Put your family on the wall.

I hate to admit this was a last-minute wedding gift... I should really consider changing my blog's name to "The Master Procrastinator", though I'm sure it's already taken by a kindred spirit.

I got J involved in this one by asking him (at dinner the night before the wedding... yes, really) to cut a piece of wood for me. After telling him of my gift-making plans for the evening, I believe his exact words were, with eyebrows raised, "Are you serious?" He was pleased to find in the garage not only a scrap piece of wood already cut in the dimensions I asked for, but also a belt sander to quickly accomplish my request of sanding all of the edges.

The next steps were for me to apply the base color, the crackle medium, the top color, paint on the lettering, and paint on the varnish. No, it did not happen that quickly. There was a lot of drying time in between each of those steps. It was a bit of a long night, but I got my craft on so it was worth it. Here's the finished gift (If I ever finish a project in the daylight hours, I will have a non-crappy photo to share with you. Please, don't hold your breath.):

Though it is laying on a rug in this photo, it is intended to hang on the wall. The newlyweds' home features black and red accessories (as discovered on their registries), so I think I am safe with the colors I chose (red base coat, black crackle on top). I hope they have a white wall on which to hang this, as I think that would look smashing. I am so happy with this, that I plan to make one for our wall, too. Some day night...