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The Four Month Jellyfish

Does anyone remember a few months ago when I was trying to find something to hang above my bed? (I totally don’t blame you if you have no idea what I’m taking about.) Well, I ended up buying the jellyfish poster that I loved so much. It’s from Great Big Canvas, an online store that sells artwork. They have about a billion different artwork choices and it’s completely overwhelming. After looking at their framed and canvas options (which were like $400) I ended up buying a plain poster.

blue button jellyfish

$69 bucks was a deal compared to the other options, and I found a 45% coupon code to go with it (plus cash back on Ebates). So for under $50 (including tax and shipping) I had my jellyfish. I figured I would just Mod Podge it to a piece of plywood and frame it myself.

But the I kept stalling…it was a really nice, really HUGE poster, and I kept having flashbacks to my wrinkle-fest of a map I Mod Podged a few years ago.

wrinkles

So, at the suggestion of a friend, I ditched the DIY idea and took that bad boy to Hobby Lobby. I waltzed right in there one day, three boys in tow, fully expecting to walk out 30 minutes later with a perfectly mounted jellyfish. I was so innocent back them. So naive, so arrogant, and completely ignorant to the ways of Hobby Lobby. I asked to get my jellyfish dry mounted. They said “Great!….. come back in a week.” Okay, no biggie.

One week later I waltzed back into Hobby Lobby, three boys in tow. I said “I’m here to get my jellyfish!” and they said “Great!…come back in a week.” Alright, that’s cool. Patience is a virtue, and I’ve been needing to work on my virtuousness anyway.

Another week passes and I waltz back into Hobby Lobby, three boys in tow. I said “I’m here to get my jellyfish, again!” and they said “Great! It’s not ready. Our machine is on the fritz. How about you just wait for us to call you.” and I said “Yeah….that’s probably a good idea.”

Then, one day, I get a call. It’s Hobby Lobby! They say “Good news….your poster is ready! Bad news….there’s been a problem. How about you come in my and look at it?” So I stop by Hobby Lobby, three boys in tow. They show me the poster, and it looks amazing. Turns out, getting things professionally mounted looks better than giving it a go on your own. Thing is, there is a giant scratch right down the center of it, thanks to the fritz-y dry mounting machine. So I talked to the manager and he said to buy another poster and bring it in, and they would pay me back for the poster and mount it for free. Sweet.

So I went back to Great Big Canvas and ordered a second jellyfish. Great Big Canvas must have noticed I ordered another one and wondered what the heck was going on, because right after that they followed me on Instagram.

IMG_0209

(and I of course followed them back.)

When the second poster came in I took it back to Hobby Lobby (ahem….with three boys in tow), and decided that I no longer wanted to DIY a frame, so I picked out a frame to add along with the dry mounting. Go big or go  home.

Hobby Lobby Frame

By now I had wizened up to the ways of Hobby Lobby, and when they said “Come back in a week” I said “Nah…just call me when it’s ready.”

Then, one day, I get a call. It’s Hobby Lobby! It’s the head of the framing department, who by now I feel like I know pretty darn well. We’re basically BFF’s. She says “Oh my gosh, I cannot even believe this is happening…your order was complete and ready to go, then another customers order fell on it and destroyed it. I’m so sorry! I’ve worked here for five years and nothing like this has ever happened before!” My only response was to laugh and feel really bad for her. I mean, seriously… by now it’s just a pretty hilarious situation. She proceeded to tell me that she had already ordered me a third jellyfish poster (since I had left the receipt so I could be reimbursed for the second one) and she would let me know when that one was ready. I silently gave her a very comforting mental hug over the phone.

A few weeks later, I get a call that the poster was ready. I went to pick it up and there was a different girl at the counter. I told her my name and she said “oh, you must be here for Murphy the jellyfish! Thank you for being so patient. It looks perfect…please take it before something else happens.”

And so they gave it to me, free of charge. All it cost me was a poster ($50) and four months. That’s a deal, I say. Plus I got a free story out of it, and stories….well those things are priceless.

So I take Murphy (which is huge) and tried to load him up into the van…but I couldn’t get it to fit. Three car seats take up a lot of room in a vehicle. I rearrange some stuff and slide Murphy in front of my two older boys car seats, blocking their view of the road. I told them “I have to put this here, please don’t mess with it.” So we leave, and I proceed to hear “thump thump, thump thump, thump thump” as they swing their legs and kick it repeatedly. So I’m yelling back at them “Boys, STOP IT. Don’t swing your legs. Just sit there.”

“thump thump, thump thump, thump thump”

BOYS! Do not make me pull this van over…” (I swear, five years ago I was a cool girl in her mid twenties, now look at me with my minivan and threatening mom talk.)

I know where you think this is going, but no, this story does end and we somehow managed to get Murphy the jellyfish home without having to buy a fourth poster.

jellyfish above bed

So here’s a dose of honesty. I love the Jellyfish. I actually love everything in my bedroom, individually. But together? I think it looks terrible.

blue jellyfish art

It’s just too much. It super colorful, but not in a good way. The circles and squares and arches are all wrong. It looks like a teenagers bedroom. Not my teenage bedroom (because that was even more ridiculous), but colorful shape overload in a juvenile way. (Great Big Canvas, if you are reading, please don’t judge me by this room.)

So I think I’m just going to leave well enough alone. We’re moving soon anyway, I’ll start fresh in the new house. It’s still way better than what I started with.

Anyway, that’s the story of the four month jellyfish. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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11 Comments

  1. Oh my Lord what a palaver! Man you were patient! And what a bugger to realise it really doesn’t work with the rest of the room. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing where Murphy ends up!

  2. That’s a great story. :)
    Do you think it might work better if you hung it on a different wall? I agree it doesn’t play well with the arched headboard and that close to all the colours. But it might be nice somewhere else in the room. Wherever Murphy (such a great name!) winds up, he’s a gorgeous piece of art!

  3. It would be great in your laundry room – Murphy the jellyfish overlooking your laundry! (I so love this story)!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your precious family!

  4. I LOVE your story about Murphy. It is a fantastic poster, really fabulous. You are right, it doesn’t work. But I have no doubt you will make it work in the new house, I am eager to see where he ends up and how you pull it together.

  5. Hi love Muphy .but wonder the story behind the name? love the way its been framed you will place Murphy I his right place .The story is so funny till next time xo

  6. This blog post is awesome. And I get what you’re saying about the design together, but it does still look nice and thought out!

  7. Hahahaha! Reading your posts makes me happy…Great story! BTW, I only have two (very hyper) kids and there is no way I would have survived all those trips to Hobby Lobby. Just sayin!

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