Tin Sifter Flour Sign

Welcome to the Bloggers Fall Tour Of Ideas. 

 I'm glad you're here, and so are the other 20 blogs with at least 20 more ideas and projects that are waiting for you in the links below, hosted by Angie at Postcards From The Ridge.

Mantels and Tablescapes, Porches & Decks, Decor, Wreaths, Crafts and signs. A little bit of everything, with hopefully something to inspire you for a project of your own. There is a tour graphic below and all you need to do is click the links to visit the other blogs, but don't go just yet, I've crafted up a sign I want to show 'ya.

The ideas tour might be arriving as we head into Fall, but my project won't be fall-ish looking. Instead you'll have to use your imagination, because mine will be fall-ish smelling.

In Minnesota we like to make our summer last as long as possible, and when the leaves actually change that's my cue that fall has arrived, the apples are ready for pie baking, and the days might be cool enough to turn the oven on.

I don't have to remind everyone what an unusual year 2020 has been, we all live every day with the ever changing new rules and information. For me this changing landscape of life has left me a little creatively .... dry ... I guess would be a good word. I haven't exactly been tearing through the days creating much, the ideas are just not flowing.

 

Lots of folks have turned to their kitchens over the past six months to bake and prepare more meals, some due to either more time on their hands and necessity, or because home really has become their castle but the castle didn't come with a cook. 

 

Spring and Summer saw more families getting very comfortable in their kitchens. Now we are going into the third season of change and wondering what is this Fall chapter is going to bring?

Bread. Fall is going to bring more home baked bread.

Probably more baking right through the Winter months too. Thighs the size of Texas anyone?

Men and women who have never baked bread prior to 2020 are now versed in the terminology of yeast and rising dough. Muffins? They come in countless varieties and are easy to make into a treat or healthy breakfast. Homemade birthday cakes and countless other floury goodies. Old fashioned baking ways are being embraced once again and I'll bet some bakers are even using a vintage gadget to get their baking done, a flour sifter.

   

I've had an old sifter for almost 40 years. In my early days of wife-ing I learned to make bread as my grandmother and my mother in law did, and I used this sifter along with that tedious baking task.  My mom went to the store and just bought a loaf.

These days I use my bread machine even though I still think the way my gramma made bread from scratch tasted much better. She was a baker for priests in Minneapolis and her breads and sweet rolls were very well known, but there was nothing fast about her process, and that time commitment is probably why my mom picked hers up in the bread isle of the local Safeway.

But Fall is the perfect time to have the smell of fresh bread wafting through the air. Mmmm mmm. 

Fall is also a good time to make a low calorie sign so those thighs don't get any bigger.
 

This little red handled sifter, the kind you had to crank the wooden knob, has an honest to goodness antique patina on it and I wanted to get it out of the dark cabinet and use it once again.

But I had no intention of turning the handle to sift flour for making bread. Most days I am my mothers daughter.

My preference was to have the sifter cut in half for use on a sign.

My readers know I like to use Old Sign Stencils on any project I can. Using pre-made stencils makes fast work of lettering and I can whip up a project in less time than making a loaf of bread, even faster than using my bread machine, but maybe not quite as fast as my mom running to the corner store.

But occasionally the words I want on a sign are unique to me, so I have to make the stencils myself, which doesn't stop me from using my Old Sign Stencils where I can.

For this sign, I decided on the smaller of the two OSS grain sack stripe for the edge of the board. So much easier than taping off a length. 

Speaking of the board...... I used one of those prefinished closet/shelf boards you can find at the lumber yard. They come in wood grained, white, black, etc., but I still paint over them. I use whatever sign size piece of something is on hand in the garage.

The board is 41" long and 12" wide, a good hefty size.  I painted it with Fusion Mineral Paint Champlain, which is my favorite not bright white.

Like I said, sometimes I need a sign to say something specific, so I make my own stencil from cardstock in my cutting machine - I had to tape it together at the bottom because I suck at measuring and spacing.
 

My fictitious flour company needed a name, so I enlisted the help of three of my offspring who were within earshot. I asked for suggestions and then we voted. I liked all three of the choices; Red Handle Flour Company, Blue Stripe Flour Company, and the winner.............

                                               Tin Sifter Flour Company

The red handle of the half sifter already had a loop on the inside, so it was fastened to the wood with a screw and then another one was put through another loop on the outside and both hold the whole, no wait.... the half... thing nice and secure.

The font I chose had a center cut out, so I used the piece of cardstock letter to go back in and stencil that detail on. I also didn't want to paint the red knob or the well worn red handle, so decided to use a vintage blue and Fort York Red, two colors often seen together in the olden days of bread making.

The colors of the sign might not be very Fall like, and are a departure from the normally neutral colors I tend to use, but I really like the vintage-y look, and the best time to bake cake, pastry or bread isn't in the hot summer anyhow.

This sign turned out pretty nice, I think I'm going to sell it. To who, I don't know. I just know that as much as I like it, I have ZERO wall space to put it on.

The lettering below the sifter is also from one of my Old Sign Stencils. I mix and match any time I can, plus it saves time over making my own on cardstock.

Just don't stop in at my house expecting to see me harvesting wheat or to buy any bread flour from the Tin Sifter Co.. Bread flour was hard to come by around April and May, but I'm not sure if that's still the case because I have a son who works at a grocery store and when he spotted a large bag of traditional bread flour he brought one home for me.  I can bake bread now till the cows come home.

Below are all the links to the other bloggers on the Fall Ideas Tour. Easy peasy for you.....just click on the name of each blog.
   

Fall Mantel Decor Ideas

Hearth & Vine // Thistle Key Lane // Calypso in the Country // Virginia Sweet Pea // At Lane and High

Fall Tablescape Decor Ideas

What Meegan Makes // Saw, Nail, and Paint // DIY Beautify // Harbour Breeze Home // Southern Yankee DIY

Fall Porch and Deck Decor Ideas

Vin’yet Etc  // Sand Dollar Lane // Worthing Court Blog // Redhead Can Decorate

Fall Tiered Tray Decor Ideas

Postcards from the Ridge // Cottage at the Crossroads // Our Crafty Mom // Domestically Speaking

Fall DIY Crafts

2 Bees in a Pod // Bliss Ranch // Marty's Musings

And what does Fall really looks like around Bliss Ranch? I will leave you with the photo below..... it's dahlia harvesting time!

Quick Links:

Old Sign Stencils

Fusion Mineral Paint