Home » Crafty » It Was Almost a Craft Fail….

It Was Almost a Craft Fail….

Part of it fell in the lake.  While I was taking photos of my awesome Ruler Framed Chalkboard Sign, the hot glue came unstuck, which caused the twine to slip out of place, which sent the sign crashing to the floor of the dock, busting the frame, and part of it fell in the lake.  I kid you not.

I wish I had thought in the moment to take a photo of the piece of yardstick floating in the murky lake water; you really would have gotten a good hard laugh out of it.  But I think I was in such shock, all I could think was:

“This is not going to work.  I cannot share this tutorial with blogland.  Not in good conscience!  Ruler Framed Chalkboard Signs will be falling apart everywhere, and I will lose my credibility as a craft blogger, and I’ll never be able to blog again!”

(I’m a thespian, remember.  Melodrama comes with the territory.)

If only I could use this excuse!
If only I could use this excuse! {Source}

So, it was back to the drawing board.  Or more literally, the fiber-board.  And on round two, we got it right!  I made one change that solved all the problems the first time around.  Now, my sign is as strong as an ox.

Wanna see?

Ruler Frame Chalkboard Sign - - fun to use as a message board!

Ready for the whole kit n’ kaboodle of a tutorial?  Awesome!  Click HERE and see how you can avoid a craft fail when making a Ruler Framed Chalkboard Sign of your own (great for back to school teacher gifts!).

Giveaway Reminder

And because there are less than two days left in my Silhouette Cameo (yes, Cameo!) Giveaway, this is your friendly reminder to stop what you’re doing and go enter now!  I’ll be back on Monday to announce the winner and share my latest onesie creation.  (You didn’t think I had outgrown my onesie phase, did you?)

It’s the freakin’ weekend.  Have a great one!

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40 Comments

    1. I’m all for a good story! Even if it does mean a bit of chaos and fail potential along the way! 😉 It’s the thespian in me, I suppose. (Every good story must have conflict. Plain and simple.)

      And thanks for appreciating my colloquial phrase of “holla!” I used to love to greet my students that way at the start of class and then watch their eyes roll. It gave me some sort of strange satisfaction. Teachers are supposed to be dorky; I was playing my part!

  1. Thanks again for sharing your “mistakes” and “failures”…it gives all of us a good does of reality and HOPE!
    I love how the Amish purposefully put mistakes, etc. into their quilts to make it clear that “only God is perfect.”

    Could this be made with a big piece of blackboard and full length yardsticks to use in a Sunday School Classroom or other smaller class? I’m off to read the tutorial now to perhaps answer my own question!

    1. Yes, we all should be more like the Amish! I love that tradition.

      And yes, I definitely think you could use the full-length yardsticks to make a Mama-sized Chalkboard. It’s funny, I remember hating chalk dust so much growing up and being so enamored with whiteboards; but now, black is back! #historyrepeats #anotherreasontosaveeverything

    1. Then, I did my job! Ha ha. Glad you enjoyed it, Denyse. And next time I have a fail (and believe me, there will be a next time), I’ll be sure to snap a pic or ten to share with you all. 🙂

  2. This post made me seriously laugh out LOUD! Oh my gosh… It was like laughing at someone almost falling on a slippery floor though… meaning, I felt a little bit bad about the laughter! All laughing aside though, the final result is seriously amazing!! What a great little gift for so many occasions! Laure, you have done it again!

    1. My favorite form of theatre is comedy, so knowing that I’m making people laugh with this post, even virtual laughter, has inspired me to have more craft fails! I kid you not! That may sound really backwards, but what can I say – – I like to entertain, even at the cost of making myself look really silly. 😉 Aw, and I don’t know if it was a typo or intentional, but hearing you call me Laure makes me feel like we’re real friends. That’s what some of my real friends call me. And my parents. 😉 Yay!

  3. Oh Lauren, I had such a good laugh at the mental picture of your craft parts falling into the lake and your thespian dramatic look of surprise. Of course, had I been present in person and not just privy to the retelling of the story first I would have also exclaimed in anguish and surprise, second I would have offered moral support and comfort and only after those two important steps would I have had a good laugh.

    The final product looks amazing and so cute for the back to school season. I appreciate your humility in keeping it real by sharing your epic fail. Wasn’t too epic of a fail, I might add, given the wonderful outcome!

    1. Oh yes! If you were here, we would have had a good hard laugh together! (And thanks for the hypothetical moral support. I feel it.) And if it hadn’t ended out so well, I still hope I would have shared it. It does make for a pretty funny mental picture, and I can’t resist any opportunity to give my readers a chuckle, especially ones that share my sense of humor like (ahem) you do, Ms. Jessica! 🙂

  4. How hilarious! This certainly made me giggle, although I do feel your pain. There is nothing worse than a project going wrong, though i can’t say any of mine have ever fell into a lake. never mind taking photo’s of it… if only you had filmed it, now that would have been fatatsic… in the nicest way possible of course xxx

    1. Ha ha. No, I do wish it had been captured on film. Actually I didn’t even see it happen, I heard it happen. I was behind the camera, trying to focus it when I heard the crash, bang, and splash. I could hardly believe it! Then, I half expected the supposed gator that lives in our lake (I have yet to see him) to float to the surface and eat it. Don’t ask me why, I guess I just have a vivid imagination, so of course, I ran inside and asked Mark to fish the piece of ruler out for me. What a saga! So glad round 2 was less dramatic. 😉

    1. Oh yes! I hope I’m never so proud that I can’t share my craft fails with the world. It’s just a reminder that most great successes took a lot of trips and falls and FAILS to get there. It’s all part of the process, right?

      And I’m glad you like the chalkboard, Krista!

  5. Good for you for trying again to get the project right! Honestly, a lot of people might have just grabbed a few good photos and ran with the original design 🙁 I have had that happen with a tutorial before that I had found.
    Love the final product of this! Great job 🙂

    1. That’s sweet of you to say, Shannah! I really couldn’t in good conscience share something so pitiful with my readers. I mean, if it can’t even stay together for the photo shoot, it’s time to chuck it and start again. Ha ha.

  6. Good on you for keeping on with the project. I have had many a craft fail, and it’s tough to roll up your sleeves and try again (especially if it burst into pieces and then fell into the lake – I’d have a hard time bouncing back from that). Heading over to see how you did it!

  7. Bah ahah hahah! That made me chuckle! I’ve had many projects do the same, which is good to figure out the first time so no one writes hate mail (;

    Love the end product!!

    1. That’s right. Hate mail is something we want to avoid like the plague! Thanks for the kind words, Lolly Jane gals, and for stopping by.

    1. I teach my theatre classes on a stage, which is a shared space…but if still had my own classroom, I’d definitely have one hanging front and center. Possibly with special announcements or encouraging notes!

  8. Now you are the SuperCrafter of Blogland! Because you did NOT give up and you DID blog about it. Good for you!. (and love the sign 😉 )

    1. Wow! I feel inspired to do more craft fails turned craft successes now, so that I can maintain my new title! Tee hee. Happy weekend, Linda.

    1. Oh my gosh, Amy, you’re hilarious! Not sure why I haven’t used the ER metaphor before…I’m married to an ER doc after all! 😉

  9. Love it Lauren! And so funny, I totally have that incident pictured! You’re a trooper to get back ‘on the saddle’ and go again! It looks great

    1. Thanks! I had a deadline to meet, too, so that was part of my motivation. And Mark was a great co-conspirator in figuring out how to fix the glitch. Go team!

    1. I know, right? Good thing my shock didn’t send me hurtling into the lake. That would have been a life fail! And you’re right, the second time around went much more speedily and smoothly. Live and learn! 😉

    1. Next time (and I’m sure there will be a next time), I’ll be sure to capture it on film! 😉 And thanks!

    1. Ha ha! You’re too funny, Emily. You know that you need to send me a pic of your finished frame, too, whether next week or in 5 years! Tee hee.

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