I set to work, gluing on the crayons.

A lot of the DIYs I found were using hot glue...and while I do LOVE me some hot glue, I decided to go with super glue. It didn't seem logical to use a glue that melts with heat on a project that gets melted with...heat.

I lined up all of the crayons with the logo up in my best attempt at ROYGBIV.

We then headed outside with my blowdryer.

Nate was super excited...

Especially when it started working.

We worked on the crayons for awhile, but while a hairdryer gets hot, it doesn't get hot enough to make the melting process happen quickly. We also didn't like that the force of the air was pushing around the wax. It was making for a splatter-y look that nether of us liked. Nate kept saying that a heat gun would be perfect for this job and that's when the light bulb went off in my head. I went and grabbed my embossing gun.

It was perfect. A little too perfect. Lets just say that if you let the embossing gun stay in one spot for too long...the paper wrappers would start smoking. Once we figured out the prime distance and sweeping motion we were golden. We were really able to start get the look we were looking for. Melted, layered wax.

After we had a good look going on, we decided that we didn't love all of the white space left at the bottom of the canvas. We didn't want to lose the layered look we had going, so we decided to add crayons to the other side of the canvas.


Seeing as I had glued the other row with the label up, I had no idea what colors what the colors were and I wanted to line them up the same on both sides. So I set to work laying the fresh crayons on top of the melted.


Again, I glued them down with super glue. I glued this row with the color name up, so you can see which color is which. At this point I totally took over. Nate had his fun and it was my turn!


Watching the wax melt, drip and pool was beyond entertaining. I kind of want to do 20 more just so I can play with the wax. Though with as anal as I am...I did melt and remelt the wax a lot. I like finding perfection in chaos.


I must say, it was an easy craft...unless you are me. I did, after all, say that I like things to be perfect (or what is perfect to me) and it was easy for me to get carried away. I wanted to add my personal touch, which was the super layered look. We also love that we can hang the art a few different ways. Though having it sideways so that the crayon drips look like they are fighting gravity is our favorite way to hang it.


Anyone who knows me, knows I am a sucker for texture. And once I figured out that you could layer the wax...I went to town. Hello texture!

Honestly, this was one of the easiest crafts I have done recently. It's even easier if you aren't crazy anal like I am. I mean if I weren't so crazed I probably could have had this done in hours instead of 4 days of messing around. What can I say...I find ways to make simple things harder than they should be!

...Use Crayola Crayons because the cheap ones just won't cut it (we didn't test this, but we have seen self admitted fails from other people that used brands like Roseart). Also, while the canvas was good it wasn't perfect. With the canvas having an open back the wax had a tendency to crack or pop off if disturbed too much. You can fix this by placing something solid (like cardboard) in the opening. Or you could just attach the crayons to foam board and then place the foam board in a frame. It's really personal preference. And last thing, seal your wax with a clear coat. It should help lock the wax in place and hopefully keep it from melting (not that our house would ever get that hot).

I did just that with a new color I got from OPI by Sephora's new Garden of Good and Evil line. I of course went straight for the glitter of the line and I am glad I did.

"So What's Your Poision?" is an amazing red and pink glitter set in a cranberry colored jelly base. In three coats I was able to get prefect coverage, which is really good for a glitter if you ask me. This is definitely going to be a nail polish I wear a lot, just for the simple fact that it looks so amazing!

Such is the case for me and my ankles. A week and a half ago they decided they wanted to stop playing nice and wanted to take the lime light away from my always grouchy knees. It happened with something simple...high heels. Torture devices that I have worn for years without ill effect. But this time just putting them on was enough to seal the deal for my demise. The next day I could barely walk. Since then I have been hobbling along, not fully willing to let them get the best of me. But really they have, because I can't currently run.

Right now I am back to square one while I wait for them to heal.

Funny how I was just starting to not loathe running. Well, not so much funny as much as anger inducing. But it is what it is.

Seeing as I've had a lot of time to sit, I've been working on projects and a blog about my life long issues with making friends. It's not something I talk about a lot, but it's something I've been thinking about touching on, because I know I am not the only one who has felt the way I do. I hope to get that posted sometime this week. I'm putting my finishing touches on it and working on my brave face for when it posts.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and far more eventful than mine was.

All of this has lead me to realize that I am stuck in a vicious cycle. I am feeding this monster, which in turn is leaving me feeling more and more detached from people. I for one am tired of it and ready for a change. I want to be able to meet a friend and talk for hours, never once bringing up Facebook. I want to not feel the urge to update every. little. thing I do. So, I am challenging myself to step away from Facebook. Maybe one day I'll even be able to delete it fully.

This will be interesting seeing as it's such a huge part of our culture, but I am up for the challenge.

{via}

The weight of it all: I'm back to trying to lose weight. It's hard and it sucks, but not as much as is sucks when I am miserable. I hate how I look, I hate how I feel, I hate how I have to dress. That's just too much hate for me.

The promotion party: At the beginning of June, Nate promoted to Captain. While we were happy about the promotion, it wasn't the end all be all for us (a Major promotion would be far more exciting, if Nate even stays in that long). We ended up helping throw a joint promotion party after we got back from our Antigua trip. There wasn't much to be done for the party, we used our side yard and got BBQ from a local restaurant. Pretty simple.

The guest: After the promotion party we had a friend come visit for a week. We did the normal sightseeing and lots of digging at our local Goodwill Outlet (seriously that place is crazy, but you can find amazing stuff). We do wish it would have been more into "pick your own" season so we could have taken her to the amazing farms we have around here.

The year mark: A week ago last year is when we officially move here. It's hard to believe that we've been here for a year and that we have less time left here. 18 months is not a long time to be somewhere, but I am learning just how fast that time really moves. Honestly, while I really love it here, I am happy and excited that we will be moving onto our next chapter so soon.

The running: I've never been a runner...in fact I have more than once said that I would never run. This all changed when I had my mental break about my weight. I wanted to look better for the trip to Antigua and that just wasn't happening. With the indoor pool on base being close, only to reopen with wonky hours and me not willing to swim in the gross outdoor pool...the only real option was to start running. Yeah...major fail. After three days I was in such immense amounts of pain, I stopped. I then went on vacation only to put on the 10lbs I works so hard to take off. Enter mental break #2. That's when I decided to throw on my Vibram Five Fingers and give running yet another try. Hello night and day change. Who knew that a shoe could change my life that much. I was running more often, better and further than I ever had in my life. I actually almost enjoy going out at night to run, though I still don't love it.

The baby shower: I've been amazingly busy planning a baby shower that finally took place last Wednesday. Being the crazed planner that I am, I fell head first into the design and feel of the party. It was a month long process. And while not everything went as planned (much to my chagrin), I am beyond happy with how it turned out.

There's my month long follow up. I'm trying to keep myself busy. It makes the time pass and gets me closer to finished projects and another crazy move back across the country. In that time I will have another friend come visit, a birthday, some holidays and a very busy husband working on his thesis. It's a lot to do in what is turning out to be a short amount of time. It should be exciting and crazy, but then crazy is always involved when I am around!

I hope you all have been well and I look forward to hearing from you...and this time you'll hear back from me!