Thursday, January 31, 2013

Project Catch-up and the Winter Blues

I confess...I haven't abandoned my blog or my projects, I've just been in a bit of a funk! 

After the hoop-a-la of the holiday season and life settles back into normalcy is about the time my SAD kicks in. I know I'm not alone in my battle of this disorder and I've heard many friends remark this season about how it effects them, and read many bloggers who seem to be suffering from it as well. 

For me, it manifests in anxiety and depression...the depression I can logically deal with because I know it's there, underwriting my emotions and I can fight that inner demon. Anxiety is the much bigger issues for me because it takes me so long to recognize it. My imagination takes over and feeds on that anxiety and pretty soon whatever trigger (something I've heard, read or seen) has been activated eventually takes on a life of their own. My latest spiral was last week, after seeing a student with a car issue in the parking lot (his whole front wheel/tire fell off or broke) I immediately 'heard/felt' something in my truck and I thought it would happen to me next. I shook that thought off and ordered it out of my head and I hoped that the student could have it repaired without too much of a strain on his finances. That thought soon began to spiral in my head and by the end of the day I could hardly breath. I couldn't figure out why I was so worked up...my chest was tight and I felt like I was on the verge of tears all day. It hit me late that afternoon...when I took a moment to catch my breath and collect my spirit and I realized that my inner trouble-seeker already had me jobless/homeless/divorced and alone because something happened to my vehicle that insurance wouldn't cover, so I had no vehicle to get to work...no job means no money to pay bills...which means I'd lose my house and everything else. Irrational much? Once I recognized the anxiety trigger I could deal with it...and I did...and that inner trouble-maker hasn't made a reappearance since then. 

Spring is right around the corner thankfully! 

Today I'm going to share a couple of projects from Christmas that I didn't share earlier.  

Curb Alert is another of the blogs I follow and when I saw this project pop up in my feed it spoke to me for some reason.  I pinned that baby!

Picture frame wreath from Curb Alert


Why?  No clue!  I'm not even one of those decorating chic's...I like cool things, but putting them together in my house to create a 'decorating style' of my own but I thought "I could do that!" so I began my hunt for an oval frame.  I wasn't very lucky in that search so with about 2 weeks to go before Christmas I had to switch tactics.  

I found this among all of my treasures and figured it would do just fine, even though the frame wasn't as substantial as I would have liked. 


 I took it all apart and grabbed a can of spray paint and went to town.  It took about 3 coats but it covered well.   


I found these great ornaments at the Dollar Tree, some ribbon from my stash an next thing I knew I had a great new quirky wreath!  

  

I just wish I had thought to take pictures of it on my actual door!  

Traditionally I don't buy gifts for my circle of friends and co-workers for the holidays.  I don't know why, perhaps it all feels so phony and trivial to me.  I hate feeling obligated to buy something for someone because it's the holiday!  I prefer to gift my friends with things throughout the year...something special because I've thought of them or knew they'd love something!  I have in the past picked one item to mass produce for the holiday gifting season and this year I found my project on Facebook of all places.  One of the pages I stumbled upon belongs to Charlotte and her Roma Land Woodcrafts page.   She has a shop in Tennessee and does the cutest decorative painting on wood and other found objects. 

She painted wineglasses turned upside down to look like snowmen and then used the bottom of the wine glass as a stand for a candle.  They were super cute and I thought I could take that idea and take it one step farther. 

Another of my holiday traditions is making treats to gift, you know...cookies, candies etc...  I figured if I glued a plate or bowl to the upside down stemware it would make a great container for the goodies.  I got all my craft paints out and went to town on my snowmen. 


They all got faces with noses all pointing different directions so they are all different.


They all got a hat next which is where some of their personalities began to emerge.  Most of them were painted willy-nilly but a few were done with particular people in mind. 


Next I glued on some plates and bowls I had collected in my thrifting and yard-sale adventures. 


One of the dishes filled with baklava, cheese straws, Christmas crack and a few types of cookies.   
 

I wrapped them all in Saran Wrap and ribbon and they were ready for gifting!  


It's been a particularly hard year at work and thought some of my co-workers could use a little pick-me-up and I do believe they all loved them!  

I'm linking up the one of my blog crushies, Gail over at My Repurposed Life even though I'm a linky failure...somehow my pic didn't show!  I figure all this bloggy stuff out one day!

Thanks for the idea Charlotte!