Mix It Up Monday: More of the Mini-Mowers

Remember our Mini-Mowers? They've been having some new adventures in life and thought we'd share them for today's Mix it Up Monday. Enjoy.

 

Not the right Goo

I love me a good messy art project where you can get up to your elbows in paint and fling goo around and just have fun. There's something quite fulfilling in creating something and going whole hog. The submission for today's post has me itching to get painting! 

Rhya sent us in a project she tried from Pinterest. She read the directions, tried tweaking it to what she had at home (come on...we all do that with something every now and then...even you "I always follow the directions exactly" people surely try to improvise once in a while), then tried it with the supplies called for and sent us in all her results. I love the whole process and that she jumped in with both feet right away. Here's what happened:

The Original Pin

http://www.sweethappylife.com/2012/activities/preschool-activities/painting-with-watercolors-glue-and-salt/

Isn't that cool?! I think it is anyway. It makes me think of the Batik fabrics that are so popular right now. 

Rhya saw this and decided that that was the project to tackle for her Spring Break. The instructions called for clear Elmer's glue, but since Rhya alread had mod podge on hand, she thought she'd try that before running out to the store and getting the clear glue she only needed for this one project. She said, "Maybe I'm an idiot for trying it with mod podge, but hey It dries clear, I figure it would work....No.  nope.  Not at all.  Also, I thought this would be a really easy project, which it is, but I was over confident and used my big canvas to start with....*smacks forehead*"

Here's what she did:

"First step was easy, cover the canvas or watercolor paper generously with the watercolor paint; this allows for the salt to really soak up the water and paint. I figured this out on my first try. you need a heavy coat of watercolors when adding the salt, if it's not watered down enough the salt doesn't take in any of the paint."

"Then spotting the little stencil in the corner I decided why not use it? Make it less abstract....(that didn't really work) What happens when using a stencil with watercolor:"

"I still thought it was cool, so I kept going, trying to give this more texture (even though that's what the salt and glue was for)."

"Now the mess of attempting to use mod podge.  I didn't know How to spread it on the canvas, because I couldn't squeeze it out of the bottle like the site told me. So, I just poured it out in globs and then tried to spread it around...."

"Looks real nice doesn't it?. . . . oh yeah and I poured some of the kosher salt and then I saw some gliter laying around and said, what the hell I'll add that too."

"Went out for dinner for 2 hours came back to this:"

The Pinstrosity

"Doesn't look nice at all.." she said. 

"At this point I was like, okay substituting mod podge was a bad idea, lets go try the Elmer's Glue the original post said to do.  Bought some from Michael's for $1.29 (also bought some "chocolate" colored glitter). And tried this project on a super small scale. Threw on some watercolors, not paying attention to color combination.""

"NOW the glue starts to work its magic, and you can see the salt in their soaking up the Paint.  I think this looks much closer to the original."

So Rhya finally got the method figured out and decided to give the project another go to see if she could get a large scale "painting" that she liked. Do you hear the applause for her giving it another go? I do. I love that she kept trying!

The next day Rhya was able to come up with this Pin Win:

http://alflaylawalayla1001.blogspot.com/2013/03/watercolorsalt-elmer-glue-success.html

So moral of today's post? Try and try again. Oh and eat ice cream. I'm sure that moral is in this story somewhere. In fact...I think a small bowl of Peanut Butter Panic for breakfast is just what I "need" for breakfast. 

Oh...and I just saw this and thought it went well with today's post and with life in general (I needed the reminder today too):

Happy Friday everyone.

Dandeflames

Em's with our friend Camille for her graduation vacation (we're so proud of her!). The poor things have to go to Disneyland and the beach. I know...I'm sure they wish they could have stayed here in the wind and dust, but they aren't as lucky as us. Oh well. ;) I wish I could post every day this week, but life has dictated otherwise, so I'm going to just hit Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We'll get back to normal soon we hope. 

Today's Pinstrosity is a quick one (the clutch went out on the car, so we need to go take care of that before work). It's another in the saga of "Don't trust all the captions you see on Pinterest." Behold:

The Original Pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/207517495302754944/

The caption under the pin reads "Dandelion on fire. Bucket list for this summer... It burns all different colors! :) so neatttt." So Jesse decided to give it a go. 

The Pinstrosity:

"There were no general directions to follow, just light a dandelion on fire...so we did that and it burned super fast and just looked like any normal plant on fire, orange flames..so that pin is not true and dandelions do not burn in different colors."

So what did I do? I turned to Google and typed in "dandelion on fire" to see other people's results. 

The Extra Proof:

http://letoilenicoisedaphne.deviantart.com/art/dandelion-on-fire-211157791

http://favim.com/image/428127/

http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/334803823?view_mode=2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26359084@N08/2556120263/

So....dandelions don't produce rainbow fire as they burn. But, they do produce fire when they burn and you know how we love fire (responsibly, of course). Only this time of year we don't hardly want to even look at a matchbox in fear that it will combust and set the countryside aflame. We had some rain yesterday (the first in a LONG time)...but not nearly enough. Maybe the whole town should get together and wash our cars. That should do it, right? 

Mix It Up Monday Madness

I was trying to decide what to post up today for Mix It Up Monday...and I just didn't have any brilliant ideas. So I turned to Pinterest (surprise surprise). 4 hours later...just kidding. I think it was only 2. Okay not really, but it could have been. Not saying I have spent 4 hours wandering through humor boards on Pinterest....no...who does that? Especially at 10 o'clock at night? Me? Okay, yeah. I get sucked in regularly. So I went through today and found various photos and memes that just really either hit close to home today or that made me laugh. In no particular order, I give you the Mix It Up Monday Reel of Funnies. 

 This first one is more for my cousin than for me. She saw a tutorial for cutting her bangs by herself on Pinterest, tried it out, and then went to the hairstylist to get it fixed. 

I love the "who wore it better" photos. They can be hilarious. This one is my new favorite.  

This really isn't all that funny...but it is. It got more and more funny as I sat and looked at it and sang the song in my head.  

No joke.  

Wasn't me.  

Bropunzel. 

I love this person.  

Aren't we advanced.  

Someone did this to a dead deer here last week! It was hilarious.  

No joke! Then you look at your friend's house. Then you look for cars you recognize at homes or work to try and guess what day of the week the satellite flew over. Then you try and figure out how long ago the most recent update was. 

But that new sponge...it's pretty awesome.  

I think I need this book. That's the best thing EVER!

After living in Tucson for 2 years...I can totally relate.  

The ultimate duo of Pinterest. 

Anyone have extra minions around? I really could use a few. 

This is me today! I'm sitting here wrapped in a blanket.  

And half of them are making noises so you get a symphony of songs, sound effects and hilarious youtube videos all running at once.  

I may or may not have had Ramen for lunch every day this week. 

It hasn't be 20 years for me yet...but this marks 10 years since I left highschool (left is right...I didn't graduate. Ain't nobody got time for that. hahaha) 

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day yesterday!

Photo Fiascoes with Kids

Breakfast burrito from Mexico Viejo eaten. Check. Fudge from the Fudge shop downtown. Check. Mother's Day gifts purchased. Check. Stopped at the animal shelter to look at dogs. Check. Hair fixed...uh...we'll skip that one. Pinstrosity done for the day...just about. Here...we'll just check that off next. 

We have two photo fiascoes for you today! The first is this viral photo done by Emily Garrison Photography.:

The Original Pin:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=519516428085476&set=a.518068571563595.1073741837.157281664308956&type=3&theater

Isn't that cute? There is a lady at church who just had her first girl after a house full of boys and this made me think of them. It's a really cute idea. Sonya thought so too. People kept sending this pin to her for her to do with her 5 boys and new baby girl. She says, "so I set up and tried…yea this is the best shot we got. Lol."

The Pinstrosity:

I love the boys in the back...their faces are priceless! Especially the scowl. I think everyone has a picture with their siblings where someone has that look on their face. Oh this makes me smile and laugh, I love it. 

It makes me think of this Mother's Day video that I LOVE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhcA4Ry65FU

Seriously...that's how it works. I crack up every time. "Put down the yard stick!" Oh man. I love my siblings. Good thing I was never the obnoxious older sister, bwahahaha.

We also received a great photo fiasco submission from Molly. She said, "My sister and I wanted to take some new family pictures, and being amateur photographers we looked for ideas on pinterest. While taking her family pictures, I mentioned an idea I saw and pinned. I thought it would be cute since she is pregnant and has a darling two-year old."

The Original Pin:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alicegood/7808454234/

"We were taking the pics in my brother's back yard, whose neighbors happen to have horses. My niece was getting bored of the picture taking process so my sister decided to move over to the fence so she could be entertained by the horses while we attempted the pose. Well, one of the horses was a little too friendly. Not only did the attempts to get the pose right failed, but the horse actually came up and nudged my sister on the behind, as you can see it heading right for her. We had a good laugh over the whole thing, though. We certainly created a memory, even if the pic didn't turn out exactly right."

The Pinstrosity:

This is one of those poses that looks easy, but it doesn't quite come together as naturally as you'd think it would. For anyone wanting to try this one, have the dad kneel right in front of the mom (right in front...close). then the mom doesn't have to lean over as far, meaning the dad doesn't have to lean in as much to kiss the belly, and the belly is a little more distinguishable for the photo. 

As far as keeping kids' attention during a shoot...that can be hard. Many times I'll just let them run and play and do what they want for a few minutes (because they will get bored with picture taking and holding still). A site I have gone back to over and over again for tips on taking pictures of kids and family with small children is Mom*Tog. I even bought her Un-posing guide and I LOVE it. For all you Moms and Photographers out there, her site is definitely worth checking out (and just so you know...we never get paid to do these shout outs. If we give you a site or product on here, it's because we truly do love it and we want to share the things we love). 

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow. I'm sure thankful for my Mother, Mother-in-Law, and all the amazing women who have affected my life (my extra moms if you will). Give the great women in your life some extra love this weekend!