Friday, July 20, 2012

Excuses, excuses....

Last post: March 13th?!?  Ouch.  But at least I have some excuses.

1) We're updating our house.  It's about twelve years old and we've lived in it for seven, so we decided to do some upgrades.  Like our dining room, which went from this:

 to this:
I don't even like yellow, but for some reason the original color never bothered me.  But now that it's gray....ah, I love it!  The color is Eddie Bauer "Beach" from Lowe's.  The lamp was a Lowe's clearance find.  The artwork?

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and craft blogs."  Ok, that's kind of harsh.  But seriously who are these magical elves out there where everything works on the first try?

I got the inspiration and print files from The Cre8tive Outlet whose tutorial was GREAT except for the tiny fact that it didn't work for me.  At all.  One big, soupy, inky mess. With tears.  So I went with the thousand other tutorials out there about using laser prints and gel medium.  It worked like a charm!  Except for the "rub off the paper 3-4 times" turned into "8-12 times."  Every time I thought it'd be the last rub-down, but then that evil haze would come back.  I also didn't modge-podge it because I wanted to be DONE with this project.  Anyone know if that's really bad, or just kind of bad?  Is it going to suddenly evaporate?   

We're working on a few more projects, but I'll save those for another post.

2) We celebrated our fifth anniversary by taking a big vacation to Ireland!  It was fabulous.  I can't say enough about it!  I want to go back ASAP.  Here are just a few of our 1,400 pictures:
 We did four days in London first (I think the horse was making some sort of "I'll get you, my pretty" movement when this picture was taken.)
 Hey, did you know the Olympics are going to be in London?  Because nothing was mentioned about it while we were there.
Just a view from our first night in Ireland.  What's that you say?  It looks like a castle?  Oh, maybe because IT IS.  Waterford Castle to be exact and it was AWESOME.

 Yes, all of County Kerry is this beautiful.
 Really, it is.
 Plus what is up with their speed limits?  We started calling them speed "goals."  Also, this road is crazy-wide by Ireland standards.
 Seriously, you can't go two feet without a new photo op.
 I mean it.
 They even make big fields of rocks look awesome.  IRELAND IS MAGICAL.
I WANT TO GO BACK!

Ok, I think this post is long enough for my first one back, don't you think?  I hope the past few months have been good to you! 

10 comments:

Emily (stampingout on SCS) said...

Well hello there, Meg! I am glad to see you back! Your dining room looks fabulous. I am S-L-O-W-L-Y trying to do some redecorating in my house. Three boys home for the summer-kind of at a stand still!
Your trip to Ireland looks divine! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome photos. :)
Hugs!

Unknown said...

WOW!!! Gorgeous remodel! I love that grey and the plane canvasses are beautiful. And Ireland...don't get me started on Ireland...I'm going someday...County Kerry is where my family comes from (Murphy)...happy anniversary and happy return!

Jocelyn Olson said...

Meg Craig? Is that you or did Addison take over your blog?

Love the remodel...I was drooling over the artwork even before I realized you made it. How cool is that?

Glad you had a great vacation. Great pics. Glad to see posting. :)

Jessi Fogan said...

Ermagerd, yer back!
So excited to see you :) Horses make me nervous, so I can imagine me making the same face pretty much. And oh, you say the Olympics shall be in London? Hmm. Hadn't heard. Strange.
Can't wait to hear more, you crazy life-liver, you!

Lindsey said...

Wow, wow, wow -- your trip photos are absolutely awesome. Looks and sounds like a magical trip.
Love the dining room remodel, too!

Emily Leiphart said...

The Olympics are in London? You kill me! :P Yup, totally loving the remodel and especially your artwork. LOVE the photos of Ireland! You know I am so freakin' jealous!! So glad you're back and blogging again. :D

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

Missed you! Glad to see a post!! The room looks awesome! Love that plane!!

And the trip looks amazing!!!!! How green and gorgeous!!!

WElcome back :)

Smilie girl said...

What a terrificly photogenic holiday.
Love the colour of your dining room and your artwork is amazing.

Angela said...

So my eyes weren't fooling me and you really did post on your blog? Whoa, dude.
And what a post it is! The photos are gorgeous, the trip looks like it was fabulous, and that airplane continues to make me very, very happy -- I'm glad the gel medium method worked for you, though I'm sure you're still finding little bits of paper lint under your nails. ;)
So glad you're back. Welcome!

Anonymous said...

I stumbled on your blog through a rubber stamp set search and discovered we have several things in common ... stamping, corgis and a love of Ireland. Great blog ... I'll enjoy visiting from time to time.