New Year, New Me, New Projects

 I know it's been a long time since I posted.
Getting that letter in the mail from an inmate pretty much took the wind out of my sails
for a long time.
But I find that I'm addicted to blogging.
Going forward I will be much more careful what I post.
I'm just not sure how all the other bloggers keep their privacy and security,
while posting so much personal information.

So this will be a new learning curve for me.

Also, this Christmas time has been a whirlwind of projects, mostly for other people.

I made 6 twin quilts, hand machine quilted.
1 Cal-King Duvet with 2 King Shams.
8 Digital Scrapbook pages to give to the Grandparents.
5 custom Doctor Who t-shirts for my kids. (I'll share those soon)
(and yes, we are Whovians!)
2 Raggedy Ann dolls for my nieces.
2 Denim race tracks with carrying case for my Nephews.

1 crocheted Super long 4th Doctor Who scarf for my niece.











8 pallet wood signs, a few of which I will be sharing over the next couple of days.
Vinyl lettering for my Friend's new store opening.
And I re-made the Babylonian costumes for our Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration
with PDF instructions on how to make them.

I finally finished it all last night and headed straight for a long hot bath and a good book.

To start the new year, I wanted to post my favorite project.
Sadly it isn't for me, I was commissioned to make it.

I don't know if you can tell by this picture, (the milk can is normal size) but this board is HUGE!
She wanted it to be 5 feet by 4 feet.
Normally pallet wood doesn't come that long, but luckily I found some AC unit pallets
that were just the right length.
I didn't have enough of them, so some of the slats are pieced from normal sized pallets.

 She wanted the wood to be alternating dark and light wood,

so I returned to my favorite way to darken wood.

I don't think I'll ever use stain again.

The vinegar method is super easy, super cheap, and non-toxic.

Win-Win!

Simply place a steel wool pad in a glass bowl of apple cider vinegar.

Let sit for at least 24 hours.

Use gloves and wipe the cider vinegar on.  

You can use what's left of the steel wool pad, or use a sponge.

Both work well.

Be sure to be in a well ventilated space.

While it's non-toxic, I just don't love the smell of vinegar that much.

Let dry completely before using wood.

After 1/2 a box of screws and 4 back slats to hold the whole thing together,

I had to have my son help me carry it inside so I could paint the lettering.

Did I mention this thing is huge, and HEAVY!

I used my projector and a transparency I got from Staples to project the image up on the board.

I considered using contact paper as a stencil, but I didn't think

I could get the lettering and spacing right.

Back to my trusty Projector.

I bought some Sharpie Paint pens hoping it would work well on the wood.

Unfortunately it was just enough to trace the letters.

I had to go back and hand paint each letter.

Let me just say that it took a long time.

I turned on Pandora and got to work.

And work... and work.... and work!

Afterwards I had my son take it outside so I could give it a good coat of polyurethane.

Here's the free printable of the image. 

I should fit a 8 1/2 x 11 sized paper using Landsape orientation.

My husband loved this piece, probably his favorite to date.

Too bad we don't have room in our house for something this big.

I may try using this image again soon.

Happy New Year!

I linked up over at Beyond the Picket Fence.