Random Update (AKA can't think of a catchy title)

I am back and how I missed being connected.We shifted to a new temporary house and our internet connection is still not up.I can go ahead and surf during my office time but simply don't find the time to.I so miss using my home laptop and looking at a hundred different things.Right now I am really "understimulated" :-(

But thou shall not lose heart.There will be a day when the Gods of Internet connectivity will see reason and help get us our beloved broadband connection back.Amen..

Having said all this,I am still very happy.Why? Well we are 90% done with getting possession of our brand new house .Hurray and congratulations to Mr and Mrs. I for finally owning a property.I suddenly feel all grown up.
We will soon have to get down to the most difficult part of deciding what we want our house to be like and THAT part is exciting but SCARING the hell out of me.More on that later.


Cheers!

Adieu

It's 02:00 a.m..The house is empty of everything that made it a home ,OUR home.Our voices echo through the empty spaces.Didn't know I will be so maudlin.It's not that I am leaving the city altogether.I am just moving to another building in the same complex, yet this terrible sadness has come over me.This house was the first proper home we had after our wedding and we spent five happy years here and to leave is like abandoning a loved one.. ......Am I being overly foolish??? I know I will get over it in a few days and get excited about our new house, but today all I am gonna do is to listen to sad songs,touch the walls of MY HOME and bid adieu.
P.s.- Even though the other house is EXACTLY like the one that we have been staying in all these years,I still can't bring myself to appreciate it.I have been finding non existing faults in the house since morning.HOW DUMB AND MELODRAMATIC is that!

This poem is so apt.If I had any skill I would have written exactly this as an Ode to my home


We are leaving home tomorrow.

Leaving it behind for some place better,
Leaving it so that we can have more space.
Leaving this place we made home bit by bit.
The same things that we bought, collected and proudly made a part of our home,
Now being, dismantled, given away or discarded, they are after all, old.


A new home needs new things.


Moving it ain't as easy as it seems,
What do I take and what do I leave.


Those moments of fun and those new friends made,
Wish I could carry them wherever I go,
The darker ones, the dreary days,
Make me close my eyes and not look back.


Moving always makes me emotional.
As long as I stay, my whole being is present in the house,
The day I leave, something gets left behind.
As hard as I try, a part of me wants to stay back
And refuses to say goodbye.

By Jennifer Cavilleri 

Lil' Sumthin' A.K.A my failed attempt at creating a work of art.

While setting up the craft room in the new house I got distracted as usual and started dreaming of projects that I will do in my "New and Improved" craft area.Then I looked at my storage shelf and saw a brand new bottle of Mod-Podge and then.. I wanted to use it immediately so I made this.

This is nothing but a not so successful attempt at decoupaging.I had some pretty paper napkins lying around and a small framed canvas.Pink acrylic paint ,mod-podge and this is what I made.

I don't like the fact that there are so many wrinkles and the edges of the napkin are so ugly.I didn't have scissors around and did not want to get it from the "old house " :-) so I just tore if off.Am hoping that with a few more coats of mod-podge it will become a bit neater.If not ,then I will pretend that the crinkled wrinkled edges of the paper are clouds.:-)But I do love the vivid colours.

Had it been done with patience ( which is required for anything that you do in life,or so my husband says) it could have been better.Well,there will be other times for doing that.For now,this sure is cheering me up.

Table Makeover (also my first experiment with Mod-Podge)

A few months back,we decided to change our bed.The old one was getting to be a little too boring for our taste,so we bought a new one.Why am I telling you this you ask! I will come to the point in a minute but I love to ramble so let me be.;-)

Well ,we don't have things like Goodwill here where you can just donate stuff, so most times one ends up with all the old junk lying around.Anyhow,we decided to recycle and used all that junk wood and fiberboard and converted it into some small storage items and stuff.One of the things that came out of that was this :

It is supposed to serve as a coffe table and is quite useful ,but let's just say it was too boring for me.After much thinking ,I thought of something and turned it into this :

I may be biased, but I love it.It matches the colour scheme of my living room perfectly.I hope others like it as much as I do.

The process was simple.Here are the steps I followed, if anybody is interested.Sorry, I did not take pics of each step.Did not know I will be putting it in a blog, but it is pretty simple, so read on.

Supplies :

Mod Podge - I used Matte

Spare cheap paintbrush or a sponge brush for applying the glue

Decorative paper

Clear Varnish

Sander/Sandpaper and......

a Table !!

1. 
   
   Sand the table surface lightly.This helps in making sure that the surface is ready for the glue and the paper sticks properly.
2. 
   
   Clean the surface with a cloth or painter's rag.
3. 
   
   Oops ,before all that you can go ahead and measure the table length and width wise and decide on your design.I chose three different kinds of paper.One was a not so expensive rose patterned gift wrapping paper ,another with a nice paisley pattern and the last one was a beautiful cream handmade paper with gitter crystals.Loved that one.Since I was trying Decoupage for the first time, I wanted to keep it simple,so I cut just 1" X 1" inch squares of each paper.Do this step before you move on to step 4.Obviously ..duh.The control freak in me had woken up.Sorry!
4. 
   
   Apply thin coats of modpodge and lay the paper carefully as per your design.Use a small brayer to smooth the paper on to the surface and get rid of bubbles, if any.Be quick since Mod-Podge dries up pretty fast.Best to do it in small sections.
5. 
   
   Once the design has dried, apply another layer of Mod-podge over the entire surface .Don't worry, the glue dries clear.I applied 3-4 coats since Mod-Podge acts as a sealant.Use thin coats since you do not want visible brushcoats.
6. 
   
   Let the whole thing dry .Seal with a varnish.I don't know if I really needed to do this ,but I had read somewhere that it gives extra durability and since the table is expected to hold all sorts of things ,I thought why not!
7. 
   
   That's it .This is the result

All you experienced decoupagiers (Is that a word?? ),hope this process does not make you cringe.I do not have extensive knowledge about it and I will appreciate any comments your may have .

Cheers and have a happy weekend!

and

Debbiedoos' Before and After Party

New Beginnings

This is my very first post and though I know that I may end up with zero readers,I am still a bit apprehensive about writing here.

The thing is that I get these sudden urges to do things but history will show that there's not one single thing that I have really stuck to for long.Zero,  Zilch..I am like a child who keeps getting dazzled with every shiny thing ,only to lose interest when I have seen it up close.

I follow a lot of blogs and keep getting inspired to start something on my own, only to get caught up in the various mundane things of life and forgetting all about it.This blog is a sort of a challenge to myself.I seriously hope that I stay committed to this.Amen..