the individual pieces.  Then use your knife to remove the extra paper, carefully peeling off the tape as you go.

8. Admire your art.  Hang it on the wall.  Get to work on the next one.  Or don't. 

Here's one that I love so hard.  It's made with this really cool glittery peacock paper from Michael's.  I think it's my favorite one.   

Thanks so much for checking out my blog.  I hope you'll find it less awkward than a hug from Voldemort.  Which is exactly how awkward I am in real life.  Come back soon.