Notes.

We (read: mostly Jeanne) spent the day working on two new PJP projects.  I bailed out early because I'm incredibly impatient, but hopefully I'll have some pictures of the big reveal tomorrow. As a rule, I work to avoid places like Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's.  My favorite sort of crafts are the ones that I pay other people to do.  If I do go to those stores, I get really competitive as I watch other shoppers load their carts down with fabric remnants and tacky glue and those containers that come with 1,000 beads and a roll of twine.  Within 15 minutes, I've convinced myself to purchase the items needed for a craft I'll never make.  (Here is where Behind-The-Scenes Tech Guru Jason makes a snarky reference to my Christmas cross-stitch extravaganza.)  (Hint:  no cross-stitch was ever completed.)

But when Jeanne suggested a project today that involved chalkboard paint, I was compelled.  If you haven't spent 37 seconds on Pinterest in the last six months, then you should know that chalkboard paint IS THE THING.  I don't really understand the craze because it works on the assumption that I can paint well AND that I have fancy handwriting for the fancy $8 chalkboard markers.  And that I have the motivation to change said fancy chalkboard with said fancy marker on the regular.  And basically...no.

But Jeanne does have those things, which is precisely how I found myself standing in JoAnn's this afternoon with a pint of chalkboard paint, four foam brushes, and a jumbo chalkboard marker.  And the grand plan for our afternoon was that I would work on chalkboard painting and she would work on the second project that was far more complex and in need of expert care.

Here are my notes from a failed crafter:

1. If you ever decide to paint some pie tins with chalkboard marker, it will go on completely unevenly.  I bet Pinterest doesn't tell you that.
2. Chalkboard paint doesn't dry quickly...even if you put said pie tin in the oven at 200 degrees for eight minutes.  Ahem.
3. Jeanne needed to supervise.  Apparently she overestimated my abilities.  I'm not sorry.
4. I did five of the 12 pans before leaving to get a cold brew coffee from Starbucks.
5. I never finished the other seven pans.  Sounds about right.

Apparently, Jeanne worked until well into the evening because she has perseverance and can ignore the siren call of Starbucks at 4 in the afternoon.  I'm super excited to see what she accomplished.  And super excited to see how many times I'll need to wash my hands to get the chalkboard paint of my OPI Dark Side of the Moon manicure.