Pine tar - a sticky situation

                                                    Winter is here in full swing.

Winter in the mountains- looks pretty and I love the various shades of grey & clouds.

 We've got snow on the ground but it's melting in the rain, while our wood stove is burning away the dampness & making our home warm and cozy. 

Winter in the Kootenays -  hoping to see the sun some time... soon?

Our walnut tree covered in fresh snow.

I love our wood stove and wood heat... but I hate getting sticky hands from the sap.

I loaded the stove this morning ... with my bare hands! How silly.

Stacked firewood- the culprit- it doesn't look sticky, does it?

 I know better, but in my defence, the gloves weren't there, so I took a chance and wouldn't you know it... a big gooey blob of pine tar was oozing from the chunk of firewood and of course I got it all over my hand.

 If you're not familiar with pine tar, sap, pitch or whatever you want to call it- it's the stickiest stuff you can get. Just like in National Lampoons' Christmas Vacation... where Chevy Chase is trying to read a magazine in bed and the pages stick to his hands :) 

Anyhow, that was me this morning. 

Luckily I know how to get rid of it, easily & quickly and thought I'd share my tip with you, in case you didn't know.

All you need is margarine, hot water & liquid dish soap!

 I wiped the blob off on a piece of newspaper. Then I got a tablespoon sized chunk of margarine and used it like a bar of soap on my hands, rubbing them together and getting them good and greasy.

  Then used some hot water to wash off what I could... now they're greasy- but not sticky, so... then I used a bit of Sunlight (any kind should work) liquid dish soap and rubbed & coated my hands with it. Finally used hot water to wash it all off. Bingo! Works like a charm! 

 So, there you go, if you ever get into a sticky situation with pine tar on your skin, you'll know how to get it off!  (I haven't tried this on clothing and hopefully won't have to.)

 

Love the splash of red of these mountain ash berries.

Taz... our grand dog- he loves the snow :)

 "Beauty is all around us. Sometimes we just have to look harder to find it".
Have an awesome day! Please leave a comment, so I know you were here :)

Angie

 

  

 

Looking for a logo for my shop!

Happy 2016!
I'm hoping it's a wonderful year for you.

To kick off the New Year,  I'm going to try to do some of the things that I've "been meaning to do".
 Something I've put aside for a long time is to have a logo for my small business- Smiling Blue Dog gifts. As my business grows, it seems that I should be doing some kind of branding so that my customers can recognize me - anywhere, on-line and off. So this is a start.


What I'd like is something: simple, blue & white, easily recognizable & memorable. I want it to appear professional and friendly... am I asking a lot? Probably, but I'm also hoping it will be fun.
  I want to be able to print it (on stickers,) and intend to get a rubber stamp made using this logo, so I can stamp my envelopes and any correspondence (electronic or hand written).
 I'll be needing new business cards soon, so now's a good time to get on it!

I would love it if some designers would post their logo ideas, and if I find THE one I want to use- I will pay up to $25.00 for it. I know that's not a lot of $ but it's better than nothing AND it would get a lot of exposure! Of course I'll be telling everyone where I got it!

  I have made a hand-drawn design I like (see photo below). It would be nice to see some other ideas, so I'm posting this offer to see what happens...

Now after writing this, it seems a bit presumptuous on my part... sorry about that, but I'm still going to post this & cross my fingers...

This is a rough draft of the logo I've designed for my Smiling Blue Dog gifts shop.
Have you got a better idea?