Monkey Business

Slowly but surely, I'm getting back to being more creative. We took a hiatus while we cared for a senior relative and her husband, and it's nice to get back to artsy stuff. I haven't done any shows or made more than a piece of jewelry here and there. I had forgotten how good it feels to create. All because my younger sister, a high school Spanish teacher, asked if my husband could help her out by modifying a book case before school started. Easy enough for me. All I would have to do is hold boards and harass him while he works. That was my plan until she mentioned she had one bulletin board left to finish decorating. How could I stay away from THAT project??

These are the supplies you will need.

craft paper
assorted green scrap booking paper
scissors
clean plastic bags
staples and a stapler

She already had the background and border up, and the monkeys were previously laminated for a board she decorated last year.

Here's the step by step.

We started by cutting a 5ft length of paper off the roll and crinkling it, first lengthwise then down the length of the paper.

Once the paper is completely textured, it should look like this.

Once the paper is suitably textured, it's time to move over to the bulletin board. Start by stapling the paper on the interior part of the tree to hide the staples. We chose to start the tree on the edge of the bulletin board to maximize the space needed for the information she'd be posting on this board.

Once you have that side secured, it's time to begin building the tree structure by tearing branches into the excess paper that is at the top of the tree. The branch size and numbers is up to you. If you need more branches, cut and crinkle more paper and insert it into the tree structure as needed.

At this point the branches and only one side of the tree should be stapled to the board. Now is when you will begin stuffing the tree. We used the plastic packing material from her mini fridge. Tuck and staple as you go along. The excess plastic we trimmed off went into the recycle bin.

The bottom of the tree got flared and stapled and we added a few more branches. And, since the theme of the board is "Welcome to the Jungle", the tree needed leaves. 

So far, so good. Right? But then, I noticed she had all of these extra monkeys left over. 

The nice thing about this tree is, she can swap out the leaves for dried oak leaves as fall kicks in, and remove the leaves for Halloween. 

It took us a couple of hours longer than it should have.. probably because we spent some time harassing my husband and watching silly videos on Youtube too. Oh yeah! About that bookcase.... I think he did a nice job on it! 

Love at Bass Pro Shops....

First of all let me start by saying... I love my hubby! But, there are some places that wives are "invited" to that are truly all about the boys. Bass Pro Shops is one of those places. I know that there are women who love to hunt and fish, and they are all about the great outdoors. Then there are the ones I observed during our little excursion. They looked like zombies, following their husbands around the store like the dutiful wives I am sure we all are. That's when it hit me!! I didn't want to be a zombie!! I am creative, and my world can be what I want it to be!! So, I decided to "go fishin'". We were after all, in the right place to fish for inspiration.

So I did. I wandered around and looked at things, not for what they were, but for what I knew they could be. I found lots of stuff. There were beads used for tackle and lures, Fireline, tackle boxes, split rings and more. Then I saw them....

Spool caddies!!! I've been needing something like this to keep my wires neat while I work and like manna from heaven they appeared. They fit multiple spools in individual recesses and to keep the smaller ones from bouncing around you can insert a dowel to keep your wires from getting crossed.

But nobody tell my husband that the only reason I really came to Bass Pro Shop.... is because there is a really cool bead shop around the corner !! It will be our little secret. (sorry honey!)

So ladies, next time your husband "invites" you to "Testosterone Central"... by all means...GO!!. You might be surprised at what you will find.

I not only found inspiration, I found something that will make my work space a little tidier.

;)