Pinterest fab or fail
WATERCOLORS ( FAB ) AND FIRE HAZARDS ( FAIL )
By Ellie Hillenbrand
Christmas is “ the most wonderful time of the year ,” and I always go all out . I like to joke that my everyday hobbies are things that people normally do at Christmastime : decorating , baking , cooking , singing , etc . Although Christmas is sadly long past , these two DIYs ( if done correctly ) are perfect all year round .
I am a HUGE fan of making lists : to-do lists , grocery lists , wish lists , and bucket lists . I saw a DIY on Pinterest that showed me how to lightly burn the edges of paper to “ antique ” it . The picture given as an example was the definition of “# goals ”. Before I proceed , I need to say , quite literally , DO NOT try this at home by yourself . Please . The directions seemed simple : hold the paper two inches above the open flame of a candle and quickly turn so each side is lightly burned . This seemed easy enough . First , I wrote “ My Christmas Bucket List ” in beautiful red and green penmanship . When I finished , I lit my favorite Bath and Body Works candle and set to work . A little voice in my head told me do this outside just in case , so I moved everything out . I did everything correctly , and I thought it looked great . I have no idea what caused it , but the flame started to creep up the edge of the paper instead of just light smoke . Soon , the edge was on fire ! I panicked , but blew hard on the flames until they disappeared . Luckily , I had it under control so nothing got hurt , but my beautiful list was ruined .
For a fun DIY that DOES work , is a lot less of a DIY , here ’ s a helpful tip : buy watercolor pencils ! My favorite way to paint something is with watercolor , but real watercolor paints take a long time to dry and are messy . Watercolor pencils accomplish everything you want minus hassle and mess ! All you must do is draw your desired picture and then go over with a wet paintbrush . I have painted wedding cards , pretty patterns with quotes , and even a grapefruit that turned out amazing . To make beautiful DIY art , use watercolor pencils ; I promise you ’ ll love the outcome !