LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

Tags
acrylic paint americana angel article article birch articles arts and crafts ash aspen autumn baltic birch baltic birch plywood band saw basket basswood bedroom set beech beeswax bible birch birch ply birch plywood bird birds eye maple blade blades blood wood box brushes build burl business business designing business scroll saw ca glue cabinet camera candle card stock carving carving tool catalog cedar celtic chair cherry children christmas class cocobolo commission work compound cutting contemporary contest corian country crackle crafts creating creativity curly maple custom customer cutting cutting board damask de decorating decorations decoupage design designing dish dolls door drawing dremel drill drill bit drill press drilling easter ebony embellishing embellishment end grain exchange fall faux finishing finish finishing fish frame free fretwork furniture garden glue gothic grey elm halloween heart hickory holiday holly idea ideas inspiration instructions jatoba jewelry jewelry box jig kit kitchen koa lack ofproject progress laminate trimmer lamp lathe light luan plywood magazine mahogany mahogany sepele maple maple heart maple plywood mask masonite mdf military mineral oil finish modern napkin holder nature nautical new oak oil organization organizing ornament ornaments padauk paint painting painting gothic paper patriotic pattern patterns pau amarillo pen pens photography pine plan planer plaque plaques ply plywood poplar power carving presentation pricing primitive printing production project project progress project progress baltic birch project progress birch project progress maple project progress mdf project progress roasted birch projects publish purpleheart r refinishing religious repair review roasted birch romantic rosewood router routing rustic sander sanding sapele saw scroll scroll saw scroll saw blades scroll saw class scroll saw tape scroll sawing scroll work scroll working scrolling techniques scrolls saw scrollsaw scrollwork scrollworking season seasonal segmentation sell selling sellling sepele shaping shellac shop shop safety shop tour shop vac show shows silhouette skates skill sleigh snowflake snowman song spring spring box stain stain finish staining steampunk stenciling storage story studio submit summer table saw tape teach teaching thanksgiving tip tip aspen tool gloat tools toy traditional transfer pattern tray trick turning tutorial valentine veining victorian video vintage walnut wenge western whimsical wildlife winter wood wood shopping wood store trip wood working woodworking woodworking show word art work write yellow heart
7M views 13K replies 477 participants last post by  teaklight12 
#1 ·
Beginning this Blog

I recently was referred to this site by Steve Good, who has a wonderful, comprehensive scroll saw forum and blog page. Although I have been doing woodworking for almost fifteen years, I have finally reached a point in my life where I am able to make it the main focus of my activities. Since my life revolves around my woodworking and business, I believe that this blog will reflect that very clearly, although it will also be somewhat personal. But I think that woodworking is very personal anyway.

It has been a long journey to get to this point. There have been many good times and some not-so-good ones, but I appreciate every single step because I think that if even one thing was different, I would not be where I am today or who I am inside. It isn't only the positive events in our lives that make us what we are. Many times it is the negative things that mold and shape us and teach us to look at things in a certain way. I try to remember that when things are tough and move ahead.

I have learned that there is only one thing we can be certain of in life: change. Whether things are good or bad, we need to hold on and appreciate the moment, as we can be certain that things will be different before long. This helps us to not only appreciate the good days and things we have now, but also hang on when things are not so good, as we know that they will be different soon. I like this philosophy.

I liked reading about the new contest offered by this site in the newsletter. Fluidity. It is a perfect theme for projects because our existence itself is fluid. I am anxious to see what interpretations are going to be, as I am sure everyone else is. It will be an adventure for all of us for sure.

So why am I starting this blog? The other day I received a call from a customer who had a question for me. He kept saying how surprised he was that I answered my own phone. I have worked as a Contributing Editor for Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine for the past 13+ years and I guess in the scroll saw community, many people have heard of me. It seemed so odd to me that he would think I would have a secretary or staff. We kind of laughed about it, but it really got me thinking about his interpretation of my life. We all tend to form opinions of others from very limited information. We see the outside of a person as they are presented to us and many times are very quick to categorize that person in our minds. I do it myself.

But in my years of talking with and dealing with many people from many different places, I have come to realize that people are like icebergs. We only see the tip of them and below the surface is a vast, complex side of them that is the basis of their actions and thinking.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has traveled a journey. No two people have traveled identical paths. Thus, we are all unique in our thoughts, actions and creative processes. I enjoy hearing others stories. I think that listening to others and hearing their experiences helps us to understand each other. With that understanding, we learn.

I have used the phrase "Knowledge Is Power" in my signature since I have been on the web. Once someone told me that they thought it was quite arrogant of me to say that. He thought that I was implying that I knew more than anyone else and he found that offensive. I told him he couldn't be more wrong. My interpretation of the phrase is that our QUEST for knowledge EMPOWERS us to make better decisions about things in our lives. We are never finished learning. I learn every single day from my friends, colleagues, fellow woodworkers and students. We never know when we will learn something new. Sometimes you can learn from even a seemingly insignificant event. I feel the key is that we need to be open to learning.

Everyone has a story.

So I will close today with those thoughts. I don't know how often I will post here, but I hope to make it a habit. I don't know if anyone will even read this, but somehow it doesn't matter. Writing is a key in self-awareness. By writing things down we categorize our actions and it helps (me anyway) to keep my life organized. Organization leads to peace as far as I am concerned.

I am quite overwhelmed with the scope of the site here. I am still getting my footings and lurking around. I think for the first several days or maybe even weeks I will be more of a passive observer while I find my comfortable position among the others here. I want to upload the new things I am working on here. Like everyone else, I am anxious to see the response they get. I love seeing others projects and could spend my days just looking.

Although it is quite intimidating, the forum looks like it is full of friendly, knowledgeable and wonderfully creative people.

I think I am going to like it here.
 
See less See more
#1,276 ·
I Love Technology

I felt yesterday was quite a productive day. Although I didn't get any drawing done, I was able to update the site and get the notifications out to the customers about the update and the new sales and such. I am really liking the new software for the site. It makes everything so easy and professional looking. I am now able to add images into the bulk emails I send out and even though I stick mostly to basic formatting, it allows endless possibilities so that I can make my notifications look pretty snazzy. It even inserts the logo from my site on the top of the email. That will help people to associate me with the site, I hope.

Technology is a wonderful thing. I think at how things have changed in just the past ten years and I am amazed at the power we have. The 'toys' that are in our own homes today are things that only a few years ago were only available to the most sophisticated or privileged 'techies'. Now they are everyday things and easier than ever to use.

Just this morning I received a message from a customer who had a questions (In French!). At first I thought it was spam, but I kind of sort of understood some of it and thought it was worth some further investigation. So I went to Google Translate and dropped it in and viola! (that's French!) it worked! I thought of Dennis who translates just about everything on this site and the thought of that alone is mind boggling! In any case, I was able to at least give somewhat of an answer to the customer this morning. I just typed in English and it translated to French for me. I am sure that all the grammar isn't as proper as it can be, but at least they should be able to understand it. We will see.

I also figured out something quite exciting the other day. It seems my two year old camera has the ability to take videos. Now, I am not talking about shooting "Gone With the Wind" or anything like that, but just some short video clips up to fifteen minutes in length depending on the quality I choose. When I saw that, the little light bulb went off in my head. Many people have been asking me to do videos on both scroll sawing and painting techniques and I want to help them out, but purchasing a video camera just isn't in the cards for me financially right now. I am just getting my head above water and really need to watch every penny. But the other day, I tried a couple of short videos (starring my three kitties!) and I was amazed at how good they looked. Even the sound was very acceptable without the use of an additional microphone. What a wonderful discovery!

So now my head is spinning with all the video shorts I will be doing and offering on my site. There are many people interested in the skating pond set that are afraid to pick up a paint brush and I feel if I can show them how easy it is to accomplish, perhaps they will give painting a try.

Also, there are many things that I can teach with scroll sawing that are better shown than talked about and I can start a little series there to get people going.

And the best part of it all is that the new site has massive capacity and also video capacity so I should be able to upload them right there for people to watch. (Oh, so cool!) Can you tell I am excited?

I attended a "live" painting class online last night at www.toletown.com. I wanted to see how things would work because I have never done that before. The cost was minimal and we receive the full pattern for the piece when the class was done, so there was little risk. One of my favorite designers was giving the class and I wanted to experience seeing how things were done.

I think the live video class has a good place for those who want to learn, but it wasn't really for me. We were given prep instructions to prepare the background for the piece ahead of time. The prep included three videos showing the teacher explaining the techniques and we were able to paint right along with her. That part I loved. I thought that for someone who was learning that it would be a wonderful way to understand techniques and accomplish the painting.

However, in the actual live class, it was more or less a chatroom. The teacher came in at the designated time and we got moving from there. There were about 30 students in there and prior to the class, we were naturally instructed to keep the 'chat' to questions pertaining to the project. The teacher went through the steps one at a time and asked about questions, and there were occasionally some asked. For the most part, we were walked through the pattern and then able to click on photographs on the side bar which corresponded to the given steps.

It was nice to know that the teacher was there 'live' to answer questions, but I found that it was quite different from what I expected. The preparation videos I felt much better conveyed the process than just the written instructions. I don't know if I expected the entire class to be a video, but I found myself wandering off to other tabs and coming back to see what was going on. The class lasted a couple of hours and I last left off when they were on a three minute break.

For myself, I feel that the written instructions with the photographs were just as good as the live class without the pressure. Again I am only speaking for myself, but if I were new to painting, I would be afraid to ask (type) a question and hold up 30 or so people at risk of appearing stupid. I saw that there were some questions asked, and I was happy for that, but I don't know if I would be able to do that. It is just me.

I think for myself a better approach would be to show the basic techniques and then offer a good patterns with some step by step photos which progressed along with the instructions. That way people could do things at their own comfortable pace. Or else they could do as I did and watch the class and then go back and try the project on their own with a better understanding.

I suppose it is like comparing apples and oranges. Different people learn differently and I do think it is a good option for many to learn in this way. The site is wonderful and the teacher did a great job. There are also a load of videos of previous classes and techniques you can access with your membership there. I do recommend it to those who are interested in learning to paint.

I want to get back to drawing today, as I have some more trays in the works. I received my latest issues of Creative Woodworks and Crafts and the small fretwork dresser tray was in it. They did a nice job of showing it off and I really like the presentation.


I remember doing that project just when I joined here at Lumberjocks, back in late May. Time sure flies, doesn't it?

It seems again like I haven't been at the scroll saw for quite a while. There are so many other aspects that have been calling me away from it and I can't wait to get back to cutting. I hope to have a couple of new projects to show by the end of the week. I want to use my new wood!

Have a great Wednesday!
 
#1,277 ·
yea i just love the possibilities of you having some instructional video….doing ones that will excite a wood worker to want to get in there and get to cutting…nothing to hard…of coarse i cant watch them , since i only have dial up connection…but i dont count…but i think its a great thing…get it on…thanks for a good blog today…there always good….let the pink cloud hover today….and have a good day yourself…grizzman
 
#1,285 ·
The Pink Cloud is a Little Green Today :(

Today's post will be short. I have had to take some antibiotics for some things going on and they really are doing a number on me. I started them on Monday and need to be on them for a week, and I have felt progressively worse. Last night my tummy was pretty bad and I wound up calling the pharmacist. I was up most of the night. I also read up on the two prescriptions that I am taking and it is normal that while taking the meds that I am going to feel this way. So for the next couple of days, until Monday at least I will be prepared.

Sorry to broadcast this to you all. I am not trying to whine or anything. I just know that after 167 days in a row of posting that if I missed a day or so some of you would be concerned. (I know when I post later than normal I sometimes hear from some of you!) That is nice though. It is good to have friends. :)

I am sure I will be back to my chipper old self before long. I did finish my next drawing yesterday on the next candle tray. It is cute gingerbread people. Easy and fun. I am debating whether to use light wood such as birch or maple and then tint the gingerbread people as I did the leaves and some of the other designs or to use sapele and have it a uniform medium brown. I am leaning toward the tinting because it will be fun to do and look nice. Maybe I can try a video on the tinting process for that one, as it is easy.

The next design I am planning is a poinsettia tray. I want it classy and elegant like the holly tray, with some good scroll work in it. I haven't decided if I am going to cut out the gingerbread tray today or draw. Possibly I will do both. I will see how the day goes.

I can also look into doing some of the video stuff and some of the software and how to use it. So there is lots to do.

I am going to go slow though today. I may get nothing done. I am feeling a bit better now, but it is time to take the meds again. (Yippie!) Even on the pink cloud we have sick days.

You all have a great one! :)
 
#1,293 ·
Back Up and Moving

Although I took it quite slow yesterday, I did accomplish a few things. I planned on taking a nap in the afternoon, but I was involved in other things and I forgot. That was a good sign.

I finished working on the drawings for the gingerbread candle try. The first tray I did was all gingerbread men. But then I looked at it and thought that he looked lonely so I altered the patterns to make him a girlfriend. I decided to include both designs in the pattern as some people have daughters and some sons. Then I wound up making a third version with alternating boys and girls. It didn't take very long to modify things, as I kept the border the same on all three. I thought that the variety would appeal to many people and they would feel as if they are getting the most for their money. I always try to do some extra stuff like that.

I received an email early in the day from a customer who made my Christmas tree embellished ornaments and also my snowflake embellished ornaments. He said he loved the pattern, but he had some trouble with some of the spots blowing out when he drilled close to the edges. I looked at the patterns and they were indeed close in some areas. I could see where areas were a little close to the edge. However, I remember when I made them that I could go right to the edge and there wasn't really a problem.

He said that the circles which indicated where to drill the depressions for the beads were under the 1/8" size that the pattern called for. When I brought the pattern up in my Illustrator software, they were indeed a bit smaller. I don't really know how that happened, but sometimes it does. Now in the instructions, I indicate that you only touch the drill bit to the wood, making a depression for the crystal to sit in and I am thinking that he must have drilled deep or all the way through as some who didn't want to put crystals in had told me they had done. If this were the case, the side would definitely be a bit too close.

In any case, I went back and adjusted everything so that even if someone were to drill all the way through the ornaments, they would do fine. There were 12 Christmas trees and 10 snowflakes to check and redraw, so this took most of the day for me to fix.

I suppose that what was there wasn't actually wrong. I cut all the ornaments out myself and tested them and they did fine. I think I am at a point where what is second nature to me isn't always what comes naturally to everyone else. It is sometimes difficult to think in terms of a beginner or someone who is newer to the craft. I think that is why I like it when people point things out for me. These two patterns were done prior to my friend Leldon doing the proofreading for me. Although it wasn't actually a mistake, Leldon in all probability would have questioned the spacing. Leldon is an excellent cutter and also designs his own patterns. I would consider him advanced to expert. But sometimes when someone else sees your work they are able to see it in a different light and point out things that you take for granted or miss. I am glad that he helps me.

After the patterns were revised, I sent the updated copies to the customer along with an additional pattern for his troubles. Once in our correspondence, when he was making his point, he said that he hoped I wasn't angry with him for telling me. I was surprised that he would think I would be angry, and told him that I did appreciate the feedback. I would certainly rather have someone telling me that they are having trouble with something that I designed rather than just throw it on the shelf and not notify me. How would I ever know if people didn't communicate back to me? It does help to keep me grounded and aware of things and I think it also makes me a better writer and designer.

The sun was out yesterday, which was rare of late so I laid out and prepped the gingerbread tray. I found a nice piece of aspen that I thought would do wonderfully for the project, as I want to tint the gingerbread people as I did the leaves in the trays before and needed light wood to do so on. I had forgotten about the aspen that I just purchased at the last outing and I am excited to use it. When cutting the perimeter and inner circle of the tray, I remembered what a joy it was to work with. It is semi-soft - almost like pine, but the structure is much more stable and there is very little obvious grain and no sap to deal with. Although it would not be great for something that is intricate to scroll, with the half inch thickness I am using in combination with the relatively simple pattern it will make a fine base for this design.

I cut and routed the edges of the tray and will cut out the design today. I am looking forward to it, as it seems it has been a while since I have been at the scroll saw. Hopefully, I will have some pictures for you tomorrow.

I am also in the midst of doing some major organization. With living in a small place here, it seems that things really pile up quickly. I need to go through things and sort things out and get everything in order again. I like knowing exactly where everything is when I need it and taking an hour here and there to keep things in order pays off quite a bit down the line when I am in the middle of a project and need to find something. It feels good when everything is sorted and where it should be. I always feel I work better when it is that way.

Thank you for all the nice thoughts yesterday, both on the list and in PM's. I only have a couple more days on the medication I have to take and then I am sure that I will be back to normal. I made some creme of chicken and rice soup and that went down very well. At least I will be done with this all by next Thursday when I am going to celebrate Thanksgiving. I have to be able to eat for that! :)

Have a great Friday everyone.
 
#1,294 ·
well its queit commen that the body does behave like that after a periode of being on
an allert high tension like you have the last 3 to 5 month with the skatepond and new server
and now when everything is more or less over with those things your body/brain make a big breake
and relax and then those little bastards called virus and bacteria say yyaaahuu now its our turn
to roll forward with all the troops
just let it flow you will get on the horse again as sun as you start the real work with the next
big things like the show in march

take care
Dennis
 
#1,297 ·
Lights . . . camera . . . action!!

Yesterday was quite a break though. I know it is the beginning of bigger and better things for me.

For a while now, many of you have requested that I make videos to teach others both how to scroll saw and also to paint and finish projects. It was only this week that I discovered that my digital camera took such nice video. I knew it took videos, but for some reason, I thought it would be crappy and unwatchable. Maybe I was thinking of the crummy cell phone videos that I have seen.

So yesterday, while I was cutting out the gingerbread candle tray, I thought I would play around with the video and take some footage (that's a new word I will be using now I suppose - "footage") of myself cutting. I had some test runs and learned quite a bit. The first couple of times I had the focus set where the camera kept 'looking' for the focus throughout the clip. That was annoying because it started out clear and kept changing back to blurry and then clear again and so on. It reminded me of the late 1960's.

After figuring out the correct settings, I tried another test run using my tripod. I checked the focus and it was fine (and consistant) and I sat down to cut and just when I started I moved the light right into the view of the camera so that the clip was the head of the light with me scroll sawing behind it. (DUH!)

Finally, I did a clip where everything went right. Look out George Lucus! Here I come! Here is the clip for you to see:



I was glad I had a decent test clip before I ran out of holes to scroll! I think it came out fairly well and you can see things OK. I would really like to know what you think.

I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening setting up the YouTube account and all. It seems that I already had an account called "scrollgirlcanada" that I have absolutely no recollection of creating. I know that YouTube is now owned by Google and I have Gmail and it is all hooked together. I tried to make an account with Sheila Landry Designs as the name and it won't allow me to because there is already an account associated with my email. I am afraid if I delete the account it will screw up my Picasa stuff, and I don't want to chance it. It doesn't matter anyway. I will tag everything appropriately and title things so that it will be found under both names.

I also created my own YouTube channel. That was fun. Of course working with graphics I like the look of it better. Then, too when I add new video people will know right away and be able to access it all at once. Here is the link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/scrollgirlcanada?feature=mhum

You can subscribe to that if you want and also leave comments there too. (I hope some of you do so I won't feel lonely there!) I am still just learning about YouTube and how it works, but it is a fun new adventure and I think it will open a world of opportunity for me. There are many woodworkers that will benefit from actually seeing this stuff done, as you know and I think it will be a tremendous teaching tool.

I still have to add some voice stuff and learn to do some editing. (I don't talk on the test - I figure I need to walk before I run!) I think I will look into my Windows 7 software and see if that is adequate. I have Adobe Premier but I think that would be quite a bit more than I need right now. I want to keep it kind of simple.

As for the tray, I got it cut out and then got involved in this other stuff. I am doing to add the tinting today and may make another production on that process just to see how it goes. It should be quite fun!

(Did I tell you all I love technology?)

So much fun to be had - so little time!! Did anyone figure out how to have a 48 hour day yet?? I can't wait to get rolling with this. I hope it inspires you all to try some new things too!

So for today, "that's a wrap!" I'll see you all on the red carpet! :D
 
#1,324 ·
So Much to Learn

For the first time this season, there is a light dusting of white snow on the ground. It is actually quite pretty though and even though there is only a touch, it is enough to make me realize that the time is quickly approaching when I have to put my car keys away for the winter.

I will probably have one more week of errands and getting things buttoned up and then resolve myself to the fact that I am grounded for the duration. I really don't mind though, as there is much to do and I need to finish my holiday projects and start planning for the March show. Before I know it, it will be upon me.

Yesterday I spent most of the day doing research. I was looking at the different video editing software and what they do and trying to figure out my needs. As I said, I am going to keep it fairly basic. What I posted yesterday was what I consider a 'raw' video. No editing whatsoever. I was thinking of adding music to it and then I realized that I couldn't just pick a tune and put the track on it. There are so many different copyrights and all that it muddied up the water fairly quickly. I then read that YouTube offers AudioSwap which is their own database of acceptable music that you can add. That was a great help, but I have yet to try it as the list of available music is long and I want something fitting.

I downloaded Windows Movie Maker 2.6 and I think that may do the job fine for me. I am running Windows 7 64 bit and I read that it works very well with it. I still have to experiment and play around and see what I like best. I am amazed at how much information is out there and the time that takes to figure everything out.

In the short term, I want to do another couple of videos quite soon. I want to do one showing how to tint the candle tray that I cut out and also do a series on some basic painting techniques. I think I am going to paint Mr. Snowman from the skating pond set because he offers up a variety of techniques. I will divide the video into several short sections.

I do plan on talking through these instructional videos. In looking at the editing software, I need to learn how to do voice over stuff. I don't know if I even have a microphone though so I will probably just talk as I go on at least these earlier ones. I think it will get the point across fine.

I was very appreciative of all the observations and suggestions that I received. Many valid points were brought up which will help me a lot in making future clips. It brings a whole new dimension to my designing and allows me to teach from right here.

I found it interesting that many people thought I cut fast. I feel that I go at a rather relaxed pace. I like to feel that I am having fun and my main goal is accuracy rather than speed. The wood that I was using on that tray was aspen which may have been part of why it went so quickly. Aspen is almost like cutting pine it is so soft, although the grain is far more even and it is less sappy. It is wonderful for scroll saw work, I think - especially for a beginner. The blade I used was a #2 reverse which is the second smallest that I have in my arsenal right now (although I have some 3/0's on order). All in all the project went quite smoothly.

So for today I will be finishing up the try and hopefully adding some color to my gingerbread people. I have everything sanded and ready for finishing and it came out cute. It is not a difficult project at all, I don't believe and it did scroll up quite quickly.

I wanted to do some painting again today but I am not sure where the day will go. I have many choices as to where I will place my energies and one is better than the last. It is a good place to be.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone.
 
#1,325 ·
I'm sure you're aware of this, but just in case…
Have your car insurance switched to "storage" coverage. It's much cheaper than having it covered for driving. Just be sure to switch back before taking it for a spin in the spring.
 
#1,337 ·
A "Talkie"

I spent most of the day yesterday playing around with video stuff and reading about it. Usually Sunday is my painting day and with Christmas only a few weeks away I probably should have been working on my gifts, but I couldn't help but explore this new 'toy' that I have discovered.

I like the Windows Movie Maker software. (Now don't start throwing rotten tomatoes at me! - I know anyone who says they like anything Windows puts out is instantly labeled "politically incorrect") It does what it says it should. The version I am working with (2.6) was really made for XP but it received good reviews and it was said to work well with Windows 7. So far so good.

I find that in regard to instructional videos - less is better. I believe that the content is the most important thing and should be the focus of attention. I realize that most of you mentioned music being added to the videos, but that complicates things tremendously. In order to bring in music, there is a myriad of things such as copyrights and permissions etc. that come into play. Frankly, I would rather spend my time providing valid content rather than searching for music that I could use.

As I mentioned before, YouTube offers a service called AudioSwap that allows you to pick approved music which doesn't cost anything. In most cases, I feel that most of the time I will be speaking and explaining what I am doing on camera and the need for music won't be necessary. If I find the circumstances arrive when I have the need for some music in the background, I will certainly try AudioSwap and see how it works.

Yesterday I tried to put two video clips together to make a single segment. I believe this will be very helpful when making these instructional type videos. I also learned to put in a fade in and a fade out, as well as a transition between the two clips. The tools for this were all in the Windows Movie Maker software and were very straightforward. I think the results were nice and I am happy with them.

The video shows how to apply the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium to the latest candle tray I designed. I began shooting it on the right side, but being right handed, I shot the second segment from the left side. I felt that it was a more comfortable position to work and still allow the camera to get a good shot.

Here is the video for you to see:



I do realize that this is quite a simple clip and I am not even sure that it will have value to others, but I have had several questions regarding the Staining and Antiquing medium and it is a simple overview of the product. I would like to do an additional video of how it works on oak or another wood with a bit more figure to it so that you can get a better idea of how it looks on that type of wood. But for now, this is what I was working on and I thought it would at least give you an idea.

I find that I get nervous when shooting and somewhat tongue-tied. I am sure that will pass with time and the more I play around with it, the more comfortable I will be. I also think this will be a great way to prepare for the lecturing that I am going to be doing in March. It is a wonderful way to see yourself as others see you.

Today I will be finishing up the gingerbread candle tray and doing the photography on it. I also am in the process of drawing a new tray. This may be my last for the Christmas season, but I think I may have one more following for Christmas if I can get it done quickly. I then want to make a video series of painting "Mr. Snowman" from my skating pond scene start to finish. That one simple piece has several of the basic painting techniques that are used in tole painting and I think it will be very helpful to those who don't paint and want to learn.

And the list goes on . . .

I am having quite a bit of fun with this and I am happy that people are so pleased with the results. I have received several positive comments from people who not only enjoy these simple clips, but are asking for more. I think it will be a wonderful venue to explore. Once again, it is wonderful when work can be so much fun.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
 
#1,338 ·
Goodmorning Sheila
good to see how fast you get confidense with the vidiomedium :)
it was nearly perfect (don´t get me wrong I know there is still long way)
I only find two very small things the first one you can correct by going to talk overs
after you have made the vidioclip (your voice get up and down in volume ) but that
has something to do with the mikrofon is sitting on the camara
and you have a very niice and good voice sound (great to hear you) so just ceep going
and talk all you want :)
the second was the edge of the table is in the picture and give a black strip in the
side of the film and was a little disterbing and we couldn´t see you mix the paint
but its only minor things that is easy to correct and I know you want us to see what
it was you were doing on the plate instead of mixing paint
and all in all a good vidio Sheila and with that speed on the learning curve I´ll bett
we soon will see all the speciel effects in them tooo….LOL

have a great day Sheila
Dennis
 
#1,350 ·
A Breath

This is the time of the year that just goes by too quickly. In looking at the calendar, there is the realization that Christmas is just a few weeks away. For me it is even sooner, as I have to mail several of my gifts out. If they are to arrive on time, they have to be ready to go in the next week or so. It is easy for me to get caught up and feel harried.

I am torn between continuing to create new things for my business and making other gifts for the people on my list. I love to make many of my Christmas gifts because I do think people enjoy them. Many times I have many new ideas that spin off of something I made for someone. I like my gifts to be something special. Something that is given with the recipient in mind and inspired by that individual.

There are so many people that have touched my life that I would love to give a gift to. Even if it were a small token. It is sometimes difficult to decide where to draw the line. When I think of all the good people in my life, it is sometimes overwhelming. For that reason, I like to do small things throughout the year that show my appreciation for others. I like surprising others with small kindnesses and tokens of appreciation. To me somehow it is more fun than on one single day when everyone is stressed.

I used to get quite stressed out myself during this time of the year. My family was larger then. My kids were with me. For several years when they were small I hosted a large holiday dinner which included my best friend and her family. Although those were great times and cherished memories, they were quite busy and my friend Cari and I worked ourselves ragged in the weeks leading up to the event only to see it pass by too quickly. It was as if we worked right through it and with the blink of an eye it was over.

Things are different for me now and much quieter. I won't be able to be back in the States for the holidays and I will be spending it with my adoptive families here in Canada. It is much less fanfare, but I can see sometimes that even that can creep up and make me anxious. I am good at spotting it however and I have found that taking a little time off every day is a wonderful way to stay grounded and not let it get the best of me.

It did snow yesterday, although most of it is gone now. When I took my walk in the woods, many of the small streams and puddles were beginning to freeze over. The trees are all bear now too and you can almost see through the bare branches to the river from the path on the other side. I find it odd because in some ways you don't feel as isolated but in other ways, you feel even more so because of the quiet.

As I walked past the place where I had picked blackberries only a few short months ago, I couldn't help but notice the difference. In August, the area was overgrown and lush and the sound of birds and insects could be heard buzzing. And that silly rooster. But now it is barren and quiet. The berry bushes are mere twigs. You can hear the river rushing more now from the path - probably because there are few leaves left to buffer its voice. It is a peaceful sound though, and quite mesmerizing.

I didn't take walks in the winter last year. But this year I am prepared. I know the area much better and have my layered 'walking clothes' that I wear to keep warm. I enjoy the time to think and plan. It gets me out and clears my head and in the long run is good for my creativity. There are three different places that I would consider my favorites - all within walking distance. They all have slightly different terrains and each one offers a different type of beauty.

I think that taking time out for yourself is very important to being creative. There were many years when I didn't realize this and being busy every single moment took its toll on me both health-wise and creatively. I have found over the years that taking care of one's self is an essential ingredient in remaining creative and not burning out. Even half an hour a day makes a huge difference. Be it taking a walk, listening to some favorite music with a nice cup of tea or even writing. Do something you love to feed your soul.

In these busy weeks to come, I hope you all don't forget to take the time to stand back and take a breath and enjoy the day and your life in general. After all, what are we doing all this for anyway?

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
 
#1,351 ·
Hello there Sheila
don´t worry so much becourse you ain´t have the time to make those presents
remember to run a business you work twice the hours that others do
and they still havn´t the time to make gift to there closest beloved once they
just rush out and buy the first thing they see on the shelffs in the stores
and don´t even think about what it is and if it is the right gift to them ( use and throw away) .. :-(

and about the holliday dinners well I know its wrong to think like this, but think it anyway
you have done yours over the years now its there time to do a little time in the kitchen
you can always payback with a grande party next time you round the next scary scharp corners
in the years of life.

remember the terain isn´t look what you are used to in the winther with all the white snow
covering the ground and change all
so I hope you have learned to read a topic map and use a compass , anyway just remember to have
it with you when walking away from streets
sorry just the boyscout that came to me :)

have a great day
Dennis
 
#1,355 ·
Getting Ready

Today I am going to hopefully finish up my gingerbread candle tray. I still need to cut the charms and stain them, and It could use another coat of shellac. Hopefully I will have some pictures tomorrow. I also want to get moving with drawing my next trays. I want to finish a poinsettia tray as well as a Nativity scene by next week so people will still have time to do them for Christmas. I know how I want them both to look, but again it is a matter of making them real and getting them drawn.

Sometimes I don't know if it is better to start off with something in mind or just let it flow. There are advantages to both approaches, I believe. It is nice to have a solid idea and direction to work for, but it is also to just let it flow and sometimes surprise yourself with the outcome. I suppose that is what helps keep things fresh and exciting.

I spent most of yesterday doing errands. I went to town to do some shopping, as I am having a couple of people over tomorrow for dinner. Even though I am here in Canada, I still like to celebrate the American Thanksgiving. There are some traditions that I will never leave behind. I have a nice turkey, and plan to make stuffing and veggies and some dessert. I try to keep it simple but that isn't always easy. Things seem to snowball. Bernie and Ellen are coming to celebrate, as well as a couple other friends. It will be a lot of people for my little place here but it will be good. The noise and busyness is good once in a while.

In between getting stuff ready, I will be drawing. It has the potential for a very productive day.

I love seeing all the posts here on Lumberjocks of what people are making for gifts. There is such a great variety and it is really inspirational to see how creative everyone is. Such beautiful things everyone makes!

Things have been fairly quiet here the past few days. Everyone is busy working on what they are working on. The deadlines for all the companies are pretty much up to date and everyone is gearing up for the holidays it seems. It is a good place to be.

Wishing you all a happy and productive day!
 
#1,356 ·
Sheila,

I hope that your Thanksgiving is as wonderful as you Imagine it to be and much more. It's always Nice to get together with friends and family and talk about all the new and wonderful memories that are made.

Handi
 
#1,361 ·
Rambling Thoughts on Thanksgiving

After growing up and living most of my life in the United States, I had come to take certain things for granted. It was only after moving here to Canada six years ago that I began to realize that things are sometimes different in other places and that there is a much bigger world out there. Now that I am in communication with others from all over the world, it is even more evident to me that these differences exist.

Since I have been here in Canada, I have found that the people here are generally warm and welcoming. I have met so many wonderfully kind people here that have made me feel quite at home. Bernie and Ellen are among the many friends whom I consider as part of an extended family. There are others too, who have been true friends in both good times and bad.

It is nice to have friends from different places. With computers and phones being what they are, communication isn't difficult and keeping up friendships is something that can be easier than ever. I sometimes think of how it might be if I didn't have my computer and lived where I do. I think my attitude would be quite different. Although I enjoy my peace, I do very much enjoy my interaction with all my friends around the world. (That was evident a couple of months ago when I couldn't log on here to Lumberjocks for a couple of hours!) We also hear bad things about Facebook all the time - how it is a breeding ground for predators and such, but I found it to be quite the opposite. You just have to use common sense and take certain precautions. Through Facebook, I am able to keep up with family and friends on a pretty much daily basis much more than if I were to have to call them each time to see what is up. I love seeing pictures of trips, events in their lives, and projects that they are working on. I am free to comment on things, but don't always find it necessary. I think it is a fine way to be connected to others in a casual way and I do enjoy it. As with anything, it is necessary to remember that any information placed on the internet is something that you don't mind putting 'out there' for all to see. I think if you keep that in mind when posting, you shouldn't have a problem.

As many of you know, today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. As an American, it is one of the most significant holidays of the year for me. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the beginning of October. To me, that was one of the times when I was well aware that I was a newcomer to this country and lived in a different place. I already celebrated two Thanksgivings this year - one with my partner's family and the other with Bernie and Ellen, who were away for the 'real' Canadian Thanksgiving. Now it is time to celebrate my own tradition and have my third.

Since coming to Canada here, I have tried to keep this holiday in my heart. Perhaps because of my roots and the thought of keeping my own memories of both my childhood and the times when my own children were growing up alive. The first couple of years I felt particularly strange because the day just came and passed here like any other. I didn't have many people to share it with and it was a time when I felt quite isolated. But as my new friendships grew here, I found that having friends around to help me celebrate was a fine way to perpetuate the holiday and thus the memories that I had in my heart. I believe I had spoken before about the time a couple of years ago when I had all my painting group over for a turkey dinner. There were nine of us and it was loud and busy and there was plenty of food and I found it was a wonderful day - in the spirit of what I wanted the holiday to be.

This year, in my little apartment I am hosting a nice little dinner for myself and Bernie and Ellen and a few friends which will also be wonderful. I have a nice turkey ready to go and yesterday I made two kinds of stuffing and some dessert and some vegetables. It will be simple, but good. I am looking forward to it a lot. While I was making each dish, it brought back memories of holidays past and all the warm feelings that came with it. It is funny how certain foods do that. I made a stuffing recipe that my aunt made every year. I also made a cheese ball that my grandfather and uncle loved. And the dessert is a Kolocky recipe that was my grandmother's trademark.

I also talked to my friend for a while whom I haven't spoken with in several months. She and I have been friends since we were 14 years old and through the years our lives have been interwoven like fabric. Sometimes we would go for years without actually talking to each other, but when we did, it was like we just saw each other the day before. Good friends are like that. She has five children and now a beautiful granddaughter and her son is in the marines and there was a lot to catch up on. It felt wonderful. We still play Scrabble with each other on Facebook almost every day and although we don't speak to each other daily, it somehow makes me feel close to her by doing that. It so good to hear her voice and hear how things were going in her life. I know that no matter how far apart we are, we will always be friends.

It is times like this when I sometimes get homesick. I think back to when my kids were little and our own little family was together and reminisce about the time we had together. Life's circumstances do change though. I am so happy to have those memories to look back on. The important thing is that my kids are happy and healthy in their own lives and even though we can't be together, we are always in each others' hearts.

I am sounding old as I read this. I realize that. Perhaps it is just because it is such a reflective time for me. I think it is good for us to take the time and reminisce once in a while because it helps us appreciate all the things we have done in our lives and also what we have now.

I am very grateful for my life. For all my friends that I have - both here and all over the world. You have all enriched my life and made it what it is today and I feel that it is in a good place.

For all my American friends and family - I wish you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. For my other friends in all parts of the world, I want you to know that I am grateful to know you all and that you add a lot to my life and I wish you all the best, too. I am very thankful to have you in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!
 
#1,368 ·
Time to Focus

OK. It is time to set some serious goals. I should be the poster child as to why goals need to be set. I find it amazing how I can be busy every second of the day, yet unless I have some specific goals in mind, I come through the day without seeming to accomplish much. Anyone out there have the same experience? I thought so. (Come on! If I can admit it - you can too!)

I feel as if I have accomplished little of substance since the last catalog deadline a couple of weeks ago. Oh, I know I have played around with the videos and done some stuff on the skating pond and such, but woven in between those few accomplishments are some very vague things.

I know I have been 'busy'. And I do know that I need to allow myself time for living in general, but in assessing the work of the past three weeks or so I have come to the realization that if I worked like this all the time, I wouldn't be in good shape at all.

So while all my American friends and family are fighting the crowds and getting their holiday shopping done on Black Friday (I have seen some hilarious stories and I am sure there are more to come!) I am going to spend my day making my own lists of things to do both for the holidays and also for work and get back on track.

I have reserved ONE day for shopping with a few friends - either Monday or Tuesday, whenever everyone can make it - and that is IT. The rest of the time needs to be spend on either work or finishing up my own presents. As I stated in earlier blogs, I need to ship some things off early to insure that they make it in time, as many of my gifts are going to the United States.

I have a good list already of new ideas that I want to do, as well as continue on with some more candle trays and other things that I have been working on. I need to strike before the ideas get 'borrowed' from other designers. Yes, it does happen and No, no one who really buys the pattern is that aware that it was someone else that had the idea first. I saw a good example of this yesterday.

My young friend Leldon, who has been a long time scroll sawyer had come up with a wonderful idea for some great designs this fall using word art. He made some really nice patterns and one of them was even accepted by the 'other' scroll saw magazine (not the one I work with) and he will have it published in a couple of months. I am very excited and happy for him because he makes excellent quality patterns because he knows what he is doing and his designs and ideas are fresh and new. He is the one who helps me by proofreading all of my patterns and I trust him because he finds stuff that only a seasoned scroll sawyer would find. He had some designs published in the past, but there was a couple of years when life got in the way and he wasn't doing much woodworking. Now he is back in the swing of things and this was his first new design to be accepted.

He had generously donated a design to Steve Good's site a week or so ago. It was a great sign that said "Merry Christmas" where the word Merry was in larger block letters in the background and the word Christmas was done in smaller cursive lettering and glued in front of the Merry lettering. It was quite cool looking and simple but pretty. Here is a picture of it -

Wood Amber Rectangle Font Art


Leldon made several different phrases in this style and I really liked them. I think a lot of other people did too. It was a great idea and I am very happy for him. I can see lots of people wanting to make these for gifts and other things. Well, then yesterday, another well-known scroll saw designer came up with a slew of her own versions on that type of design. It was exactly the same concept as Leldon's. I realize that he doesn't have a copyright on that type of design, but I couldn't help but being rather annoyed at her for doing so. She also subscribes to Steve's list, as she has had stuff on there before to promote her own patterns.

Right or wrong, I felt that it was wrong of her to take advantage of his concept and run with it. Here he is kind of just getting going and she jumped on his idea and used all her seasoned resources to do as many as possible in a short time. I realize that legally she had the right to do so, but ethically I feel that it was just wrong. You can't enforce people's morals though. So it is an unfortunate thing, I think.

Leldon does have some other great patterns though, and if you scroll sawyers want to go visit his site, it is at http://www.leldonscrollsawing.homestead.com You can see the nice work he does there and maybe find some patterns for your next project.

I think it is important to look out for our friends and each other. I have many wonderful woodworking and scroll sawing friends that keep an eye out for me when others are perhaps distributing my patterns improperly or doing other things of that nature. Even though we are all in the same business, I have always admired the mutual respect we have had among our 'regular group' of designers. We are like a family and if one of us doesn't have a certain type of design that someone is looking for, we are happy to refer our friends. We all have our own unique styles and aren't necessarily threatened by each other and feel good helping each other out. It is a good part of the business.

But I know that it is only a matter of time before someone else jumps on the candle tray train and starts making their own designs. I still need to get all of these ideas that are in my head down on paper and into the reality of wood and the longer I take in doing so, the more chance there is that someone else will.

So list it is for me. And focus and work. It is amazing how much better I feel when I have a set plan anyway. And I am always amazed at how many of the things I actually do check off. It is definitely the way to go for me.

Have a great Friday everyone!
 

Attachments

#1,369 ·
Time to Focus

OK. It is time to set some serious goals. I should be the poster child as to why goals need to be set. I find it amazing how I can be busy every second of the day, yet unless I have some specific goals in mind, I come through the day without seeming to accomplish much. Anyone out there have the same experience? I thought so. (Come on! If I can admit it - you can too!)

I feel as if I have accomplished little of substance since the last catalog deadline a couple of weeks ago. Oh, I know I have played around with the videos and done some stuff on the skating pond and such, but woven in between those few accomplishments are some very vague things.

I know I have been 'busy'. And I do know that I need to allow myself time for living in general, but in assessing the work of the past three weeks or so I have come to the realization that if I worked like this all the time, I wouldn't be in good shape at all.

So while all my American friends and family are fighting the crowds and getting their holiday shopping done on Black Friday (I have seen some hilarious stories and I am sure there are more to come!) I am going to spend my day making my own lists of things to do both for the holidays and also for work and get back on track.

I have reserved ONE day for shopping with a few friends - either Monday or Tuesday, whenever everyone can make it - and that is IT. The rest of the time needs to be spend on either work or finishing up my own presents. As I stated in earlier blogs, I need to ship some things off early to insure that they make it in time, as many of my gifts are going to the United States.

I have a good list already of new ideas that I want to do, as well as continue on with some more candle trays and other things that I have been working on. I need to strike before the ideas get 'borrowed' from other designers. Yes, it does happen and No, no one who really buys the pattern is that aware that it was someone else that had the idea first. I saw a good example of this yesterday.

My young friend Leldon, who has been a long time scroll sawyer had come up with a wonderful idea for some great designs this fall using word art. He made some really nice patterns and one of them was even accepted by the 'other' scroll saw magazine (not the one I work with) and he will have it published in a couple of months. I am very excited and happy for him because he makes excellent quality patterns because he knows what he is doing and his designs and ideas are fresh and new. He is the one who helps me by proofreading all of my patterns and I trust him because he finds stuff that only a seasoned scroll sawyer would find. He had some designs published in the past, but there was a couple of years when life got in the way and he wasn't doing much woodworking. Now he is back in the swing of things and this was his first new design to be accepted.

He had generously donated a design to Steve Good's site a week or so ago. It was a great sign that said "Merry Christmas" where the word Merry was in larger block letters in the background and the word Christmas was done in smaller cursive lettering and glued in front of the Merry lettering. It was quite cool looking and simple but pretty. Here is a picture of it -

Wood Amber Rectangle Font Art


Leldon made several different phrases in this style and I really liked them. I think a lot of other people did too. It was a great idea and I am very happy for him. I can see lots of people wanting to make these for gifts and other things. Well, then yesterday, another well-known scroll saw designer came up with a slew of her own versions on that type of design. It was exactly the same concept as Leldon's. I realize that he doesn't have a copyright on that type of design, but I couldn't help but being rather annoyed at her for doing so. She also subscribes to Steve's list, as she has had stuff on there before to promote her own patterns.

Right or wrong, I felt that it was wrong of her to take advantage of his concept and run with it. Here he is kind of just getting going and she jumped on his idea and used all her seasoned resources to do as many as possible in a short time. I realize that legally she had the right to do so, but ethically I feel that it was just wrong. You can't enforce people's morals though. So it is an unfortunate thing, I think.

Leldon does have some other great patterns though, and if you scroll sawyers want to go visit his site, it is at http://www.leldonscrollsawing.homestead.com You can see the nice work he does there and maybe find some patterns for your next project.

I think it is important to look out for our friends and each other. I have many wonderful woodworking and scroll sawing friends that keep an eye out for me when others are perhaps distributing my patterns improperly or doing other things of that nature. Even though we are all in the same business, I have always admired the mutual respect we have had among our 'regular group' of designers. We are like a family and if one of us doesn't have a certain type of design that someone is looking for, we are happy to refer our friends. We all have our own unique styles and aren't necessarily threatened by each other and feel good helping each other out. It is a good part of the business.

But I know that it is only a matter of time before someone else jumps on the candle tray train and starts making their own designs. I still need to get all of these ideas that are in my head down on paper and into the reality of wood and the longer I take in doing so, the more chance there is that someone else will.

So list it is for me. And focus and work. It is amazing how much better I feel when I have a set plan anyway. And I am always amazed at how many of the things I actually do check off. It is definitely the way to go for me.

Have a great Friday everyone!
I know the feeling, it usually is a hollow feeling in your stomach when you find that someone else either stole or borrowed your idea or happened to hit on the same thing which at times you have to give the benefit of doubt but don't want to! I hope for the best for Leldon.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
 

Attachments

#1,374 ·
Finished Gingerbread Candle Tray

I finished the Gingerbread Candle Tray set yesterday. It was near-done for the past couple of days, but I finished cutting and staining the little charms and doing the photography on it. I think it came out OK. It isn't one of my most intricate projects, but I found that a lot of people are interested in it and I think it will be a nice and quick project to get done in time for the holidays.

Here are the pictures of the finished holder:


And the overview:


The wood I used to make it was aspen. It has been several years since I worked with it and I had forgotten how much I liked it. When cutting wood on the scroll saw, you are very much aware of slight differences in the grain and density of different woods. I believe mores o than when you are using other power tools such as the band saw and table saw. Although extreme differences are noted on the larger tools, you tend to pick up each and every nuance of textures and hardness when you are working with the scroll saw. I feel it brings you very close to the wood and so much of cutting is "feel" and the ability to adjust from one hardness to another. For that reason you are very quick to learn the properties of the different species of wood when you work them on the saw.

The aspen is a very soft wood with a very tight and even grain. It almost feels like pine when cutting it, although since the grain has virtually no distinct pattern, it is much more stable. I find that for a design such as this, with few really thin parts, it does a fine job. I also liked the color. It is a great 'go to' wood when you need something really light. I knew when I designed this piece that I was going to use the DecoArt Staining medium on it and I wanted a light base so that the colors would be true. I wasn't disappointed.

This pattern is one of the simpler one I have designed of late, but it seems that there is a lot of interest in it. I already have several inquiries from people that watched the two demonstration videos that I made and were looking for the pattern. That is a good sign. Since I do feel it is an easier pattern, I am offering three versions in the set. Not only did I draw the candle tray with the boy-girl-boy configuration, but it will also include an all boy version as well as an all girl one. This didn't take too much additional time, but will give my customers some choices and I will still charge the same amount that I do for the other candle tray packets and hopefully they will feel that they are getting a good value. That is really important to me.

I still have a couple of additional trays that I am going to work on before the next site update sometime next week. I am also working on a couple of videos with basic painting and scrolling techniques too. I want at least a couple of them available for the update. I would like to get some basic painting ones up there to go with the pond set. I sold quite a few patterns of it already and I think if people had some basic instructions on the painting process, they will be willing to try it.

I hope you enjoy the new design. I think that everything doesn't have to be difficult or complicated to be attractive. Doing a variety of difficulty levels is fun and will help me reach all levels of scrollers and hopefully entice some new people to give it a try.

I wish you all a day of fun and creativity!
 
#1,386 ·
Now That's More Like It!

I sure do love it when things click in! I honestly don't know what differentiates one day from the next but sometimes it just seems that things get rolling and things just . . . .well, roll!

Yesterday was an amazingly productive day. I finished my new candle tray drawing and I began the next one. I have the next one all laid out in my mind as to what I want and again, it is only a matter of getting it down on paper to make it a reality. I had initially planned on painting Christmas gifts all day today, but I may take a couple of hours to draw too just so I don't lose that inspiration. Although to be honest, there are a few fuzzy areas on the second design that I need to clarify in my mind. It is off to a good start though,and I think it will be another nice piece. It will be a bit different from the other trays and I am happy that I am finding good ways to vary these which make them even more unique and attractive.

The tray that I finished was the poinsettia and holly tray. I decided to do it in more of a cut out and stylized way. I love that kind of cutting and it is fun and not difficult to do. I will also use the Staining and Antiquing medium with some Acrylics to give it some color. Unlike the gingerbread people tray which I thought needed a very light colored wood with little grain pattern in order to show the details, this designs would look nicer using a wood with some color in it and also a bit more defined grain. I am thinking that oak will be my wood of choice, although I do have some ash that will also do nicely. I will just need to check the wood pile to see the thicknesses and widths of what I have and see what I feel will be more suitable.

Here is a peek at the drawing:


I am really pleased with the drawing and I hope it comes out as nice as I think it will. It will be a fun design to make and will not take long to cut so it will be great for a last-minute gift.

I will probably draw until about noon today and then take the rest of the day to work on my own gifts. I need to send some stuff out this week so I am sure that it will arrive on time, as a few of my gifts will be going to the US. Part of me feels that I should be much farther ahead than I am with my gifts. I supposed we all feel that way most of the time though and it always seems that everything gets done on time. I am getting excited about the holidays and once I put on my "elf hat" it seems that things can get done quite quickly.

As I said in yesterday's blog, I still want to do a couple of additional short videos this week too on some scroll sawing and painting techniques. I want to plan at least a day to do that. I have had many people tell me that they really liked seeing the videos and it makes me want to do more of them. I like keeping them short and simple and focused on one technique at a time.

There is a light dusting of snow on the ground and it looks rather nice out. Last evening we decided to take a walk for the first time after the sun went down. We only did our short 2km walk around the river, as the path there is quite defined and there are a few cabins along the way that set on the bank of the river. It was quite a different place in the dark though, and quite beautiful. Growing up in Chicago, I didn't have the ability to see the thousands and thousands of stars like I do here. I found myself drawn to looking up to the sky, which seemed to be exploding with stars. There was no moon out and it was dark walking through the woods, but we had a good flashlight and that helped a lot. I wouldn't want to walk along the other paths that we usually travel at this time of evening, as they are more like trails and a bit too deep in the woods for my taste after dark. But this one with the few spattered cabins was more of a road, as the vehicles from the cabins along the shore used it for access and it was in good shape. It was quite cold out, but I dressed in layers and wool and didn't feel the chill at all. It amazed me how taking the same path that I have walked so many times felt so different. It was fun.

It is a great feeling to feel as if I accomplished so much. I love to see things moving along so nicely and it certainly fuels me to do more. I hope you are all progressing in your work and I enjoy seeing all the new projects and reading about them on the forum. I do poke around in the evenings and between things here during the day. It is a great inspiration to see my fellow elves at work!

Have a wonderful day!
 
#1,391 ·
I Am Right Where I Want to Be

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I did finish the drawings for the nativity candle tray, but it took me much more time than I anticipated. That's OK though, because I am happy with the outcome. It just goes with the territory.

I had planned on drawing until about noon or so - give or take. But at that point although I had the design done, I still wasn't quite happy with it. I wanted to keep it simple, but I didn't want it too simple. Sometimes it is hard to figure out where to draw the line with that. (No pun intended)

I always try to do my best. Yesterday when I was looking at some of the older patterns that I had designed many years ago when I started out, I was thinking on how much my skill has improved over the years. What I look at as second nature now used to be beyond my skill level. Although I like designing "over the top" projects, I am seeing that they aren't always my best sellers. They do sell OK, but it seems that sometimes when I bring it down a notch or two that the patterns have more appeal to people who are just starting out or at a more intermediate skill level.

But just how many holes are too many?

I had this dilemma yesterday when making the nativity candle holder. I can honestly tell you that sometimes making something less work is much more work in the long run. The first couple of drawings that I did of it were quite a bit more complicated and possibly not even something that would be able to be cut. Oh, if I tried really hard, I would be able to do it, but I doubt the average scroll sawyer would be successful at it.

It looked good on the screen, but when I printed it out, the reality hit me that it would be an absolute bear to cut and then it would be quite fragile even if one were to be successful. That, to me is not a good design. I am finding that many of my best designs and the most popular are the ones that look really attractive and difficult, but in reality are quite straight forward and work up quickly. Many of my customers like to sell their scroll saw cuttings or make them for gifts for others. While there is a small percentage of people who want that "2000 hole design" the vast majority want something much simpler that they can achieve in a relatively quick time frame.

I believe that is why the candle holder series is doing so well. They are a nice mix of looking pretty and yet you can make one easily on a weekend day. I realize that they also range in difficulty to some extent, but for the most part, they can be cut in a couple of hours. I believe the one that took me the longest was the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired tray, and that was just about six. The average time I would put on cutting one is about three hours. Certainly easy enough to complete on a Saturday afternoon or even in an evening or two after work.

I think that after many, many years of doing what I do, coming to this realization is in part why my business has been more successful of late. I am finding that it isn't a game of 'stump the scroller' in which I make the most difficult pattern I can think of. I look at the skill level of scrollers like a pyramid. Most people are closer to the bottom level, with very few at the top (expert) level. If I gear all my patterns for the top, that will mean that they will appeal to fewer people and not as many will find success in making them.

I find that gearing my designs for the middle levels (and even toward the beginners) will impart a feeling of success within my customers and help scroll sawing grow instead of scaring people off. The trick is to make attractive designs without making them too difficult to accomplish.

So back to the nativity tray. It came out good. I needed to revise it several times, but each time I felt it improved the overall look and I still think it will be a great pattern that just about anyone can make. I believe that it will become one of my best sellers, and I can't wait to cut it tomorrow.

I didn't finish the final revisions on it until after 4pm so my day of painting kind of got rescheduled. I did however spend the after dinner hours in the evening finishing up a couple of ornaments that I started during the week. The pattern was not my own, it is by a designer named Jaime Mills-Price who makes darling and fun characters. I love penguins and when I saw this guy I knew I just had to paint him. My partner says I should be designing my own things to paint and I do see that in the future, but it is getting to be crunch time now with Christmas fast approaching and I think doing some other people's designs is the way to go for now. Here is a picture of one of the little guys I painted:


If you click on the name, you can see some of the other stuff I painted - some which is my own and other stuff that I have done from patterns by other designers. Either way it is a fun way for me to do something else and still be creative.

Today I am off with some friends to do our shopping for the holidays. I am not getting much, but it is more for the company that I will be going. I also get ideas for stuff when I see cool things so I can kind of call it a 'working day off'. Oh, and we should have a nice lunch too! :D

It will probably be my last trip up the valley until Spring, so I am going to thoroughly enjoy it. It feels good to go knowing that I have two more designs to cut out tomorrow. I am happy to have reached my drawing goals with them.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
 
#1,394 ·
Silly Things Make Me Happy

Today's post will be relatively short (I think). I really need to get cutting on my two new candle trays. I hopefully will be able to finish the main cutting today and be able to take photographs of them for tomorrow. There are only so many hours in the day though, so i want to get at it.

Yesterday was a full day of fun. I didn't get home until well after nine and spent the day at the mall and in the mini-malls doing my 'final' shopping for Christmas. The funny thing about it was that I didn't really buy many gifts at all. My biggest purchases were from Michale's crafts, where I bought Liquid Gold Leafing and Liquid Silver Leafing (that I can paint on to accent things) and also some half-priced really cool ribbon for the many ornaments I am making and giving as gifts.

The other most significant purchases I made were of several very, very cool boxes. Yes, you read right. Boxes. I love boxes.

In the last few years, I noticed that there has become an availability of some awesome boxes that people can use for both gift giving and storage. They are very sturdy, reasonably priced and decorated beautifully not only in Christmas designs, but also in very cool winter and even everyday designs. I had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I found some nice boxes which will accommodate two of my skating pond sets that I will be giving as gifts, and upon returning to that store yesterday, I found a myriad of incredible boxes (most which were around $5) which will be wonderful for the several odd-shaped and sized items that I am painting and scrolling for gifts this year. They are incredibly sturdy and will add another protective layer when shipping these items and also make a wonderful presentation when the recipient opens it.

I have always loved to make a fuss and wrap packages so they look simply exquisite. It must be the artist inside of me. Presentation is a lot and even if you are giving the simplest ornament, it is fun to present it in a wonderful setting and it looks so much nicer. I usually spend a day or two just wrapping. It is a holiday ritual with me. I also love to get spools of metallic wired ribbon and make wonderful bows (thank goodness for wired ribbon!) and have cool sparkly paper inside the package and so on. I put on some holiday movies and music, have some nice cocoa with cinnamon, and go to town wrapping. I treat each package as if it is my only one to wrap, and take the time and care to make it look wonderful. It is part of the festivities for me.

So while everyone else was busy buying gifts for others, I was buying boxes. It was funny too because my purchased took up more room in the trunk than probably the other three girls put together - even though I nested all that I could. The cool thing is that whether empty of not, I still get to enjoy these pretty boxes under the tree for the next month until I have to give them away. The problem with that is I want to keep several of them for myself. There is always something that needs a box. To me it is a gift within an gift. :)

So although my box and wrapping fetish is somewhat weird, it is a fun and relatively inexpensive. I still have to finish making the gift to put in them, but it does remove some of the pressure knowing that even if what I make doesn't come out so fantastic, at least I can present it in a wonderful box!

Yes, I know I am crazy. I suppose there are worse things I can collect. I don't collect shoes, or jewelry or other 'normal' things, (I do collect wood, but that is normal, isn't it?) I think beautiful boxes of all kinds, wood and otherwise are a wonderful and useful thing to collect. Perhaps at one time in my life I was without a needed box and now I am making up for it. Who knows?

In any case, I had a wonderful day with good company and some great food and fun and it really made me happy. Now I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the world and spend some time doing another thing I love doing - scroll sawing!

The clock is ticking and the days are winding down so it is time to kick it into high gear and get moving again. I can't think of a better way to spend my time! I suppose that it doesn't take much to make me really happy!

Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one's self? ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
#1,395 ·
Hi Sheila,

All I need is to make a list of those gift. I was thinking of making lot of small boxes for the season but Filipinos are not so keen on choice of boxes. Exotic wood boxes here are not being sold at the right price. I think choice are those light and made from different materials such as velvet, cloth and leather boxes.

Additionally, it is really very nice to know from you that we should put something on the box… a gift within a gift…. Thanks for idea.
 
#1,403 ·
Poinsettia Candle Tray

Sometimes I have to laugh at myself when I look back and read the goals I set out for myself in any given day. I think if I ever actually achieved all I set out to do, I would be labeled "superwoman". I don't think it is necessarily bad to set our goals high. When my kids were young, I used to tell them "If you reach your goals, you are setting them too low". Now I was only kidding when I said that, and I made sure they knew it, but I can't help but think that there is just a little tiny morsel of truth in that. I sometimes feel that when I achieve certain goals that I set for my self, I must be setting the bar too low. If it is too easy to achieve your goals then certainly you mustn't have asked enough of yourself. But over the years, I try to think that I have learned to find a good balance of what is actually a goal I can obtain. Yesterday, however was a poor example.

I had stated in my blog that I planned on cutting out the next two candle trays. I should have realized then that I was being a bit ambitious, but I suppose I was up there on my pink cloud thinking I could actually do it. The day started out with things going pretty well. I spent some time choosing the right pieces of wood for the two trays. I had thought I had some nice oak for the poinsettia tray and I was thinking a lighter maple would be nice for the nativity tray. I wanted to use oak because I planned on using some stain to add color to that tray. However, I didn't have any oak that was suitable. The one piece I found in my stash that was close was slightly warped and also had some mold on it. (By the way - if anyone knows how I can eliminate mold in the oak, please let me know. I have a piece that seems to have a slight problem with it)

I decided to go with ash. I had a nice board (I was going to title my blog "A nice piece of ash" but I thought better of it!) and it would be a find substitute for the on the poinsettia tray.. I actually like it better, as the base color is quite pale and the tinting looks really nice on it.

By the time I picked my boards and set them up, it was already getting on to late morning. I then had two lengthy phone calls - one with a wonderful customer and the other with my editor regarding the promotion of my skating pond set - and by the time I was finished and ready to hit the saw, it was already after noon. The final realization that I wouldn't be completing both trays came when I started cutting the poinsettia tray. I don't know if any of you remember my strawberry lazy susan project that I had posted previously (a picture of it is in my gallery). It looks simple and has over 500 cuts and took me many hours to cut it. Well, the poinsettia tray is in a similar wispy style and when I was drilling the entry holes, it occurred to me that this is exactly the same type of piece. I knew I was in for a long afternoon.

Now I didn't mind that at all, as I think the lazy susan came out wonderful and I did like the look of the candle tray. When drilling, I realized that I had 128 internal cuts in it, not including the drilling holes for the center of the flowers and the berries. I immediately adjusted my goals and the timing in my own head and just enjoyed the task at hand. I suppose that is one of the many benefits of being my own boss. It is easy to shift the time line as things come up and both the phone calls, although unanticipated, we certainly welcome and beneficial.

In any case, it was after six when I finished the actual cutting. I was extremely pleased with the outcome of the tray. Here is a picture of it all finished:


And the detail of the design:


It wasn't quite finished being sanded when the photos were taken, so there are a couple of rough edges. I did finish sanding it and I used the staining medium on it to add color to the flowers and the holly leaves. I really was happy with the outcome:


And again, here is some detail of it:


I still need to cut the charms out today and I also plan on cutting out the nativity candle tray, which is much simpler to cut. I finished up at around 9:30 last night and although I didn't finish everything that I wanted to, I was extremely happy with what I did accomplish. Quality and not quantity and all of that.

I think goals are important and very useful if you don't get too hung up on them. It is nice to set them and have something to work for, but it is also good to allow for life to get in the way sometime and have your goals flexible enough so that if something comes up, you don't feel as if you failed if you don't reach them as you originally planned. I use goals as guidelines to help me plan my day, and especially since I have been writing this blog, realize that they do change often and it doesn't mean that I was a failure, but quite the opposite. I think that being flexible is a great asset to anyone who has their own business, as it is a far more realistic way of thinking and you are less likely to be derailed in your plans than if you were rigid in your way of thinking. At least it works that way for me.

I hope you like the candle tray. I am looking forward to completing the other one today. I am still shooting to get the site updated by the weekend and since it is only Wednesday, it is quite possible. I will give it my best shot.

May you all have a happy and creative day!
 
#1,404 ·
Good morning Sheila, The poinsettia candle tray is out of this world. The tinting makes the whole thing pop out. I can't wait for you to update your site because there are patterns that I want to pick up for the winter shop time.
Thank you for sharing your designs with the rest of us,

The Scroller and Toler
 
#1,408 ·
Nativity Candle Tray is Finished

It is amazing to me how things work out sometimes. In contrast to the previous tray where the poinsettia candle tray took twice as long as I anticipated, the following tray that I cut yesterday (the nativity scene one) took only half the time I though it would. Hooray!!!

The kicker is that I think it is every bit as attractive as the previous tray. I really kind of li like it. I used a simply scrumptious piece of maple that to make it that has a wonderful figure to it. It has some nice variation in the grain and also has a quilted ripple pattern that really came out when I applied the oil to it. It is quite beautiful. It kind of reminds me of the rippling sand in the desert.

When everything was finished, I did take pictures of the tray, but it wasn't until after dark and I am not thrilled with the outcome. I will be retaking them again today when the sun is up and hopefully the color will be more true. I do plan on getting a photo tent like the ones that were recommended to me before, but I just haven't had enough extra money to do so. Hopefully, I will find on when I go to the States in March if I don't get one before that. So until then, I am going to have to work with what I have.

In any case, here is a picture of the nativity tray pieces:


You can see the ripple in the wood a bit, although it looks much better of course in person. It is quite different for me to do a design that isn't repeated in some form throughout. Although it is quite simple, it actually took me probably three times longer to figure out and draw than the poinsettia candle tray. I wanted to have a balance in it without over-cluttering it. I liked the wavy edging that I used, as it reminded me of sand dunes. I also liked the silhouette of the city of Bethlehem that I put on the back, because it was a bit different than just adding in more animals or sheep. And having the angles hanging above the scene as the charms were just a natural.

It only took me about 2 hours to cut this one out, which will make it a wonderful 'last minute' gift for a scroller to make and also make a nice one for reproducing to sell at craft fairs and such. I think it will be a winner.

Here is a picture of the back:


And finally a picture of the complete set:


I am also going to suggest in the instructions the option of using a veneer backing underneath the tray. Some of my customers have done that before on my other designs with great results and I do think for a design like this that is so open that it would be appropriate to do so. For the pictures though, I liked the blue cloth so I chose not to do so on mine. It is always good to have options though.

Today I am going to be busy writing the instructions the three new candle trays and then getting the new stuff up on the site. I hope to have the site updated by tomorrow evening for the last push before Christmas. I also have some more of the wonderful baskets that my partner designed to add to the mix. I will be doing the final photography of them also today and getting them ready for the site.

I can then move on to working on my own stuff for the holidays. The things that I have made that need to be shipped are just about finished and I will hopefully get everything shipped out by next week. I can then work on the items that I have to do for people here that live near me. All in all, I can see everything getting done in time.

I went to my storage yesterday and pulled out the boxes of extra wrap and stuff and brought them here to evaluate how much I have and how much I need. With my newly acquired supply of nice boxes, I think I am set and can start getting things checked off my list. With the new items up on the site and finished, I honestly haven't felt so organized in quite a while. It is a really, really good place to be.

I hope you enjoy the tray pictures. Even though they are kind of crummy, I will post better ones when I put them on my gallery page. I just realized that I am way behind in putting stuff there and I need to get it caught up. I don't want to post all the new projects at once though, so I will do so one at a time. Eventually it will be caught up.

Here also is the final picture of the poinsettia candle holder.


I am very happy with it also. I appreciate your kind comments yesterday regarding it and I am glad it has been so far very well received. I can't wait to post them all to the site.

So I am going to enjoy my day up here on the pink cloud, wallowing in my little successes. I hope you all have "pink cloud" days too!

Thanks for reading!
 
#1,409 ·
Sheila Landry
(scroll girl),

Very nice designs both! The Nativity candle tray and charms are my favorites to date of all the candle trays you've designed. I think it may have something to do with the offset symmetry in the border. The wood is most stunning also. Enjoy your pink cloud day, this project may have earned you an entire week up on that cloud! Congratulations on a real winner! Keep on keeping on.

Sincerely,
Ken McGinnis
 
#1,417 ·
Accepting Disappointments and Learning From Them

I actually was able to accomplish all I set out to do yesterday. I didn't finish working until just after 10pm but I was very happy to get that far with things. I took photos for all six of the new projects that are going to go up on the site today, and I also wrote the instructions for all six pattern packets. I sent them off to my friend to proof read them and besides one small line work error that didn't convert correctly on one of the ornaments, it appears that I am ready to go on everything.

Today's main task will be posting the projects on the site, writing the descriptions and writing the email to my customer mailing list which will announce the update. It always feels good when I reach this point in the design cycle. It is very rewarding to see my hard work in the form of a new pattern packet and also a great feeling when the first one is actually ordered. I have received several emails from people who were already interested in the new stuff, and that is a good sign. I am pleased that everything is done and I will be able to move on to other new things and work on my own gifts for a while.

It wasn't all good news though. I received a call from my editor in regards to the skating pond set. On the previous day, he called and we discussed the particulars of the set, as he was preparing the ads for the painting and wood magazines. He was also going to have an ad in it for their general craft magazine, as there are many painters who subscribe to that one. We had discussed the price of the kit of figures, which I had settled on as $60. Cutting the figures myself took several hours (both for myself and my partner) and my friend Rick who cuts very quickly didn't want to do production work either but said if he were to do it, he would need to charge $35 - $40 per set. The best laser cutting quote that I could get was around $30 prior to taxes and shipping. I felt that $60 would be the cheapest that I would be able to offer the pieces and still make a profit.

At first my editor balked at this a bit. He expected the pieces to cost somewhere around $40 - $50 retail and the $60 figure was a bit higher than he thought. When I talked to him on Wednesday, I explained the hours involved and also that I tried several different sources and I even mentioned Rick, who he knows very well. By the end of the conversation, he was convinced that the price was fair and that by asking anything less, the project wouldn't be worth doing.

However, he phoned yesterday to say he pitched the idea to the publisher who owns all of the magazines and that he felt it was too high of a price for the set and people wouldn't pay it. They brought in the editors for both the painting magazine and also the general craft magazine and apparently it was voted down due to the cost of the set. So no ads will be in either of those magazines.

My editor was quite upset about this and to show his good faith, he offered to run a half page ad for me in the scroll sawing magazine. He also said that the rights to the project would once again go back to me completely, with no involvement from the magazine at all. So the good news is that all the profits of the sales of the kits and patterns will go to me, but the bad news is that I will not be able to reach the audience that I wanted to target with it.

I inquired about purchasing my own ad in the painting magazine, as I do believe that if painters see this project they will want to make it, and he is finding the cost out for me. I know though, that it is quite expensive and at this point in my life I know I cannot afford it, no matter what the cost. It is yet another disappointment regarding this project. I am beginning to think it is cursed.

In thinking about it, I am very happy that I have been diversifying so much with my design work. If I had all of my hopes tied to this project, I would certainly be devastated. After the other magazine that published it dropped the ball, I at least had the comfort of knowing that it would be seen by way of these other magazines. However, now that has changed once again and it appears that I am once again looking for a way to promote it to the audience that will want to make it.

I am very appreciative of the efforts of my editor, and I am grateful that he will at least give me the half-page ad after all of this. However, you all as woodworkers know that most woodworkers do not want to or know how to paint and although many woodworkers find the set charming, they will not attempt making such a complicated set. Realistically I know that to be the case.

So where to market it? How can I do so and reach as many people as possible on such a limited budget?

As I stated before, there is now only one major publication geared to decorative painting. That is the magazine that publishes the magazine I work for. The rest of the painting magazines have ceased to exist in this brutal economy that has killed off so many of the creative publications.

There are one or two companies which offer woodworking in addition to some painting projects and I may try to see what headway I can make there. I am not sure though, as again, it is a larger project and therefore risky from a marketing point of view when people are so timid about spending their money. But it is a thought and one that should not be overlooked.

I also plan to make several short step-by-step videos which will show several different basic painting techniques. I planned on using the piece "Mr. Snowman" from the pond scene because he encompasses so many of the different basic painting techniques in one single piece. If I highlight him in the videos and have a reference to my site and the pattern, perhaps that would generate some interest. I will have time in the next couple of weeks to pursue this and in even in the worst case scenario I will come out of it with some nice painting videos for woodworkers who want to learn to paint and also for new painters.

I sit here wondering why I don't feel worse about this than I do. Perhaps because over these years I have learned the very valuable lesson of not counting on only one thing to make my business work. Yes, it hurts a bit, but it is certainly not going to derail me and I feel that I am still learning valuable lessons throughout this process. This is not going to discourage me, but it is going to force me to look harder at what resources I have to figure out how to make this work and successful. I believe in the product and I also believe that if it can get out there and be seen, people will want to make it. It is just a hiccup on the long road of life. Perhaps it will force me to tap into resources I didn't even know that I had. Who knows?

So with that thought in mind, I will carry on with my day. I have a lot of good to focus on and also a lot of thinking to do as far as this little skating pond set. It is all part of learning to make a business work. There is no such thing as 'overnight success' as far as I am concerned. Every now and then we see someone who got lucky or had a huge amount of success come to them quickly, but we still didn't see the hardship and disappointments that they met with along the way to that success. One of my favorite thought on that is "if it were that easy - everyone would be doing it".

I am up for the battle though. I am in a good place with other things holding me up. I like working in many directions at once just for that reason.

And when I am finally victorious, just think how sweet that success will be!

Happy Friday to all of you!
 
#1,418 ·
quote "life wouldn't be life if it were easy"...i think your doing great sheila, your a strong person who knows the path you want..and are doing the work to be successful , times are tough..and its the fighters who will make it…looking at your situation…finding the right way…it all works to your good…you are the best in customer service and the people you deal with know your the best…so keep plugging away…keep those great designs coming and push ahead….....have a great day..grizz
 
#1,427 ·
Random Thoughts on Business

With the week closing out, I can honestly say it has been a productive one. Everything went well with the site update yesterday and it is getting easier to navigate around the software. I am finding myself feeling comfortable doing things and the tasks go rather quickly.

The notification letters look really nice too. It is a vast improvement over the previous software which only allowed text and some basic html. This software uses 'stationary' which matches the tone of my site, and I am able to add in my logo, as well as photographs. I have received many compliments on the improvement and I believe it puts forth a professional look and distinguishes the notices from 'junk mail'. All these factors are small, but important in gaining customer confidence I believe.

I loved the advice and comments from yesterdays post. I think that perhaps splitting up the skating set into individual sub-sets of several pieces is a great idea. It will take a bit of work, as I will need to rewrite the instructions into several different packets, but I feel it may be well worth the effort. I should decide soon however before I create the ad for the magazine. I agree with the fact that it will be far less intimidating for people if they don't have to invest so much money initially and can bite off small pieces as they see fit. It also allows me to naturally add into the set when I wish to expand it. Since the majority of the work is done on it, I think it will be a good thing to experiment on and see which of the marketing tactics will be most successful.

I contacted someone from a company that offers decorative painting patterns yesterday and approached her with the idea of selling the set and/or the pattern. This company has been around a while and is one of the most well-known in the decorative painting industry. They also sell wooden blanks to go with patterns, much like I am offering and since the pieces are all ready for laser cutting, I am hoping that it will possibly help open the door for the company to give me a try. They work with several of the other designers that I like who are also cottage-type industries and I thought it was worth it to me to at least inquire and let them know I am out here. We will have to wait and see what the response is.

When I submit to new places such as this, I have learned to go into it with the attitude of "what have I got to lose?" With times being as they are, I do realize that many companies are downsizing rather than expanding and most of them are not willing to take risks. However, some may take some chances, as they realize that they still need to provide fresh ideas and material for their customers. Hopefully, I will be able to fill that need.

I have learned to accept rejection rather well over the years. I am not saying that as a martyr, but anyone in my business will tell you that things are rejected far more than accepted in the publishing field. Especially when you are just starting out. It seems that it takes some time to get a feel for what the publishers are looking for, whether they are publishing a magazine or an instruction book or whatever. I have found that each company that I work with has a different agenda and it takes some time to be able to develop the intuition needed to satisfy them time and time again.

I found that the best way to work is to diversify and not count on only one place to be successful. It is like playing the stock market. If you invest all of your resources into a single stock, then you are a slave to its performance. However, if you invest your resources in many different places, if one fails you aren't hurt as deeply and are still able to function and survive.

I believe business should be the same way. When things are going well for your company, everyone wants you to focus only on them. I try to spread things around - in good times and bad - and keep my several outlets for my business all happy. This includes myself and my own website. As a matter of fact, I am finding that myself and my website are (and should be) the most important factors in my business. I had always thought of the site as kind of an afterthought until this year. The website was something that I had for the few customers that had internet access to see and I was terrible about keeping it updated. It showed in the figures too, as the sales were few and far between. Just two years ago I had a total of only about $600 in sales - for the year.

For some reason, a year or so ago when I began rebuilding my company, it dawned on me the power that I held in my own hands with that site. It was a tremendous amount of work to get it up to par, and still will require more work to get it to where I want it to be, but it is turning out to be a great tool and asset to my overall business. It is the one aspect of my business that I have total control of. I also like the fact that any changes that I make to it are instantaneous. I can test market new ideas and things and see the results in a relatively short time frame. (Unlike when I have to wait for months for things to be published) I also like that I don't have to ask permission or answer to anyone regarding what I do with it. I can try what I wish and not have to go through committees or approval processes.

All in all, I am very happy with the job I chose. I realize that it isn't for everyone, and you need to have a pretty thick skin sometimes, but I also feel that the rewards are very much worth it. It seems that no matter how successful I am, there is always another challenge right around the corner to meet. I do like that and I feel it helps me grow as a designer and a businesswoman. I can't wait to see what is coming next!

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and friendship. I hope you all have a great Saturday.
 
#1,428 ·
Sheila, your web site looks wonderful and you have done a great job with it. As always, your posts are full of wisdom, common sense, entertainment, and good practical advise. I really do enjoy reading your blog so thanks for posting. :)
 
#1,432 ·
My Turn To Ask Some Questions

Recently when working with some purple heart wood, my partner noticed something unusual. (Maybe it was not so unusual, but it was to us) In choosing a piece of wood for his projects, he noticed that some of the purple heart looked more purple and other areas of it looked more brownish.

He was choosing the piece to make some small overlay pieces on his new ornament patterns and thought the purple color would be suitable.

In his observations, he saw that one edge in particular was quite purple compared to the rest of the piece and almost bright in color. When cutting the section that he was to use off of the larger board, he also saw that it seemed when heat was built up from the blade the color seemed to be brighter. We did some experiments.

Since we felt that perhaps the heat from the blade was causing the wood to change color, we wanted to try heating a small piece of wood to see what happened. We have a small toaster oven and put a scrap in it and watched it to see the result. After a few minutes, the color of the wood piece did seem to intensify. Cool, we thought.

He proceeded to cut his overlay pieces and then before gluing them onto the ornaments, heated them until the color was much more intense. He had to watch the wood carefully or else the ends of the wood got too brown - much like cookies baking a bit too much. He then proceeded to glue on the overlays and spray finish the ornaments with spray acrylic sealer.

I have some questions for you all regarding this process:

Have any of you had any experience with purple heart and why this would occur?

Is what we did by heating the wood a similar process to the 'roasting' process that they did to the beautiful dark rich birch piece I recently bought at the specialty wood store?

Is the change permanent, or will the wood revert back to a lighter color?

I realize that wood is an ever-changing breathing organism. However, I am wondering if by sealing it at that stage of color with the acrylic will halt the process and the wood would perhaps remain that shade of purple.

I know that many of you use exotic hard woods such as purple heart in your projects and I am sure that you can offer me much more information of your experiences with it that I have now. I would love to hear your feedback on what you may have discovered.

Today will be a day of organization for me. I went out yesterday and purchased 25 feet of thin foam that is typically used under 'click floors'. If any of you are shipping gifts for the holidays, I would highly recommend this as something to use for protecting your nice wood items. It is thin and lightweight, yet gives a nice bit of protection to your pieces. I plan on using it to wrap the little skating figures from the pond. I am going to make a small envelope for each piece out of it and it will be a nice way to package the pieces and help keep them from getting scraped or breaking. (Let me know if you would like pictures) I was looking for the white foam sheeting, but I was only able to find the light green color with a logo printed throughout. I thought the white would have looked a bit nicer, but with living in a rural area such as I do, my choices were quite limited.

I am going to spend the next couple of days getting things ready for shipping and also working on some other gifts that I have to make. I have some new ideas too for projects and will get busy with them.

It is raining a bit today, but I hear that in the states that many people are experiencing snow. It will only be a matter of time now before we also have a blanket here. I really don't mind though, as I enjoy the winter as much as the summer.

I am invited for rappie pie dinner today. Rappie pie (or Rapture Pie as some call it) is an Acadian dish of chicken and ground potatoes and when made correctly, is absolutely incredible. I live here on what is called the French Shore of Nova Scotia which is rich in Acadian history. Many people are ancestors of the settlers who arrived here 400 years ago and there are so many people named 'Comeau' here that they even named the neighboring town 'Comeauville'. My friends that I am seeing are descendants of some of those original settlers and it is sure to be a wonderful time. Good food and good company. What better way to spend a Sunday?
 
#1,440 ·
Endorsements

Yesterday I was able to finish the little cardinal earrings that I needed to get done. They came out cute, and were not very hard to do at all. I had lost the pattern that I used several years ago and had to redraw them, but since they are so simple and so small, there wasn't the need for lots of detail so things moved very quickly. They are tiny (only about an inch each) and I made them of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood. I used an eye screw as a hanger for them and now only need to attach the earring hook onto them. I can't seem to locate where I had stored the little bag of earring hooks that I had though, so it may mean a trip to the store.

Here is a pic of them finished:

Bird Beak Feather Galliformes Phasianidae


Bernie and Ellen talked about coming down to pick them up, as they are going to see his sister later in the week, but I think I would be better off mailing the set to them. It should only take a day, and it is quite slick out there. Our friend Lee wound up sliding off the road yesterday on his way home from work. As we understand it, both he and the car are fine, but for the $2 postage it would cost to mail these, I think it would be best so not to have Bernie and Ellen make the extra trip.

I also finished my paperwork and submission forms for both Loew-Cornell paint brushes and DecoArt paints. I am enrolled in designer programs for both companies. The programs are set up for designers such as myself so that we try and promote their products. The companies realize that if we publish a project and recommend and use their products, others will want to also. If we mention the products by name in our publications, we receive small compensation from the company. I have been involved with both of these companies for years.

As with my DeWalt saw (which I receive no compensation for endorsing), I really only use one brand of paint brushes and one brand of paint. I have used the same brush line ever since I started painting and I do believe that it is the best line on the market. As with tools, the caliber of brushes does make a difference.

As far as the paint goes, when I first started painting and getting my projects published, I was approached by the two main painting companies. Both gave me full sets of their paint to try and use (over 300 colors each) and one company in particular was interested in me. Many designers flipped back and forth and published using both brands of paint, but just like I don't like going to different magazines for reasons of loyalty, I didn't flip back and forth between paints. I published exclusively using Delta paints for over ten years. It was nothing against DecoArt, but Delta had simply talked to me first and I was already familiar with their palette, as I had used them when I was learning.

Since I moved here to Canada though, there were several years when I was unable to focus my time on painting. I did go to my weekly painting class in Bear River, but that was more of a personal thing and I wasn't painting to be published or for my business. Over the past few years though, I found it more and more difficult to find the Delta products. I noticed that they stopped advertising altogether in the painting magazines and when I called their customer service regarding finding products or with questions, I had little success in finding answers. I was very disappointed.

Last summer when I first thought of my skating pond set, I made the decision to switch brands of paint and work with DecoArt. My set of paints was still in my storage back in Chicago, and had been there for six years. I didn't know if they were even any good anymore. I contacted my good friend who was good enough to find the paints among my many storage boxes and she checked them out and yes, they were indeed good. She packed them up and sent them here to me. As I went through them, I found that only a handful of them were not usable and the rest were fine. I contacted the representative from DecoArt who was happy to enroll me in their program and immediately sent me a wonderful box of samples of all kinds of paints, mediums and finishes. It was as if Christmas came early. I not only got a supply of the newest colors of the main acrylics, but several different lines of paints to paint on glass, fabric, plastic, etc. There were several different mediums such as crackle, stucco, and so forth and several different finishes from antiquing to metallic and other things that I can apply to my woodworking designs too. The Staining and Antiquing medium was among the new items that I tried on the candle trays and I absolutely love it. There are many other mediums that I will be using in future projects that will make them fun and interesting.

It was a big thing to switch brands, as I had to get to know the colors by name all over again. I am very happy that I made the change though, as since then when I have questions about anything, I am able to get definitive answers quickly, and so are my customers.

I like endorsing products that I believe in. I think that by doing so, it gives my customers some confidence that when they try to make one of my designs, they will achieve good results. There have been many times when someone contacts me and they are having problems with things, and I find that they are using inferior products. And it isn't necessarily that they are using cheaper products - just inferior ones. Paying more money doesn't necessarily mean that it is the best product. My saw is a great example of that. I just love the DeWalt.

In any case, I do take endorsing products very seriously. If others are looking up to me for advice, I want to be absolutely sure that I am giving them the best advice available. I don't just recommend a product because someone would pay me to do so. I have to believe in it myself. I want everyone to be successful when working on one of my designs. That is the most important thing for me.

So today I may try to do some videos. It is quite gloomy out and still sleeting snow, but I think I will give it a shot. I want to make some short cutting and painting videos available, as there seemed to be lots of interest in them. I think it will be fun.

Have a great day!
 

Attachments

#1,441 ·
Endorsements

Yesterday I was able to finish the little cardinal earrings that I needed to get done. They came out cute, and were not very hard to do at all. I had lost the pattern that I used several years ago and had to redraw them, but since they are so simple and so small, there wasn't the need for lots of detail so things moved very quickly. They are tiny (only about an inch each) and I made them of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood. I used an eye screw as a hanger for them and now only need to attach the earring hook onto them. I can't seem to locate where I had stored the little bag of earring hooks that I had though, so it may mean a trip to the store.

Here is a pic of them finished:

Bird Beak Feather Galliformes Phasianidae


Bernie and Ellen talked about coming down to pick them up, as they are going to see his sister later in the week, but I think I would be better off mailing the set to them. It should only take a day, and it is quite slick out there. Our friend Lee wound up sliding off the road yesterday on his way home from work. As we understand it, both he and the car are fine, but for the $2 postage it would cost to mail these, I think it would be best so not to have Bernie and Ellen make the extra trip.

I also finished my paperwork and submission forms for both Loew-Cornell paint brushes and DecoArt paints. I am enrolled in designer programs for both companies. The programs are set up for designers such as myself so that we try and promote their products. The companies realize that if we publish a project and recommend and use their products, others will want to also. If we mention the products by name in our publications, we receive small compensation from the company. I have been involved with both of these companies for years.

As with my DeWalt saw (which I receive no compensation for endorsing), I really only use one brand of paint brushes and one brand of paint. I have used the same brush line ever since I started painting and I do believe that it is the best line on the market. As with tools, the caliber of brushes does make a difference.

As far as the paint goes, when I first started painting and getting my projects published, I was approached by the two main painting companies. Both gave me full sets of their paint to try and use (over 300 colors each) and one company in particular was interested in me. Many designers flipped back and forth and published using both brands of paint, but just like I don't like going to different magazines for reasons of loyalty, I didn't flip back and forth between paints. I published exclusively using Delta paints for over ten years. It was nothing against DecoArt, but Delta had simply talked to me first and I was already familiar with their palette, as I had used them when I was learning.

Since I moved here to Canada though, there were several years when I was unable to focus my time on painting. I did go to my weekly painting class in Bear River, but that was more of a personal thing and I wasn't painting to be published or for my business. Over the past few years though, I found it more and more difficult to find the Delta products. I noticed that they stopped advertising altogether in the painting magazines and when I called their customer service regarding finding products or with questions, I had little success in finding answers. I was very disappointed.

Last summer when I first thought of my skating pond set, I made the decision to switch brands of paint and work with DecoArt. My set of paints was still in my storage back in Chicago, and had been there for six years. I didn't know if they were even any good anymore. I contacted my good friend who was good enough to find the paints among my many storage boxes and she checked them out and yes, they were indeed good. She packed them up and sent them here to me. As I went through them, I found that only a handful of them were not usable and the rest were fine. I contacted the representative from DecoArt who was happy to enroll me in their program and immediately sent me a wonderful box of samples of all kinds of paints, mediums and finishes. It was as if Christmas came early. I not only got a supply of the newest colors of the main acrylics, but several different lines of paints to paint on glass, fabric, plastic, etc. There were several different mediums such as crackle, stucco, and so forth and several different finishes from antiquing to metallic and other things that I can apply to my woodworking designs too. The Staining and Antiquing medium was among the new items that I tried on the candle trays and I absolutely love it. There are many other mediums that I will be using in future projects that will make them fun and interesting.

It was a big thing to switch brands, as I had to get to know the colors by name all over again. I am very happy that I made the change though, as since then when I have questions about anything, I am able to get definitive answers quickly, and so are my customers.

I like endorsing products that I believe in. I think that by doing so, it gives my customers some confidence that when they try to make one of my designs, they will achieve good results. There have been many times when someone contacts me and they are having problems with things, and I find that they are using inferior products. And it isn't necessarily that they are using cheaper products - just inferior ones. Paying more money doesn't necessarily mean that it is the best product. My saw is a great example of that. I just love the DeWalt.

In any case, I do take endorsing products very seriously. If others are looking up to me for advice, I want to be absolutely sure that I am giving them the best advice available. I don't just recommend a product because someone would pay me to do so. I have to believe in it myself. I want everyone to be successful when working on one of my designs. That is the most important thing for me.

So today I may try to do some videos. It is quite gloomy out and still sleeting snow, but I think I will give it a shot. I want to make some short cutting and painting videos available, as there seemed to be lots of interest in them. I think it will be fun.

Have a great day!
I had to laugh when I read that you had lost the little bag with the ear ring hooks in it. I used to lose little bags of things like that. I had an idea though. I drink a lot of coffee. So I started saving my coffee cans. I store everything in sections, like screws, nails, hardware, etc., in the coffee cans, in their little bags. That way, I can at least locate the general area in which the bag is lost, in it's coffee can.
Do you have any idea how many different "sections" you can come up with for various small parts and supplies?
Did you know that it is also possible to have so many of a certain "section" (screws, nails, hardware), to have two and even three cans of them?
Now I never lose those little bags. I do, however, misplace whole coffee cans full of certain type items grouped together in a coffee can.
 

Attachments

#1,450 ·
Three New Videos!

I accomplished quite a bit yesterday. Sometimes, when I am working on the office part of the business (correspondence, paperwork, etc.) it seems that I am treading water. I know my blogs aren't as exciting to you all when I talk of the mundane parts of the operation of my business, but it is essential and necessary part of my job that helps me to expand and grow. I had some promising payoff yesterday that may be a very positive things for me. I almost don't want to even mention yet because I don't want to 'jinx' it, but I realize that is silly and I have guarded optimism that things will work out. (Pink cloud alert!)

Many of you who read regularly have seen the ups and downs that I have had with my skating pond set. After waiting the better part of this year for it to be published, I was then disappointed because the publication left out the vital information as to how to contact me (which still hasn't been resolved yet) I then was offered ads in several different magazines in order to sell the patterns and kits myself, only to hear that the top brass didn't approve of offering it on that scope. I will be given a (much appreciated) half page ad in my own magazine as compensation.

Although I am grateful for the ad I will receive, I still felt that the set won't be seen by the proper audience - the painters. I really believe in this project however, and it is because of believing in it that I continued to pursue different avenues to market it. Something inside me just won't settle and let it go.

Late last week, I sent a proposal to one of the biggest tole painting suppliers in the US. I have known of them since I began tole painting in 1996. I ordered from them many times, and they not only have a great web presence, but they also send out several wonderful catalogs a year. They also offer wood pieces to go along with the pattern packets and books they sell and seem to support many 'cottage industry' designers such as myself. I got my nerve up and donned my "what have I got to lose" hat and called their office. I received the name of the woman who was in charge of acquiring new items for distribution, and it turned out I have been a fan of her work for them for many years. I was given the option of talking to her directly on the phone or emailing her and I chose to email her with the details. I felt that I would make a better impression if she could see what I was offering instead of hearing about it without even knowing who I was.

I prepared the email for her and sent it off on Friday. In it I sent the finished pattern packet of the Skating Pond Vignette as well as a link to my site so she could see my other work. I hit the "send" button not knowing if I would even hear from her again.

On Monday, I received a note in the email from her that she was interested in the set and that they were having a meeting on Tuesday to decide on things for the March catalog. She said she would present it to the group and get back to me. I was happy that she liked it enough to present it and tried not to get my hopes up too much.

Yesterday, I received another email from her. In it she stated that they all liked the set and idea, and she was wondering if I would be able to split it into several sets because the only concern they had was the size of it. That was also something that I was considering doing, as the idea was not only mentioned to me here as feedback from this blog, but in other places too. Originally, I was going to have it run in 4-5 issues of the magazine as smaller sets. When I designed it, it was with that in mind. It wasn't until later on when they pushed it into one issue, making it a much larger endeavor.

I responded that I would be wiling to split it up and I am trying to not get my hopes up too much until something is more definite, but I am happy that I took the chance and didn't give up. Whether it works out for me or not, it is a good lesson in promoting myself and now they know that I exist and I will hopefully be able to develop a relationship with them and obtain another (large) outlet for my work. Stay tuned for further developments . . .

In the mean time, I also shot three short videos yesterday. I received lots of positive feedback on the other short videos and I like the idea of keeping them short and to the point. I was going to use my Windows Movie Maker and string them all together with some cool fading and stuff, but when they were done, I liked them as short, simple videos and I have decided to keep them all separate. I feel that it will be easier to find just what you need without wasting time on watching what you already know. I can still include all of them as a series and offer them on DVD in it's entirety, but they will all be separate chapters and easy to index and find.

So without further babbling - my new videos!

The first one is how to apply the pattern to your wood using temporary spray adhesive:



Next I show how to prepare the wood for stack cutting three layers of plywood at a time:



And finally I show the actual cutting of the stacked pieces:



I choose to use the snowman piece from the pond set because I am going to continue adding videos of the painting process I used for him. He is small and simple and I will be able to highlight several different techniques in creating him. By the time he is finished, he should encompass all the techniques needed to get you started on both cutting and basic painting.

As always, your feedback and comments are very welcome. I realize that the sound can be an issue on the cutting video, and I did limit my speaking on that one because of the saw noise. Eventually I will work on over-dubbing the voice, but at this point I am quite overwhelmed with learning everything and for now I believe that this is adequate and gets the point across. I need to use the equipment that I have in order to make these right now and it is the best I can do.

I hope you enjoy them and learn something from them. It is a great new way for me to teach. I know there is a great deal of room for improvement, but at least it is a start!

Thanks for looking! :D
 
#1,467 ·
Some Packaging and Shipping Tips

Some days are just more quiet than others. I don't mind though. In fact, I really do like those time sometimes.

I spent the day yesterday working on my own holiday gifts for everyone, as I want to get them shipped out before too long. I know it is getting to be crunch time. I know many of you also make wonderful gifts that need to be shipped. In my years of sending my delicate woodwork to the magazine to be published, I have learned much about packaging items for shipping. Nothing is worse than spending hours on making a beautiful piece only to have it broken during shipping.

A short while back, I wrote an article with some tips on packaging and shipping your items safely. I think now is a good time to share it with you. You can find it on my "Free Stuff" page on my site, but I am also offering the direct link to it below:

Article on Packaging and Shipping

I hope it gives you some good tips so that when you are shipping your gifts this holiday season, they arrive safely and in tact.

I will continue today to work on the items that I need to send off. Hopefully they will all arrive in time.

Have a great day this Thursday. I hope you all have a lot of fun being creative!
 
#1,471 ·
A Blog about Blogging

Some days my life seems like an oxymoron. It seems that I am forever burning the midnight oil and pushing myself to finish something, only to find that once it is completed it is weeks and sometimes even months before I realize the benefits of completing it. By the time the item is published in one of the magazines or in the catalogs, it has been so long since it was the focus of my attention that I am somewhat surprised when I finally see it in print. There have even been times, I admit, when I have forgotten about it altogether. I am now in a period of time in my business life where I am awaiting several decisions on many key projects and issues.

Such is working in the publishing business.

Since I began writing this blog back in May, it has made me acutely aware of the passage of time. This is the first time I have done anything of this sort, and I am seeing that it is quite useful to have documentation of the progress of the many projects that I do and also of my life in general. My friend Ellen is the only adult that I know that keeps a journal. There have been many times in the years that I have known her when a friendly dispute may have come up as to when a particular event was, and Ellen would look up in her journal and come up with a definitive answer. She tells us that she has kept her journal since she was a young girl, and I can only imagine the volumes that sit in a box or a drawer somewhere in her attic. I wonder if she ever rereads them and relives those parts of her life. I will have to remember to ask the next time I see her.

Did you ever ask yourself "Where did the time go?" I think that most people have thought that at one time or another. I feel it especially at this time of year. Perhaps because it is because of the significance of ending the year and entering a new one. It seems like only yesterday when the kids were small and the new millennium was approaching (remember Y2K concerns?) and now here we are ten years into that. Is it just because I am getting old? Or is it just because as I get older I appreciate the good days more and look at them much more closely than I had in the past.

I find that writing every day has been very useful and beneficial to both my business and my life. Yes, it takes precious minutes out from my busy day. But the returns and benefits that I have gained from doing so far outweigh the cost of the time to do so. Not to mention the new friendships I have made because of it and the valuable advice.

When I started writing here, I was concerned about putting my thoughts and feelings out here for all to see. What if people thought I was foolish? What if no one reads it? What if they think I am an annoyance? When posting those first few entries, I was quite nervous about hitting that 'post' button. After all, this is a woodworking site with hard-core woodworkers and furniture builders. There was a part of me that thought perhaps I didn't belong here, as scroll sawing is my specialty and it was such a small part of this vast site.

But I was never one to be a conformist and run with the masses. It has always seemed that I somewhat marched to my own drummer if you would please excuse the cliche. I found that at most times in my life when everyone else was doing one thing, I was looking to do something else.

When I first began doing scroll sawing, there were few women that did any type of significant woodworking at all. There was one woman whose name is Joann Lockwood, that was probably the only significant female that I knew of in the scroll saw world. She has long since retired, but she did a great job in pioneering a place for women in this type of field. She helped open the door for we woman to not only do scroll sawing, but woodworking in general as well as painting. She was a significant influence in my life and it made me want to also share what I have learned and show people that anyone can do not only scroll sawing, but also woodworking. Thus began my career as a 'teacher'.

So that brings me back to writing every day. I feel that by documenting my experiences here regarding my work and my business, it may help others who are interested in starting their own businesses in the woodworking or publishing field that things are not always as they perceive them to be. I hope that by sharing my experiences with you all, that it helps not only to motivate you if you are thinking of working on your own, but also motivates you to try new techniques even if you are only doing woodworking as a hobby. Nothing pleases me more than hearing that because of my daily writings and patterns that I have encouraged others to either dust off their scroll saws or even purchase scroll saws to give scrolling a try. I feel very strongly that creativity is an incredible outlet and whatever form you choose to express your creativity will absolutely enrich your lives in many different ways. I see it every day not only in my own life, but also in the lives of the many others I interact with throughout the day.

When I started writing this post, I had intended to discuss time frames and playing 'the waiting game' when involved in the publishing field. This was because so many aspects of my professional are on hold at this moments waiting for decisions, answers and publishing dates to arrive. However, as I began to write, I see it has evolved into a discussion about writing this blog in general.

I don't usually title my posts until after I am finished writing them. For those of you who are regular readers, you realize that my style of writing is rather 'stream of consciousness' where I tend to just type what comes to mind. I believe that is the best and only way I am able to write so much on a daily basis. It is as if I am sitting with you and having a cup of coffee in the morning and discussing the day's plans.

On rare occasions, I title the post prior to writing. I used to do this more often, but I find that by the time I am done with the post, I went off in an entirely different direction than intended and the title was no longer relevant. Today's post was a fine example.

I am happy that you for the most part enjoy my blog. Even when I write short posts as I did yesterday, I received some great feedback and PM's that made me feel that what I am doing here is somewhat relevant. (Yes, there are days when I do wonder!) If I can help even one person with a tip or an insight or even an inspiration, then it is definitely worth my time and effort to be here. It is a wonderful motivator all around.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you have a wonderful and creative day!
 
#1,472 ·
Sheila,
I appreciate your willingness to share your craft. I've learned a few things reading your 'stream of consciousness'. Though I don't always comment, of everyone here, I look forward to reading your interesting posts.

Thanks,
Ron
 
#1,475 ·
Overcoming "Blocks"

Well, I started the day today with putting the coffee grounds directly into my cup instead of the pot. What does that tell you? I had heated the final cup from yesterday's pot first thing while I was in the process of making a fresh one (I have a coffee press, so I do finish what is left the first thing when I get up) and I put a nice big spoon of grounds directly into my cup. Hmmm. . . .

I actually set the alarm this morning to get up at 6:30 because I slept until 8am yesterday morning and I wasn't happy about it at all. Most people think that being self-employed that you set your own hours and spend most of them doing what you darn well please. If that is the case, you wouldn't have a business for very long. Ask any successful businessperson.

I usually am happy getting up any time past 5am. I love those early hours - especially in the fall and winter months. It is still dark when I get up and I have the privilege of witnessing the sun come up. That part of the day never escapes my admiration. It is like watching a favorite show over and over again. Sometimes the simplest things in life are really the best moments.

Lately I have found myself to be sleeping in a bit longer. I don't like that at all. I haven't had to use an alarm for years and when I looked at the clock yesterday morning and it was after 8am I was quite horrified. I felt as if I was robbed of my favorite part of the day. The entire day I felt uneasy because I felt as if I was trying to catch up. Noon came too quickly as did 6pm. It seemed I only accomplished a fraction of what I had intended to do. I even missed my walk in order to make up for it but it didn't seem to help.

So today I took the proverbial bull by the horns and set that alarm. I got up before it rang, but just barely. Funny how that happens. At least I feel I am back on track today and not in the least bit tired. Perhaps I am unusual because I don't look upon sleep as a reward or a luxury. I never did. Even when I was in my late teens and worked for one of the big banks in downtown Chicago, my colleagues would cherish the extra hours they would be able to sleep on the weekends. I never quite understood that. I just couldn't seem to train my body to be up at a certain time five days a week and another time the other two. It seemed unnatural to me and I didn't like the thought of sleeping away the weekend. I wanted to enjoy the days off and do stuff around the house or some other crafts that I liked to do so much like paint or embroider (I always liked creative things). The weekends just gave me more time to enjoy them.

I read a blog yesterday by Cozmo saying he was spinning his wheels. I feel as if I am going through the same thing with a gift I want to make for a certain person. Fortunately it is a friend who lives close to me so I have until the very end to complete it and it doesn't have to be shipped. I want to paint her something. She loves teddy bears and does lots of cross stitching and I have this little box which she can keep some of her embroidery floss for the current project she is working on that I want to paint a bear on. She is currently using a candy tin and I think the hand-painted box will look much cooler than that. Last year I painted a beautiful antique bear with a newspaper hat and a sailor suit and a sailboat that came out beautiful. It was for a great friend of mine in Chicago because she is just a wonderful person. I loved that bear, but for it was not my own pattern and I don't want to do the same thing for this friend. I want something unique. I have poured through my painting books and the internet and haven't found any patterns that would be suitable. I am just stuck.

So I have sat here for several nights now, with the clock ticking, trying to decide what to paint. Like Cozmo, I feel as if I am spinning my wheels. But it is important for me to have his done in the next two weeks.

They say that necessity breeds invention. With that in mind, I am going to try a new approach to this dilemma. I decided last night that I am going to design my own pattern to paint. I know what I want. The image is living in my head. I want an old-fashioned type teddy bear in some sort of sewing room with some sewing supplies around it. I can kind of see the image in my head, although it is still cloaked in a layer of fog. As I think about it though, I find the fog is beginning to lift and the image is becoming more and more clear.

I do have original paintings (not from a pattern) that I have done in the past, but they have mainly been off of photographs. I am the type of painter that needs a subject to work from. I haven't really done an original painting for the past couple of years. The Skating Pond Set was my own original design, but that was separate characters and not really the same thing. This will be the first time that I am attempting to make something of this nature in quite a while. Part of me is somewhat overwhelmed at the thought, but the strong yearning for me to do it is perhaps an indication that I am ready to get on with it and try.

I liked painting the little ornaments I showed recently that were designed by others, but my partner began asking me why I was doing others' patterns when I could easily design my own. It planted the seed in my head and got me thinking. Am I getting lazy? Certainly it is far easier following instructions than thinking things up myself. But it occurred to me that perhaps he was right and it was time I stretched my creativity outside of my comfort zone and see what I can come up with. A self-challenge if you will. Perhaps I was getting lazy and that is why I was starting to sleep so late.

I feel great this morning. The sun is just now beginning to illuminate the dark sky. It is the first day in a while that I feel the excitement and enthusiasm of creativity burning inside. I know you all have experienced that feeling before and it is wonderful, isn't it?

We all have some sort of creative block at one time or another. I think the best way to overcome them is to try different things until you find something that works for you. Sometimes it is buying a new tool. Sometimes it is getting organized. Other times it is as simple as changing gears and working on something else that is entirely different. Sometimes it can be as simple as walking away. Take a trip to the zoo or a museum or even a walk in the park or the woods. You never know what will make it click and get you back on track. The good news is that is always does seem to come back. You just need to relax and let things take their course and allow it to come to you sometimes.

I can't wait to get to drawing. If I am lucky, I will also be painting before the day is out. The more I think about it, the more I feel that this is the right path to take. It is now light enough to see that once again the snow is gently falling. "Movie Snow" I call it. Light and gentle and beautiful. I can't wait to get to my walk today either. I will try to remember to take my camera.

Already it is a wonderful day!

Each day is a new canvas to paint upon. Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness, and at the end of the day you don't look at it and wish you had painted something different. -Author Unknown
 
#1,480 ·
Finding Inspiration

After yesterday's blog was finished, I went for my daily walk. As I had stated, it was snowing and turning out to be a beautiful day. I decided to take my camera on my walk with me so that I could share some pictures of what inspires me.

I had spoken about being rather stuck on a gift that I was contemplating making for a friend for Christmas. Although I knew I wanted to makes something special, I was unsure as to which direction I would take. The recipient loves to do cross stitch, and keeps with here a medium sized cookie tin with the supplies she is using for the current project. Although the cookie tin is quite adequate and functional, I feel that I could make something that would be a bit more artistic and somewhat nicer for this purpose. Since she does most, if not all of her cross stitching at home, the item I had in mind wouldn't necessarily need to be portable.

I also noticed that she really likes nostalgic teddy bears. In fact, the current cross stitch picture she is working on is one of teddy bears in a sewing room. It is absolutely beautiful and is almost fully covered in stitching. The scene is several vintage teddy bears among sewing paraphernalia and it has an overall nostalgic look to it. The colors are deep and rich and it is quite beautiful. She has a nice place reserved for it on the wall of her dining area where she does much of her work.

While I was walking, I was thinking about the box I would like to make for her. I originally had a medium sized rectangular box that was about 10 in long by 7" wide and almost 3" deep. It was a bit smaller than the cookie tin she was using though and the quality of the box was mediocre. I wasn't sure that I wanted to invest the time and effort necessary to paint it because it just wasn't the type of thing that I would consider a keepsake. I am sure I would be able to use it for something, but it just didn't seem right for this project.

It is amazing to me how getting out and having a change of scenery can get your mind going in a new direction. It felt so good walking in the fresh air and walking through the falling snow and not trying so hard to come up with something. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and the break that I was taking and getting out. I wasn't cold at all, and took my time to walk the trail and appreciate the smells and sounds and look of the day.

When I was just about home, I remembered that I had some nice wood pieces that I had bought from a painting supplier several years before. Among them was one of my favorite pieces to date - a round box that was intended to keep cookies in. I had painted up one from a Betty Caithness pattern which looked like a Victorian house and sweet shop.

Plant Rectangle Window Wood Serveware


This is the other side:

Serveware Dishware Art Font Porcelain


And the lid:

Food Tableware Dishware Cake decorating Ingredient


I don't keep many of the things I paint, but I really do like how this one came out and it still sits up on the top of my refrigerator to this day. I had bought several of these pieces, as I loved the shape of them and the quality was really nice. Although it is a bit larger than the cookie tin she is using, I think it will make a nice piece to keep her supplies in and hopefully be something she will keep for many years. I don't know why I didn't think about it before.

I plan to paint the gift with some teddy bears and perhaps a vintage sewing machine on it. I thought that on the lid I could perhaps paint a tape measure and some spools of thread and scissors. I want to keep the theme nostalgic. In one of my other life times, I used to design and sell mohair teddy bears, and I believe I still have some pictures of my own bears that I had made for reference photos. It is quite exciting to see the project coming together in my mind and I am very anxious see it come to life.

I retrieved the container from where I had it stored and sanded and base coated it yesterday. While it was drying in between coats, I spent the day drawing. I have two bears and the sewing machine drawn, and I also decided to do a sleeping kitty on the back, as she also loves cats. Although all the details are not clear yet, I think in the end it will be a fine piece to give as a gift to a special person.

It is amazing how a simple walk in the woods can clear your mind and inspire you. I don't know what reminded me of that container, but something did between the time I left the house for the walk and the time I returned home. Perhaps letting go and not trying to think so much was the answer. Just allowing the pleasant and simple things in life to be the focus seemed to do wonders to clear my mind and get back on track. Letting the inspiration come to you instead of looking for it.

We all have creative blocks from time to time. When we are in the midst of them, it is sometimes difficult for us to see a way out. I think that backing off and refocusing on something that gives us pleasure, no matter how simple it is, can be a wonderful way to overcome those difficult times and stimulate our creativity.

At least it is worth a try. Enjoy your day!

 

Attachments

#1,481 ·
Finding Inspiration

After yesterday's blog was finished, I went for my daily walk. As I had stated, it was snowing and turning out to be a beautiful day. I decided to take my camera on my walk with me so that I could share some pictures of what inspires me.

I had spoken about being rather stuck on a gift that I was contemplating making for a friend for Christmas. Although I knew I wanted to makes something special, I was unsure as to which direction I would take. The recipient loves to do cross stitch, and keeps with here a medium sized cookie tin with the supplies she is using for the current project. Although the cookie tin is quite adequate and functional, I feel that I could make something that would be a bit more artistic and somewhat nicer for this purpose. Since she does most, if not all of her cross stitching at home, the item I had in mind wouldn't necessarily need to be portable.

I also noticed that she really likes nostalgic teddy bears. In fact, the current cross stitch picture she is working on is one of teddy bears in a sewing room. It is absolutely beautiful and is almost fully covered in stitching. The scene is several vintage teddy bears among sewing paraphernalia and it has an overall nostalgic look to it. The colors are deep and rich and it is quite beautiful. She has a nice place reserved for it on the wall of her dining area where she does much of her work.

While I was walking, I was thinking about the box I would like to make for her. I originally had a medium sized rectangular box that was about 10 in long by 7" wide and almost 3" deep. It was a bit smaller than the cookie tin she was using though and the quality of the box was mediocre. I wasn't sure that I wanted to invest the time and effort necessary to paint it because it just wasn't the type of thing that I would consider a keepsake. I am sure I would be able to use it for something, but it just didn't seem right for this project.

It is amazing to me how getting out and having a change of scenery can get your mind going in a new direction. It felt so good walking in the fresh air and walking through the falling snow and not trying so hard to come up with something. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and the break that I was taking and getting out. I wasn't cold at all, and took my time to walk the trail and appreciate the smells and sounds and look of the day.

When I was just about home, I remembered that I had some nice wood pieces that I had bought from a painting supplier several years before. Among them was one of my favorite pieces to date - a round box that was intended to keep cookies in. I had painted up one from a Betty Caithness pattern which looked like a Victorian house and sweet shop.

Plant Rectangle Window Wood Serveware


This is the other side:

Serveware Dishware Art Font Porcelain


And the lid:

Food Tableware Dishware Cake decorating Ingredient


I don't keep many of the things I paint, but I really do like how this one came out and it still sits up on the top of my refrigerator to this day. I had bought several of these pieces, as I loved the shape of them and the quality was really nice. Although it is a bit larger than the cookie tin she is using, I think it will make a nice piece to keep her supplies in and hopefully be something she will keep for many years. I don't know why I didn't think about it before.

I plan to paint the gift with some teddy bears and perhaps a vintage sewing machine on it. I thought that on the lid I could perhaps paint a tape measure and some spools of thread and scissors. I want to keep the theme nostalgic. In one of my other life times, I used to design and sell mohair teddy bears, and I believe I still have some pictures of my own bears that I had made for reference photos. It is quite exciting to see the project coming together in my mind and I am very anxious see it come to life.

I retrieved the container from where I had it stored and sanded and base coated it yesterday. While it was drying in between coats, I spent the day drawing. I have two bears and the sewing machine drawn, and I also decided to do a sleeping kitty on the back, as she also loves cats. Although all the details are not clear yet, I think in the end it will be a fine piece to give as a gift to a special person.

It is amazing how a simple walk in the woods can clear your mind and inspire you. I don't know what reminded me of that container, but something did between the time I left the house for the walk and the time I returned home. Perhaps letting go and not trying to think so much was the answer. Just allowing the pleasant and simple things in life to be the focus seemed to do wonders to clear my mind and get back on track. Letting the inspiration come to you instead of looking for it.

We all have creative blocks from time to time. When we are in the midst of them, it is sometimes difficult for us to see a way out. I think that backing off and refocusing on something that gives us pleasure, no matter how simple it is, can be a wonderful way to overcome those difficult times and stimulate our creativity.

At least it is worth a try. Enjoy your day!

This is lovely and almost a shame to repaint something else over it! But don't let me sway your thinking.

You have a beautiful place to take your daily walks in but for me, I can do without the snow! My back hurts more in the cold so I do not miss the low freezing temperatures! Although I do miss the beauty of the fall colors and fresh fallen snow especially when they are light and fluffy and sticks to all the branches. It has been quite cold here in Fla. the past week and will continue through the next week, although you folks up north would laugh at our "cold" temperature and gladly exchange our lows for your lows it is cold for us who have become acclimated to the warmth. We have our fireplace burning and seem to be the only ones on our block to be using it daily. I especially love to have it going this time of year and love the warmth it provides! Call me a wimp, I don't care! ;-)

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top