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It’s that time of the month again when I get to participate in the International Blogger’s Club Challenge. For any of you who don’t know, we are a group of friends who get together once a month to participate in a challenge and to talk about our countries, since we are international.
Last month we did a challenge on Spring crafts and we have also done spring before. So this time around we chose an entirely new to us project. We are going to show you our epic hits and epic fails, chosen from our past projects as bloggers. Some of these are not very popular so you may be seeing them for the first time.
The Epic Hits
These projects are not the most popular but they hold special meanings for me for a variety of reasons. I thought it’d be fun to revisit them and discuss why I love them so!
1. The Chalkboard Wall (Seeing Black)
This little sliver of a chalkboard wall is right next to our front door. We don’t really have an entryway so this is it. I had painted it to solve the problem of the dirty finger prints. But it has become so much more for me. It is a fun area and whenever I look at it, it makes me smile! Whether it has a Christmas drawing or it is just full of messages, it draws my attention and puts a feeling of joy in my heart.
Sometimes I’ll draw a pretty theme like the one for spring below, and the kids will come along and write strange words on it…never a dull moment! Ahh what else can a mom ask for? Now I know you all think I’m corny, but it’s these little things that mean so much in my life.
2. The Accidental Tri-Colored Table
This table has had a long history – at least 70 years. It has been a work horse in my house, what with four kids jumping up and down on it (you know what I’m talking about). When I transformed it last year from overpowering orange to this surprising tri-color I never expected to find that honey blond wood on the top.
I really love that blond wood and it serves as much more than just a table. I also use it to photograph on because of the warm wood grain and pretty color. So it is serving double duty for me. What more can I ask for. A beautiful, solid wood table that also acts as backdrop!
3. The Wall Organizer (The Twine Lady Returns)
I created this wall display/organizer from two racks that I found on one of those store shelf displayers. You know, the ones that hold bags of potato chips and snacks. It was a very easy project if a bit tedious to do. All I did was wrap the two racks together with twine. Of course the wrapping was not as bad as the marathon wrap session I did with the red storage unit.
I’ve had this placed over my desk for a while now and it has turned out to be so practical.
I cannot overstate this. I just used mini clothespins and attached my notes up there. Whenever I need something for the blog, I just have to look up. You can see my reality photo below. It looks like a mess but I know exactly what is what and at a moment’s glance. So aside from being light, airy and pretty it is above all else super practical. And it’s next to my babies!
4. The Showcase Table
This project is very close to my heart and so I’ve chosen it for sentimental reasons. It is comprised of a part of my past, in the form of the cassette tape holder and a part of my husband’s, in the form of the director’s chair that belonged to my father-in-law. Put them together and you have this table.
The cassette holder is a display for my seashell collection. A collection which my husband along with the kids found at the beach. So you see, this table is a project of love bringing many special family moments together.
The Epic Fails
And now onto the fun stuff! Yes, I know you were eagerly scrolling down to see my epic fails! As the title says, these projects went horribly wrong. Let’s find out why and what I did about them.
1. The Toilet Paper Roll Thingy (My Irrational Obsession with Paper Rolls)
2. The Scarf Hanger
This one is tricky. It was a homemade gift for my youngest who went through an intense period of wearing scarves. Hence the gift. In theory, it was a good idea but it was not really practical for scarves.
I see it as an epic fail but my girl likes it. I think the hooks are too close together to be good for scarves. She doesn’t care, she says it is good for belts. I guess that’s how you turn an epic fail into a pass! Of course that smudge on the top still needs to be taken care of!
3. A Tray Becomes a Frame
Once upon a time this was a tray. You can see how it originally looked like here. But I was not happy with it so I repurposed it into this frame below. It hung on the wall for a few months looking awkward and not doing much. In fact the only happiness it gave was the drawing inside that was my son’s.
I hated that awkward look so much I took it down and re-repurposed it into a tray! And no that is not a typo! It stayed like this for a while on top of the Black and White Dresser (more on that below). But it was time for a refresh!
I’ve removed the drawing, and replaced it with the Ikea napkins I used in the plastic bottle decoupage fiasco! And now it is a bit more appropriate for a young lady’s room and it is full of pretty scents. There was nothing wrong with the drawing but this look is a bit more in keeping with my daughter’s taste at this time. Oh and did I mention that she loves Blue!
It just goes to show you that you can re-repurpose anything! And there is nothing wrong with changing your mind more than once … or twice!
4. The Story of a Dresser
Oooh I spun a good story on this post, a 25 years old dresser (more like 27 now), and it made the move from the US to Greece. But the reality is that the dresser unraveled after a few months of being painted. I had used homemade chalk paint on it after my stash of the real stuff ran out. I had also varnished it on top.
But it looked awful. And it was a nightmare to dust. So I tried to repair it by painting the top with my favorite chalk paint. And revarnishing it!
And it looked gorgeous!
And believe it or not the decoupage on the sides and the back has held up remarkably well, even for this decoupage challenged gal!
Is it Pinterest worthy now?
Here it is in my girl’s blue room. But look at the front on the left hand side, there’s a circle mark. This happened when I wiped it down using a green cloth. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what went wrong! I repainted and revarnished! This should have disappreared!
My girl later told me that it was a stain from the nail polish remover. Hmmm… What do I do now?
Cover it up!! End of story!!
Some things are just meant to be fails forever…
After all these projects you can see how attached I have become to some of them, so much so, that I go to great lengths to try and repair them or come up with another way to use them.
These have been my epic hits and epic fails. Some of them were mendable, others not so much. Do you have any epic fails? Let me know so I can feel better!
If you like what you see, share it with your friends, or save it on Pinterest. Above is a Pinterest worthy image!
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And now hop on over to visit my four friends who are also sharing their epic hits and epic fails. Simply click on the images below my name. If you’d like to see more past challenges click here.
The Int’l Bloggers Club: Epic Hits and Fails
Even more from the Int’l Bloggers Club:
I totally enjoyed seeing these. What a great idea for a post! We all all have the big hits and crickets on some of our “brilliant” ideas. Loved yours!
Yes, we do and we should share them, if only so that our readers will see that we cannot do everything. But Wendi I think you can!
Maybe you had a few problems but in the end you saved the day and created wonderful projects. I think we all have “epic fails” but we figure out how to save it. I love how this was the topic because this does happen to us all.
Sometimes it’s nice to see the reality of things. Too often we see these perfect things on blogs and you know, I balk when I see some of these things. My sceptisism kicks in. So it’s always good to be upfront with our readers about what works and what doesn’t.
Debra I could easily write another post about this topic, it is so interesting. Now what am I gonna do about that stain on the dresser?
Mary you are the genius when it comes to repurposing. I love how instead of throwing out the failures you just work your magic in creating something else amazing. Now that toilet paper wreath I do believe that was one that was better off in the fireplace.LOL
I love you chalkboard wall, that looks so fun! And your tri colored table turned out beautiful. And for the little tray frame, I love the new life that you gave it, back to being a pretty little tray.
Thanks for sharing your post, I loved see your epic hits and fails.
Thank you Linda. I really had a hard time picking out what I wanted to highlight here. We all have our moments of utter failure. But that wreath took the cake.
Oh Mary, this is such a lovely post. I think you shouldn`t consider anything as a failure, as long as you learned something from there 🙂
That’s the spirit Cristina. As long as we are learning and improving we are good. After all Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Mary, I am so glad you shared an updated post on all your amazing creations!! Love them…especially the the case and the chair combo table…great eye!!! The twine wrapped around that red rack made a huge difference…what patience to get that one completed! 🙂 Thank you sharing!!
Michelle these are all labours of love. You know what I’m talking about. And if something goes wrong we always want to fix what we have created. All good except for that pitiful wreath.
Mary, this was such a fun post!! I love seeing how your projects have turned out over time. The chalkboard looks like it is a lot of fun between you and your kiddos, what fantastic memories! I really like the twine organizer, that’s brilliant. You are definitely not the only one with epic fails, so don’t feel bad at all. I like the tray both with the drawing and with the napkins. I still remember the story about the dresser. You did tell a wonderful story. I think covering up the stain with a lantern is a great idea.
Keri, I have to laugh at myself. Sometimes you try so hard and it just won’t work. Like that dresser and the stain that won’t go away. You are always changing your slip covers and I’m always repainting things hoping to solve mysteries.
Love all of your fails Mary! You turned them into something awesome! Well done!
Thanks Sam. It makes me appreciate the hits even more.
Your fails aren’t that bad at all! Lol! I love the tray-turned-frame-turned tray the most. 🙂
I have a blog post about my repurposed dressing table, which was once a school desk. It looked pretty good until my daughter spilled acetone nail polish remover ALL OVER IT! Ha! I feel your pain. It now has that “crackle” look…but I’m getting used to it!
Oh Martie you feel me! I had no idea what it was till after I finished painting it and she told me. She could have saved me the worry by telling me before.
The tri-colored table is my favorite!
I kind of love the wreath minus the toilet paper rolls. I think if you had added flowers to it or something like that (ribbons maybe?), it could have been really cute. 🙂
I also loved reading about the tray turned frame turned tray. haha! 🙂
Mandy that table will outlive me. It is so sturdy that no amount of abuse from my kids did it in.
Fun post, Mary–you are so brave to share your “fails” with us. I enjoyed your successes as well since I hadn’t seen a few of them yet, especially the tri-colored table. Love partying with you and your posts at Vintage Charm 🙂
Diana sometimes the fails can actually be more interesting than the hits. They push you on to find a solution! Thanks for visiting.
Anyone who tries to find a use for toilet paper rolls really is a crafting queen! Loved this post. I saw the cutest bottles on FB today. They had chalk paint on the front and were turned into little seed starting jars for herbs. This I might have to try … for some reason I have empty jars! Have a fun-filled week!
Oh goodie! I love chalk paint so much I put it on everything! And it hasn’t failed me yet… except in the case of the dresser!
Love the chalk board wall and the decoupage dresser! It’s really something that I can do at home as well..so inspiring! Thank you for sharing that and cheers from NYC..
Indah a chalkboard wall would look great in an apartment and it serves double purpose too.
Thank you for showing that we all fail sometimes. The decoupage dresser drawers are amazing!
That dresser is not only full of fails but full of fun surprises. Thank you Trudy!
Mary, thank you for the post! It was so much fun to read, especially epic fail – because this is not what every blogger would share! lol! I love your tri-color coffee table! I have a similar story with our buffet. When I sanded I actually loved the effect, so I just applied a clear coat 🙂 you can actually see it here http://www.dodesignyourself.com/home/dining-room (somewhere in the middle)
Nadia our projects are always full of surprises. Sometimes they work and sometimes not. So why not share all of that and admit that we are all the same.
Your buffet is awesome and just like my table. Where you reveal something great hiding under the stain.
There are few things I enjoy doing more on my morning off than sitting with a cuppa reading a good fail post or too. You have some real treats for me today Mary and I thank you!
The tray that finally became a tray is a particular highlight for me, that and the inventive yet practical way you sorted out the nail polish remover ring. I think I love you!
Julie, the tray that became a tray. Very well put indeed! Thank you for acknowledging my ingenious method at solving my fails. <3
#bestcommentever
Mary,
Fun post. Fails or hits, doesn’t really matter too much. What really matters is the creativity and the enjoyable read you put out week after week. Create it Mary, and they will come 🙂 Have a great week!
~Laurie
Thank you so much for that sweet comment Laurie. I try my best and get so much enjoyment from all this. Including the fails.
I so loved seeing that chalkboard wall! That was the first post of yours that I remember. Was a little trip down memory road as I remember all those posts.
I guess I need to agree with you on the toiler paper roll wreath…definitely firelplace fodder.
But you can’t get better without making mistakes..right?
Hugs my friend.
Lynn
This is so true Lynn. We all need to make those mistakes. and sometimes they may not even be mistakes but we just change our minds or don’t like them for whatever reason. Thanks goodness I came to my senses and got rid of that wreath.
I LOVE this post Mary! It just goes to show that some projects can be evolving works of art, but sometimes also that things just have their time. Or not!
I love the memento table – what a beautiful idea to combine two things into one new and useful one! x
Yes Anna, the or not part sounds good! You just have to know when to give up and hide the mistake with a lantern!
Mary, you managed to salvage everything but that wreath. I had to giggle when I saw that one. Good thing it ended up in your fireplace, lol. So, basically, you only had one fail 🙂
It seems we are all in agreement about that wreath. You know it still haunts me in my dreams!
well, there is a old saying in my country, translated to English should be someting like this – “who works, makes mistakes as well” 🙂
so, there is no such thing like “epic” fail as longest as you can fix it (or untill you toss it in the fire 😉
as longest as it is FUNctional and LOVEd, it is a keeper!
Ana, that makes a lot of sense. In order to work and improve we have to make mistakes. Yes I like this idea of the fire very much!
Above all else it should be FUNctional. (love that)
Mary, I love this post. When you see DIY or decorating bloggers, you normally only see the gorgeous end projects, never the projects that are less than perfect. I love all of your stuff, you are a genius about reusing and repurposing. It’s so cool to see how the project fared over time, and which one’s you decided to remake.
The decoupaged dresser drawer sides are still one of my favorites, it’s such a cool surprise and so pretty!
I have a lot more fails but these were the most prominent. And I always try to have a sense of humor about all of this and think, well at least I tried. I too love that dresser Nikki, but it doesn’t love me!
Oh I love how the tray looks with the pretty decoupaged bottle napkin in it, Mary! I remember your epic TP Valentine Heart Shape Wreath that made up for TP one you ended up burning. I think the chalkboard wall was the post that introduced me to your blog, if memory serves me correctly.
Marie, thanks for reminding my of my TP hits because all I will ever remember is the epic fail wreath.
The chalkboard wall is my favorite hit & the toilet roll wreath made me chuckle. I think we all have those fails…I’ve had them…how comforting to know I’m not alone. It’s a fun topic this month.
Florence it is always nice to show the human side of blogging and diy. If you want perfection you can always look at magazines or catalogues. But here I always strive to be real.
The chalk board wall was the very first project that I saw of yours. It was the first time I read your blog. I thought it was brilliant! Which, of course, made me come back for more. 🙂 I’m glad I did.
That was quite a while ago Krista. I’m happy to say it is still there putting a smile on my face every day. It’s the little things that make us happy.
I’m so glad you shared these! I especially love the organizational hanging but also the revised fail of the tray. Those IKEA napkins really are terrific and they look great in the tray! What a fun idea!
Jeanie, I too love that hanging thing. It looks like it’s floating on my wall.
I literally laughed out loud when I saw that wreath!
Anyone who never makes mistakes isn’t really doing much 🙂
XXX
I will carry that wreath with me in memory forever Doreen!
That was sooo funny! I remember one day I tried to make some metal art out of small pieces of forged iron. I spray painted them gold, then I realized I cannot fix them on the wall since they were too heavy to be glued, and had no holes for screws… I still have them on a shelf… Lesson learned: look twice before buying!
Gabi sometimes we have a great idea but reality fights with us.
All of your fails were still useful Mary, even as fails, repurposed again and again, that is awesome! I love the napkin tray, so so cute but it also looked cute on the wall with your sons painting in it. Lovely post to see all of our behind the scenes experiences, lol!
Yes it is always fun to go back and see what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes we may have a great idea but reality doesn’t keep up with us.
I really enjoyed reading this Mary and I’m so impressed, even when it’s an epic fail you still find another use for it. Fire fuel is a use, right and at least you got rid of some of your toilet rolls. I love how the tray progressed from a picture frame for your son’s work of art to a art of another form, that’s functional and fits your daughter’s blue obsession. So glad you shared all of these. There are a few I hadn’t seen before
Thanks Michelle. All we need is to use our noodles a little bit and nothing has to go to waste. Some of these were quite old, back from when I first started blogging. I had a lot more fails then! 😉
Every fail is a valuable lesson (or something to help start the fire haha). I loved your big hits!
Haha! I am so glad I got rid of that wreath, it doesn’t evn warrent that label. Thank you Katerina!
Sometimes I think we learn more from our fails than our successes, Mary!! And it’s nice to know it happens in all areas of blogging!!
You should see some of the outfits I’ve put together! Most recently was the dress over jeans post. Now there are many women wearing this, but for some reason most opinions were not favorable!
We’ve used that accordion organizer for bracelets in the past!! And you’re going to laugh, because I have one in my coat closet with scarves on it. Although it’s hanging the horizontal way…
jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Jodie I think the horizontal way makes much more sense than what I did with it. Anything would work but that.
Mary, how fun! I love your scarf/belt holder – great idea! And that display table made with the director’s chair is gorgeous!
The scarf holder I can do without, but since my girl likes it I will keep mum! As for the display table, that is my pride and joy Jean. They become like your children after a while.
Hi Mary: All these projects, just imagine how many you have done since you started blogging. The hanging tray looks beautiful now, I would say it is one of my favorite projects from your blog. It is so feminine, Love it.
Leanna I can see why you like it. It is just your style light and airy!
My world: rethink recycle rebirth of memorabilia and such!
Margaret it sure it a roller coaster ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!