Today, my youngest child turns 20! I cannot believe it. She's grown into a hard-working, responsible and beautiful young lady. She's got some edges that she needs to smooth out, but maturity will fix all of that. I look forward to her growing into the woman God has planned for her.
What does this birthday mean to me? I no longer have any teenagers! It is so strange to move into this chapter in life. The family that I worked so hard to "cultivate" has now split up to "cultivate" their own families. And I LOVED the "cultivating" part... I loved raising kids. Yet, all of a sudden, I'm finished. Don't get me wrong... A mom and dad ALWAYS worry about their children. But the day to day... planning meals, doing homework... I thought I would never get through it, yet here I am... Cooking grilled cheeses for me and my hubby. I know this chapter will be different, but I look forward to seeing what it will bring. In the meantime, Happy Birthday Gator! We are so proud of you!
Down to business...
If you read my blog, you know that I blogged about Pinterest in this post. It is a virtual corkboard that allows us to basically save our "Favorites" in a visual presentation. This makes it easy for us to go back and find things on the internet because we've "pinned" them. Pinterest has opened up so many ideas for me. Just by exploring the site, I'm able to find a new recipe... or a different way to decorate my front door. We are even using Pinterest to get ideas for the two weddings. It truly is a treasure-trove of ideas. Search for me on Pinterest with my user ID: Tracy Boyle. I'd love for us to follow each other!
In that spirit, I thought it would be fun to do a Pinterest Post throughout the year with things that I have tried on Pinterest. I could give you my thoughts on what worked and what did not work, at least for me. So here we go...
I originally saw this ornament, or decoration if you will, at one of my clubs that I attend. Sure enough, after searching around Pinterest, I found it there as well. I thought it was so unique and beautiful that I had to make one. The instructions were on Michael's website. So I set off to make myself one. It was not as easy as I thought. I do believe that with practice, I will get better. While the folding became easier with time, getting the points right and putting it all together became a challenge. Here is my first attempt:
I kept the two sides apart to show you what it looks like. Did you notice the "smushed" edges? That's because I was desperately trying to meld the flower into itself because the points were too sharp to fit side by side. Also, I used a TON of hot glue (it will not be seen on the right side) because these little buggers are tricky to hold together.
It doesn't quite sit nestled into itself. So, I believe that is part of my "folding work" that needs to be improved.
So, for this Pinterest project, my advice is: Practice, practice, practice. I would work with a larger sized square for folding. Although it uses more paper, it would be easier to master the folds. Use different colored cardstock (but not the good stuff!) to practice. The different colors will help you to see how the ornament is going to look when you use your fancy paper. When we all get the hang of this project, with the right papers, it makes a GORGEOUS ornament that you would be proud to give to anyone.
Make it a great day!
