Another question that I am asked quite frequently at painting events is, "Where do you get these wood signs?" To which I quickly respond, "They magically appear!"
This is the absolute TRUTH! I am not kidding you when I say that I literally write down the sizes of signs that I need and a date that I need them by, and they MAGICALLY APPEAR! My husband is pretty amazing like that.
Danny makes so many trips to Home Depot that I swear he has friends there....I can almost hear the theme song from "Cheers" playing when I think of him walking into that place. He loves it there! Don't get me wrong, I like Home Depot and I know their paint department like the back of my hand, but to say that Danny "likes" Home Depot would be an understatement. Family members have literally suggested that we buy stock in the company. You will see what I mean by this in a moment....
Anyways, the signs....Danny has gotten really good at woodworking. He can make any sign, box, or clock that I request. He has even started building furniture. He is super talented and not afraid to try making something new. The signs you see at each event have been carefully constructed and sanded for you. Each sign has been built with care right here in our barn. When you attend one of our events, you can be sure that you are getting a quality sign!
Our workshop is a very busy place! I am super proud of it and of Danny. Our barn was built less than a year ago and slowly all of the details are coming together. Every tool and piece of equipment is finding a home! Speaking of tools, the ONLY color tool you will find at our workshop (or in our home for that matter) is Ryobi green. Now, Danny is not picky. He is very easy going and usually not one to get stuck on name brands. EXCEPT when it comes to Ryobi. I am not sure when this all started, but at some point he became a tool snob. He won't use any tool that isn't Ryobi, in fact, I don't think he has any that aren't green.
Two funny stories come to mind regarding Ryobi:
1. Last summer our pool vacuum stopped working. And as the pool got to a point where I had to figure something out, I suggested that maybe I should go to the pool store and pick up a vacuum or maybe even jump on Amazon and look at prices. Those ideas were quickly shot down when Danny realized that Ryobi made pool vacuums. WONDERFUL! Great, I volunteered to stop at Home Depot and grab one. Nope, not that easy! Unfortunately, nobody else in the United States likes Ryobi tools as much as we do because the company does not even sell them in the US. No worries, Danny located a company overseas and that "special delivery" showed up on our doorstep about a month later;) But, boy do I love it. It runs on battery and if you are looking for a pretty great pool vacuum, look no further! That thing can really clean a pool bottom and BOY did our pool need it!
2. The next funny Ryobi story happened the day we took a family shopping trip to Birch Run. It was a great day! We hit an antique store, took the kids to Bronner's, went to a few outlet stores and Birch Run, and had a nice lunch! It was my perfect day. We were just about to leave the outlets and head home when a few of the kids needed to use the bathroom. I ran into the rest area there at Birch Run with 2 of the kids and Danny stayed in the car with my nephews and our oldest. The kids and I returned to the car to find it empty and running in the parking lot. I really didn't know what to do. I didn't know where they went, I figured they left the car on so that I could get in, but I couldn't figure out where they would have went as shopping really isn't Danny's favorite. I decided to wait in the car and figured they wouldn't be gone too long. I sat there for awhile and began to get a bit nervous. Just then, they all came walking toward the car with shopping bags in hand. Low and behold, Birch Run has a RYOBI outlet store! OMGoodness…….this is real! Danny had already made some purchases, put them in the car, and then made me go back in so that I could see it first hand. LOL....It was magical! This was by far his favorite shopping trip and his new favorite store!
Ryobi is the tool of choice at our house! I snapped a few pictures of our workshop so you could see where all of our signs are made. If you share Danny's love of Ryobi, or are looking for a tool, we suggest Ryobi. In fact, there are some links below for some of the tools we use.
After each sign is assembled, it is sanded to prepare the surface for paint. This is a picture of our Ryobi Orbital Sander.
This is our 12in compound miter saw.
This picture shows our Ryobi 18 V Impact Drill, Ryobi 18 Gauge Brad Nailer, a Ryobi 18V cordless drill, and a Ryobi belt sander. These all help in the assembly of each sign.
These fans are amazing! They are easy to take with me to parties that aren't in the barn because they are battery powered! (They really came in handy at the party we lost power during). The 6 station battery charger definitely makes for fast charging!
This Ryobi battery powered stick Vacuum really makes clean up a breeze! (This one is mine!) ;)
This is our Ryobi pool vacuum.
This last picture is not a Ryobi but is definitely worth mentioning. It is a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. It is used to create a strong joint between two boards. Danny has used it in his furniture projects and also some frame work.
