The Wheels Turn Slowly

Not that wheel! I mean, sometimes that one turns slowly, and sometimes quickly. Lately it's been turning very noisily, which I need to address but haven't yet.  No, I mena the gears in my brain. I've been working on a couple of ideas for sideline products - and by "working on," I mean briefly remembering that they exist - for maybe two years now. One of those is handmade address numbers for homes. It's been rattling around in my brain since I made a set for my own house. I made a couple of sets for relatives for Christmas, and they came out well - now it's time to make the prototypes and templates.

I did some quick math, first: if I want the numbers to be 4" high after firing, I have to make them...let's see...4.6. So, 4 5/8, if I don't feel like switching to metric. I would, if I had a need to be precise, but a finished size of 4-ish inches works here. I'm feeling good about all the letters except maybe the 8...the 0 also maybe needs the hole a little bigger. I want them to look like they belong together, a sorta-casual, funky, handmade font...the 8 is a little bit formal, the 0 a little bit cartoonish.

Or perhaps I'm over-thinking again.

Anyway, got these cut out, and the edges compressed...now for the slow work of preventing warping. The easiest way would be to dry between two pieces of drywall, but I only have one. So I put down some newsprint beneath the letters, covered them with plastic, and put a towel over that, and a bat on top of that. That's how I persuaded these soon-to-be Christmas ornaments to stay flat.

Yes, I made Christmas ornaments. In February. As I say, the wheels turn slowly! If I want to have them in December, I have to start now. I don't do much Christmas decorating myself - I'm a "quiet contemplation" kinda lady, myself - but when I saw this cookie cutter, it made immediately imagine the fun of decorating these. I'm not much for sweets (WHO AM I KIDDING?? I am TOO much for sweets, that's the problem) but as a tree ornament? Kinda clever, right?