My Mother's Day DON'T...

Where are you, Muse of Creativity?  Why do you avoid me so?  Case-in-point: My attempt at Mother's Day Creativity.

Why do I stress over the perfect Mother's Day present?  It couldn't be because God has blessed me with the most amazing mother and mothers-in-law a girl could ever want...it certainly is not because my children have the most aMAYzing grandmothers ever imagined.  So I definitely do not stress over Mother's Day in attempt to give my mothers what they deserve--the best.  Nah.Nope.Not one of those reasons.

I've given some pretty decent gifts in the past.  Yet I take credit for no originality.  I am the take-and-run kind of crafter.  That's why I read all my blogs.daily.first thing. There...I have confessed. I'm obsessed. This year's inspiration came from this little bit o'goodness to the right -- my latest issue of the Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine I receive quarterly.

I decided I would make DIY windchimes for all my moms.  I needed about 1 million pint sized terra cotta pots which I found for next to nothing at a yard sale.  DIY and thrifty?  SCORE!  I was hooked.  Oh, if only...

The first step was the 2-color process.  I already had both colors I wanted to use.  Again...SCORE!  First problem?  When I applied the painter's tape to the pot-rims, I didn't smoothe it down using rocket science methodology, so paint color #2 ran onto the white.  I should have known then I was in over my head.

 

Yep, what was supposed to be a quick-dry spray paint process quickly turned into a sanding and hand-painting touch up.  Again, perhaps I should have just punted, yet in my mind the end result was going to be fantastic and homemade.

Now, about the details.  There are supposed to be 3 pots per windchime, strung together by clothesline.  So each pot must be wonderfully and artistically personalized. Check. I have nice handwriting.  I'll just paint everyone's grandmotherly moniker along the rim. And I'll use the kids' thumbprints as the base of some outdoorsy-insect-motif. Wait...did I just consider kids and paint? Apparently I didn't consider it and my artistic abilities enough. How do you paint a ladybug, anyway? (Confession time: I actually had to ask/double check. Are they red with black spots or black with red spots? Answer: the latter.)

Well, below are some images of what I have done so far.  Rob's thumbprints became my pitiful ladybugs.  Caroline's smeared thumbprints made the "perfect" body for my dragonflies.  The project is not finished yet.  Because I have 48 hours left and I hope I can redeem this, I am posting it now. I'll update with the finished look in time. Comments? Suggestions? Feel free.

In the good news section of this post, if y'all have some good suggestions, I have extra terra cotta pots.  Remember, I bought a million of them for pennies.  Also, please don't tell my Mothers about this just yet.

'til then folks! Bye.