Cricut Fails

I got a Cricut for my birthday and I love it so much. My husband is great, I nagged and nagged at him to get it for me and he did, even though he wasn't totally on board with it. He knows that when I start a new craft, I have to buy the supplies (the best part, am I right?) and lots of them. Then I have to obsess over the new craft forever. Well, I don't have to but it's how I operate, for better or for slightly less better. Anyway, I got my Cricut and fell in love right away. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel the same way about me. I am learning some humbling lessons ya'll, and I thought I would share a few of them (for your amusement, naturally.)

1. Transfer tape is a necessity. Forgetting that is a bummer. I ruined a bad-ass 10 inch sugar skull this way. 

2. Transfer tape is also the devil. So evil. At first, I thought I just didn't understand it but now I know it's out to get me. 

3. Vinyl will not stick to acrylic paint. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD MELANIE! There are so many failed vinyl transfers in my trash.

4. Vinyl will stick to clear coat acrylic sealers... but not all the time. There is no pattern to this, just random success. 

5. Transfer tape WILL stick to clear coat acrylic sealers. EVERY TIME. Oh the joys of repairing that thing you thought you were done with. 

I am in the process of peeling off the entire surface of the tile. Most of the delightful color is coming off with the clear coat. Siiiiigh..........

6. Fonts matter. This particular lesson is a little embarrassing to me; I love fonts and I'm a huge perfectionist so you'd think I would have noticed this:

At least it allowed me to have this conversation:

While Erin's advice was solid, I decided to scrap most of the design. Luckily, Erin also had some reassurance for my bruised ego. How does Alec Baldwin always know just what to say?

This is just what I've learned so far. I'm pretty sure there are plenty more lessons in my future. I'll be sure to share my inevitable failures as well as my inevitable successes. 

Until next time!

Honesty

I started this blog to grow myself as a person and to further my writing. I started this blog with the intention of being loudly and gloriously honest. But so far, I feel like I've only started this blog.

I'm not writing as often as I should, obviously. I could make a case for the fact that I was engaged in a fairly intense house-hunt; that moving and the holidays really collided in a messy and time-consuming series of projects. I could ... but that wouldn't be the whole truth. The truth is, I have been afraid. There are things that I want to say that I have not said because I don't want to deal with the fallout. I couldn't write because the one thing I wanted to write about felt off-limits.

All it boils down to is that I'm not a Christian. It's funny that writing that statement is a big deal, because it really shouldn't be. It should be just another fact about me. Melanie: hazel eyes, loves to read, doesn't believe in God, nonsmoker, etc. Unfortunately, my family is deeply religious. Several of my close friends are deeply religious. I live in a red state that is deeply religious. It's how I was raised and what I have been exposed to my entire life. So it's a little complicated.

I don't want to leave anyone with illusions - I am not just atheist, I am actively opposed to organized religion. Now that I've said that, I want to assure you that I'm not calling anyone out or challenging anyone's beliefs. You do you. When I'm with you, I will quietly bow my head when you pray and I will respect you, just as I have over the past few years as I quietly revised my inner dialog. But I also don't want you to think that I am going through a phase or that I'm really mad at God for some misguided reason. Nope. I've read the bible, I've gone to church, I've been baptized (twice!), and all of those things led me back to where I started: not believing. So, do I want to visit your church? No thank you. Do I want you giving my son religious lessons or propaganda? Hard pass. Do you need to dedicate time and resources to trying to convert me with books, arguments, or whatever? No sirree. I gave it the old college try. I reached my own conclusions.

Anyway, the title of this article is "Honesty" and not "In Your Face" or "Fuck Off" and especially not "I Hate My Family". I'm being me, honestly and without the intention of hurting anyone. Just something to think about when you formulate your response.