Quick Mailbox Makeover

You ever have something in or around your house that is just SO embarrassing that, even after a major makeover, it still looks like someone else's "before" picture?

This is going to be like that.

So... this was my mailbox a few weeks ago:

[cringe] They say sharing your pain is cathartic. For the record: not feelin' it.

Aaand after a couple of evenings sweating it out in the blistering sauna of our fair state (it was 98 degrees at 6:30PM today. WHY.) I managed to paint, sand, and stain our sad little lizard condo into relative submission:

I dub thee, "almost respectable again."

I know I should plant some flowers or something at the base, but did I mention it was 98 degrees out tonight? DID I? Plus John won't let me just stick some fake silk plants out there, so... harrumph. (Be glad I'm not the one in charge of plant life. I'm still lobbying for astro-turf.)

The good news is this was a no-cost makeover, since we already had all the spray paints and stains in the garage. I was able to sand all the rust off the numbers before painting & clear-coating them, and the box has at least six layers of copper paint and clear-coat on it now, so take THAT, sun! [shaking fist at sky]

And now I think I'll use my freshly freshened mailbox to send one of you that resin dragonfly necklace! Eh? (How's THAT for a segue?)

So, the randomly selected winner from my last post is... bmuir322! Congrats, bmuir (Can I call you bmuir?), and please e-mail me your mailing address!

More Resin Rose Petals: Final Batch & Give-Away!

[This is a continuation of my first rose petal resin post, in case you missed it.]

I couldn't resist making just a few more necklaces with those resin rose petal gems, and this time, I experimented with linking two or more together:

I used larger chain links (harvested off an old necklace) glued directly to the backs of the resin as hefty hanging loops, and smaller O-rings for the connections everywhere else.

For this teal-and-coral set I also made another adjustable ring, since the teals matched.

The pink petal is curled at the bottom, but honestly, that imperfection makes me like it even more!

Renee (my amazing friend who made all the resin pieces) happened to send me enough matching pink gems to pull of my most complex design: 

It was incredibly easy to put together, though, since the E-6000 I used gives you plenty of open time to adjust the rings and make sure they're even on all sides.

I did learn one thing the hard way: if you put your hanging loops on the side of a gem, make sure they're at the top of each side, not the middle. Otherwise your pendant will be top-heavy and flop over while you're wearing it.

Ask me how I know. ;)

 Oopsie. 

(That's basically what the backside of all the gems look like, though; again, the links don't stick out much at all, so it's quite comfy to wear.)

The good news is you can peel the E-6000 off your resin even after it dries, so re-setting the loops wasn't a problem. Then again, that could also be BAD news, since obviously you don't want your glue peeling off in the future! Still, it took enough effort that I'm not too worried; you'd have to really yank to risk breaking off a gem.

And finally, the dragonfly necklace!

Mega thanks to all of you who weighed in on the placement; the decision was almost unanimous, so that made it extra easy on me!

You like? If so, comment below, because I'm going to send this rose petal dragonfly necklace to one of you! That's right: iiiiit's give-away time.  I'll announce the randomly selected winner in my very next post, so get to commenting! (And as always, I'll ship anywhere, so international comments are welcome!)

UPDATE: The give-away has ended, and the winner is bmuir322! Congrats, bmuir, and please e-mail me your mailing address!