If you’ve ever had the assumption that all of our craft projects come out perfectly, let me be the first to correct you. They don’t.
Case in point, our attempt at silver bells.
After deciding to make crafts based on some of our favorite Christmas carols, I thought of the song Silver Bells.
Silver Bells should be easy, right? Ha!
It all started innocently enough.
We had our homemade Mod Podge and the obligatory supply photo.
The girls were itching to get started.
Little did we know there was a culprit in that pile. It was innocently lying there, unwilling to let us know that our brilliant silver bell project was not the least bit brilliant.
Nonetheless, we dug in.
But what was the mystery item in our midst… what was that one thing that was going to make our project go from brilliant to dud.
Why, it was the very thing that was going to make our silver bells silver: the aluminum foil.
Don’t be fooled by that innocent pile above. Those bits of foil are cantankerous. They’ll slip and they’ll slide. No amount of glue will hold them together.
Wrap your leftover food in it certainly, but don’t ever EVER try to glue it to cardboard.
We wrestled with the foil awhile and got glue all over our fingers.
We finally managed to get something that looked like a silver bell. We set them on our makeshift drying rack.
Take note of that drying rack, one upside down egg carton which is quite possibly the only part of the project that worked well. We walked away in the hopes that maybe this could work after all.
We were wrong.
As I sat and plucked foil bits off of soggy cardboard, I came up with a better idea… or so I thought.
I ripped our drying rack to pieces. It looks like bells, I thought.
I called the girls over. We strung jingle bells inside and started the silver process all over again.
We used plain white glue this time, globs of it. We tried wrapping the foil around the edges. Still, those foil bits slipped and slid and ended up everywhere but our bells.
My brain was working overtime. How could I get this stuff to stick. Hot glue? No, my cord’s not long enough. Super glue? It would probably stick. But, I’ve glued my fingers together too many time so I wasn’t about to give it to a 4-year-old. There’s got to be something, right?
That’s when I heard, “Mommy, this still isn’t working. Why don’t you finish it yourself.” from my 6-year-old.
Yes, it was time to finish it myself… finish it right into the trash can.
Moral of the story: It happens to all of us, even your favorite craft bloggers. So stop telling yourself you’re just not that crafty. Stop letting Pinterest make you feel bad. We all have projects that end up in the trash. Just have fun. Just do the projects that interest you and don’t worry about how they end up. That’s not the point. The point is just to have fun with your kids.
Now it’s your turn to share. What is your funniest craft fail?
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Terri is a writer and mom of two elementary-aged girls. She has a passion for learning and is always looking for ways to make learning fun. You can find her at Better Than Homework where she shares fun learning activities or Creative Family Fun where she shares art, craft, and family fun ideas.
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At least you did something, even if it landed in the bin.. I am more of a procrastinator.. I buy stuff that I need for my craft projects and they just sit there.. I have a ton of art supplies and the supplies just keep growing.. I keep making stuff (in my head!).. As for the aluminum foil, it won't stick to any surface. Glue will only make it more slippery.. try wrapping the 'bells' in foil (just like you wrap food) and then stick a hook through the hole in the middle. Alternatively, you could color the cardboad with silver paint. Good luck 🙂