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Thursday, January 26, 2012

The William Morris Project: Week 3



Oh, this was a tough week. Good intentions, but zero motivation.

Wait, that's not totally true.  I started stripping the wallpaper border in the living room.  And immediately ran into trouble.  Unlike the kitchen, this wallpaper seems to have been applied with E-6000.  It took me an hour to remove a 4' section using my trusty hot-water-and-vinegar formula. I think I'm going to have to genuflect to the powers of the glue and buy some chemical stripper.  So instead of the grand reveal of "No More Wallpaper In my House!", I give you the cookie cutter jar:



Beautiful - check.

Useful - check.

Better than 3 Ziploc baggies of cookie cutters - check.

Cost: $0

I spent so many days dwelling on the desire to Do! A! Big! Project! for this week that I almost lost sight of the fact that this Project is not - CAN NOT - always be about grandiosity.  Sometimes it is the small changes that make me most content.  If I look around my home and smile at the little details, the big, pending to-do's seem much more manageable.  Plus, there's always next week.  

To learn more about The William Morris Project, visit Jules at Pancakes and French Fries.

12 comments:

C.G. Koens said...

So true about needing to remember that the small projects, like changing it to a cookie jar, are as important in making your home a beautiful and useful place to be as the really big projects. Thanks for the reminder! I just popped over from Jule's WMP.

Alice Almighty said...

I love the cookie jar! I totally relate to your wallpaper story, I was in the middle of the same thing, even with chemical stripper! The little changes are sometimes the hardest to remember, thank you!

pamelotta said...

I see nothing wrong with conceding to a project you underestimated and finding something else that may not seem as glamorous, but is an important step in your goals. Good job! I love your cookie cutter jar!

Alana in Canada said...

You did something this week to make your home more useful and more beautiful--which is more than I did. Well done!

Jules said...

Yup, it's not about grandiosity. Inches make champions. :)

Lais said...

Great point about how the big ideas can paralyze from any progress. I am the same way, but these inches, like Jule's reminded us sure do add up. Ha, I have a cookie jar in my kitchen that is empty, because I didn't know what to put in it, ha! My cookie cutters would be great in there, I may just snag this idea, thanks for sharing! Hope that you have better luck with heavier duty stuff on the walls, thanks for sharing your progress.

Melissa said...

Those $0 projects can be so satisfying. :)

Courtney said...

Agree 100% that projects do not have to be super big - but the cookie cutter jar is super! I've got the ziploc bags under the counter, and I never, ever use them. Displaying them could change that. Thanks for the tip!

Mom said...

Glad you found a good spot for great grandma's cookie cutters that I've been sending you all these years!You and the kids have all turned out to be master cookie bakers and should congratulate yourself! Well done!

Mary Ann said...

I'll bet that jar makes you happy every time you look at it! Small projects are what it takes to get the whole house done. Good job! I don't even know where all my cookie cutters are!

Chrissy said...

i have not one but two of these lovely glass canisters and i keep waiting for them to tell me how they would like to be used. yours looks wonderful!
btw, i am in love with your background. so fresh.

chrissy
http://www.mydearwatsonblog.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. So much better than the basket I've got stacked high on a shelf that lets cookie cutters rain down on my head every time that I reach for it!
I too bit of more than I could chew this week...hopefully can finish the bigger project this weekend. Good luck with the wallpaper!