Doodle La

It struck me recently that I have these quotes that I love all scribbled haphazardly in a notebook and know they are there, but I forget to read them until I have another to write in my little notebook. I wanted some way to be able to display them so I could see them and remind myself of the wisdom they hold. So out of that, I came up with this idea!

I sat down with a cutting board on my lap, my steel letter stamps and a hammer and went to work while my daughter sat next to me watching and waiting (to see if I was making her something), and my baby sat at my feet playing with blocks. We listened to a movie and spent some time chatting. (Or rather, she spent time asking continuous questions like any 4 year old will do.) It was a lovely way to spend an hour or two with my kids. And the end result is pretty great! It's now sitting on a book shelf, and I turn it whenever I happen to pass by so I can read a different tidbit of wisdom.







To do this project you would need:


a 6 inch block of wood, found at Michael's


hammer


cutting board


steel letter stamps, found at Harbor Freight


some wood stain (optional if you want the dark stain)


bee wax (again, optional for the finish)


a lighter


favorite quotes written down, (yes write them down so you don't misspell words!)







Hammer out the quotes on your block. The cutting board makes it handy to set the project on your lap and work, or to protect your surface from hammer-damage. Once you are finished hammering, rub a little bit of stain on a paper towel or rag into your block to get the stain you like. Let it dry for a bit. Then I rubbed the chunk of wax over the block and covered all the little cracks and crevaces with a thin layer. Just keep rubbing, until it's all covered. Don't worry about chunks in the letters. Use the lighter, to carefully melt the wax smooth over all the surfaces. (Please be careful! Put some gloves on if you need to to protect yourself from burns!) And now you have a lovely little block of quotes or sayings to display in plain view.


I hope you have a great week!