From The Project File~
For the third time in the past five years we are celebrating Christmas in Southern California. Therefore I'm sending warm, sunny Christmas greetings from our motorhome~ our tiny home-on-wheels. We are parked at our friend's property~ 13 quiet acres planted abundantly with citrus and avocados. I refer to the estate as, Rancho Avocado. Thanks to the generosity of our good friends we have everything we could possibly want, including water, electric, and a craft cottage for me.
We recently named our motorhome upon completion of a major interior makeover. It was a ceremonious rebranding of sorts; on the order of a boat christening (minus the champagne bottle). The interior, which is tastefully decorated in a subtle travel theme, is now known to all as Cozy Lodge. I fully intended to post for you a lengthy album of before and after photos, but the only thing we don't have right now is reliable internet; so I am therefore dependent on a local Starbuck's for that luxury. Blogging is cumbersome.
So here we are, near San Diego, rushing around to get everything perfect and perfectly festive before our family Christmas celebration with John on Monday morning.
Quickly I'm sharing a cool gift I crafted. Our only child is a serial traveler like his dad and similarly impossible to buy gifts for. I had this idea running around in my head and finally pulled it together with Larry's help.
I brought these hardwood lumber scraps with us, thinking I would use them for another idea. But when that project didn't materialize I made a quick run through Hobby Lobby and found just what I needed to make this frame. I created the image on PicMonkey and uploaded it to Target photo. I had two images printed actually. The second is for our hostess who seems to spend more time planning trips than anyone I've ever met, other than John.
So basically you need an image, and a piece of wood larger than your image. My boards were cut to 6x8 (from a 1x6 very hardwood board I scrounged). The clips and the knobs I bought, and today while walking I found some interesting acorns which I used just for texture.
The clips do not come with screws, so Larry bought them at a local hardware store. The wood is so hard that he drilled pilot holes and mounted the clips. Then we used an amazing 2 part glue to add the accents. The glue is "2P-10" from Fastcap.
I grabbed a couple of inexpensive easels to hold the frame upright. The nice thing about this gift is that the image can easily be replaced with another photo; maybe from a future adventure.
In addition to enthusiastically embracing travel, John loves Christmas. He really, really likes to have a lot of gifts under the tree and we still do stockings! Therefore each year I scramble to come up with a many presents as possible. This frame is just a little something extra for him to unwrap.
You would be amazed if you saw the inventory of hand-held power tools Larry has stowed in the motorhome basement compartments. He thought of absolutely everything, really, except for a palm-sander which we both agree is essential.I have been busy painting signs as gifts, and many times I have wished I had the sander.
My friends and I have limited our gift-giving to handmade; a new tradition that we all value. Generally the rules are that gifts are optional, but if we want to give something in the spirit of friendship and love, it has to be handmade, baked, or second-hand.
Anyway, here is a sample of my signs~
I need to say goodbye now because Larry is ready to go. Thanks for being a part of my readership. I hope from the bottom of my heart that your Christmas is filled with love and the blessing of drawing near to those you love.
Warmly,
~Dana
Let us bring him silver and gold!
No comments