Here in Michigan we are bounding like a herd of turtles towards fifty degrees.  I happily turned the calendar to April this morning indicating nice weather is getting closer and closer.

Last week I posted a picture of a work in progress on an unfinished hornbook. I was debating whether to stain or paint it. Decisions these days are influenced by the stay at home measures we are all taking.  Engaging in the 6 foot distance, my neighbor offered me a gel stain called Antique Maple. I was hoping to get a stain to pick up the color of the blankets on the ewe. This was my first time using a gel stain.  It has the consistency of pudding. The directions say to apply heavily with a cloth and let sit for 3 minutes before wiping off the excess stain. I didn’t like working with the gel, however, the color turned out well. I then used Briwax to seal the hornbook, which darkened the stain slightly.  This pattern is from Doreen Frost. Doreen creates such lovely things. The little red berries are French knots added once the punching is complete. I got the hornbook from Tara Guernsey at Perfect Prim. Well, that’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by.