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You are visiting: Home » quirk » Page 3

It’s a Small World (and a Giant Project) After All

by Lindsay Ballard on December 18, 2014 1,833 Comments

Friends, the longest single project I have ever attempted has reached completion. My hand-painted and incredibly detailed Mary Blair inspired walls are finished.  It may be a Small World, but it turned into a huge project.

Hand painted Mary Blair inspired feature wall via MakelyHome.com

I couldn’t be more thrilled with the way it turned out. However, I will admit that this single project almost broke me and my blog. I spent months (8 months, off and on) on these sections of wall. When I wasn’t feeling inspired, I simply ignored the project. The last few years, I’ve lived by a one-project-at-a-time policy, so I wouldn’t let myself start something new even when my brain needed a break. I’ve admittedly been down in the decorating dumps for a while, and I’m sorry that I haven’t had more to share with you. I really thought I was going through blogger fatigue, but now that this project is finished, I know that it was really just project fatigue.

But on the occasion when I was feeling inspired, I’d draw out the designs and paint them with my tiny, ¼” paint brushes. The section on the left – around the desk that my husband built (more on that later!) – wasn’t too bad to complete. I put a drop cloth down on the floor and just started painting.

Hand painted Mary Blair inspired feature wall via MakelyHome.com

But once I got to the other sections, I had a lot more prep-work to do. I was terrified that I’d drip or sling paint on my plain white walls or on my kitchen counters/cabinets. I’m a fairly messy painter, so that fear was real, y’all. I was starting to think I had bitten off more than I could chew.

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Why I’m “Nuts” for my DIY Melted Crayon Teal Pumpkin

by Lindsay Ballard on October 29, 2014 1,785 Comments

Growing up with a severe peanut allergy was nuts.  I developed the allergy before I was two years old, and my parents didn’t know anyone else who had the same allergy.  There wasn’t a huge food allergy movement back in the 1980s, so other parents didn’t believe that I could possibly be *that* allergic to peanuts (thanks to that one mom for the anaphylactic shock!).  Halloween and Christmas were always scary times with nut riddled candy and homemade baked goods.

My own children tested negative for a peanut allergy when they were infants.  But, because you can become allergic to anything at any time AND because they have the genetic predisposition for a peanut allergy, they live by the same peanut-free rules that I do.  Whomp, whomp.  No Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for us.

When I saw that the national non-profit group FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) was pushing for a new Halloween tradition, I immediately got on board.  The group is encouraging families to put a teal pumpkin on their front porch as a sign to Trick-or-Treaters that the home has non-food treats available.  Their Teal Pumpkin Project has gotten a lot of interest in the media, and I’m hoping that a lot of homes will be participating.  As a family, we have always offered nut-free candy, but now we are also going to have non-food treats, too.

Of course, a teal pumpkin was an excellent excuse for me to put together a crafty Halloween project. Since I’ve been eyeing the crayon drip pumpkins for years, I decided that this was my chance!

DIY melted crayon pumpkin for Teal Pumpkin Project

I started by grabbing a live white pumpkin to decorate.  I really wanted a fake craft pumpkin, but those have apparently been sold out for over a week at my local Michael’s.  A WEEK!  People have moved on to Christmas.  Poor guy at Michael’s had to hear my “But it’s not even Halloween yet!” rant.  Bless his heart

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.


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