Most of the doors I have done have had a wildlife theme to them so I was pleasantly surprised when my neighbor asked me to make a garden themed door featuring her favorite flower—the sunflower. Her other request was that it not have a lower section of screen as her dog would damage it. So I sat down to work up a template. I do most of my template work on the computer. I just find it easier to move things around until I’m satisfied with the design.

On the template I was able to mimic a garden trellis and her “Rose of Sharon” that are in her garden while adding the “gate” to keep her dog inside. When I showed her the template I suggested that maybe she’d prefer to have Welcome across the gate instead of more flowers. She loved the idea. Other than that small change I am really pleased by how much the door resembles the original template. I find it eases my mind when I work…less worrying “will they like this or that”...

When I delivered the door she became a bit emotional. She recently lost her mother (92 years old) and she said, “I didn’t realize that you were going to have a bluebird on the door. My mother always called then, “The bluebird of happiness.” Now when I see it I’ll think of her and how she loved this garden because the bluebird of happiness will always be here.” It was very touching.

So far the best part of building these screen doors is the reactions from the people who order them. They all seem to be great stories.

Well, the kids and the doors kept me pretty busy this summer but I’ve finally packed them off to school and thought that I would share my latest screen doors wtih my fellow LJ’s.

The Moose door was a surprise birthday gift from a hubby to a wife. Originally she was from Canada and she says that “Moose are like home”. She spent her birthday at the State Fair with her sister and didn’t return home until 9:30 at night. When she finally came home she was so surprised she just couldn’t stop giggling. That’s when she decided to call me…at 10 PM. “It’s AWESOME!” followed by hysterical laughter was all I could hear when I picked up the phone. Two days later she was still talking about it…And her hubby was heard chanting, “My door is better than your door” upon entering my mom’s house. I think I’ll consider them satisfied customers. LOL.

PS I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed making the antlers on this projects. I made the front antler on a seperate piece of wood and attached them together using glue and screws (from the back) to create a 3-D effect that is quite nice up close. I can’t wait to try the technique again.

This is yet another screen door…and a half! My Uncle turned 75 this week and I wanted to surprise him with a screen door but last week was Mother’s Day and I wanted to surprise Mom with one too. So I started working on my mother’s screen door and told her the whole time that I was working on my Uncle’s. The old bait and switch!

After Mother’s Day I settled down to making my Uncle’s Screen door. After the first day my hubby was only luke warm about the design and it went down hill from there. He kept saying that the Eagle looked like a PARROT! I spent two full days trying to “fix” the problem. The door is due at a Surprise Party on Saturday. Wednesday night my hubby says, “It’s not your best work. Why don’t we go get a new piece of wood and start over.” NOW???? Thursday I had to do party prep until 4 p.m. so I didn’t get started on the door until 4:30. I worked rapidly, and very carefully until midnight. In that space of time I drew the layout, jigsawed, dremel-ed, sanded, stained & painted. And preceded to bed where I enjoyed the best five hours sleep of my life. I rushed into the basement in the morning and poly-ed then went off to day two of party prep. I returned Friday night to attach the screen and the back frame and another coat of poly. It was still a bit tacky on the edges of the door Saturday morning but overall, I was proud of the result. And hubby loves the new Eagle…no more parrots here!

I’ll re-purpose the bottom of the door into a mirror as a raffle item for a local Epilepsy Foundation fundraiser. Hopefully, it will do well for them. My Uncle loved his surprise door and I think he’s really happy with it.

A few days back many of you fine Lumberjocks came to my rescue when my old (and I mean ancient) Black and Decker Router went awry. You may have read and commented on my blog posts when I sent out my urgent SOS and subsequent Thank You…but even you don’t know the whole story behind this nightmare door!

Normally a screen door project takes me two maybe three days to complete—start to finish but this door took me six days straight! The reasons it took me so much longer are somewhat simple to understand but very diffiucult to imagine. I began the door by chalking out the design. The design is much more complicated than my normal designs but it’s for my Mom so I planned on taking my time and doing it perfectly (yeah, right!). All went fine with the chalking and the jigsawing. I spent days dremeling all the detail into the pine tree, adding texture to the rock cliffs, enhancing the deer, and finally tucking an owl into the other tree. And then came time to router the oval “frame” into the door. This is where things began to go terribly wrong. My router managed to squeeze up under my oval template and carved a chunk out of the frame. With the help of all the Lumberjocks I figured out how to do my first patch job. It took me three hours of increasing valuable time but I was satisfied for my first attempt. But that wasn’t the only router mishap and the next was even worse!

So I flipped the door over to router a channel for the screen and screen spline to sit into. I’ve done it many times before. However, this time my router wiggled a nut loose and it PLUNGED through the door right into the “V” of the oval frame (luckily not near the patch job). This would be understandable if I had a plunge router but I did NOT! I nearly cried. How could my router hate me so much? After a second of self pity I took a deep breath and repaired the plunge with my second patch job (and this one was impossible to see—I must learn quickly—LOL). Hubby came home, listened to the story and suggested that even though I normally round over all the edges in my designs with the router…maybe I shoud skip that step. I agreed. So I stained the door with the base coat color (Minwax Gel Stain Antique Maple). After which I added the pine cone and branch dremel-ed detail. And then the rest of the stain colors overtop and then coat after coat of poly.

Now all that’s left is to attach the screen and add the wooden frame for the back of the door. Simple, Right? WRONG! My spline and screen refused to stay put. I tried glue and then resorted to staples something I’ve never had to do before…Darn that router! Once the screen was on and tightly stretched we attached the back frame. Using the same screws that we used on the last door. Four screws came through the front of the door slightly! Can you believe it? I couldn’t. Neither could my husband. A small (not even noticable mistake) that nearly sent me over the edge of sanity! So, not having smaller screws available at 9:00 p.m. on the Eve of Mother’s Day we decided to set the screws in at an angle…and pray. We were lucky and had no more issues. And the Door was Done! Finally!!!

We went to breakfast with Mom this morning and just after my kids and hubby went out to the truck I said, “Oh, I forgot to give you your gift!” I reached into my purse and produced a small box. She could not understand why I had given her two packages of hinges…until she got to her truck!

Needless to say…She was very happy and refuses to see ANY mistakes. And what did I get for Mother’s Day. Check out the new additions in my workshop photos.

I was inspired by Dusty56's weather station and he was kind enough to encourage me to try this fun project myself! With his advice I immediately ordered the kit from WoodCraft. I made the weather station for my mother who is an avid weather watcher. Just today she informed me that the temperature outside was a brisk -7 degrees!

The project was simple and straight forward~although I worried through every step that I would break the glass “Galileo thermometer”. I matched the finish to a small antique clock my mother has always loved.

I was inspired by jerry118's adjustable music stand. This was my first real attempt at hidden joinery techniques. I really had a lot of fun (when I wasn’t frustrated with my own lack of knowledge). I made some rookie mistakes. Luckily, hubby was able to advise me how to correct them without scraping the whole darned project~LOL. The wood types are Curly Maple and Cherry. There is a stablizing brass hinge at the top and friction lid hinge to allow for adjustablility. For height adjustability there is a removable peg.

I gave the music stand to my father for Christmas in 3 different packages. The first package had just the peg. My father’s sense of humor about what the different possibilites for the peg could be had everyone laughing. The second package had the base. He really was dumbfounded now. And the laughter continued! And finally he opened the last package (which he had guessed was a snow shovel) and was very surprised. This is the first gift I’ve given him in 10 years (or more) that he HASN’T correctly guessed before opening! It made for a fun Christmas Morning!

Hi all,

Well due to circumstances beyond my control (lightning hit a nearby transformer frying my fridge, computer and tv—don’t worry the tools are ok!) I haven’t been able to get on here for a while but I’m back with my last screen door project that was delivered on Halloween. As of right now I’ve got 5 orders for more screen doors for early spring. I can hardly believe the demand for these! So to protect myself and the people who are buying them hubby says it’s time for a DBA. Would love any advice you may have.

About three years ago my Hubby and I had finished our biggest project…our log cabin. So, I decided to surprise him with this carving (using my old craftsman rotary tool). At the time, his Dad had just been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and was living with us. It was a real “down” time around here. So I grabbed a piece of scrap wood and the rotary tool and cleared off my kitchen counter top. I drew my design onto the wood and started carving away. Soon, my father in law was standing at my elbow, watching my every move. He was giving suggestions, and laughing at my uncertainty. When I was finished he helped me sweep up the dust and hide all the “evidence” before hubby came home from work. The next day we worked on the finish. It was real high tech stuff…leftover stain from the cabin, leftover craft paints from another project, and 3 coats of spray on Shellac!

My hubby loved the sign (despite the fact that it wasn’t square) and it’s hanging next to our front door. My favorite part was the renewed spirit it brought back to my father-in-law. He’d just stand there and shake his head and laugh. That was a good thing.

I was on vacation when I saw some beautiful carved screen doors. I wanted one sooo badly but they were way out of my price range…So being a rather handy lady I went home and attempted to make myself a replica of the door. I was very happy with my first attempt. My hubby even took a picture to work with him to show to his co-workers. Next thing you know I’ve got an order for a double door featuring beavers (don’t ask me why! LOL). As soon as I finished that set I got another order for a third door. Ofcourse, every time I make a new door I feel that I’m getting a little better but… I have no idea what I’m doing!

I’m using an old Craftsman rotary tool that I inherited from my father-in-law. I have no idea what bits I should be using, what the bits real names are, or what they are supposed to be used for. I’ve been trying to look into powercarving online but I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.