Finished projects I have previously neglected to share

Yay! We've lived in our house for almost four years and I'm almost done decorating it! When I am done, I'll surely want to REDO it, but we'll cross that bridge....

This project wins for Heaviest Thing I've Ever Made.


Also, I hope it's legal. Is Lake Superior considered a National Park or a Natural Reserve or anything like that? Because when my family drove to California and visited the Petrified Forest National Park when I was like 11, I definitely remember being told that taking pieces of petrified tree out of the park was BIG TROUBLE. Felony, probably. I don't remember the Grand Tetons, or basically anything of our zigzag between Utah and Iowa, because I was sleeping, but I remember not wanting to go to prison. The *funny* thing is that I think we bought a hunk of petrified tree in some gift shop.

Anyways, since we travel up to the "north shore" every summer and stay right on the lake, I've been....liberating....some of the small stones by bringing them home. Add one frame with a backing, some white paint, a small piece of driftwood, and lots of E6000 and you have a sweet Lake Superior homage. Or, at the very least, a weapon for when someone breaks in.

NEXT, I've hung this monstrosity in the dining room and it is a grand display of just some of our loved ones. And Justin Morneau.


It measures about 45" square and displays 49 of our own photos touched up and cropped. Each one is float-mounted and raised on a mat backing, which was not an easy feat considering it's heavy and I don't have my beloved professional supplies. Adhesive-wise, it would have been easier to cut openings for the pics, but I don't ever want to be responsible for making 196 cuts in a mat without making a mistake.


Plus, this way the photos have a nice shadowy look. The frame was purchased on the cheap long ago whilst I was still at the frame shop and it sat around the house waiting for a purpose in life until last fall when hubs had an epiphany. Thus was born the photo collage.


Between the frame, glass, mat, spacers, and photo prints I think I probably spent less than $70. If I had taken my pics to have them framed at a shop, I'm sure it would have been at least $250. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't give them business, because we love them and totally appreciate their knowledge and skills, but I enjoy doing this at home. Another collage is in the works for the bedroom, featuring more scenic pictures, but I'm slow on the uptake because these beasts are kind of, well, beasty.