"I" am Feeling Crafty

     I don't know why, but I think because I'm making a conscious effort for more "me" time (yay, me!?), I have been feeling "crafty".  Now when I say crafty, it's a bit "tongue in cheek", but I've found myself at JoAnns (craft store) a few times lately and it inspires me in all kinds of ways.  For now, I'm focusing on the "easy" stuff.  I also think dabbling in Pinterest makes my little brain think of things I want to try... 

     I've noticed the block wood and other letters people are putting on shelves, mantles, or spelling names, etc... with them.  I saw the brown cardboard letters were $3 and I found their block "I" was halfway normal looking, i.e. not the kind that looks like a straight line, or number "1".  Craft paint was like 2/$1 so I found a brown and a beige, having no idea really what my plan was except maybe to make it appear to look like wood.

     So, here's how it went....check it out!

My cardboard colored "I" (yes, my married last name starts with an "I") -- newspapers, brush, water, paints, and disposable cups.

As you can see on the right, the beige/paint color looks almost the same as the cardboard color.  This did not excite me, but I kept on going since it looked more "finished".  Also, my mantle wall is dark, so I thought the beige would stand out more.

A finished side with paint still wet.  Then, for whatever reason I stopped taking pictures.  I put the dark brown on all the sides/edges because I thought that would give it dimension.  Then, last night, I leaned my finished "I" on my mantle and this morning decided I didn't like it.  It was too beige and still too cardboard looking.  So, in my haste, I whipped out that brown paint again and streaked it on my "I" with a paper towel  hoping to keep a little beige showing through and making it look more "wooden"...

Voila!  I think it turned out ok.  Maybe not exactly what I envisioned, but for 20-30 minutes (paint dries quickly on the cardboard) and $4, not bad!