I'm hooommmmeee!

I was just thinking that it's a grand thing that I'm not participating in any blog hop this year.

There simply hasn't been any time for any of that.

We've been busy having a grand ol' time.

 

Heather, Shawn & family were here for a week earlier this month.

After a partly successful garage sale hunt one morning,

we spent part of the day at the Ostrich Farm.

These farm kids have it down!

 

 Our little kummi (god child) boy is quite the little man.

Cowboy boots make a cowboy according to him, and he even picked out a new pair for his dad on this trip.

Cowboy hats aren't necessary ... a baseball cap does the trick just fine.

 

The city boy .... well, maybe he wasn't so impressed!



 

He was one determined little guy ... he was on a mission to give these poor goats a hug.

Climbed right up there and was rather sad that he couldn't get through the fence!



Check out the green hair tie on the left boot.

He had a purpose for that thing but I never figured it out.

It was important enough to stay there all week long!

 



This family's favorite at the Ostrich Farm is the Lorakeet cage.

We laugh and laugh and laugh in there.

Perhaps we're a bit bird brained.

 



 For a moment or two, I was wondering what else we did that day ... and then I remembered!

The Lindula's went visiting and I went to a homemade caramel wrapping/gift tag tying ladies' evening with a bunch of women who were up for a fun evening.

Over 17 pounds of absolutely delicious homemade caramel got wrapped that evening!

 

Not bad for a Friday the 13th, hey?

 

Let's see if I can get a few other photos shared in the next week.

The camera has been collecting dust, but we haven't been!

sign making

I've been making signs for a craft sale in several weeks.

Although I'm still not finished, I have a few ready to go!

Before I moved that ping pong table/work surface today, I wanted to get this bugger up.

 

The most difficult part of this whole business is printing out the wording and getting it to fit the size board I'm using. I know there is a program that will make this all easy peasy .... I'm not using it. I'm sort of a sucker for doing things the hard way.

 

I did discover transfer paper, which transfers the image to the painted surface.

 

After transferring the image (lettering) onto the board, I use paint to paint the lettering on.

There are some seriously miracle producing paint pens out there .... otherwise it is a paint brush and I've been doing some finer work making that nearly impossible.



This one was a bit of a loooonnnng one. I started at the top, with transferring and painting each message before moving on to the next one.

 

 The bottom part I did in reverse order ... saving one of the most important ones for last.

 

After the paint was dry, out came the sander. Most often, I'm too impatient to use the hand sanding ... so it is power tools for me. I managed to keep all the skin on my fingers today!

After the sawdust was cleaned off, I rolled stain over the top ... one section at a time ... removing the excess with a rag. Then moving on to repeat it again. Why do the stain? It gives it an older look and I'm a fan of old.

 



I'm not sure this was really necessary but this sign is going to live outside. I then applied several coats of polycrylic finish to the piece.

 



 

The only problem .... I don't like shine. At all. And shiny it was.

 

While it dried and I covered it yet again with a matte vanish ... I cleaned up all the leftovers!

I have saved much of the lettering for signs I've made in case there is a desire for more,

but this one .... only one being made.

 



I store the rollers in baggies for reuse. As long as I remember which roller is soaked in what ...

I'll be just fine!



 

This is the spot I've been wanting to fill. Our patio door was obviously the much larger version at one time. The extra space is just a painted wood surface that I've been itching to fill for a year now.

Doesn't it just beg for something?!



Something like this?

 

 



As is often the case with my little projects ... I look at it afterward and think,

... I wonder if I should change that part .....

 

I don't think I will.

 

After all, this Porch Rule (and a family rule at that!) says that I'm suppose to take my coffee cup outdoors, put my feet up, read myself into a state of relaxation while the sunsets

and lulls me into a nap.

 

I'll leave it.

it has been a wee bit

 

 

c.r.a.z.y.

around.

here.

 

Crafting is happening, but life keeps interrupting.

I'm down to the next several days and by Saturday evening ... it needs to be put away.

'Cuz I have the first wave of special company coming to spend a week with us.

Power tools, paint supplies and little people all mixed together?

Probably not a great idea.

 

I might find a day or two for additional creativity several weeks from now.

If I do, that's great.

I can't guarantee it.

 

I have this cute long metally thing that I added candles to and stuck on the kitchen window sill a while back.

 

And then it became multi purpose.
It is filled with sand, or something like it that hubby had left from a job.
One day I had multiple brushes and sponges that needed drying ....
and I found the perfect place for them.

Adds a bit of color as well!

Tomorrow is sort of my Friday.
I do have a few hours of work on the real Friday, but it probably doesn't count.
I hope to share some finished projects with you before the weekend is done.