Some Christmas cheer at Holiday Inn
Christmas time either gets the best of me or allows me to shine. I never know each year what will happen.
I think this year I learned some more time management techniques due to (1) going back to school; (2) another son's wedding; and (3) juggling extra duties at work.
Early in November I had to give a speech as part of my communication class. I spent hours and hours prepping for and obsessing over that speech. It was a monumental amount of work for a 5-6 minute speech. I did not relax until that speech was over and my instructor said I earned a perfect score.
And that, my peeps, is what set me free for Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff. With only a couple of easy peasy speech assignments and 2 chapters left in accounting, I felt like I could set the world on fire. Until the week before Thanksgiving I had not taken a stitch (with the exception of the napkins for the wedding) since late May. I needed some studio time.
I've already shown you the towels I stitched for Thanksgiving. I spent a couple of weeks deciding which embroidery designs to use for Christmas and have become a pillow maniac. Except when there are issues while embroidering (bird nests happen), it's been great fun. I've also painted my front door, the sidelights, and my carport door (all in Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black).
They both need some touching up; that'll happen on a warmer day.
I think I told you in a prior post about the sign idea, and I'll do my best to explain the process. We picked out a font we could agree upon and using EQ8, I created the templates for the letters. This is what it looks like in EQ8:
I started with a 24" x 80" hollow-core door we found in the basement. Its previous life had been as a padded headboard from a bed now long gone. I used Valspar Chalkboard paint (matte) and gave the door three coats:
After letting it dry for a day, we brought the door into our living room and set it up on a table in front of our large window. I printed the letters in EQ8 and taped them together to double-check for size and alignment:
With a soapstone marker, I drew the baseline for the letters.
I used some old school sewing transfer paper and a hera marker to trace the letters.
Using a white paint pen, I outlined the letters.
Using white acrylic paint (hobby store stuff), I filled in the letters. This took a few evenings because it also needed several coats.
I painted the trim (also took a few evenings) with a gloss white paint, and Hubster attached it for me.
Think it's done? Not quite. Did you know you have to prime a chalkboard? If you don't, you run the risk of your first writing or drawing ghosting all of the others. You prime by adding a layer of chalk all over the surface, then wiping it off.
Now, it's done!
And Steph did the inaugural design for Christmas:
We will leave this sign up all year round and change the sentiments for each holiday or occasion. I love it.
Go make!
I think this year I learned some more time management techniques due to (1) going back to school; (2) another son's wedding; and (3) juggling extra duties at work.
Early in November I had to give a speech as part of my communication class. I spent hours and hours prepping for and obsessing over that speech. It was a monumental amount of work for a 5-6 minute speech. I did not relax until that speech was over and my instructor said I earned a perfect score.
And that, my peeps, is what set me free for Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff. With only a couple of easy peasy speech assignments and 2 chapters left in accounting, I felt like I could set the world on fire. Until the week before Thanksgiving I had not taken a stitch (with the exception of the napkins for the wedding) since late May. I needed some studio time.
I've already shown you the towels I stitched for Thanksgiving. I spent a couple of weeks deciding which embroidery designs to use for Christmas and have become a pillow maniac. Except when there are issues while embroidering (bird nests happen), it's been great fun. I've also painted my front door, the sidelights, and my carport door (all in Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black).
 |
| Front door and sidelights |
 |
| Carport door |
I think I told you in a prior post about the sign idea, and I'll do my best to explain the process. We picked out a font we could agree upon and using EQ8, I created the templates for the letters. This is what it looks like in EQ8:
I started with a 24" x 80" hollow-core door we found in the basement. Its previous life had been as a padded headboard from a bed now long gone. I used Valspar Chalkboard paint (matte) and gave the door three coats:
After letting it dry for a day, we brought the door into our living room and set it up on a table in front of our large window. I printed the letters in EQ8 and taped them together to double-check for size and alignment:
With a soapstone marker, I drew the baseline for the letters.
I used some old school sewing transfer paper and a hera marker to trace the letters.
Using a white paint pen, I outlined the letters.
Using white acrylic paint (hobby store stuff), I filled in the letters. This took a few evenings because it also needed several coats.
I painted the trim (also took a few evenings) with a gloss white paint, and Hubster attached it for me.
Think it's done? Not quite. Did you know you have to prime a chalkboard? If you don't, you run the risk of your first writing or drawing ghosting all of the others. You prime by adding a layer of chalk all over the surface, then wiping it off.
Now, it's done!
And Steph did the inaugural design for Christmas:
We will leave this sign up all year round and change the sentiments for each holiday or occasion. I love it.
Sign Stats - Holiday Inn
Size: Approx. 26" x 82"
Font: Lonely Basket
Paint: Valspar Chalkboard Paint in Black; white acrylic paint for lettering; Valspar Acrylic Latex in gloss white for frame.
Go make!
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