First complainer is next week's cook!

Do you ever have times when something you say to your kids totally backfires?  This project is one of those.

When I was growing up my grandmother had a cross stitch hanging up in her house (and I'm trying to remember if it is still up in her new house).  It has a picture of an old fashioned stove and the following motto:

"Sit at the table, take a look.  First complainer is next week's cook!"

I'm probably the only one whose kids grumble about supper right?  My 6 year old especially.  Supper time just for whatever reason ticks him off and for the longest time he would be grouchy every.single.day about having to eat supper (I work nights and leave right after supper so that is probably why).  So I decided to replicate grandma's motto in vinyl over our huge doorway into the living room.  I've been putting it off because it is such a huge project (the doorway is 8 feet!) and I needed to keep this wooden church thing there.  So I finally had some time the other day and after I pimped my mixer I started to work on this project.  Before I get into the nitty gritty of it I should explain how it backfired.  The kids started to sound it out and so we read it together and then they decided to start complaining bitterly about supper.  Why?  Because the only thing they can "cook" is TV dinners.  And for whatever reason TV dinners are a hot commodity in this house.  I don't know if it is because there is usually a desert with it or that you can pick your own or that there is sometimes no vegetable...  So they thought if they complained every night we could eat TV dinners instead....  SIGH.

So to create this project, first I measured my doorframe.  8 feet.  I figured I would leave 2 feet on each side empty so that left me with 4 feet wide and I think it was 9 or 10 inches tall.  So I created that space and wrote my words until I got the font right and the right size.  Then I set my mat for 12 x12 since my vinyl that I was using was 12x12  I had 3 sheets but I only used 2.  So then I worked until I got the words all on 2 sheets of vinyl.  I cut them apart by lines.  Then I cut my transfer tape to 4 feet and laid it out on the floor and lined my words up for the first part-I actually started with the longer one  (first complainer is next week's cook).  I marked my spot, leaving room for the church (DH's grandmother's church-also the church where we got married!) and applied my letters.  Notice I picked a thicker font so they applied well.  Then I repeated it for the top line and centered it and added them.  Done!