Merde Il Pleut

Inspired both by today's disgustingly wet weather and by a hilarious umbrella that I can neither afford, nor fold small enough to fit inside my purse, I decided to try my hand at a new skill this afternoon -- umbrella painting!

For those of you who don't speak French, the translation is: "Shit it's raining!"

I think it came out pretty great, considering how difficult it was to freehand paint nice, even block letters without being able to rest my wrist on anything solid. And the whole project cost me all of ten bucks. And now I have an umbrella with way more personality than the boring black one I bought on the corner one day when I was caught outside in a downpour completely unprepared.

This project can be completed in six simple steps:

1.  Buy an umbrella in a fun color and scour your neighborhood for a complementary shade of fabric paint.

2. Dig out a paintbrush and chalk from your unnecessarily vast supply of crafting tools.

3. Use the chalk to draw guide lines for your design.

4. VERY slowly and carefully paint over the chalk.

5. The next day when the paint is completely dry, flip the umbrella over and cover the reverse side of your design with a towel. Iron over the towel on a low heat setting, being careful not to singe your umbrella. This sets your design!

6. Show off your profanity-covered rain gear :)

What rainy day crafts have you been inspired to do lately?