Pennies on a balloon mold = FAIL

I was so excited to try this penny bowl idea but all the while I subconsciously suspected that this baby wasn’t going to make it… It was all going so well until….

It all started with Pinterest (of course) and the cutely crafted pictures of buttons molded into a bowl from a balloon like this one from Bonkers About Buttons.

My idea was spawned thanks to other projects like the penny table featured at Amongst the Aspen Trees.

I love the look of pennies and they’re everywhere so finding them would be easy.  What could possibly go wrong?

At this point I was already running into trouble. I realized I put too much of the glue on which created a balloon slip-n-slide for the pennies. After awhile I just wiped off the glue and put a light layer back on but waited for it to become tacky and then stuck the pennies on. The sliding was at a minimum and I was coasting right along.

I let the penny bowl dry overnight before coating it with the glue. Then I waited. And I waited.

You can still see a glimmer of hope in my eyes at this point that all would be well with my penny bowl but alas she was never meant to be…

P.S. This is my office and no it’s not always like this. Last week was a project packed week that called for more mess than even I was comfortable with. This week will be all about trying to put stuff back into its place.

Again, here is the bowl..er…sculpture of pennies that just sagged and appeared to be melting until it finally came to rest.

It was pretty cool actually but just not as a bowl. To make matters worse, Big Daddy took a video of the BIG REVEAL which of course didn’t work but he held the camera upside down….

So, in addition to a whopper of a project fail for you and yours to read and poke fun at me, now you can see me LIVE and UPSIDE DOWN.

Watch at your own risk!

DIY PENNY BOWL FAIL from Christine Leahy on Vimeo.

This whole fiasco reminded me of a story.

There was a young boy no bigger than a tee ball player dragging his bat in one hand while gripping a baseball tightly with the other. He walked the block or so until he reached the baseball field. He was alone on the field and he played as hard as he would have if his whole family was watching.

The boy never heard the stranger approach. The stranger stood there behind the fence and home plate just watching.

The boy threw the ball up in the air and swung. Whiff. Strike one.

The boy threw the ball up a second time. Just air. Strike two.

The boy dug his heels into the red Georgia clay and threw the ball up one last time.

He gripped the bat with all his strength and swung so hard he lost his balance. Nothing. Strike three.

The stranger cleared his throat, as if to announce himself, and said, “Tough luck, kid. You’ll get it next time”.

The boy turned around and looked at this stranger with determination in his eyes.

The boy shot back, “What do you mean, Mister? Didn’t you see how good I pitched?”

I guess sometimes lifes like that. Some people look at failure as a way of finding their strength. Sure, it’s just a penny bowl. But failure, regardless, of what form it takes in your life, can sting. Especially when others are counting on you not to fail.

Just remember the boy who pitched and swung. Striking out or pitching perfect. You decide.

Question: Have you had a project fail? If you were the boy playing would you be the batter or the pitcher?