Goodbye 2011! I'll Never Forget You!

Right before the holiday, I had several projects to complete.

A friend asked if there was any way I might be able to work in a sign for her family before Christmas.
We talked about what she wanted, and it turned out she'd seen a sample of mine from early this year that she liked.  Her parents are farmers and are now John Deere users.  She brought me some pictures of the farm and I set up the file for the carve in less than 10 minutes.

After about 20 minutes of carving, the 3/4" Azek was ready for primer and paint.  I decided to not strictly stick to the John Deere colors for the sign, but to give them a little more depth and color.  The green background includes 4 glazes of varying colors including a metallic green gold that gave it some really neat highlights.

Finally, a small oval in the sign received some airbrushed clouds and hand painted silhouettes of their home and original tractor.  The John Deere used to harvest is also on there and is shown hard at work...

Once all the projects were done, and the presents were wrapped....it was time to travel to spend the holiday with family.  My daughter is always excited to see Grandma, Grandpa, her aunt and cousin.  We ate too much food and generally enjoyed the mild weather.  Multiple trips down to Grandma and Grandpa's lake were taken.  I even let Elena do some driving in the 4 wheel cart! She was in heaven.  I'm afraid, though, she has a bit of a lead foot...note how much her mother, Ashley, is holding on to the bar for dear life!

As 2011 draws to a close, I realize that it's been a wild and amazing year.  The business is rapidly growing and I've had the very good fortune to see some of my work make it into magazines, newspapers and more.  I've had the opportunity to paint murals with old and new friends and spend time doing work that I love.  Robots, murals, rockets and signs filled my dreams and my days.  I've only scratched the surface of what's possible and am so excited to consider what's ahead.

One change is the name.  The new year will bring the new and more appropriate name for my company- "Haffner's Fantastic Creations".  I will be leaving the website for  "Haffner Signs" in place so people who know that name can still find me.  It's going to be a great year!

I hope you'll stay with us and watch!  Happy New Year to you all! See you in 2012.