I’ve been watching a lot of HGTV lately. I’ve also been spending an embarrassing amount of time on Pinterest. Collectively what these two hobbies have done is made me wish that I had millions of dollars and a helluva whole lot more creativity than I actually do (and I consider myself to be a fairly creative person). In order to convince myself that these two hobbies are more than a complete waste of time, I’ve decided to put forth an actual effort into being more artsy-craftsy. I began my efforts with a couple of Father’s Day creations. (Author’s Note: Yes, this entry would have been more relevant a little closer to Father’s Day, but I just now uploaded these pictures so deal with it.)
My father is near impossible to buy for. It’s something that I’m convinced he inherited from my grandma (may she RIP). He claims to have no artificial wants, which is why his birthday list usually contains things like socks and stamps. This year for Father’s Day, he only requested that we set aside an evening to watch an old movie. An easy request to grant, but I still wanted something to physically give him, so I crafted this little gem.
The idea to give him an actual ticket was my own, but the handy-dandy template came from this site. You can’t beat the free price, folks!
Along with that, I saw all sorts of cute Grandpa gift ideas floating around on Pinterest. I took the wording from several projects I saw, but decided to create my own artwork to give my dad. I had been meaning to give Illustrator a try for quite some time, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Let me warn you: Illustrator is effing hard. As in extremely difficult if you’ve had no previous experience. I’m generally a technology-savvy person, but I struggled a lot (as is evidenced by my mismatched corners on my was-supposed-to-be-a-chevron-but-turned-into-a-zig-zag-design). Still, I think it turned out pretty cute, all things considered, and my dad certainly liked it.
Then there was the matter of what to get Husband. He’s not as difficult to buy for, and has plenty of wants/desires, so I got him a certificate to play a round of golf with the person of his choosing (whom was not me, btw). But, I wanted him to get something “from” Child, since it was Father’s Day and not Husband’s Day, after all. Once again, Pinterest smiled upon me and gave me this idea of filling a six-pack of bottles with Husband’s favorite candies and dressing it up cutesy-style.
Just a couple of tips in case someone reading wants to try this idea. For starters, it takes a lot longer than you might anticipate to get everything cut out and glued. The blog instructions says you can use a hot glue gun, but I struggled with that and wound up taping it; the spray adhesive would have worked better. It also says that both the IBC Root Beer and Cream Soda varieties work. I chose root beer, since I don’t care for cream soda and didn’t want to let the pop go to waste. The only drawback to this is that the root beer bottles are brown; the clear cream soda ones would have looked a bit nicer. And lastly, it takes more candy than you might think to fill those bastards. At least two of the movie theatre sized boxes of each candy variety. So, while it looked like a cute and semi-cheap DIY gift idea, it wound up being about a $15 – $20 venture. Was it worth it? I’m not so sure. Husband sure liked it, but I don’t think I’d attempt to do it again.
Overall, I’d say my foray into the world of arts and crafts was a successful one, although I clearly have a lot to learn. It’s a good thing I have a whole nursery to plan and decorate…
prettyandink 