Yarn and Glue: Yarn Bowl

So we've been waiting to post on this activity, which we did several months ago, until we had improved upon it somewhat.  But since winter has left us (hopefully for good!), I'm not really seeing us spending time doing this again for a while.  And because it was really our own (ummm, mom's) choice of yarn color that bombed this little project, we thought we'd share it in case anyone else wants to stay inside and away from the sunshine long enough to do it.

We got this idea from something we saw on Pinterest (shocking), but since mom doesn't knit, we had to buy some yarn to try it.  Mom was in the midst of a big Amazon.com craft order and found a few skeins she thought looked cool.  They looked much cooler online.  They are pretty neonish in person and not in the good spring 2012 fashion kind of way.  We forged ahead and mixed up a big batch of paper mache paste and dipped all of the yarn pieces in.  And then Kane and I totally lost interest.  We helped mom drape the yarn a little bit, but then she was on her own (which was clearly the problem).  She made one by criss-crossing pieces of yarn over the bowl and one by wrapping them around -- the former worked far better.  We let them dry overnight and then we did help mom take them off of the bowl mold.  And it worked really well.  But the colors were just hideous.

So mom thought to try and use up the white primer spray she forgot to use on our lightboxes and sprayed that baby up.  And again.  And again.  And once the electric color was gone, it was even more hideous. But, we will say this:  that bowl had held up it's shape outside on our deck (where mom left it) all winter long -- through rain, wind and "D.C. snow."  So, in case you ever need to shellac the heck out of something, Krylon primer spray works quite well.

We did purchase a much prettier, softer color of yarn and have been hoping to get around to trying this again.  Not looking likely, so let us know if anyone else gives it a go!

P.S.  On a totally unrelated note, the National Children's Museum's Launch Zone asked us to help spread the word about it's event this weekend with Harlem Globetrotter Flight Time Lang.  We happen to love the Launch Zone and have attended several events there.  Until the much anticipated museum opens up in 2013, the Launch Zone will have to do the trick - and it does a pretty good job!  So go check out Flight Time Lang this weekend -- you can meet him Sunday at 12 or 1 p.m.

hideous

and yet, still even more hideous