And you would be right. I have been making a stencil to use on a sign for the garden. The idea for the first sign came from a garden visit in England. It was in the garden shop and I decided it would be a good winter project.
Time-wise it didn't quite work out that way, partly because the piece of wood I needed to use was still part of the old compost bins and I needed to wait for David to disassemble it.
The lower pieces of wood were pretty rotten but there were enough good pieces for me to complete a few planned projects, all involving stencil. I liked the weathered look of the wood.
I printed the letters out and cut them out with an exacto knife. After the board was sanded to remove the dirt I laid on the letters and painted with black craft paint. Then two coats of satin-finish varnish.
I haven't quite decided whether to mount it on the tree or maybe raise it a little off the ground. Either way it will point the way into the garden by the side gate.
Stencil project number two was my own idea. I always felt that the entrance to my sun and moon archway was lacking something. Although it was my plan to put the large colorful sun and and moon over the entrance I wasn't sure that it was quite right. I'll find a home for them somewhere.
Another sign with another stencil seemed like the perfect answer. And this is what I did. Cutting out those letters was a labor of love but I could never have painted it freehand. In the center is a little sun I bought in Mexico. Surprisingly it was the only one I could find there and it was really too small to join the others on the wall. Just perfect for the center of the plaque.
And the two new sun-sticks in the planters were a perfectly chosen gift from my friend Linda Peterson, who lives in San Antonio. To begin with I thought they were twins!
You can bet I will be on the lookout for some new suns and moons for my collection. I might even include the wind.
