Page 8 - MidWeek Kauai - Dec 7, 2022

8 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK DECEMBER 7, 2022
F‘Sign’ Up For That Perfect, Personal Holiday Gift
inding the right gift for just pausing to think about wooden sign that comes with dogs or cats. Or, you could in this case, seed packets. some of the people on the person it’s for. Making it three smaller signs hang- highlight places they traveled Here’s another idea: Have your Christmas list yourself shows how special ing from it. A lot of people to. There are lots of ways to the sign say, “In this kitchen,
can be difficult. It seems like they are to you. would decorate the top sign personalize this project and everything is cooked with
they already have everything they could want or need. For these folks, try making some- thing unique and personal. Do they have a favorite say- ing? Are they starting a new hobby or venture? You can come up with a great gift by
This week’s project is in- spired by someone’s passion for gardening and their genu- inely kind nature — but with a little creativity and imagina- tion you could personalize it to highlight any hobby or trait.
with patterned paper and add some wording. It’s especially nice for a family — add the family’s name to the large sign and use the smaller three squares for photos of family members.
5 Brush on a thin coat of Mod Podge over the top of the small squares to seal, especially the torn
edges. Let dry.
7 Optional: Glue wood clothespins behind the small squares on the bottom to hold photos or notes.
8 Assemble by placing the rings back onto the small squares and attaching to the larger piece. Braid some
twine or use some ribbon to make the hanger.
love” then add photos of your favorite family cooks and clip recipe cards to them. Have fun being creative and sharing!
6 On the larger piece, add the words “Plant Seeds of Kindness” using a paint marker, paint and paintbrush,
or die-cut letters. Add other designs like grass, flowers, hearts or even just dots/dashes. You could also collage more photos. Add a coat of Mod Podge if desired.
The base is an inexpensive
Maybe your person has
turn it into a great gift.
In my example, the photos were printed on plain paper and decoupaged onto the small squares. I glued little wooden clothespins behind the squares so the recipient could attach notes, photos or,
You can find this proj- ect sheet and many more at benfranklinhawaii.com.
SUPPLIES AND TOOLS:
• wood sign with three small hanging signs (No. 30220766)
• white acrylic paint (No. 77624882)
• leaf green acrylic paint (No. 77626440)
• black acrylic paint (No. 77624890)
• medium to wide flat brush
• letter die-cuts or stickers*
• three photos that match a plant
theme
• small wood clothespins
(No. 30227115)
• tacky glue (No. 1360916) • double-stick tape
(No. 30013284) • scissors
• pencil for tracing
• Mod Podge, glossy
(No. 1619071)
• 1-inch foam brush
(No. 30100057)
• Jute (No. 30222399)
*Note: You could handwrite words with a paint marker or paintbrush instead of using die-cut letters.
1 Before painting, make sure your wood pieces are clean, dry and dust free. Remove the rings
from the wood piece. Paint the three smaller pieces with black paint around the edges about a 1/2-inch on the sides and the top. Paint about 2 inches in from the bottom up. Allow to dry.
2 Paint the large piece with the green paint. You can paint it solid or in an ombre design. For an ombre effect, paint hori-
zontally across the wood, starting with the white at the top. Next, add a little green paint to the white, mix and paint another stripe overlapping the first. Keep adding more green as you paint more layers of stripes, each time overlapping and blending the color layers. The last bottom layer should be just the green. Let dry.
3 Print your photos out and use one of the squares to trace around and
cut them out.
4 Use the metal ring point to pierce
a hole through the
photo. Roll the ring
in the hole a little
to create a cleaner
finish. On the black
painted bottom of the
squares, use a white
paint marker or die
cuts to write “plant,”
“grow” and “share” under the photos. Tear the bottom of the photo about 1 inch up. Tape or glue to the square. Trim around the edge of the square if needed.