A move-friendly growth chart

Permanence. It's one thing that's hard to obtain while living this military lifestyle of ours.

When I was a kid, my folks would stand my little brother and I up against a wall in our home, and use a marker to chart how much we had grown. Inch after inch all recorded with a permanent marker. I loved that wall. No matter how often they would paint, those little hash marks and dates were always there to mark our passage of time.

I've wanted a wall like that ever since my Sky was born. We've tried the more mobile versions of a growth chart, but they were usually destroyed or lost during one of our frequent moves. I needed something more permanent.

I don't sleep much, so the other night I grabbed an extra 6 ft 1x6, did some sanding, added a quick pass with an ebony stain and 2 coats of Minwax's Bombay Mahogany poly-stain, and then added the details with a white paint pen and now I have a little permanent reminder of how my kids will grow. I used 3M Command Velcro picture hangers to attach it to the wall, so that when we move and move and move again - all I have to do is pull it down and then reattach it where ever the wind blows us next.

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BLOGGER'S QUILT FESTIVAL

Ahhh ... spring is in the air, sunshine, birdsong, and flower's blooming. And let's not forget about the now biannual Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy of Amy's Creative Side.

I participated in this last fall, and really enjoyed seeing all the quilts that fellow bloggers had either made or loved. So I knew I really wanted to join the fun again. Here is my entry - a sweet little circle quilt that I made this past winter for a fellow Air Force wife's new baby boy.

---original post from Jan. 8, 2010

I am in love with this quilt. Good thing the baby shower is on Sunday.

Or I might make up an excuse to keep it.

It wanted to be hand quilted.

Which took forever with all the holiday hubbub going on.

All worth it. A friend is due in a few weeks.

Her husband should be home from the desert just in time to help welcome their little Jakob into the world.

And this cuddly little quilt will be waiting too.

---

That little quilt was a lot of fun to make. It ended up being very soft and cuddly, and very early - as her little one stayed in an extra week before making his appearance.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to settle in for a few hours and check out all the other great quilts.

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HEART ON HER SLEEVE

I've been following Celebrate the Boy month over at Made. Even though my boy wouldn't be caught dead in anything I'd make for him. Luckily for me, Grace is little and any complaints out of her can easily be bribed away with cookies.

I failed to heed the addiction warning, and started making the "90 minute shirt" that Dana has on her site. 

No relaxation during nap time yesterday.

 

Guess how old she'll be next week?

 

I've another already started. I might need an intervention. 

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A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLOCK TUTORIAL

Ok, it's more like a I-forgot-to-buy-a-gift-and-it-needs-to-be-in-the-mail-now! tutorial.

My Dad's birthday was early last month. Every year I agonize over his Christmas gift, and neglect to consider his birthday gift is due only 2 weeks later. And mail takes about that long to get from me to him.

He lives in Alaska, and has this odd assortment of art depicting the various wildlife that lives in the local area.
 So I asked, "What don't you have?"
"A raven."
Done.

*Sorry in advance for the lack of photos, I was under a time crunch after all.

First assemble your supplies 

Scrounge around the garage, and your kids' neglected art supply box for things to use.





I used:
 - A chunk of pre-treated 2x6
 - Krylon spray paint, flat black and clear varnish
 - An old piece of sandpaper nailed to a block
 - Various colored acrylic paints and a dried out brush found amidst legos and model plane parts

First you'll want to spray paint your wood block with the base color, in my case black. Do two or three light coats, or until you can no longer see the wood.

While the wood dries, Google you're intended subject. Then rough sketch a design to your wood block gently with a pencil

After you've got the simple outline done, go ahead and whip out those paints and go crazy. Well - crazy enough to make it look how you want it.

Once your painting dries and looks amazing, take the sandpaper and swipe it across the painted surface to give it a distressed or aged look. Be careful to not obliterate all your hard work. Go down to the wood in some places to make it more intriguing, like around the edges and corners.

Then shake up the clear varnish and apply one or two coats to the entire block - just to make it shiny.

Here is the finished piece I sent off, albiet a couple weeks late.

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