F.A.M.I.L.Y.

The ceiling above our dining room table is still lacking a light fixture. I look forward to finding a good candidate for a painted and fabric wrapped treatment, but until then, I’ve come up with a cute solution that can be easily adapted to any sort of sentiment you’d like to have “hanging” around your house.

First, I picked up some of the paper mache letters found at your friendly craft store, but then realized that they didn’t have any ‘A’s. Hmmm... maybe there was a rash of Kindergarten teachers buying up 'A's for the first lesson of the school year? Not to be discouraged, I opted for a more mix and match look by replacing the A and the L with wooden ones about the same size, but a totally different font style. While at the craft store, I also grabbed a prepackaged stack of scrapbook paper (instant color coordination, plus it was on clearance!), and some decoupage medium (like Mod Podge, or you can make your own).

Once home I ripped up some pages of paper, deciding to stick with one color scheme for each letter, and solid black for the wooden ones (thank you for spray paint!). Then it was time to glue! This makes a great activity for multitasking, as it’s a bit tedious and requires little intelligent thought. :p Catch up on some phone calls, your favorite TV show, or better yet, grab a friend and do it together! When you’re done, they should look something like this:

Then, hang them from the ceiling, or put them on a wall, or a windowsill, or a mantle, gosh, the possibilities are endless! I used fishing line and thumbtacks to hang them above the table, where they dance in the breeze delightfully, and when I finally find the perfect candidate for that fabric wrapped chandy project, I’ll just find somewhere new for my FAMILY to live… my paper mache one that is.