As Christmas approaches I find myself pondering the word Joy and what it means to me. I hope this doesn't sound depressing but I would not describe my life as joyful. I would say that I have lived a mostly happy life but there is something that keeps me from defining my happy feelings as joy.
Maybe some folks think that the two words are so close in meaning and therefore they are interchangeable. But I think most people would agree that joy is more like happiness super sized.
So why don't I use the word joy to describe things in my life? I think part of it is awareness, part of it is laziness and part of it is choice. The awareness part, for the time being isn't an issue, as I am currently writing about the differences between the two words. Tomorrow who knows. :-)
It might not be exactly fair to call the second part laziness but in our human effort to simplify our lives how many emotions do we really allow ourselves to process on a regular basis? Happy? Sad? Mad? Frustrated? Comfortable? Fearful? Content? Hopeful? Envious? Those nine words cover most of my emotional experiences.
Our abbreviated list of emotions may make it easier to figure out how we are feeling, but this short list also commits us to a life of emotional confinement. What about feeling serene, or wonder or amazement. How about being engrossed, energized, blissful or joyful?
Which brings us to the third part, that it is a choice. If we are aware that we can feel happy or joyful and we are willing to work at defining the difference in our own lives then we can choose between the two words and therefore broaden our experiences on this earth. I wrote in a previous post about being enchanted. It is a lovely but under used word in our society like so many others. For example, when is the last time you asked someone how they were feeling and they said, "Captivated."
So this holiday season, when the word joy is tossed around more readily than the rest of the year, I will make a concentrated effort to use this term and to notice it's subtle difference from it's little sister happiness. Even if I am only reminded to think about it when I am eating my super sized French fries. Which if you read my last post you know I am not allowed to have anymore. :-)
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Upcycled Tuna Tin Gift "Baskets"
I am trying to get a jump on some Christmas gifts this year. So I made these little gift tins for some of my girlfriends. They are made from some empty tuna cans. I don't really have a tutorial but the first thing you need is a special can opener that cuts around the outside lip of the can instead of the top. This allows you to put the lid back on. They are called safety or smooth cut can openers and they aren't much more expensive than regular can openers.
I made the earrings from some junk mail paper beads and the lip balm from beeswax and almond oil. There are lots of tutorials out there if you are interested in making your own. The tins are stuffed with confetti book paper. I am estimating the cost at around two dollars since I already had everything on hand but really that might be high.
The tins were the most fun. I tried to use some standard things (book paper and red cording) to cover them, as well as some experimental things (egg shells and coffee grounds.) It was a fun little experiment.
Decorative Tin 1
Supplies used - Red cording, Wooden drawer pull, E6000 glue, Red fingernail polish
Technique - Attach the drawer pull to the tin lid with E6000 glue. Start on the bottom of the can. Use E6000 glue to adhere the cording to the can. Use E6000 glue to adhere cording to the lid
Decorative Tin 2
Supplies used - Coffee dyed book paper. White glue, Wooden drawer pull, minwax polycrylic clear gloss, gold and black acrylic paint.
Technique - Attach the drawer pull to the tin lid with E6000 glue. Use white glue to decoupage book paper to can and can lid. Paint with desired decoration. Finish with top coat of polycrylic.
Decorative Tin 3
Supplies used - Wood glue, white glue, used and dried coffee grounds, red fingernail polish, minwax polycrylic clear gloss.
Technique - Attach the drawer pull to the tin lid with E6000 glue. Paint handle and bottom of tin with fingernail polish. Coat sides and top of tin with wood glue. Sprinkle coffee grounds over glue areas and allow to dry. Brush a coat of white glue over the coffee grounds allow to dry. Finish with top coat of polycrylic
Decorative Tin 4
Supplies used - Black straws small and large, E6000 glue, empty spool, silver button, needle nose pliers, candle, black and silver paint.
Technique - Attach empty spool to the tin lid with E6000 glue. Paint bottom of can black and allow to dry. Cut small straws to the height of the can. Glue straws around can with E6000 glue. Cut larger straws to fit the distance between the spool and the lip of the lid. Use the needle nose pliers and candle to fuse one end of the straw. Fuse the opposite end in the sour cream shape. Glue cut and fused straws to the lid with the wide side out and the narrow side in. Finish the spool handle with some silver paint and glue silver button to top.
Decorative Tin 5
Supplies used - E6000 glue, eggshells, bottle cap, wine cork, hot glue gun, minwax polycrylic clear gloss.
Technique - Attach the handle to tin lid with E6000 glue. I used a bottle cap, a wine cork and the hot glue for my handle. Working in small patches glue eggshell to side and top of tin using E6000 glue. Crushing the egg shells on to the can until covered. Finish with top coat of polycrlyic
Decorative Tin 6
Supplies used - E6000 glue, small sticks, needle nose pliers
Technique - Attach the handle to tin lid with E6000 glue. Use pliers to cut / brake sticks to desired length. Attach to side and top of tin with E6000 glue.
I don't know if I will have time but I also want to try making a tin with bottle caps and bottle tabs, spaghetti noodles and maybe even pine needles.
Happy Upcycling,
