Seeing Red – Βλέποντας κόκκινο (Έχω τα νεύρα μου)
Another month, another party, another gift. Yes friends, if you have kids you know what…
Another month, another party, another gift. Yes friends, if you have kids you know what I mean. Being the DIY mom that I am, I always encourage my children to make gifts for their friends or at least some aspect of the gift. In this way I achieve a double purpose. The gift will have special meaning not only for the recipient who gets a hand crafted gift but also for the child who learns the value of things.
Ένας άλλος μήνας, ένα άλλο κόμμα, ένα άλλο δώρο. Ναι φίλοι, αν έχετε παιδιά ξέρετε τι εννοώ. Εφόσον είμαι DIY μαμά, πάντα ενθαρρύνω τα παιδιά μου να κάνουν δώρα για τους φίλους τους ή τουλάχιστον κάποια κομμάτι του δώρου. Με τον τρόπο αυτό πραγματοποιώ ένα διπλό σκοπό. Το δώρο θα έχει ιδιαίτερη σημασία όχι μόνο για τον παραλήπτη που παίρνει ένα χειροποίητο δώρο, αλλά και για το παιδί που μαθαίνει την αξία των πραγμάτων.
On the day of the party my lovely offspring came to me and with watery, pleading eyes asking for my help. (No matter that I had been n̶a̶g̶g̶i̶n̶g̶ asking politely to get it done beforehand.) As we brain stormed we realized she was in a bind because she had no idea what to get for her friend. She only knew that the gift had to have the color red! At this point I was seeing Red!! Not having much to go on, I looked around the house and came up with this:
Την ημέρα του πάρτη το παιδάκι μου ήρθε σε μένα και με υγρά μάτια, ζήτησε τη βοήθειά μου. (Δεν έχει σημασία που γ̶κ̶ρ̶ί̶ν̶ι̶α̶ζ̶α̶
, ζητούσα ευγενικά να το κάνει εκ των προτέρων.) Καθώς σκεπτόμασταν, συνειδητοποιήσαμε ότι ήταν σε δύσκολη θέση, γιατί δεν είχε ιδέα τι να πάρει για τη φίλη της. Ήξερε μόνο ότι το δώρο έπρεπε να έχει το κόκκινο χρώμα! Σε αυτό το σημείο έβλεπα κόκκινο, δηλαδή ο μεγάλος θυμός!! Κοίταξα μέσα στο σπίτι και κατέληξε με αυτό:
It was an old wood and laminate box, with a chess pattern on the outside and backgammon on the inside. Instantly I thought of chalk paint, because it was the only thing that would stay on without prior preparation and it would dry fast. Here is what it looked like after 2 coats.
Ήταν ένα παλιό κουτί από ξύλο και μελαμίνη, με ένα μοτίβο σκάκι στο εξωτερικό και το τάβλι στο εσωτερικό. Αμέσως σκέφτηκα μπογιά κιμωλίας, γιατί ήταν το μόνο πράγμα που κολλάει χωρίς προηγούμενη προετοιμασία και θα στεγνώσει γρήγορα. Έτσι έμοιαζε μετά από 2 στρώσεις.
Nice but boring. I wanted to give it lots of texture and make it look like old wood. So I mixed up some colors with the chalk paint and randomly brushed them on.
Ωραίο αλλά βαρετό. Ήθελα να του δώσω υφή και να φανεί σαν παλιό ξύλο. Γι ‘αυτό και ανακάτεψα κάποια χρώματα με το μπογιά κιμωλίας και το έβαψα τυχαία.
I wanted it to have the feel of old wood, grainy with lots of texture. Not chalky paint smooth at all.
Το ήθελα να έχει την αίσθηση του παλιού ξύλου, κοκκώδη με πολύ υφή. Να μην είναι ομαλό.
Now for the red, my little helper added distressed red on the sides.
Τώρα για το κόκκινο, η μικρή βοηθός μου πρόσθεσε κόκκινο στις πλευρές.
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And on the inside…
Και στο εσωτερικό …
The box was done. We quickly added a layer of homemade furniture wax and hoped for the best.
Το κουτί τελείωσε. Γρήγορα προσθέσαμε μια στρώση σπιτικό κερί για έπιπλα και ελπίσαμε για το καλύτερο.
And she filled it up with lots of homemade goodies.
Και αυτή το γέμισε με πολλά δωράκια.
Και αυτή το γέμισε με πολλά δωράκια.
Here it is before:
Εδώ το πριν:
Considering that we finished this in a few hours I would have to say that it turned out pretty well. Was there a lesson in all of this? Will I be seeing red again? Or will we have enough common sense to plan out our gift preparations, instead of waiting for the last minute?
Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη ότι το τελειώσαμε μέσα σε λίγες ώρες, θα πρέπει να πω ότι το αποτέλεσμα ηταν αρκετά καλό. Υπάρχει ένα μάθημα εδώ; Ίσως ξαναδώ κόκκινο και πάλι; Ή θα έχει αρκετή κοινή λογική να κάνει προετοιμασίες για τα δώρα, αντί να περιμένει την τελευταία στιγμή;
Of course the real lesson is in the joy of giving and to that end she was very ecstatic and the birthday girl was equally happy.
Φυσικά το πραγματικό δίδαγμα είναι στην χαρά της προσφοράς και προς το σκοπό αυτό ήταν πολύ εκστατική και η παραλήπτρια ήταν εξίσου χαρούμενη.
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How funny! Well done, it looks fantastic. 🙂
And the best part is that she comes in today and says “I want to work on a birthday gift for February”!! What do we say to that??
I like the idea of kids “participating” in the gift.
I loved wrapping the presents. It was the way my got me involved.
Thanks for sharing this post on #tiptuesday.
Debbie, I had her do half of it, she has an artistic temperment… and she loves to procrastinate.
Kalispera mou Mary! Ti yperoxo apotelesma! Mou aresei para poly to paliomeno apotelesma. Filakia
Thank you Monika. Kai mena mou aresoun ta palia. Filakia
What a great gift, every kid needs a treasure box. And you made this one look very old, a treasure box, indeed. Although your helper forgot to fill you in till the last minute you did a great job! The wood graining is perfect! I’m sure the girl will keep her most special things inside.
Nikki, the funny thing with all of this is that she came to me yesterday and said “Mom, a friend of mine has a birthday in February!” Smart mouth or did she learn her lesson?? lol
I love the texture… but the best part is that it was homemade with love! I adore the idea of kids learning to make presents instead of buy them! Thanks for linking up at Welcome Home Wednesdays this week… can’t wait to see what you have for us tomorrow!
Betsy it is always nice to have you visit. You are so busy with your blog and every time I visit you it is looking so new and revised. You go girl! Thanks for your sweet comment. Yes, I beleive it is important to not raise them as just consumers but to also teach them the value of homemade. See you at the party.
This box turned out nicely! It’s always great when we get to help our kids in a pinck. You are a great mom for working so hard on this with her. Thanks for linking at Your Inspired Design 🙂
Thank you Holly, I did such a great job that now she wants to work on a gift which is for February.. Should I be happy about this? So glad you stopped by.
Looks fantastic! Thanks for linking up to Your Inspired Design Link Party! Hope you stop by to the link party tomorrow!
Christine, thank you for stopping by.
Mary, what a sweet, homemade gift! Thank you for sharing this on Idea Box. Your post will be featured tomorrow!
Cyndee thank you for visiting.
Ahh the box turned out brilliantly! I think its a great idea to try to make your gifts. Well done for taking the time to do it. Im sure it was very much appreciated. Its very much appreciated you linking up to #frifree4all too 🙂
Thank you so much Hayley. She is now working on future gifts so I won’t be “seeing red” any time soon.
Aw, this turned out so well! I’m especially impressed with it being so last minute. And I love the cloth wrapping.
Thank you Grace. It was very well recieved, and like you I try to think things through. The cloth wrapping yes, I did that because I did not see the point of spending money on paper that would be thrown away, Maybe the fabric will be reused.
Love all your boxes…so cool looking!!!
Thank you Michelle, this one was a last minute job.
I have a ‘last minute.com’ child too! Just a little planning would save so much grief!
I love red, so I think this little box makeover and it’s contents are just great!
Those kids are the ones that drive us crazy, right Julie. In fact, not a half hour ago she was looking for a gift she had misplaced. 😉
First of all, what a lovely gift this makes! Any secondly, I have to admit I do my best work at the last minute. Don’t know why that is exactly, but there you go. I’m amazed at that textured finish and will have to play around with that sometime!
The funny thing is that because we were in such a rush it came out great. If I were to try and recreate it now I would overthink it and fail miserably. Truth be told, I have also done some great projects at the last minute. 😉
LOVE IT MARY
Thanks so much Baba! At least she had a gift to give.
That was quick and creative thinking!
Something had to be done to save the day and the party!
Beautiful job. Of course red is my favorite color. I always think handcrafted gifts really show you care. Plus it was nice that you and your daughter worked on it together.
Debra I had no idea red was your favorite color. My daughter loves it too, that paired with black. Most of the time she is more than capable of creating things on her own but every once in a while she needs a nudge.
Some of my favorite gifts are small ones where my husband took the time to make it or personalize something he purchased. Love your idea and how it turned out.
🙂 gwingal
Thanks Nikki, it was a total surprise and a last minute job to boot.
Handmade gifts are the best and this one is so sweet, Mary! I love it that you shared it with us at Funtastic Friday!
Angie as long as it went to the party on time I am happy.
I love how you made over this chess box!! Red is always my favorite in home dec items. It’s a great gift! Love your refinishing techniques. Receiving this gift is a treat!:) Stopped by from the bloggers pit stop party! pinned:)
Thank you Kathleen. I think any handmade gift is always super special.
Mary, This turned out fantastic and I love the texture on it. Such a great idea!
The texture came about on it’s own we didn’t know what we were doing but we really love it.