FEB to Kate - Knock it Off

 

Here's an idea that failed. That is not the stamp that was supposed to be paired with the lettering. However, the intended stamp would not have saved it. I tried colored pencil.  Epic fail. I pondered layering something else - and didn't want to make it worse. My new plan of attack is to allow myself two days to get my exchange envelopes done and then I have to get back to the master To-Do list. Below is one of the things on my list. I don't want anyone to think that I only allow myself 2 days of creativity per month.

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Many years ago, I wanted to open studio where I taught people how to knock off their own versions of whatever they wanted but for a variety of reasons could not just buy off the rack so to speak. I was mostly thinking of artwork - and maybe a little sculpture - depending on what it was. Of course, I couldn't participate in the knocking off - I would just consult with how to mimic styles and figure out the materials and methods. And people would have to understand that they were only knocking things off for their own enjoyment - no selling of knockoffs.

Last summer I had that sign project that I shared where a friend wanted a sign for his garden and he already had one of the Painted Peace signs - so we created something that was inspired by those signs. Obviously, all my work at copying the motifs was donated. I didn't charge for anything and I explained to the friend that it is only OK to do this if you are doing it for your own back yard. 

I enjoyed coming up with the drawing and he was so happy to paint it in on his own.

So, flash forward to Feb 1st when I dropped in to admire a friend's granddaughter. The friend and I met during the nursery school years when our 44 year old daughters were 4. The girls are still friends and our 40 year old sons are still friends as well. We were Odyssey of the Mind coaches and went to world finals twice - so we both know our way around crafty stuff.

The granddaughter would be celebrating her first birthday on Feb 26 and the grandma wanted to make something a bit like this Sticks growth chart. Sticks is a local company so I've seen a lot of their original work. They employ local artists and craftsmen to transfer designs, wood burn the lines, paint in the design beautifully and seal it perfectly. The amount and quality of the hand work is reflected in the price. 

This growth chart is 7' tall and 12" wide - and costs $1,080. They suggest that you record the height of the kid with a ballpoint pen or a permanent marker - which they specify is *not included.*

The sign is 7 feet tall and that space for the writing is 4" wide - and I can't imagine why you would want to devote that amount of space to writing in the numbers unless you could match the style. Even though the lettering looks like a first grader did it - there are a lot of things to know about achieving that naive look.

This is getting too long. More tomorrow.

LINK to the Sticks website