Ghosts & yardsticks

When I was on vacation, I stopped into a used book store and found a couple of great big books I couldn't resist. Two volumes cataloging handmade lettering from advertisements and painted signs from the 1940s to the 1970s! That was only a couple weeks ago and I've already used them many times when looking for ideas. I've been working on coming out with this year's Christmas card design and it features a ghost so I had to pick a ghostly lettering style I could manage.

I employed my new watercolor set and wrote "ghost Ghost GHOST ghost etc." until the word started losing meaning. I ended up deciding not to use any of my practice styles but really liked the page of words as it's own thing. Ghost is one of my favorite words and least favorite concepts.

I bet you are looking at the picture of the ghost practice sheet and thinking, "yeah whatever, tell me about that neat ruler situation you've got going on behind it."

The ruler thing happened the other day when I went to mail an order at the post office. I have a bad habit of dropping off orders and then walking home past the thrift store and spending my profit from the sale I was mailing! This week's haul was an irresistible bunch of 28 vintage wooden yardsticks for FIVE DOLLARS! So, I impulse bought them all without having a plan and walked home with my bundle. I immediately regretted the purchase because I already have too many neat things I don't know what to do with collecting dust in my home. But I got lucky this time when I set the stack of yardsticks down on our fake credenza thing made of unfinished kitchen cabinets. The yardsticks fit the cabinet tops perfectly! I have been meaning to make a nice top for those ugly things for two years.

I haven't finished the yardstick project yet but I'm pretty sure it will look better than anything else in our house.