Given that my summer job is a nine to five affair, I'm back to having to balance the life I know I want with the way I want to live it. Its an interesting challenge because of how important this project has become to me and how important becoming a lawyer has always been. In the interest of not messing up my project, I brought a few of the home-based projects with me to Lansing to do in the evenings after work until I get my sea legs, so to speak.
I went looking for a new twist on an old staple for me. I unwind very well with highly specific, detailed, repetitive tasks. Not unlike the frog that I loved making a few days earlier, I thought an art project that follows a particular structure would be a good idea. Having already done the coloring on felt project, I went for an engraving project instead.
I had an engraving art project of pretty pretty butterflies that I found at Michael's Crafts when I went on my project binge a couple months back. I brought the engraving project with me, thinking it would be a twenty minute affair. At the twenty minute mark, I realized that my time estimate was shoddier than a house of straw in a hurricane zone.
This cannot possibly meet the zoning requirements.
Despite the fact that it was an evening long project, and not a quick and easy experience, I did end up finding the engraving art highly relaxing. Each stroke of the pen-like wand they provided felt like an accomplishment. I could see the colors underneath as I slowly stripped away the top layer of the design. The butterflies went from coldly beautiful and monotone to bright and alive.
Ooh, shiny!
It had the same appeal for me as lotto scratchers. About a year ago, I realized how amazing lotto tickets are. I don't particularly care about the prizes. That's a lie. Money is amazing. But the point is, I find the slow, deliberate scratching both relaxing and satisfying. It was almost exactly the same thing with the engraving. Other than being up an hour later than I wanted to be because I'd be good gosh darned if I didn't finish it in one night, it was the perfect project for the day.
Ta-Da!
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