This wasn’t the rest I wanted, but it was the rest I needed.

Those were pretty big projects that included refinishing the floors (twice!), building a room full of cabinets, sewing curtains and bedding, hanging straw wallpaper, building and upholstering a bed, installing tons of molding, and so on.

I jumped from that project straight to the studio bathroom makeover, and while I wouldn’t put it in the “major remodel” category, it went a little further than just a quick and easy makeover, especially when I decided to do a crazy painted wall design with about 30 different paint colors.

So, as I neared the end of that project, I figured there was no way I could start remodeling another room, no matter how small. I decided I needed a break. I needed to take some time and do something fun and easy. What I said in that post I wrote back in March was that I wanted to take some time to do some “fun, clever, artsy projects just for fun…”. I imagined myself sitting in my cool, air-conditioned studio at my work tables and doing one craft project after another for about a month just to give myself a break from heavy lifting and power tools for a while. And I also wanted to take some time to do some smaller projects I’d been putting off. That’s when I did the entryway makeover (which you can see here) and put up the mural I’d been holding onto for over a year.

But then, instead of going to my studio for that month of sitting in the air-conditioned studio and doing small, fun, creative arts and crafts projects, I decided to go out. And I did the complete opposite of small, fun, creative craft projects while sitting at a table in my air-conditioned studio. Instead, I’ve spent the last almost three months doing some pretty big projects that included lifting a lot of weight, sweating profusely while working in the direct sunlight of central Texas, working in temperatures of 100 degrees and above (with “sensitive” temperatures up to 118 degrees), and doing projects that are unlike anything I’ve ever done before – projects that have pushed me beyond my comfort zone.

My comfort zone is working on interior rooms, building things with wood and decorating. My comfort zone is sewing, painting interior walls, installing interior trim, and hanging wallpaper. But for almost three months I haven’t done any of that.

And I made my own concrete rhinestones…

And let me tell you, while there have been difficult times over these last almost three months, this has been exactly what I needed. I almost feel sad that it has come to an end (for now) and I will be jumping back in for the rest of the summer. Turns out I didn’t need a month sitting at my work table in my air-conditioned studio doing little inconsequential craft projects. I needed to get out. I needed to sweat and lift some weight. I needed to push myself beyond my existing abilities. I needed to learn new things. I needed to push myself beyond what felt comfortable and safe. I needed to remind myself that DIY is a continuous learning process and the only limit is my willingness to try new things.

This was definitely not the “break” I had originally planned, but it was exactly the break I needed.