Monday, 14 January 2013
Valet box
This was a fun little project. Curly Makore and cherry.
A place for me to dump keys, wallet, cell phone, cuff links, watches, etc at the end of the day, so I’m not searching all over the house for them.
This is the first project I’ve built without drawing it all out in advance, like a thought puzzle!
Comments/suggestions welcome!
Crafty Puzzles
Christmas Gifts 2012
A little late in the game posting, but here are a few of the xmas gifts made this year. All “borrowed” from other lumberjock members (I hope ya’ll don’t mind too much). This really is my first year getting into woodworking, so its the first year I’ve been able to make gifts. I have to say, that it was truely more satisfying making and giving these then buying things or giving gift cards, and I believe they were more appreciated as well. It also helped me, by giving me a reason to try new things. There were four votive holders in all (didn’t get photos of the last one made). Two were maple and bubinga, one was maple and bloodwood, and the last purple heart and maple, finished with danish oil. The Cooler stand was for my inlaws, and was left unfinished so that they could finish it as desired (they whitewashed an outdoor TV cabinet I made for them earlier this year, and Im no good at that stuff) Its made from some 2×6 pine spared from thier bonfire last year. If I get to do anotherone, i will not be using 2×6’s. After rough milling, every board was twisted and cupped to one degree or another, and it was pain getting everything close to straight again. All that aside, everyone loved thier gifts, and I can’t wait till next year to do more.
Take care, and thanks for reading
David
Crafty Puzzles
My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #932: New Directions
Another weekend has quickly passed us by. Most of the snow has melted here, and there are only remnants of the piles that were left from plowing only last week. The weather has settled into that dull and dreary pattern of not really cold, but definitely not warm either. Could winter be over already?
My weekend went quickly. I made a conscious effort to focus on the two articles that I was working on for Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine and I am happy to say that I reached my goals with them and they are finished. It is funny how I can write here off the top of my head each morning and present what is actually a ‘mini-article’ many times, yet when I have to formally do one for the magazine it sometimes takes me days. You would think that it would be much like writing here and after an hour or so I would be done, but there is something with me that takes a great deal of effort to organize my thoughts and present them in an effective way for the magazine. Perhaps one day I will figure it out.
In any case, it was late afternoon when I finished and I decided to take the rest of the evening to goof off and do silly things that I wanted to do that had nothing whatsoever to do with the business. Even that is hard to do sometimes because as most of you know I eat, sleep and breath with my business in mind most of the time. Doing other things is sometimes much more like work than actual working for me.
But I needed a small break and it felt good to bask in the sense of accomplishment that I was feeling after completing these articles. I rewarded myself with spending some time playing one of my favorite hidden object puzzle games for a bit without any guilt whatsoever.
With today being Monday, it is a great day to start new things. I have a great idea for some new patterns that I am going to do for my painting people, as well as some more new scrolling patterns. I am going to work on both of them this week and I am anxious to see them come to life.
On the painting front, believe it or not it is time for me to starting thinking about the autumn and Halloween seasons already. Here we still have snow on the ground and I need to start focusing on those seasons for the Artist’s Club. I would love to have a couple of additional patterns represented there for this year. We truly enjoyed the variety of doing the production work for them last year and hope to have some success with it this year too.
I have many new ideas for the painting kit side of the business that I need to develop. It seems like a while since I painted and I miss it and want to be sure to offer new things in that area too.
So much to do . . .
It’s all good though. Keith came up with another new design yesterday that he cut out and I think it is awesome! Every time I see his new designs, I am in awe. It is great to have such a creative partner to work with. There are often times when we have different ideas as to what we are doing and how things should be, but I believe that in our business that is a benefit, not a liability. It gives our business so much more dimension and helps us offer patterns that will appeal to a much broader customer base. And that is a good thing.
So I will sign off for today. I am anxious to get started on the new things ahead. I am excited about all the new directions we are heading and I can’t wait to get started. It is going to be a wonderful week!
Happy Monday!
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Crafty Puzzles
My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #932: New Directions
Another weekend has quickly passed us by. Most of the snow has melted here, and there are only remnants of the piles that were left from plowing only last week. The weather has settled into that dull and dreary pattern of not really cold, but definitely not warm either. Could winter be over already?
My weekend went quickly. I made a conscious effort to focus on the two articles that I was working on for Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine and I am happy to say that I reached my goals with them and they are finished. It is funny how I can write here off the top of my head each morning and present what is actually a ‘mini-article’ many times, yet when I have to formally do one for the magazine it sometimes takes me days. You would think that it would be much like writing here and after an hour or so I would be done, but there is something with me that takes a great deal of effort to organize my thoughts and present them in an effective way for the magazine. Perhaps one day I will figure it out.
In any case, it was late afternoon when I finished and I decided to take the rest of the evening to goof off and do silly things that I wanted to do that had nothing whatsoever to do with the business. Even that is hard to do sometimes because as most of you know I eat, sleep and breath with my business in mind most of the time. Doing other things is sometimes much more like work than actual working for me.
But I needed a small break and it felt good to bask in the sense of accomplishment that I was feeling after completing these articles. I rewarded myself with spending some time playing one of my favorite hidden object puzzle games for a bit without any guilt whatsoever.
With today being Monday, it is a great day to start new things. I have a great idea for some new patterns that I am going to do for my painting people, as well as some more new scrolling patterns. I am going to work on both of them this week and I am anxious to see them come to life.
On the painting front, believe it or not it is time for me to starting thinking about the autumn and Halloween seasons already. Here we still have snow on the ground and I need to start focusing on those seasons for the Artist’s Club. I would love to have a couple of additional patterns represented there for this year. We truly enjoyed the variety of doing the production work for them last year and hope to have some success with it this year too.
I have many new ideas for the painting kit side of the business that I need to develop. It seems like a while since I painted and I miss it and want to be sure to offer new things in that area too.
So much to do . . .
It’s all good though. Keith came up with another new design yesterday that he cut out and I think it is awesome! Every time I see his new designs, I am in awe. It is great to have such a creative partner to work with. There are often times when we have different ideas as to what we are doing and how things should be, but I believe that in our business that is a benefit, not a liability. It gives our business so much more dimension and helps us offer patterns that will appeal to a much broader customer base. And that is a good thing.
So I will sign off for today. I am anxious to get started on the new things ahead. I am excited about all the new directions we are heading and I can’t wait to get started. It is going to be a wonderful week!
Happy Monday!
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Crafty Puzzles
Answer - Week 2 - Thursday - British Mensa
via Crafty Puzzles http://www.mensa.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=2589
Mensa Brainteaser - Week 3 - Monday - British Mensa
via Crafty Puzzles http://www.mensa.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=2588