Other tales of an extended childhood

I am a big kid at heart. I make no effort to hide the fact that I get as much enjoyment out of watching “Sesame Street” with my daughter Gracie – especially the “Crumby Pictures” segments, which are basically for adults. (Google it if you have no idea what I’m talking about; they’re hysterical.)

A friend and I used to go camping in Colorado a couple of times a year, and one of our favorite activities was sitting in our camp chairs with our crayons and coloring books. My husband and I had a real bonding night early on in our relationship when we went to Walmart, and I walked out with crayons and a coloring book, and we both picked out two collections of Looney Tunes videos to watch while we ate our kid cereal we bought. It was one of the first times I realized I could really spend the rest of my life with the guy. Crayons came into play in our relationship again when I was pregnant and ended up in the hospital on early bedrest. One of the first things he brought me to pass the time was – you guessed it – my coloring supplies. That’s true love.

Having a 2-year-old is great for extending your youth and having a legit excuse for having crayons and cartoons and the like. The only problem is that my little one isn’t into coloring yet. She will perform some arbitrary scribbles next to me as I try to create a masterpiece out of Mickey Mouse in my coloring book to rival Salvador Dali. She does, however, love breaking the crayons – typical 2-year-old with no respect for the “creative process.”

Which brings me to my first experimental project from Pinterest this month. I searched for “crayon projects” to help get rid of my sadly broken artistic tools. I found one about how to make lipstick from melted crayons. I am a kid at heart, but I am also kind of a makeup snob – at least enough of one that a pin claiming to recreate MAC lipstick (a high-end brand) seemed kind of ridiculous. Custom Crayola lipstick? Why not? It was simple to make. Get a small pan and put about 2 cups of water on low to heat. Use a smaller glass bowl and place your peeled and chopped crayon of choice in the glass bowl and add “some” coconut oil to get the right consistency; I used about a tablespoon. Melt together, store in a small container and let cool. And that’s it! Great idea, but of course, it didn’t recreate a $20 tube. Despite the coconut oil being added, it still smelled and tasted like crayons. The color was fine – bold – but definitely not on par with any commercial lipstick. I would say that this would be kind of a fun project to do with an older child just for fun. I won’t be running around town with my Hot Magenta Crayola lips anytime soon.

Pinterest project No. 2 was a quest for house-warming gifts as a bunch of friends purchased new homes this spring. I ran across a pin about transferring images onto wood or metal using wax paper and a printer, which again, sounds kinda crazy, so of course I was all over it. The pin showed someone transferring onto a cutting board, which seemed like a great idea for a gift. I found a monogram graphic on the interwebs, which you then have to reverse in a program like Paint or Gimp. If you are using an image versus anything with lettering, there is no need for reversing. I then cut a piece of wax paper and got it situated in the printer. Luckily, my hubby has plenty of extra lumber in his shop, so I had something to practice on before ruining a new cutting board. Have that wood ready when you print; you must transfer it quickly. I also wet the board so the lettering would come out darker as per the directions. Hit print and help gently guide the paper through the printer. The ink will be wet, so handle with care. Have a credit card ready and place the paper on the wood and use the edge of the card scrape the paper to transfer the image. It actually worked. You must keep that paper secure or it can smudge, and when it’s dry you can seal it with spray-on sealer. I was pretty excited this actually worked. I now have been wondering if my coloring book masterpieces could be scanned and turned into a transfer. Stay tuned. I’m getting a brand new box of 64 with a sharpener ready to go.