Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Nailed It!!!

Welcome to the Club Scrap Trees March Blog Hop, otherwise known as the CSTMBH for short.  I bet you just came from Debby's Blog where I am sure she made something amazing, creative and spectacular.  I'm glad she did because that is not what you are going to find here...

If you are a fan of Pinterest or Facebook you have probably seen the "Nailed It" pictures.  You know when someone tries to replicate something they saw on a creative site and it didn't go exactly as planned.  My personal favorite is the lamb cake one...
Or the Cookie Monster Cupcakes one...

So when I first saw the images for the Trees kit, especially the Stencil and the large stamp collage scene...
I knew I wanted to do something amazing with it.  I came up with the idea that I wanted to make a moving piece of art that had the trees, sun and some giraffes.  The whole scene just screamed "GIRAFFES!" at me for some reason.  My idea was fortified when my mom sent me this photo from an art show near her home.
So I came up with a plan and I made a sketch of what I wanted to create so I could ask a couple people for some ideas (people who tend to be a little more creative than myself.)  Here is the sketch.

As you can plainly see my vision is amazing.  What I wanted was for the trees and sun to be in the background and for the giraffes to be somehow moving across the front.  I thought surely online or at a hobby store or something I would find some kind of gadget that would make the giraffes move...

Well no.

Not to be undone I decided maybe a different route.  My niece has this lamp with moving fish, maybe I could modify an old lamp.  I did some research and found that there were these neat vintage motion lamps by a company called Econolite.  They looked something like this...and when the bulb warmed up the lamp turned.
So I figured I would just buy an older broken or damaged one, fix it up and make my own outside shade with the images of the Trees and Giraffes right?

Well wrong, the lamps are a few hundred dollars, broken.

Dang it, I was getting frustrated.  Finally the time for the hop was drawing near and I wanted to do something so I bought a cheap garage sale lamp from a Facebook friend.
I figured I would just use the largest stamp from the Collection UMs to stamp the Sun and Trees onto the shade and then add my giraffes (which I bought separately since the Serengeti one was way too large.)

So step one unpack Trees kit.  Then realize that my Collection UM Stamp I want to use doesn't come until the beginning of next month since I bundle my kits.  Freak out a little because I'm really getting annoyed by the whole thing.  That's ok, I'll use the stencil, shouldn't be too hard with the lamp shade off.

Except the lamp shade doesn't come off.

Next step involves alcohol and banging head on counter.  Waiting until the night before the blog needs to be posted is now helpful as added motivation.  Additional shots help as well.

Ok so get some paint and the stencil and a foam brush and paint the portion of the stencil you want on your lamp shade, (that is still attached to the lamp.)
Now perfectly smash painted stencil onto lamp for an amazing scene.
NAILED IT!!!

Well this sucks.  This is just not turning out as planned at all.

Next step, more alcohol (tequila works) and a paintbrush.

So I used a small paintbrush to embellish the image and I added the stamped giraffes.
Except one of the stamped giraffes has a bit more ink and stamped sort of weird and he looks like a camel.  See him?  Third in line from the left.  He looks like the Geico camel.  But at this point if you have been drinking as instructed it still looks like a giraffe.  Kind of.


All in all it ended up not looking toooooo horrible but it's pretty bad.  It's not moving giraffes.

I shall call it "5 Giraffes and 1 Camel...Walking"

To finish please wash off your stencil, have another shot and stop the cat from eating the flowers...


 I hope you have enjoyed the journey here, it was a rough one.  If you are still standing from the shots you can click on over to Tiare's Blog (iclassygirl) to see what she has come up with this month!  If you get lost along the way feel free to hop back over to Club Scrap Creates to start over.

Happy Creating!!










29 comments:

  1. Thanks for the warning about not drinking while viewing your blog today. I set my coffee aside and totally enjoyed the ride (well, the walking giraffes and camel) without inhaling coffee through my nose. You simply must learn to keep those ambitions in check, Janet. Nailed it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay Janet, I really like how this turned out. Of course, your step by step explanation always has me in stitches! I think the tree came out fantastic and maybe we can chat about how do make a moving scene. You now have me thinking LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just love your ambition, Janet! And your final project, though it wasn't what you intended, really came out nice. The "camel" is just a giraffe who has eaten too many leaves. Perhaps he got bloated from eating a bad bunch. He just needs to walk it off. Whoops, no, you haven't figured out how to make them move. Okay, it's a camel. :-) Thanks for making me smile this morning!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm laughing so hard and its not good, it hurts, as I spent the night before the blog hop in the ER away from my home with a severe and very painful bladder infection, but this post had a way to bring things back in persepctive (thanks) . Your Giraffes and Camels came out quite lovely I think!. Love your posts! Cant wait to see you at retreat! I have a way to make them move (probably can use same technique I used for my double slider stickpin box found in my post). They just wont move without outside help....like someones hands.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really shouldn't be laughing like this all alone in my cubicle - my coworkers think I'm crazy. I'm glad to see that I am not the only person that creates "flopportunities". I think overall, it really isn't bad, it's just not what you envisioned. Thanks for sharing and giving me a giggle this morning and reminding me I'm not alone.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a tremendous start to the day. Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for all your stories and your artwork came out beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I always enjoy reading your blog posts and today was no different. Thank you for the laughs and smiles. So sorry you couldn't get the giraffes to move but I think your lamp shade turned out wonderful none the less.

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOLOL Janet - you made my day. Your crafting adventures always take an unexpected turn, but I always love the end result. Despite your setbacks, I love the lamp and I love how you used this kit to create this project! Thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Janet, I think that lamp turned out pretty cute! Your post had me laughing so hard it was hard to finish reading cuz of the "laugh tears" blurring my eyes! Thanks for brightening my day!!!
    Kathiems2003

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for making my co-workers wonder what I'm doing - especially when I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing if you KWIM. I think the lamp turned out great, but your story is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are so funny Janet, loved all your ideas!!! and the lamp shade is cool! It was great you included the lamb cake and cookie monster images also, nailed it. Thanks so much for making me laugh!

    ReplyDelete
  13. ROFLOL....O.k... I have a theory ~ first, you shouldn't have told us the camel was a mistake - after all our blog hops are always on HUMP-dayyyy! Second, I like the alcohol idea ~ if you have had enough to drink the camels may look like they are moving...or is it me, or you...

    Anyway, you NAILED IT!!! Woo Hooo...I love it, thanks for such a fun post!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my heavens!!! What a hoot!!! I think that needs to be our new saying around the Clubhouse--when we show off our creations after being inspired by the wonderful CS staff, our response will be, "NAILED IT!" lol!!! The lamp shade is GORGEOUS!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You are wonderful at blogging! I have enjoyed your post and I like your lamp. I know it is not what you envisioned, but It is still better than an plain lamp. TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  16. adorable lampshade and love the you nailed it pictures

    ReplyDelete
  17. Janet, your stories are pricelss. I enjoy your post as well as your lamp shade. It turned out beatiful!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for all the great fun comments. I have to say that I knew a few days ago that it just wasn't going to turn out just right so going into the final stages I was set for failure. It makes the creative process less stressful!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I laughed. I cried. And laughed again. Your descriptions are so funny. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for the laugh I needed after a tough day. But I do like the lampshade even if it is different from your initial vision.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I like it - but the giggle-structions are fantastic. Just ehat I needed right now. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  22. Love your post, your sense of humor, and your lamp!

    Bossann

    ReplyDelete
  23. I was ROFL! Too funny! Actually the lamp looks good! If you have an African Themed room if would look perfect in there! Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  24. You are an awesome writer! You need to write a book. I think the lamp shade turned out great, but the title of your artwork is even better! Thanks for making me laugh!

    ReplyDelete
  25. LOL! You are brave! This project would make me so nervous. You inspire me. Nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Turned out pretty well - I think. Although, before I saw it in writing I was thinking "wow, that one looks just like a camel". So your title is perfect and it really does look nice in the living? room.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love it - the lampshade is great, and you should be proud to display it! After all, no one else has made one so yours is unique! I also think you should write a book - I want copy #1! TFS Melanie

    ReplyDelete