Into the Crafty Crapper

Not all my projects turn out so well. 

Take my latest idea.

I had seen a bowl made from yarn on the internet.  They were supposed to resemble some bowls that Pottery Barn has or had available:

This woman decided to use yarn and stiffening goo and came up with this:

I didn't think it was a terrible rendition.  I thought I might try a thinner "yarn" or whatever I found available, but I liked it and thought it would look okay in my living room that needs some accessories.

And really, the whole process looked kind of fun so I kept it in the back of my head.

You may remember back to me making the fabric flowers for our door wreath.  It was the first time I used the glue gun I've owned for seven years.  I was having a really great time with it and started thinking how if I could drip the glue over a balloon, let it dry, then spray paint the results black I, too, could have a bowl like the above.

I just was nervous that the HOT glue would pop my balloons instantly.  But while I was waiting for my flowers to dry I read this:

 

It was like a sign that this project was meant to be.

Luckily we happened to have a few balloons lying around.  I don't even know why, but we did.  So, I came up with this stand and got to work.

I loaded a new glue stick and started swirling the glue around the top.  I was really hesitant at first because I was sure it was going to pop the balloon.  Then I was sure I was going to be cleaning up the accident the dog was sure to have when she thought she was being shot at.

This part was really fun.  And I was really starting to see how my bowl was going to rock.  The only problem I saw in design was that the bowl was a little wider than I wanted, but I found another balloon and just didn't blow it up as big.

I added more and more glue to these and tried to go further down the sides to make the bowl rounder or taller, however you'd say it.  When I was finished I set these aside to let fully dry and harden up a little.  I couldn't wait to slowly let the air out of these balloons and see my lovely bowls. 

When I thought everything was ready I cut a small slit in the bottom of the balloon and watched it start deflating. 

And I ended up with this:

What?  That was NOT in the master plan.  I think I stared at this for about a full minute willing it to return to a bowl shape that I could spray paint and pat myself on the back over.

But I shook it off (and Mike's silent snickering) and realized I still had one balloon left.  I consulted my better (though slightly meaner) half who suggested that I put the other balloon in the freezer.  I thought that was a BRILLIANT plan and he was back on Santa's nice list.

Here's what I realized.  I had forgotten I was using glue.  Glue.  Here's a key fact about glue: glue is sticky.  Even though the directions tell you that it's safe to use on balloons, they forget to tell you that it's still going to stick to said balloon.  If this was going to work, I was going to have to freeze it off the balloon.

So my balloon sat in the freezer for a couple days. Jake and I took it out to start working on it.

When we removed it I got right to work and start slowly and carefully peeling the glue off the balloon.  It was tricky in some spots, but other popped right off.  I was just telling Jake that this might take a couple tries of freezing/peeling/freezing, but I thought it was going to work...

POP!

All I could think was that I was very happy the dog had been outside at that moment.

So we don't have a bowl, much less two.  I still plan on trying to make one, but I think I'm going to have to buy the stiffening goo and follow the actual instructions.  However, I'm still going to buck the system and try a thinner yarn....and more layers.