Posted by: Kelli
Nap time is not necessarily my favorite part of the day, but it ranks pretty high most of the time. The days when my boys don’t sleep at the same time, or the days they take extra short naps can be a little more difficult. I don’t always have something I want to accomplish during nap time. I just want that brief break from training, shepherding, disciplining, and serving.
Last week, I laid Cole down for his nap. Case was already asleep. My usual routine is to go drink the last sip of cold coffee I left in my cup and then find one small square of dark chocolate. Yes, I eat chocolate every day. On this particular day, everything was going as planned. I sat down on the couch to open the lap top.
And the door bell rang.
My stomach dropped hoping the boys would sleep through the ding. As I was walking to the front door to see why someone was here at 1:00 in the afternoon, I heard Cole start crying.
I recognized the FedEx uniform and opened the door. I showed no sense of frustration to the delivery man (my child waking to the doorbell really isn’t his fault), but on the inside I was quite annoyed that my light sleeper had awoken from a fifteen minute nap.
As the FedEx man asked me to sign for my package, I asked him if I could see who it was addressed to because I wasn’t expecting anything. As I glanced at the address, I informed him that the package was for someone on the next street over.
He apologized and left.
I tended to my crying baby and started the nap time process all over again.
For the last two or three years, I have done 90% of my Christmas shopping online. Most of it I do on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday. Otherwise, I wait for sales or free shipping days and go for it. I have never really enjoyed browsing or shopping for hours on end. Plus, we live in a big enough city that traffic gets crazy around December. Online shopping has worked best for us.
What happens when I do all of my shopping online?
The UPS man stops at our house every other day until all the boxes have been delivered. He pulls up, unloads a box, walks to the front stop, rings the doorbell, and walks away. He makes my life easy.
Until I had kids, and that silly little doorbell became a big issue.
Instead of sitting quietly during nap time standing guard for the UPS man and trying to beat him to the door before he rings the doorbell, I came up with a better solution.
A little sign for the doorbell. The sign kindly requests the delivery man to not ring the doorbell. Simple solution.
A sticky note does the trick too. I have learned this from experience, but please know it can blow away too after it loses its stick. 🙂
Here goes:
A DIY Tutorial on how to make a small and simple wooden sign for your doorbell.
Supplies:
-A wooden dog tag, or circle, or square or something. (You can find lots of these little wooden shapes at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.)
–Liquitex Matte Gel
-A credit card type object for smoothing out ripples in paper
-An old cloth and a few dabs of water for wiping away wet paper
-Printables from below or something you make PRINTED WITH A LASER PRINTER.
1. Print out the images I created below or make some of your own. Cut your printable down to size. If you use the ones I created below, you will see that the text is backward. It needs to be backward because when you lay it flat on your wood to transfer the words, it will create the mirror image.
If you create your own printable for this project, be sure to flip the words around backward before printing it out.
Also, keep in mind that YOU MUST PRINT THE WORDS OUT ON A LASER PRINTER. With a laser printer, the ink is essentially laying on top of the paper. You will be transferring that ink to the word. With an inkjet printer, the paper absorbs the ink, and it won’t transfer correctly.
2. Using your paint brush, paint the Liquitex Gel onto the image on the paper. Be sure you cover the entire image. You don’t need it globbed, but you need a good thorough layer.
3. You don’t need to rush, but before the gel dries, lay your paper flat against your wooden tag. Press it on, and use a credit card or something of the sort to smooth out any ripples.
4. Let the paper, gel, and wood tag sit until it fully dries. If you aren’t in a rush, just let it sit overnight. Otherwise, check it after an hour or so and determine if all the gel has dried.
5. Using a damp old cloth or rag, wipe away the paper on the tag. Get your wash cloth fairly wet but then ring out any drips. You have to have enough water for the paper to absorb. Start rubbing at the paper, and as it absorbs the water, it will begin turning to little balls or flakes of paper. Continue wiping away the paper until you clearly see your image mirrored on your wooden tag.
6. Drill a small hole in the top of your sign. Using twine, ribbon, or string, hang it on your doorbell.
