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My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

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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.
 
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#4,051 ·
Trial and Error and Finally Success

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the nice comments and personal messages you sent me regarding these ornaments. Nothing makes the extra hours and effort spent more worth it than knowing that others enjoy what you made. Anyone who creates can attest to that. The long hours at the saw spent working on these (as well as my sore back!) are now just a faded memory, replaced by a sense of accomplishment and achievement. It really does me good to see how much everyone likes these, and I have already had several requests as to when the patterns will be available for sale.

I promise to get them up on the site as soon as possible - probably within a couple of days. I still need to write and assemble the packet and I still need to do one last checking of the line work to make sure everything is perfect. I want to be certain these go out with no errors.

I spent the bulk of yesterday finish sanding everything and then I applied several coats of spray shellac to the ornaments. The maple ones look lovely and I am glad I decided to leave them all natural colored. I will post final pictures soon when I add this project to my gallery and you will be able to see them all finished.

As for the birch copies, they took a bit more work than I had anticipated. In my own vision, I had an idea of jewel-toned frames with perhaps gold leafing applied. I felt that it would give the ornaments a true Victorian look and be a nice variation from the natural wood. I like the deep jewel tones and think that they have their place in holiday decorating depending on the theme. And for those of you who know me, you know I like giving choices.

My original thought was to use my old standby - the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium and deep colors to stain the frames. I chose a deep Burgundy color and began to apply it to a frame in my usual manner, with a flat brush and just brushing it on the tops of the frame. (I felt it would be quite tedious to try to paint all the sides of the intricate cut out areas.)

This first attempt was quite a disaster. The gel addition to the burgundy paint made it looked watered-down and pinkish. Not the regal look that I was aiming for. I also had a difficult time brushing just the top of the frame, as the paint wanted to gather along the sides and made gel-like ridges along the edges of the designs. To be honest, it looked like crap.

So now what? (On to plan 'b')

I decided to paint the frames in solidly with the color. The area was so small that staining wouldn't show any type of grain and since I had used birch, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. But how the heck would I be able to quickly and easily paint these intricate frames without it taking forever?

I thought a bit and decided to try using a sea sponge. I dampened the sponge first and squeezed it as dry as I could. I then dipped it into the puddle of paint and proceeded to sponge the entire little frame. The sponge got down along the sides enough to just about cover them without having to pick through with a paint brush. Splendid!

The hardest thing about this process was waiting for things to dry. Since I decided to do three each of four colors (Burgundy, Pthalo Blue, Viridian Green and Dioxiodine Purple) the paint from the first one wasn't dry when I was done painting the third, so it wasn't ready to do the back or re-coat the second layer. So I tore four small bits off of the sponge and went from one color to the next. By the time all four colors were finished with the first side, the first pieces were ready to be coated on the back. It was a much more efficient way to do things, I thought.

I applied two coats because all the colors I had chosen were semi-transparent and I wanted full, deep coverage. Besides, since I was planning to apply gold over them, it wouldn't matter if the colors weren't perfectly even. The same was true for the sides of the frames.

When all the base coats were dry, it was time to do the gold accents. Originally, I had intended to do gold leafing, but with the tiny size of these ornaments, it would be a tedious and messy process and would probably not look much different than if I had painted them with gold metallic paint in the first place. I didn't want my customers to have to muss and fuss and get expensive leafing when it wasn't necessary so I went to my supply of Americana Acrylics and pulled a color. The first color I picked was kind of an 'old gold'. I wanted the gold to be subtle and not overpowering so I chose that to start.

However, when I sponged it on the first frame, it only made it look dull and dirty. I was bitterly disappointed. I had to allow it to dry, and then re-coat it with the original burgundy color and wait and think what alternative I could use.

I had a small jar of what they called "liquid leaf" which I never tried before. Since it was quite a bit more watery than the acrylic gold paints, I decided not to use a sponge to apply it because I would have little control as to the amount that would be applied. I decided to use a deerfoot stippler brush and kind of stipple it on the piece. It was smelly and when I pounced the color on, it wanted to run and level out. Again, I was not happy with the look at all. Back to the drawing board again.

I once again base coated the frame to bring it to the original solid color. This time I looked in my DecoArt Acrylics and pulled the brightest gold I had (they have about four different gold colors, believe it or not!) Initially I had thought that it would look gaudy and too bright, but after seeing the dull color of the Venetian Gold on the dark colors, I thought I would give it a try.

I once again used a small piece of sea sponge and tried applying the gold in that manner. Finally I achieved a level of success that I felt was acceptable. The process was quick and easy and quite inexpensive. I sponged the back, front and sides of all the twelve frames in the bright gold and I came close to what I had envisioned in my head. It was a great relief that I hadn't ruined the second set, as I thought perhaps I had. Here are the final results of the day:

Brown Art Wood Ornament Circle


I think they look quite festive!

Here is the blue:

Font Symbol Pattern Electric blue Circle


The green:

Ornament Triangle Gold Font Pattern


The purple:

Font Circle Pattern Metal Symbol


And last but not least, my favorite reindeer in burgundy:

Brown Font Material property Ornament Metal


NOW I feel good about them! They are so different from the natural maple set, but I do like them both almost equally. I think that even as larger plaques they will look very nice. And the best part of all - you didn't even touch a paintbrush to make them look that way! That will be a real plus for those customers of mine who hate to paint! Even children can help make these and be quite successful.

It has almost been a week since I began working on this idea. The days have been full too, and I haven't been slacking. When I look at the two little piles of ornaments in front of me it is hard to believe that something so small took that much time. But I couldn't be happier with the results. And when the patterns are done, I will know within myself that others will be able to successfully recreate these pretty little ornaments without too much difficulty. I have done everything I could to try to insure that and that is what designing is all about to me.

I really do love my job. :)

Today is on to writing and constructing the instructions. I know it is going to be a good one. I hope you all have a great day too!
 

Attachments

#4,052 ·
Trial and Error and Finally Success

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the nice comments and personal messages you sent me regarding these ornaments. Nothing makes the extra hours and effort spent more worth it than knowing that others enjoy what you made. Anyone who creates can attest to that. The long hours at the saw spent working on these (as well as my sore back!) are now just a faded memory, replaced by a sense of accomplishment and achievement. It really does me good to see how much everyone likes these, and I have already had several requests as to when the patterns will be available for sale.

I promise to get them up on the site as soon as possible - probably within a couple of days. I still need to write and assemble the packet and I still need to do one last checking of the line work to make sure everything is perfect. I want to be certain these go out with no errors.

I spent the bulk of yesterday finish sanding everything and then I applied several coats of spray shellac to the ornaments. The maple ones look lovely and I am glad I decided to leave them all natural colored. I will post final pictures soon when I add this project to my gallery and you will be able to see them all finished.

As for the birch copies, they took a bit more work than I had anticipated. In my own vision, I had an idea of jewel-toned frames with perhaps gold leafing applied. I felt that it would give the ornaments a true Victorian look and be a nice variation from the natural wood. I like the deep jewel tones and think that they have their place in holiday decorating depending on the theme. And for those of you who know me, you know I like giving choices.

My original thought was to use my old standby - the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium and deep colors to stain the frames. I chose a deep Burgundy color and began to apply it to a frame in my usual manner, with a flat brush and just brushing it on the tops of the frame. (I felt it would be quite tedious to try to paint all the sides of the intricate cut out areas.)

This first attempt was quite a disaster. The gel addition to the burgundy paint made it looked watered-down and pinkish. Not the regal look that I was aiming for. I also had a difficult time brushing just the top of the frame, as the paint wanted to gather along the sides and made gel-like ridges along the edges of the designs. To be honest, it looked like crap.

So now what? (On to plan 'b')

I decided to paint the frames in solidly with the color. The area was so small that staining wouldn't show any type of grain and since I had used birch, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. But how the heck would I be able to quickly and easily paint these intricate frames without it taking forever?

I thought a bit and decided to try using a sea sponge. I dampened the sponge first and squeezed it as dry as I could. I then dipped it into the puddle of paint and proceeded to sponge the entire little frame. The sponge got down along the sides enough to just about cover them without having to pick through with a paint brush. Splendid!

The hardest thing about this process was waiting for things to dry. Since I decided to do three each of four colors (Burgundy, Pthalo Blue, Viridian Green and Dioxiodine Purple) the paint from the first one wasn't dry when I was done painting the third, so it wasn't ready to do the back or re-coat the second layer. So I tore four small bits off of the sponge and went from one color to the next. By the time all four colors were finished with the first side, the first pieces were ready to be coated on the back. It was a much more efficient way to do things, I thought.

I applied two coats because all the colors I had chosen were semi-transparent and I wanted full, deep coverage. Besides, since I was planning to apply gold over them, it wouldn't matter if the colors weren't perfectly even. The same was true for the sides of the frames.

When all the base coats were dry, it was time to do the gold accents. Originally, I had intended to do gold leafing, but with the tiny size of these ornaments, it would be a tedious and messy process and would probably not look much different than if I had painted them with gold metallic paint in the first place. I didn't want my customers to have to muss and fuss and get expensive leafing when it wasn't necessary so I went to my supply of Americana Acrylics and pulled a color. The first color I picked was kind of an 'old gold'. I wanted the gold to be subtle and not overpowering so I chose that to start.

However, when I sponged it on the first frame, it only made it look dull and dirty. I was bitterly disappointed. I had to allow it to dry, and then re-coat it with the original burgundy color and wait and think what alternative I could use.

I had a small jar of what they called "liquid leaf" which I never tried before. Since it was quite a bit more watery than the acrylic gold paints, I decided not to use a sponge to apply it because I would have little control as to the amount that would be applied. I decided to use a deerfoot stippler brush and kind of stipple it on the piece. It was smelly and when I pounced the color on, it wanted to run and level out. Again, I was not happy with the look at all. Back to the drawing board again.

I once again base coated the frame to bring it to the original solid color. This time I looked in my DecoArt Acrylics and pulled the brightest gold I had (they have about four different gold colors, believe it or not!) Initially I had thought that it would look gaudy and too bright, but after seeing the dull color of the Venetian Gold on the dark colors, I thought I would give it a try.

I once again used a small piece of sea sponge and tried applying the gold in that manner. Finally I achieved a level of success that I felt was acceptable. The process was quick and easy and quite inexpensive. I sponged the back, front and sides of all the twelve frames in the bright gold and I came close to what I had envisioned in my head. It was a great relief that I hadn't ruined the second set, as I thought perhaps I had. Here are the final results of the day:

Brown Art Wood Ornament Circle


I think they look quite festive!

Here is the blue:

Font Symbol Pattern Electric blue Circle


The green:

Ornament Triangle Gold Font Pattern


The purple:

Font Circle Pattern Metal Symbol


And last but not least, my favorite reindeer in burgundy:

Brown Font Material property Ornament Metal


NOW I feel good about them! They are so different from the natural maple set, but I do like them both almost equally. I think that even as larger plaques they will look very nice. And the best part of all - you didn't even touch a paintbrush to make them look that way! That will be a real plus for those customers of mine who hate to paint! Even children can help make these and be quite successful.

It has almost been a week since I began working on this idea. The days have been full too, and I haven't been slacking. When I look at the two little piles of ornaments in front of me it is hard to believe that something so small took that much time. But I couldn't be happier with the results. And when the patterns are done, I will know within myself that others will be able to successfully recreate these pretty little ornaments without too much difficulty. I have done everything I could to try to insure that and that is what designing is all about to me.

I really do love my job. :)

Today is on to writing and constructing the instructions. I know it is going to be a good one. I hope you all have a great day too!
Sheila--Your ornaments look absolutely fantastic. It is certainly evident that you spent a lot of time and care in their preparation. I am sure they will be a good seller. I also appreciate you giving such excellent directions in their creation, as well as different options for the final preparation.
 

Attachments

#4,060 ·
Writing Pattern Packets and 'Just Thinking'

Today's post isn't going to be very exciting, I am afraid. I spent pretty much of yesterday working on the patterns for the new ornaments. I took 'good' pictures of each individually and then in the designated sets and I have to work a bit on those photographs before integrating them into the pattern packets. I also picked through the line work and made everything just right for both the small ornament sizes and the plaque sized designs. I hope to finish up the instructions today so I can get them on the site - hopefully by tomorrow.

We did take time to go for a long walk. We found a 'new' trail not too far from the house and followed it quite a distance. It used to be the old train tracks that ran through our area (there are no more trains here) and it is now used by people who ride four wheelers. It was a nice walk and quite warm for this time of year - around 17C - and we thought we would take advantage of what was probably the last of the warm weather for the year. Upon returning home, I spoke to my son and he told me that they were getting their first sleet/snow in the Chicago area. I also saw that some of my friends in Michigan were experiencing the same so in the next day or so the cold front will have moved its way here.

It rained throughout the night, and is still raining now. The winds are gusty and picking up too. Winter is coming.

We had something sad happen this week in our town. On Monday, a large hump backed whale washed up on the shore right near the fishing plant. My friend Lee (who takes care of the wharf cats) came and told us.

I needed to go to the store on Tuesday and I went down to the beach to see it. I usually wouldn't do that but I suppose that curiosity got the best of me. When I got there, there was only one other woman on the beach. She started talking to me about it and said they didn't know what had killed it. Perhaps it was just his time. Although it was over a city block away, you could see how massive it was. I walked a bit closer, but in the end, kept my distance. It was sad to see such a magnificent creature that way. I know it is part of nature, but it was sad nonetheless.

I only stayed for a moment, my curiosity satisfied, but as I was walking away toward where I parked the car I was passed by a man in a jeep. When I turned back to look, I saw he had driven right up to the whale and was inspecting it up close. Only then did I realize the scope of how large he was. The jeep was parked right next to him and its side was still a couple of feet taller than the vehicle. The man walking next to him appeared to be so small. It reminded me of a science fiction movie.

Lee came over yesterday and told us that they were in the process of removing the whale. He said that they estimated him to be about 60+ feet long. When you think about it, it is an incredible creature.

During my first summer here in Nova Scotia, I went on one of the whale watching tours that are advertised all over this part of the province. I will be honest and say that I wasn't too thrilled about going, as they were costly and I thought that they were much of a tourist trap thing. What were we going to see? A tail slipping into the ocean in the distance like we see in the movies?

However, it turned out to be one of the most fantastic experiences in my life. The first hour or so was not remarkable. We headed out toward center of the Bay of Fundy and there were one or two spottings of a breaching whale in the distance. If you weren't looking in the right direction, you would have missed it. I thought that I was right in my cynicism of the entire process and took the missed sightings in stride.

Then about an hour and a half into the three hour trip, the boat became full of excitement. They cut the engines and we sat quietly on the water and were approached by not one, but two large hump backed whales. The next hour or so was fascinating, as the whales 'played' right near the boat. They were huge (about 50 feet long) and kept going under the boat and sticking out their heads and watching us and it was almost as if you could touch them. It was quite a thrilling experience.

As they swam playfully under the boat, you couldn't help but think that all they had to do was surface quickly and they would certainly be able to overturn it. But they were gentle and the guides even had names for them, as they apparently were 'regulars' that occupied that part of the bay. I can't remember another time when I felt so in awe of nature. They stayed there for over an hour, just hanging around the boat and occasionally sticking their heads out of the water like you see dolphins do at the zoo and watching us. I wonder what they were thinking of the whole thing?

As I said, it was an experience of a lifetime.

I hope to go again some day and this time bring my camera. Although I don't think that I would ever be able to capture the excitement and awe that I felt in a picture. As sad as it was to see this whale who's life was over here on the beach, it reminded me of how our world is so full of amazing things and magnificent creatures - some which are in our own back yard.

Water Liquid Sky Fin Fluid


I thought about all these things the past couple of days. And I feel that my appreciation for my surroundings has deepened somewhat. And also for the wonder of nature.

I wish you all a wonderful day. I hope you take some time to appreciate your own surroundings too.
 

Attachments

#4,061 ·
Writing Pattern Packets and 'Just Thinking'

Today's post isn't going to be very exciting, I am afraid. I spent pretty much of yesterday working on the patterns for the new ornaments. I took 'good' pictures of each individually and then in the designated sets and I have to work a bit on those photographs before integrating them into the pattern packets. I also picked through the line work and made everything just right for both the small ornament sizes and the plaque sized designs. I hope to finish up the instructions today so I can get them on the site - hopefully by tomorrow.

We did take time to go for a long walk. We found a 'new' trail not too far from the house and followed it quite a distance. It used to be the old train tracks that ran through our area (there are no more trains here) and it is now used by people who ride four wheelers. It was a nice walk and quite warm for this time of year - around 17C - and we thought we would take advantage of what was probably the last of the warm weather for the year. Upon returning home, I spoke to my son and he told me that they were getting their first sleet/snow in the Chicago area. I also saw that some of my friends in Michigan were experiencing the same so in the next day or so the cold front will have moved its way here.

It rained throughout the night, and is still raining now. The winds are gusty and picking up too. Winter is coming.

We had something sad happen this week in our town. On Monday, a large hump backed whale washed up on the shore right near the fishing plant. My friend Lee (who takes care of the wharf cats) came and told us.

I needed to go to the store on Tuesday and I went down to the beach to see it. I usually wouldn't do that but I suppose that curiosity got the best of me. When I got there, there was only one other woman on the beach. She started talking to me about it and said they didn't know what had killed it. Perhaps it was just his time. Although it was over a city block away, you could see how massive it was. I walked a bit closer, but in the end, kept my distance. It was sad to see such a magnificent creature that way. I know it is part of nature, but it was sad nonetheless.

I only stayed for a moment, my curiosity satisfied, but as I was walking away toward where I parked the car I was passed by a man in a jeep. When I turned back to look, I saw he had driven right up to the whale and was inspecting it up close. Only then did I realize the scope of how large he was. The jeep was parked right next to him and its side was still a couple of feet taller than the vehicle. The man walking next to him appeared to be so small. It reminded me of a science fiction movie.

Lee came over yesterday and told us that they were in the process of removing the whale. He said that they estimated him to be about 60+ feet long. When you think about it, it is an incredible creature.

During my first summer here in Nova Scotia, I went on one of the whale watching tours that are advertised all over this part of the province. I will be honest and say that I wasn't too thrilled about going, as they were costly and I thought that they were much of a tourist trap thing. What were we going to see? A tail slipping into the ocean in the distance like we see in the movies?

However, it turned out to be one of the most fantastic experiences in my life. The first hour or so was not remarkable. We headed out toward center of the Bay of Fundy and there were one or two spottings of a breaching whale in the distance. If you weren't looking in the right direction, you would have missed it. I thought that I was right in my cynicism of the entire process and took the missed sightings in stride.

Then about an hour and a half into the three hour trip, the boat became full of excitement. They cut the engines and we sat quietly on the water and were approached by not one, but two large hump backed whales. The next hour or so was fascinating, as the whales 'played' right near the boat. They were huge (about 50 feet long) and kept going under the boat and sticking out their heads and watching us and it was almost as if you could touch them. It was quite a thrilling experience.

As they swam playfully under the boat, you couldn't help but think that all they had to do was surface quickly and they would certainly be able to overturn it. But they were gentle and the guides even had names for them, as they apparently were 'regulars' that occupied that part of the bay. I can't remember another time when I felt so in awe of nature. They stayed there for over an hour, just hanging around the boat and occasionally sticking their heads out of the water like you see dolphins do at the zoo and watching us. I wonder what they were thinking of the whole thing?

As I said, it was an experience of a lifetime.

I hope to go again some day and this time bring my camera. Although I don't think that I would ever be able to capture the excitement and awe that I felt in a picture. As sad as it was to see this whale who's life was over here on the beach, it reminded me of how our world is so full of amazing things and magnificent creatures - some which are in our own back yard.

Water Liquid Sky Fin Fluid


I thought about all these things the past couple of days. And I feel that my appreciation for my surroundings has deepened somewhat. And also for the wonder of nature.

I wish you all a wonderful day. I hope you take some time to appreciate your own surroundings too.
Hi Sheila, when I was a boy we would take trips to my grandparents place outside of Yarmouth (I hope I got that right, it was a looong time ago) aboard the Blue Nose, and later the Prince of Fundy. On one of these trips, and I don't remember which ship it was, we got to see a couple of whales breeching. I must agree, it is an exhilarating experience. It is almost the only thing I can remember from those long ago summers. Be well.
 

Attachments

#4,065 ·
Finishing Up

Well folks, it seems I am finally going to be able to finish this up today. Yesterday I spent most of the day working on photos for the pattern packets of the new ornaments. Since there were 24 ornaments (12 of each finish), I wanted to have a single shot of each and also group shots with each type together. That's a lot of editing, even if it is only a couple of steps.

Then I had the step-by-step pictures to work on before I could begin writing. I have gotten in the habit of taking pictures along the way whenever I make a new project and I try to include them in the pattern. With all the resources that I have, it costs me no more time and I find that it really does make a better pattern packet. Not only does it help me organize my thinking when remembering how I did things, but I think it also helps the customer who may have not done this type of project before to better understand the process. All in all it is a good thing.

It takes a while longer to do things this way, but I really like it. I got into the habit of doing things in this manner and I see no reason to go back. I would rather err on the side of providing too much information or being redundant in my instructions than leaving something out and assuming that people know. I always try to look at things with the attitude that I am teaching the process to someone who is new to scroll sawing and hope that I can instruct them properly. How else can we work to expand our craft and keep the newcomers interested?

I hope at some point today to get the new project up on the site. I usually like to update things when I have at least a few new items to present, but there has been many inquiries for this project in the last few day and people are looking for it, so I want to get it up there as quickly as possible. But I still want to make sure that it is done properly and proof read and correct - especially since I know that so many copies will sell quickly. I picked through the line work quite a bit the other day and dare I say that everything in that department is where I want it to be.

So I don't have much to talk about today except I am moving right along and getting things buttoned up. Sometimes even my work is a bit 'routine' it seems. Everything is working well.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The cold front has arrived and it is quite windy out. It rained pretty much all day yesterday, but it was quite warm for most of the day too. The cold air didn't arrive until nightfall. Winter is definitely on its way.

Plant Atmosphere Fog Natural landscape Tree


It may seem like it is taking a long time to finish this project up, but I really don't mind. It feels good to take the time it needs and I am completely enjoying the process, knowing that the final results will be what I envisioned.

"To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Attachments

#4,066 ·
Finishing Up

Well folks, it seems I am finally going to be able to finish this up today. Yesterday I spent most of the day working on photos for the pattern packets of the new ornaments. Since there were 24 ornaments (12 of each finish), I wanted to have a single shot of each and also group shots with each type together. That's a lot of editing, even if it is only a couple of steps.

Then I had the step-by-step pictures to work on before I could begin writing. I have gotten in the habit of taking pictures along the way whenever I make a new project and I try to include them in the pattern. With all the resources that I have, it costs me no more time and I find that it really does make a better pattern packet. Not only does it help me organize my thinking when remembering how I did things, but I think it also helps the customer who may have not done this type of project before to better understand the process. All in all it is a good thing.

It takes a while longer to do things this way, but I really like it. I got into the habit of doing things in this manner and I see no reason to go back. I would rather err on the side of providing too much information or being redundant in my instructions than leaving something out and assuming that people know. I always try to look at things with the attitude that I am teaching the process to someone who is new to scroll sawing and hope that I can instruct them properly. How else can we work to expand our craft and keep the newcomers interested?

I hope at some point today to get the new project up on the site. I usually like to update things when I have at least a few new items to present, but there has been many inquiries for this project in the last few day and people are looking for it, so I want to get it up there as quickly as possible. But I still want to make sure that it is done properly and proof read and correct - especially since I know that so many copies will sell quickly. I picked through the line work quite a bit the other day and dare I say that everything in that department is where I want it to be.

So I don't have much to talk about today except I am moving right along and getting things buttoned up. Sometimes even my work is a bit 'routine' it seems. Everything is working well.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The cold front has arrived and it is quite windy out. It rained pretty much all day yesterday, but it was quite warm for most of the day too. The cold air didn't arrive until nightfall. Winter is definitely on its way.

Plant Atmosphere Fog Natural landscape Tree


It may seem like it is taking a long time to finish this project up, but I really don't mind. It feels good to take the time it needs and I am completely enjoying the process, knowing that the final results will be what I envisioned.

"To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
good morning..what a picture, its fogged in but it is still beautiful to me, but man, where is the snow…well im glad to see things are moving along here, and your projects are doing well huh….and i noticed this is number 520 …wow…what a great contribution…i remember the first time you showed up…a wonderful day for lumber jocks i think…yep…well time for breakfast…you have a great day…susan is at the bazaar right now, we got it all set up and ive come home to, rest my body…have a great day…grizz
 

Attachments

#4,071 ·
Time for a Breath

I felt a great deal of relief last night when I printed out the final copy of my new pattern packets. it was almost 10:30 pm, and it was a good feeling when I laid my head on the pillow knowing that I was just about finished. I am still awaiting on the final proof reading, but for the most part the thinking part and organizing my thoughts is done and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

I am not sure why these patterns seemed a bit different than usual. Perhaps because I knew that the project was a bit more difficult and I wanted to be extra sure that everything would go smoothly for those who were making it. It seems that instead of getting complacent as I do more and things become a bit more 'routine' the growth in my business is having just the opposite effect - I want to offer more details and do an even better job.

I think that all the customer contact that I have has a lot to do with that.

As I look back at my older patterns, I see that there is definitely room for improvement. It isn't that they are bad or the instructions aren't complete. You can certainly follow them and be successful in creating the projects. But over the years, through talking with people and learning myself, I believe I have found much better ways to explain things and present them. Each time I answer a question from a customer, it makes me aware of how I could have perhaps explained something a bit better or in more detail. I learn from them as much as they do from me.

I think this is a good thing.

While part of me wants to go back to the over 500 patterns and rewrite parts of them, I know that wouldn't be a prudent thing to do. As I said, even the oldest pattern packets did a decent job of explaining, and it would take a huge amount of time to revise everything at this point. I didn't have the resources or technology that I have today and while I could spend my time updating the old things, I would rather move ahead and do the best job I can on the new.

I like the point that I am at in my business. It is exciting and rewarding and I feel very inspired by customers and friends alike. From a technical point of view, things are also great. It seems that the fifteen plus years of learning programs and computers and photography is paying off. I must say I am as proud of the pattern packet as I am of the project, as silly as it may seem.

My biggest reward will be when people buy them and are able to easily follow the instructions and make the projects without issues. It really makes me feel good when I get feedback from customers who had a positive experience and learned from my patterns. It isn't all about line work. Sometime I hear from someone who may have never painted before and was able to do so for the first time on one of my projects. Other times it may be when someone had never bevel cut on the saw and was able to do so successfully the first time after reading my instructions. Whatever the instance, it is great positive reinforcement for both myself and them when everything works as it should.

I have really come to like that part of my job. In the past, creating the pattern packet was somewhat of an afterthought. I don't think that it was intentional, but I think I was more focused on the project itself and didn't think as much about teaching others to recreate it. But after many years of designing, I find that teaching others how to recreate my designs is just as important as the design itself. And I take pride in doing a good job in that.

As I worked on these packets this week, I saw people talking on the forums about how much they liked my other patterns. They not only talked about the designs themselves, but the instructions too. Seeing how much they appreciated the extra time that I take in making the packets complete and easy to understand only made me want to do a better job. I can see that I am earning a reputation for a certain level of quality and I want to be sure that I not only maintain that level, but also improve on it wherever I am able. I am certain that it has a lot to do with why my business is growing and doing well even when the economy is so volatile. I am encouraged.

Watch Plant Font Terrestrial plant Circle


I plan on posting the patterns on the site sometime today. Many people have asked for them this week. As much as I would have liked to rush and put them up there right away, I took the time necessary to make sure that they are right. They are still going through the final proofreading this morning and hopefully I will have them posted by the afternoon. I appreciate everyone's patience and know that when they are done, they will be happy I took the extra time to make them right.

After that, I don't know what I have in store for the rest of the day. I have a couple of directions to move into, but I am thinking that I may just take a little time to take a breath and regroup. I think it will do me good. Perhaps a nice long walk in the woods would be in order, as we are still awaiting our first snow. It is brisk out and I think it would be a good chance to get some fresh air and clear my head and start thinking about the next project.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday too.
 

Attachments

#4,072 ·
Time for a Breath

I felt a great deal of relief last night when I printed out the final copy of my new pattern packets. it was almost 10:30 pm, and it was a good feeling when I laid my head on the pillow knowing that I was just about finished. I am still awaiting on the final proof reading, but for the most part the thinking part and organizing my thoughts is done and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

I am not sure why these patterns seemed a bit different than usual. Perhaps because I knew that the project was a bit more difficult and I wanted to be extra sure that everything would go smoothly for those who were making it. It seems that instead of getting complacent as I do more and things become a bit more 'routine' the growth in my business is having just the opposite effect - I want to offer more details and do an even better job.

I think that all the customer contact that I have has a lot to do with that.

As I look back at my older patterns, I see that there is definitely room for improvement. It isn't that they are bad or the instructions aren't complete. You can certainly follow them and be successful in creating the projects. But over the years, through talking with people and learning myself, I believe I have found much better ways to explain things and present them. Each time I answer a question from a customer, it makes me aware of how I could have perhaps explained something a bit better or in more detail. I learn from them as much as they do from me.

I think this is a good thing.

While part of me wants to go back to the over 500 patterns and rewrite parts of them, I know that wouldn't be a prudent thing to do. As I said, even the oldest pattern packets did a decent job of explaining, and it would take a huge amount of time to revise everything at this point. I didn't have the resources or technology that I have today and while I could spend my time updating the old things, I would rather move ahead and do the best job I can on the new.

I like the point that I am at in my business. It is exciting and rewarding and I feel very inspired by customers and friends alike. From a technical point of view, things are also great. It seems that the fifteen plus years of learning programs and computers and photography is paying off. I must say I am as proud of the pattern packet as I am of the project, as silly as it may seem.

My biggest reward will be when people buy them and are able to easily follow the instructions and make the projects without issues. It really makes me feel good when I get feedback from customers who had a positive experience and learned from my patterns. It isn't all about line work. Sometime I hear from someone who may have never painted before and was able to do so for the first time on one of my projects. Other times it may be when someone had never bevel cut on the saw and was able to do so successfully the first time after reading my instructions. Whatever the instance, it is great positive reinforcement for both myself and them when everything works as it should.

I have really come to like that part of my job. In the past, creating the pattern packet was somewhat of an afterthought. I don't think that it was intentional, but I think I was more focused on the project itself and didn't think as much about teaching others to recreate it. But after many years of designing, I find that teaching others how to recreate my designs is just as important as the design itself. And I take pride in doing a good job in that.

As I worked on these packets this week, I saw people talking on the forums about how much they liked my other patterns. They not only talked about the designs themselves, but the instructions too. Seeing how much they appreciated the extra time that I take in making the packets complete and easy to understand only made me want to do a better job. I can see that I am earning a reputation for a certain level of quality and I want to be sure that I not only maintain that level, but also improve on it wherever I am able. I am certain that it has a lot to do with why my business is growing and doing well even when the economy is so volatile. I am encouraged.

Watch Plant Font Terrestrial plant Circle


I plan on posting the patterns on the site sometime today. Many people have asked for them this week. As much as I would have liked to rush and put them up there right away, I took the time necessary to make sure that they are right. They are still going through the final proofreading this morning and hopefully I will have them posted by the afternoon. I appreciate everyone's patience and know that when they are done, they will be happy I took the extra time to make them right.

After that, I don't know what I have in store for the rest of the day. I have a couple of directions to move into, but I am thinking that I may just take a little time to take a breath and regroup. I think it will do me good. Perhaps a nice long walk in the woods would be in order, as we are still awaiting our first snow. It is brisk out and I think it would be a good chance to get some fresh air and clear my head and start thinking about the next project.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday too.
Hi Sheila;

Funny how with what ever we do, we feel we do it very well. Kind of a supreme confidence that we're very good at what we do.Yet when we look back at our own work, say 10 years later, we see plenty of room for improvement.

I guess 10 years into the future, what we do now will look kind of feeble, compared to our current abilities.

That said, wait 10 years before redoing your older patterns.

Have a good Sunday.

Lee
 

Attachments

#4,078 ·
Thank You All So Much

While I am always grateful for the life I have and the people in it, there are some days when it seems quite overwhelming to me. I have wonderful kids, friends and people in my life who make every day good (they even make the not so good ones better) I have a job that I love which allows me to be creative and meet other creative people and share that joy with them. I live in a quiet, beautiful and peaceful place, yet I am still able to 'visit' and communicate with people all over the world, who not only inspire me, but also become good friends. I am a very lucky girl.

For those of you who read often, you know that sometimes I get all warm and fuzzy like this. I don't always know what brings it on, but every once in a while I just take a step back and look in awe at my life and I feel so grateful that I have to say it.

Yesterday I posted my new patterns up on my site and at the various places that I have on the web here (Picasa Web Albums, Facebook, Scrollsaw Workshop, etc.) While I do this often, it is rare that I post to everything at once. Usually it is just here or there, but I was particularly proud of this project and I thought I would spend the time and do so. I also put out a newsletter to my subscribers announcing that the patterns were now available.

The response that I received was overwhelming. In all the time that I have been doing this, I have never received such a reaction to a mailing. Maybe it was the timing. Maybe the product. Maybe just a little bit of both. It was like all the planets and stars and sun were aligned properly and things just worked out.

I planned on doing some drawing for the rest of the day, but I am happy to say that I spent the afternoon and evening filling orders and answering emails and corresponding with my customers. It was great.

I really love my customers. I enjoy when they share their pictures and ideas and thoughts with me. It's a part of the business that I don't ever want to change. When I receive an order from my site, I am the one that sends it out. I know that many sites have the ability to be fully automated, and I do believe that my site is the same. If I wanted to change things, I could set it up where my patterns are uploaded as downloadable files (like I do for the free pattern) and the customers would be able to self-serve without me being involved at all. But I really don't want to do that. To me, that somewhat de-personalizes (is that a word?) things and to me it would take away part of what I like about it.

I know that as I grow I need to figure out ways to do things more efficiently, and I think that in many aspects I am doing just that. But for now at least, I like that I personally fill each order and have direct contact with every customer that I have. I want to hold on to that as long as I can.

Yesterday as I was filling an order, I recognized a customer who has purchased some of my patterns before. As usual, I put a little personal greeting in when I sent her order. A little while later, I received a nice message back from her, including some pictures of what she has done with my patterns. I was thrilled that she had such fun with them and it made me feel good to see that she not only enjoyed them, but had several orders for the finished projects. This is one of my favorite parts of designing.

Here are the pictures Carol sent me:

Christmas ornament Leaf Christmas tree Amber Lighting


Wood Font Metal Pattern Rectangle


The first picture is a variety of my embellished ornament designs where she embedded different beads and stones into the pieces. I think they look great!

The second picture shows how Carol scrolled names into the tops of the little sled ornaments that I designed to personalize them for people. She said she has many ordered.

I really appreciate when people share things like this with me. Sometimes they seem to be timid about it and say they hope I won't be insulted because they changed the design. Nothing could be further from how I feel. I always am very flattered that someone would take the time to modify my designs to suit their own needs. Many times, seeing the different ways that they utilize the patterns also sparks some new ideas in me for future designs. It is all good.

So with that said, I just want to say 'thank you' again to everyone for all your support and friendship. Whether you are family or friends or customers or a little of each, I truly appreciate your comments and feedback and ideas. You just make me want to do even better!

Have a great Monday!
 

Attachments

#4,079 ·
Thank You All So Much

While I am always grateful for the life I have and the people in it, there are some days when it seems quite overwhelming to me. I have wonderful kids, friends and people in my life who make every day good (they even make the not so good ones better) I have a job that I love which allows me to be creative and meet other creative people and share that joy with them. I live in a quiet, beautiful and peaceful place, yet I am still able to 'visit' and communicate with people all over the world, who not only inspire me, but also become good friends. I am a very lucky girl.

For those of you who read often, you know that sometimes I get all warm and fuzzy like this. I don't always know what brings it on, but every once in a while I just take a step back and look in awe at my life and I feel so grateful that I have to say it.

Yesterday I posted my new patterns up on my site and at the various places that I have on the web here (Picasa Web Albums, Facebook, Scrollsaw Workshop, etc.) While I do this often, it is rare that I post to everything at once. Usually it is just here or there, but I was particularly proud of this project and I thought I would spend the time and do so. I also put out a newsletter to my subscribers announcing that the patterns were now available.

The response that I received was overwhelming. In all the time that I have been doing this, I have never received such a reaction to a mailing. Maybe it was the timing. Maybe the product. Maybe just a little bit of both. It was like all the planets and stars and sun were aligned properly and things just worked out.

I planned on doing some drawing for the rest of the day, but I am happy to say that I spent the afternoon and evening filling orders and answering emails and corresponding with my customers. It was great.

I really love my customers. I enjoy when they share their pictures and ideas and thoughts with me. It's a part of the business that I don't ever want to change. When I receive an order from my site, I am the one that sends it out. I know that many sites have the ability to be fully automated, and I do believe that my site is the same. If I wanted to change things, I could set it up where my patterns are uploaded as downloadable files (like I do for the free pattern) and the customers would be able to self-serve without me being involved at all. But I really don't want to do that. To me, that somewhat de-personalizes (is that a word?) things and to me it would take away part of what I like about it.

I know that as I grow I need to figure out ways to do things more efficiently, and I think that in many aspects I am doing just that. But for now at least, I like that I personally fill each order and have direct contact with every customer that I have. I want to hold on to that as long as I can.

Yesterday as I was filling an order, I recognized a customer who has purchased some of my patterns before. As usual, I put a little personal greeting in when I sent her order. A little while later, I received a nice message back from her, including some pictures of what she has done with my patterns. I was thrilled that she had such fun with them and it made me feel good to see that she not only enjoyed them, but had several orders for the finished projects. This is one of my favorite parts of designing.

Here are the pictures Carol sent me:

Christmas ornament Leaf Christmas tree Amber Lighting


Wood Font Metal Pattern Rectangle


The first picture is a variety of my embellished ornament designs where she embedded different beads and stones into the pieces. I think they look great!

The second picture shows how Carol scrolled names into the tops of the little sled ornaments that I designed to personalize them for people. She said she has many ordered.

I really appreciate when people share things like this with me. Sometimes they seem to be timid about it and say they hope I won't be insulted because they changed the design. Nothing could be further from how I feel. I always am very flattered that someone would take the time to modify my designs to suit their own needs. Many times, seeing the different ways that they utilize the patterns also sparks some new ideas in me for future designs. It is all good.

So with that said, I just want to say 'thank you' again to everyone for all your support and friendship. Whether you are family or friends or customers or a little of each, I truly appreciate your comments and feedback and ideas. You just make me want to do even better!

Have a great Monday!
Those are very nice, Sheila. I especially like the sleighs with personalized names on them. An entire tree of those would look so neat. You could have one (or two or three) of each with each family member's name on it. To mix it up, one could use different wood species scattered all over the tree. Even without a large family, one could make some without he names.
Very good idea.
 

Attachments

#4,085 ·
Another Opportunity

It certainly has been a busy week. Everything seems like it is coming together and falling into place. Although I am cautious when using that phrase because it tends to make everything look as if it happened by chance. Those of you who run your own businesses know very well that what many times appears to be 'luck' is the result of many hours/days/months and sometimes years of planning. In any case, as crazy as it is, it is fun and enjoyable and very satisfying.

I have written before about changing the direction of a failing business and comparing it to changing the direction of a speeding train. First you have to stop the momentum of the direction it is rolling (which is usually no quick fix) and then once it is stopped you need to start moving in the opposite direction, beginning very slowly at first and building momentum as you go.

I believe that I have been successful in the first two steps of this process and I am very pleased that things are beginning to really start to show some promise. All the hard work of the past two to three years is beginning to show and starting to make a real difference in things. It has been a very valuable life lesson in sticking with something that I believe in and having the guts to stay with things when they weren't doing so well and keeping focused on my vision of what I want my company to be. And while we still aren't there yet, I feel we are well on our way and I am happy.

That isn't to say that now is the time to sit back and do nothing. I believe it is quite the opposite. I feel that goals should be ever-changing and revised many times over to keep a company fresh and exciting. And I plan to do just that.

Last week I was presented with an opportunity from one of the major companies in the scroll saw and tool industries. I was asked to contribute to a new type of newsletter that they were starting which would be a free online source for their customer. The newsletter would be strictly educational and not a self-promotion venue and would feature different guest writers which would address issues in their specialized field of woodworking. Needless to say, I was very intrigued.

I look at this opportunity to reach a great deal of woodworkers who have maybe not considered scroll sawing as part of their woodworking repertoire. I picture their shops filled with wonderful tools and a lowly little scroll saw sitting in the corner, covered with dust and forgotten. I would love the opportunity to get these guys and girls thinking "I have one of those things! Maybe I should drag it out and try it and see what I can do!"

Nothing makes me feel better than hearing stories of scroll saws long forgotten given new life and pulled out of 'retirement' after someone sees one of my classes or videos or sees a pattern of mine that they 'just have to try.' I am very much an advocate of the scroll saw as you well know. I think it is not only fun, but challenging and versatile and one of the easiest ways to get someone involved in woodworking as a whole. While most of the projects I do on the scroll saw need only the saw and drill to accomplish, it isn't long before the scroller is looking at drill presses, sanders, routers, and then it escalates to table saws, planers, band saws, lathes and so on and so on.

I think an undertaking like this are good for woodworking as a whole, and I am very pleased and flattered to be invited to take part in it. I will certainly talk about it more as it develops and keep everyone posted. I think that since it does cover other aspects of woodworking in addition to scroll sawing, it will be of interest to many of the woodworkers here.

I really like how things are constantly changing in my business. The best analogy I can think of is a kaleidoscope, with and ever changing pattern. This I feel keeps things fresh and exciting and allows room for constant growth in so many directions. The possibilities are endless.

Art Terrestrial plant Glass Pattern Event


I look forward to this new venture. I think it will be a rewarding experience as well as gain some exposure to my business and what I do. I am grateful for this opportunity and hope that it not only increases my own presence in the woodworking field, but also that of scroll sawing in general. I think it will be a good thing.

Stretching our vision and trying new things is very positive in many ways. Whether we succeed or fail, it is rare that we try something new and don't come out of it a little better than we went in. The experience alone can be a valuable lesson for the future and something that will help us a long way down the road. We will never know if we don't try.

Have a great day everyone!
 

Attachments

#4,086 ·
Another Opportunity

It certainly has been a busy week. Everything seems like it is coming together and falling into place. Although I am cautious when using that phrase because it tends to make everything look as if it happened by chance. Those of you who run your own businesses know very well that what many times appears to be 'luck' is the result of many hours/days/months and sometimes years of planning. In any case, as crazy as it is, it is fun and enjoyable and very satisfying.

I have written before about changing the direction of a failing business and comparing it to changing the direction of a speeding train. First you have to stop the momentum of the direction it is rolling (which is usually no quick fix) and then once it is stopped you need to start moving in the opposite direction, beginning very slowly at first and building momentum as you go.

I believe that I have been successful in the first two steps of this process and I am very pleased that things are beginning to really start to show some promise. All the hard work of the past two to three years is beginning to show and starting to make a real difference in things. It has been a very valuable life lesson in sticking with something that I believe in and having the guts to stay with things when they weren't doing so well and keeping focused on my vision of what I want my company to be. And while we still aren't there yet, I feel we are well on our way and I am happy.

That isn't to say that now is the time to sit back and do nothing. I believe it is quite the opposite. I feel that goals should be ever-changing and revised many times over to keep a company fresh and exciting. And I plan to do just that.

Last week I was presented with an opportunity from one of the major companies in the scroll saw and tool industries. I was asked to contribute to a new type of newsletter that they were starting which would be a free online source for their customer. The newsletter would be strictly educational and not a self-promotion venue and would feature different guest writers which would address issues in their specialized field of woodworking. Needless to say, I was very intrigued.

I look at this opportunity to reach a great deal of woodworkers who have maybe not considered scroll sawing as part of their woodworking repertoire. I picture their shops filled with wonderful tools and a lowly little scroll saw sitting in the corner, covered with dust and forgotten. I would love the opportunity to get these guys and girls thinking "I have one of those things! Maybe I should drag it out and try it and see what I can do!"

Nothing makes me feel better than hearing stories of scroll saws long forgotten given new life and pulled out of 'retirement' after someone sees one of my classes or videos or sees a pattern of mine that they 'just have to try.' I am very much an advocate of the scroll saw as you well know. I think it is not only fun, but challenging and versatile and one of the easiest ways to get someone involved in woodworking as a whole. While most of the projects I do on the scroll saw need only the saw and drill to accomplish, it isn't long before the scroller is looking at drill presses, sanders, routers, and then it escalates to table saws, planers, band saws, lathes and so on and so on.

I think an undertaking like this are good for woodworking as a whole, and I am very pleased and flattered to be invited to take part in it. I will certainly talk about it more as it develops and keep everyone posted. I think that since it does cover other aspects of woodworking in addition to scroll sawing, it will be of interest to many of the woodworkers here.

I really like how things are constantly changing in my business. The best analogy I can think of is a kaleidoscope, with and ever changing pattern. This I feel keeps things fresh and exciting and allows room for constant growth in so many directions. The possibilities are endless.

Art Terrestrial plant Glass Pattern Event


I look forward to this new venture. I think it will be a rewarding experience as well as gain some exposure to my business and what I do. I am grateful for this opportunity and hope that it not only increases my own presence in the woodworking field, but also that of scroll sawing in general. I think it will be a good thing.

Stretching our vision and trying new things is very positive in many ways. Whether we succeed or fail, it is rare that we try something new and don't come out of it a little better than we went in. The experience alone can be a valuable lesson for the future and something that will help us a long way down the road. We will never know if we don't try.

Have a great day everyone!
hey thats great news for you … or at least a big pad on your shoulders … congrats Sheila :)
even though you will come around on the first articles little lighter than normal
do to the scrollsaw class you have made here and the articles you have made ellswhere :)
it still be a big work to do for you … I hope they will pay you well for the time

and you are right it ain´t time to sit back in the seat and the coalshovel in the corner
the hill a head is steap and you need all the power you can drag out of the train
to get up where it starts to flatten out .... but the hardest part will bee to stay just there
where there is still momentum /development in the train you don´t want to see it climp over
nor wuold we :)

continue to have a great day Sheila :)

Dennis
 

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#4,094 ·
The Challenge

I am trying not to feel overwhelmed at this point. Even though it is only Wednesday, it seems like the week was already six days long. To say I have been busy is an understatement, and even though that is a very good thing, I just need to not let it all get to me.

I find myself with my head in many different directions again. Magazine, wholesalers, website, painting, etc. It makes me think of the stereotype of a three ringed circus with action going on everywhere. None of this is bad, mind you. I just wish I were twins some days (or triplets!)

Then yesterday in the midst of things I had my wonderful friends Bernie and Ellen stop in unexpectedly. They phoned when they were five minutes from my house to see if I was home and of course I told them to come on over. With them they brought a painting project that Ellen wanted me to do for her outside Christmas decorations "in my spare time."

You see, she has this little section of picket fence that sits in her front yard, and sticking up from the fence are four different painted seasonal characters. They are about 10-12 inches in diameter and for some reason or another, she lost her Christmas ones. She had some old cardboard cutouts from the 1950's (you know- the kind from school bulletin boards and that you put in windows) and Bernie had tried to glue them to the 1" pine pieces to make the decorations. Needless to say they looked - well - crummy. Not to mention they wouldn't last through a Nova Scotia winter.

So they asked me if I could paint the pieces instead, and I agreed to do it. In all the years I have known them, I have always liked doing stuff like this for them. They are what I call my "Canadian Family" and there is nothing that I wouldn't do for them (last year I gave them one of my skating pond sets for their Christmas present, which was one of my coolest projects, I thought.) But with things being so busy right now for me, I wonder how I am ever going to fit these into my day(s) in time for the season.

When my kids were young and in grammar school, my friend Cari I used to volunteer for many school events like hot lunches and special carnivals and fund raisers. Cari and I noticed that the ones who regularly helped out were usually the ones that were busiest in general, or had the most kids there. It seemed that no matter how busy they were, they always had a little more time to give.

I like the saying "the more I have to do, the more I get done." I think a lot of us live that way. We are pushed and motivated by the long list of tasks we need to accomplish.

So with that said, I will shift things a little bit and find time to do this. Sometimes raising the bar is a good thing and some of my best work comes of it.

I have set a goal inside my head as to when I want to finish these by (along with the other goals that were there before) and it will be a nice little self-challenge to see if I am able to do so. I am almost afraid to state it here, because it may not be possible, but I think I can at least keep it in mind and see how close I can be.

Is that the chickens' way out? Maybe. But I don't really feel like putting myself out here that much when in all likelihood I don't know if I can do it. Besides, this is more of a self-challenge than anything else. You can all cheer me on without actually knowing what my ridiculous expectations are. I promise to be honest as to whether I make it or not. In the mean time, it may be just the challenge I need to kick me into high gear for a while. That could be fun.

So here are the "before" pictures . . . .

A Santa head -

Wood Tree Beard Santa claus Hat


A poinsettia:

Flower Plant Petal Leaf Botany


And some candy canes:

Leaf Petal Plant Natural material Font


And the fourth piece will be a bell. They didn't have a picture of that, but I am sure I can come up with something in the same 'flavor' as these nostalgic cut outs. The bell one is especially important though because their last name is "Bell" and they really, really like bell stuff - especially at the holidays.

So I have my work cut out for me. But you know, just writing about this little challenge is making me feel good. I am kind of gearing up for it and already I am starting to get more excited about it just by talking about it. I think it is going to be fun!

With all that said, I had better get a move on. The sun is just coming up and time is a'wasting! I hope you all have a great middle of the week day today and maybe find some challenges yourself for some extra motivation! Most of all - have FUN! :)
 

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#4,095 ·
The Challenge

I am trying not to feel overwhelmed at this point. Even though it is only Wednesday, it seems like the week was already six days long. To say I have been busy is an understatement, and even though that is a very good thing, I just need to not let it all get to me.

I find myself with my head in many different directions again. Magazine, wholesalers, website, painting, etc. It makes me think of the stereotype of a three ringed circus with action going on everywhere. None of this is bad, mind you. I just wish I were twins some days (or triplets!)

Then yesterday in the midst of things I had my wonderful friends Bernie and Ellen stop in unexpectedly. They phoned when they were five minutes from my house to see if I was home and of course I told them to come on over. With them they brought a painting project that Ellen wanted me to do for her outside Christmas decorations "in my spare time."

You see, she has this little section of picket fence that sits in her front yard, and sticking up from the fence are four different painted seasonal characters. They are about 10-12 inches in diameter and for some reason or another, she lost her Christmas ones. She had some old cardboard cutouts from the 1950's (you know- the kind from school bulletin boards and that you put in windows) and Bernie had tried to glue them to the 1" pine pieces to make the decorations. Needless to say they looked - well - crummy. Not to mention they wouldn't last through a Nova Scotia winter.

So they asked me if I could paint the pieces instead, and I agreed to do it. In all the years I have known them, I have always liked doing stuff like this for them. They are what I call my "Canadian Family" and there is nothing that I wouldn't do for them (last year I gave them one of my skating pond sets for their Christmas present, which was one of my coolest projects, I thought.) But with things being so busy right now for me, I wonder how I am ever going to fit these into my day(s) in time for the season.

When my kids were young and in grammar school, my friend Cari I used to volunteer for many school events like hot lunches and special carnivals and fund raisers. Cari and I noticed that the ones who regularly helped out were usually the ones that were busiest in general, or had the most kids there. It seemed that no matter how busy they were, they always had a little more time to give.

I like the saying "the more I have to do, the more I get done." I think a lot of us live that way. We are pushed and motivated by the long list of tasks we need to accomplish.

So with that said, I will shift things a little bit and find time to do this. Sometimes raising the bar is a good thing and some of my best work comes of it.

I have set a goal inside my head as to when I want to finish these by (along with the other goals that were there before) and it will be a nice little self-challenge to see if I am able to do so. I am almost afraid to state it here, because it may not be possible, but I think I can at least keep it in mind and see how close I can be.

Is that the chickens' way out? Maybe. But I don't really feel like putting myself out here that much when in all likelihood I don't know if I can do it. Besides, this is more of a self-challenge than anything else. You can all cheer me on without actually knowing what my ridiculous expectations are. I promise to be honest as to whether I make it or not. In the mean time, it may be just the challenge I need to kick me into high gear for a while. That could be fun.

So here are the "before" pictures . . . .

A Santa head -

Wood Tree Beard Santa claus Hat


A poinsettia:

Flower Plant Petal Leaf Botany


And some candy canes:

Leaf Petal Plant Natural material Font


And the fourth piece will be a bell. They didn't have a picture of that, but I am sure I can come up with something in the same 'flavor' as these nostalgic cut outs. The bell one is especially important though because their last name is "Bell" and they really, really like bell stuff - especially at the holidays.

So I have my work cut out for me. But you know, just writing about this little challenge is making me feel good. I am kind of gearing up for it and already I am starting to get more excited about it just by talking about it. I think it is going to be fun!

With all that said, I had better get a move on. The sun is just coming up and time is a'wasting! I hope you all have a great middle of the week day today and maybe find some challenges yourself for some extra motivation! Most of all - have FUN! :)
Some of us are happiest when we have twice as much to do as we can get done. At least that's what my wife tells me. I believe that it's easier to have direction and focus when we're really busy. It's easier to put off those things we don't enjoy doing when we have a large list of other things that need to be done.

We spend most of our time doing the things we have to do, and the rest on the things we need to do, on a rare occasion we get to do the things we want to do. If we are really lucky the things we have to do and need to do are also things we enjoy doing.
 

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#4,101 ·
Customer Service is Still Alive and Well

Today I awoke a little earlier than usual and I just didn't want to go back to sleep. It was one of those days where my head was spinning about all the stuff I wanted to work on. I don't mind though and I feel like I am ready to get moving a little early and hopefully accomplish a lot today.

I pushed the pile pretty good yesterday. I just about finished up a special request from someone that I wanted to get done. I also did some errands and got some business stuff out of the way. It is amazing how doing the little things like that can eat up the minutes in a day. But it always feels good when those small tasks are done and behind you.

I wanted to mention something that happened the other day that got my attention. It has to do with business more than woodworking, but I suppose that is OK. In any case, I found it interesting and thought I would share it.

The other day when I picked up my mail, I noticed that I received a card from my bank here in Canada. It wasn't the usual business sized envelope, and struck me as odd. Upon opening it, I saw that it was a hand written note from one of the regular tellers at the branch where I do business. In the note, she thanked me for waiting in line on one of my recent visits and said she appreciated my patience.

I was quite impressed.

I actually had to think back to what she was talking about and I did remember the previous week when there was a customer in front of me that had some issues and I had to wait maybe 3-5 minutes in line. I never really thought much about it at the time, as growing up in the busy Chicago area things like waiting in line at the bank, post office and grocery store is pretty much a part of life. I remember times when I needed to wait up to half an hour to mail off orders, with the line snaking around several times like it does at an amusement park. It just seemed to be part of life.

I don't know if it is part of living in a small town or part of the bank trying to improve customer service or what the reason was for the note. Here in Canada, there are only four major banks that I can think of - unlike the United States where there are countless institutions to choose from. The pickin's here are slim and I was quite surprised that one company (after all - a bank is a company when it comes down to it) would go to such measures in the name of good customer service. I am absolutely certain that it isn't because of the amount of money I have sitting with them. :)

I have been with this bank for almost eight years now - since I came to Canada. When I lived in Digby, I knew all the tellers there and they were all friendly and helpful. I rather thought that it was because I kind of stood out because of my US citizenship and how I frequently had to deal with issues of conversions and things along that line. Since most of my transactions were not really 'routine', I got to know them pretty well.

When I moved here to Clare almost three years ago, it felt odd going into the bank and not knowing the staff in this way. I had become rather used to being recognized as part of the community and it kind of showed me how much I had come to like it. But soon the relationships were once again forged and even though I had far less issues than I had in the beginning, I find myself again in a friendly and helpful atmosphere. It is kind of nice.

There have even been times in the past year or so when the tellers make suggestions on the type of accounts I have (based on seeing how I use them) and have changed parts of it so that it costs me less to operate. You would think that this would lose money for them, but in the long run, it builds a lasting relationship with their customers that will come back in other ways. I like that.

In my own business, I try to do the same thing. Sometimes people forget to put a free pattern on their order that they may have qualified for, or there would be a more economical way to purchase multiple patterns from me and if they miss it and I have already received their order and notice it, I make it a point to let them know so that they can take advantage of the discounts. I just think it is good business. After all, the rewards are there in the first place as a way to show my regular customers my appreciation. It always makes me feel good to offer loyal customers a little extra.

In these difficult times, when everyone is struggling, it is good to know that customer service still exists in some companies. While a small thing like a note card may not seem a lot to many, the mere fact that they acknowledged my time and respected that meant a great deal to me. I realize that there are cynics who may brush this off as nothing, but for myself, I feel that it was a good gesture and it goes far to strengthen my loyalty as a customer to them. Sometimes the little things mean a lot.

Cat Carnivore Font Felidae Whiskers


I have always felt that showing appreciation and saying 'thank you' is an important part of life. No matter how small an act of kindness or good service is, acknowledging it goes a long way. It costs nothing to thank someone. And it not only shows people that what they do is noticed, but also that they are appreciated too. Everybody wins.

I think I am going to focus on my 'extra project' today I think. It will be a nice change of pace and I am itching to get out the paints anyway.

Have a great day!
 

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#4,102 ·
Customer Service is Still Alive and Well

Today I awoke a little earlier than usual and I just didn't want to go back to sleep. It was one of those days where my head was spinning about all the stuff I wanted to work on. I don't mind though and I feel like I am ready to get moving a little early and hopefully accomplish a lot today.

I pushed the pile pretty good yesterday. I just about finished up a special request from someone that I wanted to get done. I also did some errands and got some business stuff out of the way. It is amazing how doing the little things like that can eat up the minutes in a day. But it always feels good when those small tasks are done and behind you.

I wanted to mention something that happened the other day that got my attention. It has to do with business more than woodworking, but I suppose that is OK. In any case, I found it interesting and thought I would share it.

The other day when I picked up my mail, I noticed that I received a card from my bank here in Canada. It wasn't the usual business sized envelope, and struck me as odd. Upon opening it, I saw that it was a hand written note from one of the regular tellers at the branch where I do business. In the note, she thanked me for waiting in line on one of my recent visits and said she appreciated my patience.

I was quite impressed.

I actually had to think back to what she was talking about and I did remember the previous week when there was a customer in front of me that had some issues and I had to wait maybe 3-5 minutes in line. I never really thought much about it at the time, as growing up in the busy Chicago area things like waiting in line at the bank, post office and grocery store is pretty much a part of life. I remember times when I needed to wait up to half an hour to mail off orders, with the line snaking around several times like it does at an amusement park. It just seemed to be part of life.

I don't know if it is part of living in a small town or part of the bank trying to improve customer service or what the reason was for the note. Here in Canada, there are only four major banks that I can think of - unlike the United States where there are countless institutions to choose from. The pickin's here are slim and I was quite surprised that one company (after all - a bank is a company when it comes down to it) would go to such measures in the name of good customer service. I am absolutely certain that it isn't because of the amount of money I have sitting with them. :)

I have been with this bank for almost eight years now - since I came to Canada. When I lived in Digby, I knew all the tellers there and they were all friendly and helpful. I rather thought that it was because I kind of stood out because of my US citizenship and how I frequently had to deal with issues of conversions and things along that line. Since most of my transactions were not really 'routine', I got to know them pretty well.

When I moved here to Clare almost three years ago, it felt odd going into the bank and not knowing the staff in this way. I had become rather used to being recognized as part of the community and it kind of showed me how much I had come to like it. But soon the relationships were once again forged and even though I had far less issues than I had in the beginning, I find myself again in a friendly and helpful atmosphere. It is kind of nice.

There have even been times in the past year or so when the tellers make suggestions on the type of accounts I have (based on seeing how I use them) and have changed parts of it so that it costs me less to operate. You would think that this would lose money for them, but in the long run, it builds a lasting relationship with their customers that will come back in other ways. I like that.

In my own business, I try to do the same thing. Sometimes people forget to put a free pattern on their order that they may have qualified for, or there would be a more economical way to purchase multiple patterns from me and if they miss it and I have already received their order and notice it, I make it a point to let them know so that they can take advantage of the discounts. I just think it is good business. After all, the rewards are there in the first place as a way to show my regular customers my appreciation. It always makes me feel good to offer loyal customers a little extra.

In these difficult times, when everyone is struggling, it is good to know that customer service still exists in some companies. While a small thing like a note card may not seem a lot to many, the mere fact that they acknowledged my time and respected that meant a great deal to me. I realize that there are cynics who may brush this off as nothing, but for myself, I feel that it was a good gesture and it goes far to strengthen my loyalty as a customer to them. Sometimes the little things mean a lot.

Cat Carnivore Font Felidae Whiskers


I have always felt that showing appreciation and saying 'thank you' is an important part of life. No matter how small an act of kindness or good service is, acknowledging it goes a long way. It costs nothing to thank someone. And it not only shows people that what they do is noticed, but also that they are appreciated too. Everybody wins.

I think I am going to focus on my 'extra project' today I think. It will be a nice change of pace and I am itching to get out the paints anyway.

Have a great day!
that was a nice thing for her to do, regardless of the reason, she did it, to me in this world…getting something like this is a very nice thing, i think were living in a very busy world…at least people make it that way…so for you to get this very nice note, its a great gesture…so you have a wonderful day…and since i do know you, i already know your keen on this subject as you are very good at it yourself…...so keep being who you are and customer service in your world will always be alive…that is good customer service….....:)))........
 

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#4,105 ·
On the Road Again . . .

Today's post will be brief (for me!) because we are heading out soon. We discovered that there is this huge craft show in Wolfville at Acadia University this weekend and we thought we would scout it out.

The link to the show is Here

It looks like a really cool event. The booth prices are nearly $300 which is mighty steep, and it is $6 to get in the door, but we hope that means that it will be a lot of quality stuff will be there. This is not a flea market!

So we are loading up the sleigh and heading out to Wolfville, which is about two hours north of where we live and hopefully we can put a little (or BIG) dent in our Christmas shopping. We are even kidnapping Keith's mom so she can enjoy the day with us. She does beautiful needlework and had a great appreciation of crafts. All in all, it is going to be a full and fun day!

If the show is good, it will be something that we are going to consider for trying out next year. Not as much with our woodworking stuff, but perhaps Keith's pens and maybe some of my painting stuff. I think that since the cost to participate is so much, it is good that we scout it out first before making a commitment. Keith was somewhat disappointed that we didn't know about it until a couple of days ago, but I think it is for the best. With that type of fee, it is best to see if our stuff would fit in.

Speaking of painting . . .

Besides the usual garden variety of tasks I did yesterday (as well as finishing up a couple of special orders) I began working on my project for Bernie and Ellen.

As usual, I decided to do the most challenging piece first, which was the Santa head. It seems like forever since I 'free style' painted and I am always quite timid about getting started. But so far I think he is coming out nice.

I started up with the piece of 1" pine that measures about 12" tall by 9" wide. I cleaned up the edges left from the band saw by trimming the piece on the scroll saw and then sanded it. I was then ready to go. I transferred the main design to the piece and base coated it in:

Head Eye Gesture Art Plant


Keith asked me why I made his beard grey. (I told him my Santa was going to be a bum!) Actually that is the undercoat color, as is the blue for the fur around his hat. When painting things like this, you have to think in layers, back to front. Then you build the colors over it. It is much easier than starting with say a white beard and then trying to shade it without looking muddy. After all, the shadows are underneath and the deeper you go into the hair the deeper the shadows are.

Makes sense, doesn't it?

So I will be building layers of color as I go and there will actually be very little white when I am finished. Just for the highest highlights.

I needed to do his face and facial features next, so I at least got that far:

Hair Nose Glasses Head Eye


I think he is looking good. He is nowhere near being done. I still need to add lots of highlights and some toning but so far he is looking OK and I am happy with him. I will post more pictures as I work on him.

So that is the plan. I had better hit the shower and feed the reindeer and rev up the sleigh. I hope you all have a great day!
 

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#4,106 ·
On the Road Again . . .

Today's post will be brief (for me!) because we are heading out soon. We discovered that there is this huge craft show in Wolfville at Acadia University this weekend and we thought we would scout it out.

The link to the show is Here

It looks like a really cool event. The booth prices are nearly $300 which is mighty steep, and it is $6 to get in the door, but we hope that means that it will be a lot of quality stuff will be there. This is not a flea market!

So we are loading up the sleigh and heading out to Wolfville, which is about two hours north of where we live and hopefully we can put a little (or BIG) dent in our Christmas shopping. We are even kidnapping Keith's mom so she can enjoy the day with us. She does beautiful needlework and had a great appreciation of crafts. All in all, it is going to be a full and fun day!

If the show is good, it will be something that we are going to consider for trying out next year. Not as much with our woodworking stuff, but perhaps Keith's pens and maybe some of my painting stuff. I think that since the cost to participate is so much, it is good that we scout it out first before making a commitment. Keith was somewhat disappointed that we didn't know about it until a couple of days ago, but I think it is for the best. With that type of fee, it is best to see if our stuff would fit in.

Speaking of painting . . .

Besides the usual garden variety of tasks I did yesterday (as well as finishing up a couple of special orders) I began working on my project for Bernie and Ellen.

As usual, I decided to do the most challenging piece first, which was the Santa head. It seems like forever since I 'free style' painted and I am always quite timid about getting started. But so far I think he is coming out nice.

I started up with the piece of 1" pine that measures about 12" tall by 9" wide. I cleaned up the edges left from the band saw by trimming the piece on the scroll saw and then sanded it. I was then ready to go. I transferred the main design to the piece and base coated it in:

Head Eye Gesture Art Plant


Keith asked me why I made his beard grey. (I told him my Santa was going to be a bum!) Actually that is the undercoat color, as is the blue for the fur around his hat. When painting things like this, you have to think in layers, back to front. Then you build the colors over it. It is much easier than starting with say a white beard and then trying to shade it without looking muddy. After all, the shadows are underneath and the deeper you go into the hair the deeper the shadows are.

Makes sense, doesn't it?

So I will be building layers of color as I go and there will actually be very little white when I am finished. Just for the highest highlights.

I needed to do his face and facial features next, so I at least got that far:

Hair Nose Glasses Head Eye


I think he is looking good. He is nowhere near being done. I still need to add lots of highlights and some toning but so far he is looking OK and I am happy with him. I will post more pictures as I work on him.

So that is the plan. I had better hit the shower and feed the reindeer and rev up the sleigh. I hope you all have a great day!
Hi Sheila;

Yes, everything makes sense once someone explains it, then shows you how to do it!

How did you put the twinkle in his eye? ... (keeping in mind this is a family site)

Have fun at the show.

Lee
 

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#4,110 ·
The Day In Review

We had a really good day yesterday and I put a pretty big dent in my holiday list. Although I don't tend to go overboard on getting gifts. I usually give either something that I made with wood or painted (or both) and people seem to like that.

Some of you may remember from last year that one of my biggest passions that I have is cool boxes. This year is no different. We have some places here that really do a great job of stocking cool and unusual boxes for gift giving and keeping. These aren't the kind that fold flat and just pop up to stay put. No sir-ee! They are each in themselves a gift and some are works of art. My particular favorite that I found was a scalloped edge box with beautiful pictures of cats on it. It has a Victorian flavor and I can think of a couple of people who would like them. I would also like them myself, and I actually bought two of them with the thought that maybe I would be hanging onto one for my own pleasure.

Badge Dishware Jewellery Circle Art


Drinkware Dishware Cup Textile Serveware


The best thing about them is that they are relatively cheap (the cat one shown was only $6!) and it is a great storage box whether you use it to store holiday decorations, or keep it out all year for those little things you want tucked away yet close at hand. I kind of consider it "recycling with style" and I believe that sort of come to expect something like that from me. And that is nice.

Besides, the kitty boxes, I have several in my 'stash' that are really nice and I think I am just about set for this season. And it is still only November!

The show we went to was a bit of a disappointment to me. It wasn't that it was 'bad', but with reading the advertisement that I posted yesterday and with seeing how much the cost was to participate (nearly $300) I suppose I expected things to be a bit different than what we saw. I am not saying it was all bad, but we all found that there was not a really great variety of high quality stuff there.

The first thing we noted that was quite obvious was that there were far too many jewelry vendors. It seemed like about a quarter of the show was the same type of beaded jewelry. There was one table which had pewter pieces, but other than that, it looked as if all the jewelry vendors could have been pretty much the same person.

There were also too many fudge places. I think there were probably about eight places that only had fudge. Again, it was nice, but if you seen one place with 25 varieties of fudge, you kind of have seen them all.

I was surprised that there were so few real unique hand crafted items there. There was a vendor who had nice things made from leather, and I almost bought a leather covered journal, but I reminded myself of my reason fro being there (to shop for others) and restrained. I did get a nice set of emu oil products, including soap and cream and some other things that I plan to put in yet another beautiful box I acquired and give to may daughter-in-law as a gift set. That was nice.

As far as wood items, there were very few. While one gentleman had some turned pens, they seemed to be more of an afterthought than anything, and I don't even remember what the bulk of the items he was selling were. There was another man who had a variety of turned items, including bottle stoppers, pens and shaving items. These were of better quality than the other guys, and Keith was a bit discouraged after seeing how low he had priced them, but I assured Keith that the quality was nowhere near the quality of his stuff. The kits he used were basic and the finish on the pens and items was practically non-existent, or minimal at the very best. I think it was like comparing apples and oranges to compare these to what I was used to seeing here from Keith.

I did buy some jams and cheese for myself. There was a vendor there who had a wonderful array or gouda cheeses in several flavors and I treated myself to a sampler package of six varieties because I couldn't decide what I liked best. And the cranberry/blueberry and cranberry/raspberry jams that I purchased were both unique and wonderful. Nova Scotia has many cranberry farms and all the fruit was home grown. It is always a treat for me.

As we walked away, I felt a little bit like a snob. I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed in the overall show. Among the nice things I mentioned, there were many 'average' things that you would see at any show. I felt the absence of any really quality woodworking such as the cutting boards, ornaments, boxes and other things that I have come to see here on Lumberjocks. I think that many of the people from here could have cleaned up at a show like this.

I don't think it would be worth the high cost for Keith and I to participate in a show such as this. With having to spend the time and money to stay overnight at a hotel (it was about 2.5 hours drive) it just wouldn't be a good call for us. I am really happy that we looked in on it first, and I did feel that what I did find was nice and I contributed to our locals.

The rest of the day was spent back in New Minus shopping and enjoying the season. It was a great time to pick around in the stores, as the holidays items were freshly displayed and because it was Friday there were few crowds to deal with. All in all it was a great day and quite exhausting.

Today we are unpacking and sorting our haul and it kicked us into an 'organization mode'. We are going through all the excess we have here in our little place and will be spending the day going through things and getting some to our storage area and just freshening things up.

I am sorry that I didn't have pictures of the show, but it was frowned upon and I didn't want to violate their wishes.

My advice to anyone who is thinking of doing a show such as this - especially when the cost is substantial - is to go the year before you plan to participate and scout it out. You may find out that it isn't worth your time or money and even though it requires some patience to do so, you won't regret it in the end.

I hope you enjoy your Saturday. I am going to get back to organizing.
 

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#4,111 ·
The Day In Review

We had a really good day yesterday and I put a pretty big dent in my holiday list. Although I don't tend to go overboard on getting gifts. I usually give either something that I made with wood or painted (or both) and people seem to like that.

Some of you may remember from last year that one of my biggest passions that I have is cool boxes. This year is no different. We have some places here that really do a great job of stocking cool and unusual boxes for gift giving and keeping. These aren't the kind that fold flat and just pop up to stay put. No sir-ee! They are each in themselves a gift and some are works of art. My particular favorite that I found was a scalloped edge box with beautiful pictures of cats on it. It has a Victorian flavor and I can think of a couple of people who would like them. I would also like them myself, and I actually bought two of them with the thought that maybe I would be hanging onto one for my own pleasure.

Badge Dishware Jewellery Circle Art


Drinkware Dishware Cup Textile Serveware


The best thing about them is that they are relatively cheap (the cat one shown was only $6!) and it is a great storage box whether you use it to store holiday decorations, or keep it out all year for those little things you want tucked away yet close at hand. I kind of consider it "recycling with style" and I believe that sort of come to expect something like that from me. And that is nice.

Besides, the kitty boxes, I have several in my 'stash' that are really nice and I think I am just about set for this season. And it is still only November!

The show we went to was a bit of a disappointment to me. It wasn't that it was 'bad', but with reading the advertisement that I posted yesterday and with seeing how much the cost was to participate (nearly $300) I suppose I expected things to be a bit different than what we saw. I am not saying it was all bad, but we all found that there was not a really great variety of high quality stuff there.

The first thing we noted that was quite obvious was that there were far too many jewelry vendors. It seemed like about a quarter of the show was the same type of beaded jewelry. There was one table which had pewter pieces, but other than that, it looked as if all the jewelry vendors could have been pretty much the same person.

There were also too many fudge places. I think there were probably about eight places that only had fudge. Again, it was nice, but if you seen one place with 25 varieties of fudge, you kind of have seen them all.

I was surprised that there were so few real unique hand crafted items there. There was a vendor who had nice things made from leather, and I almost bought a leather covered journal, but I reminded myself of my reason fro being there (to shop for others) and restrained. I did get a nice set of emu oil products, including soap and cream and some other things that I plan to put in yet another beautiful box I acquired and give to may daughter-in-law as a gift set. That was nice.

As far as wood items, there were very few. While one gentleman had some turned pens, they seemed to be more of an afterthought than anything, and I don't even remember what the bulk of the items he was selling were. There was another man who had a variety of turned items, including bottle stoppers, pens and shaving items. These were of better quality than the other guys, and Keith was a bit discouraged after seeing how low he had priced them, but I assured Keith that the quality was nowhere near the quality of his stuff. The kits he used were basic and the finish on the pens and items was practically non-existent, or minimal at the very best. I think it was like comparing apples and oranges to compare these to what I was used to seeing here from Keith.

I did buy some jams and cheese for myself. There was a vendor there who had a wonderful array or gouda cheeses in several flavors and I treated myself to a sampler package of six varieties because I couldn't decide what I liked best. And the cranberry/blueberry and cranberry/raspberry jams that I purchased were both unique and wonderful. Nova Scotia has many cranberry farms and all the fruit was home grown. It is always a treat for me.

As we walked away, I felt a little bit like a snob. I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed in the overall show. Among the nice things I mentioned, there were many 'average' things that you would see at any show. I felt the absence of any really quality woodworking such as the cutting boards, ornaments, boxes and other things that I have come to see here on Lumberjocks. I think that many of the people from here could have cleaned up at a show like this.

I don't think it would be worth the high cost for Keith and I to participate in a show such as this. With having to spend the time and money to stay overnight at a hotel (it was about 2.5 hours drive) it just wouldn't be a good call for us. I am really happy that we looked in on it first, and I did feel that what I did find was nice and I contributed to our locals.

The rest of the day was spent back in New Minus shopping and enjoying the season. It was a great time to pick around in the stores, as the holidays items were freshly displayed and because it was Friday there were few crowds to deal with. All in all it was a great day and quite exhausting.

Today we are unpacking and sorting our haul and it kicked us into an 'organization mode'. We are going through all the excess we have here in our little place and will be spending the day going through things and getting some to our storage area and just freshening things up.

I am sorry that I didn't have pictures of the show, but it was frowned upon and I didn't want to violate their wishes.

My advice to anyone who is thinking of doing a show such as this - especially when the cost is substantial - is to go the year before you plan to participate and scout it out. You may find out that it isn't worth your time or money and even though it requires some patience to do so, you won't regret it in the end.

I hope you enjoy your Saturday. I am going to get back to organizing.
well im glad you got to go and check it out, sorry it wasnt more to what you were expecting, i think i would have felt the same way, i probably would have spent little time there, im not into jewelry or to much into fudge..since im a diabetic..i would have wanted to see more wood craft, and or crafts of any hand made type…and for the cost, yea i was thinking you were going to a really high class show that was going to be loaded with quality craftsman…but you did have some fun and got a few neat things…i wish i could sample those jams with you..lol…....i would bring the biscuits…in fact suan made some last night…we had a big roast beef dinner with lots of gravy…and we had to have biscuits for the gravy, just had to…lol….well enjoy your day…will talk to you later…..bob
 

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#4,117 ·
The Domino Effect

Did you ever start one small project only to see it grow into a major event? I think we all have.

When we were out shopping on Friday, we came across a piece of furniture that we thought would improve the look of our little place and also give us more storage. Actually, it was a three piece matching set. For those of you who know what a small place I live in (see the pictures of my work area HERE) you know that space is very limited where I am. The key to keeping things clean and functional is keeping excess to a minimum and using what small space you have wisely.

While we are pretty good at keeping up with things, from time to time we seem to have a stockpile of mismatched stuff that doesn't really have a place and begins to collect in corners and closets. It is amazing how this can sneak up on you and before you know it, you are living among clutter.

Until now, I had stored many of my DecoArt painting supplies in a bench that opened up and had storage underneath:

Rectangle Window Art Tints and shades Glass


While this was functional, the bench was really cheap and kind of ugly. It served the purpose though and kept my paints at hand without having them too obtrusive. It was better than having to dig in a cabinet or box to pick paint.
But when we were shopping the other day, we found this set of fairly decent pieces that looked a lot better and would provide us with much more storage space.

The main piece was a bench such as the one we had, but was wider and deeper. It was smaller front to back, which meant that it would allow more floor space in front of it which was great. It also had a matching smaller (shorter and lower-sitting) piece that would be able to go in front of the couch as kind of a foot stool or rest. The third piece was a smaller yet trunk.

It turned out that all my paint fit in the middle-sized piece, allowing the larger piece to store other things. This started a domino effect of sorting, cleaning and reorganizing all our supplies, closets and tools. It took most of the day, but around midnight when we finished (and several garbage bags later!) we not only have cabinets and closets with empty places for future things, but we were able to make room in the one closet for the lathe AND the shop vac, getting the lathe out of the main kitchen area.

It is funny how BIG our little one-bedroom place looks! Although we were pretty tired, taking the day was well worth the effort.

Today will be 'phase 2' of the organization, as we are going to where we have our things stored and are going to re-sort and get things in order on that side. It is time we go through things anyway and take an inventory so we remember what is there.

Doing stuff like this takes a little time, but I feel like it is necessary to stay on top of things and keep things functional. Those of you who read regularly know that I go through this a couple of times a year at least. If I didn't, I would be living in a mess and it would be very difficult to get anything done at all. What may start out as one small change, can quickly escalate to a major overhaul. But that isn't really a bad thing, is it?

Picture frame Cat Tableware Drinkware Textile


Have a great Sunday!
 

Attachments

#4,118 ·
The Domino Effect

Did you ever start one small project only to see it grow into a major event? I think we all have.

When we were out shopping on Friday, we came across a piece of furniture that we thought would improve the look of our little place and also give us more storage. Actually, it was a three piece matching set. For those of you who know what a small place I live in (see the pictures of my work area HERE) you know that space is very limited where I am. The key to keeping things clean and functional is keeping excess to a minimum and using what small space you have wisely.

While we are pretty good at keeping up with things, from time to time we seem to have a stockpile of mismatched stuff that doesn't really have a place and begins to collect in corners and closets. It is amazing how this can sneak up on you and before you know it, you are living among clutter.

Until now, I had stored many of my DecoArt painting supplies in a bench that opened up and had storage underneath:

Rectangle Window Art Tints and shades Glass


While this was functional, the bench was really cheap and kind of ugly. It served the purpose though and kept my paints at hand without having them too obtrusive. It was better than having to dig in a cabinet or box to pick paint.
But when we were shopping the other day, we found this set of fairly decent pieces that looked a lot better and would provide us with much more storage space.

The main piece was a bench such as the one we had, but was wider and deeper. It was smaller front to back, which meant that it would allow more floor space in front of it which was great. It also had a matching smaller (shorter and lower-sitting) piece that would be able to go in front of the couch as kind of a foot stool or rest. The third piece was a smaller yet trunk.

It turned out that all my paint fit in the middle-sized piece, allowing the larger piece to store other things. This started a domino effect of sorting, cleaning and reorganizing all our supplies, closets and tools. It took most of the day, but around midnight when we finished (and several garbage bags later!) we not only have cabinets and closets with empty places for future things, but we were able to make room in the one closet for the lathe AND the shop vac, getting the lathe out of the main kitchen area.

It is funny how BIG our little one-bedroom place looks! Although we were pretty tired, taking the day was well worth the effort.

Today will be 'phase 2' of the organization, as we are going to where we have our things stored and are going to re-sort and get things in order on that side. It is time we go through things anyway and take an inventory so we remember what is there.

Doing stuff like this takes a little time, but I feel like it is necessary to stay on top of things and keep things functional. Those of you who read regularly know that I go through this a couple of times a year at least. If I didn't, I would be living in a mess and it would be very difficult to get anything done at all. What may start out as one small change, can quickly escalate to a major overhaul. But that isn't really a bad thing, is it?

Picture frame Cat Tableware Drinkware Textile


Have a great Sunday!
Never have to much storage space .

hopefully you made a inventory of what you have and all that . Taxes time will be here soon
 

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#4,123 ·
Organizing Can Be Quite Therapeutic

Today you are all going to get the 'cheap version' of a blog I am sorry to say. It seems like a long time since I have had the opportunity to sit down and think, let alone write.

We are in the final stages of reorganizing, and fortunately for us, there is almost nothing left to clean out. That is the good thing about having a small place. We have been through just about every closet, cabinet and drawer in the place and have not only taken inventory, but pared down what we didn't absolutely need. It has been exhausting, but it is beginning to look really good and it will be great to get back to work in such an organized environment.

We had also stored some things at Keith's grandmothers' house. She had passed away last summer and the house has been up for sale. Getting the things out of there has been one of those back burner priorities that we all have and although we knew we would have to do it eventually, we kept putting it off until later.

But yesterday we decided to bite the bullet and we went over there and cleaned everything out of there too. There were two full car loads and a SUV loaded with stuff and we brought it all to Keith's parents' house where we have a designated corner in their basement for storing our things. We had three piles - donate, keep and garbage and were very systematic about sorting and storing everything.

It really didn't take too long considering, and we were fortunate that Keith's mom had a wonderful roast beef she was going to have for dinner. (I guess we picked a good day to surprise her!) By the time we were finished, I think there were less boxes and containers there than what we started with, so everyone was happy. We finished off the day with a wonderful meal (that I didn't have to cook!) and the wonderful feeling that everything is in one place. Right after dinner, Keith fell asleep on the couch for a bit. It was a combination of him being exhausted and also the dust was getting to his allergies and he took a Benedryl and was out like a lite. I hated to wake him to drive home, as we each had our own cars. We were happy it was a short ride.

This morning we are going to get an early start again and do the finishing up on this so we can get back to real work. My email box is loaded and the only things I really answered were customer and order related stuff. After the gym, we have to go back to his parents house for one more trip so that we can haul the garbage to the dump so we want to get moving .

I always feel good when doing things like this. I find that for myself, clutter adds to my own anxiety when I have a lot of deadlines or things to do. Even though it takes time to get to this point, it is a great feeling once I am done sorting and cleaning and it is nice to sit back and look around the room and see very little clutter. The closets are good too, and every box is labeled so that we know where our supplies are and can access them easily. It is well worth the couple of days of chaos.

I am sure it doesn't make for exciting blog reading, but I do hope that I inspire some of you who are feeling overwhelmed to maybe evaluate things and do some sorting. You would be amazed how much more productive a clean and organized shop can be, and how much more you will enjoy working in it. Cleaning things can be quite therapeutic.

Textile Shelf Wood Floor Shelving


I wish you all a wonderful Monday!
 

Attachments

#4,124 ·
Organizing Can Be Quite Therapeutic

Today you are all going to get the 'cheap version' of a blog I am sorry to say. It seems like a long time since I have had the opportunity to sit down and think, let alone write.

We are in the final stages of reorganizing, and fortunately for us, there is almost nothing left to clean out. That is the good thing about having a small place. We have been through just about every closet, cabinet and drawer in the place and have not only taken inventory, but pared down what we didn't absolutely need. It has been exhausting, but it is beginning to look really good and it will be great to get back to work in such an organized environment.

We had also stored some things at Keith's grandmothers' house. She had passed away last summer and the house has been up for sale. Getting the things out of there has been one of those back burner priorities that we all have and although we knew we would have to do it eventually, we kept putting it off until later.

But yesterday we decided to bite the bullet and we went over there and cleaned everything out of there too. There were two full car loads and a SUV loaded with stuff and we brought it all to Keith's parents' house where we have a designated corner in their basement for storing our things. We had three piles - donate, keep and garbage and were very systematic about sorting and storing everything.

It really didn't take too long considering, and we were fortunate that Keith's mom had a wonderful roast beef she was going to have for dinner. (I guess we picked a good day to surprise her!) By the time we were finished, I think there were less boxes and containers there than what we started with, so everyone was happy. We finished off the day with a wonderful meal (that I didn't have to cook!) and the wonderful feeling that everything is in one place. Right after dinner, Keith fell asleep on the couch for a bit. It was a combination of him being exhausted and also the dust was getting to his allergies and he took a Benedryl and was out like a lite. I hated to wake him to drive home, as we each had our own cars. We were happy it was a short ride.

This morning we are going to get an early start again and do the finishing up on this so we can get back to real work. My email box is loaded and the only things I really answered were customer and order related stuff. After the gym, we have to go back to his parents house for one more trip so that we can haul the garbage to the dump so we want to get moving .

I always feel good when doing things like this. I find that for myself, clutter adds to my own anxiety when I have a lot of deadlines or things to do. Even though it takes time to get to this point, it is a great feeling once I am done sorting and cleaning and it is nice to sit back and look around the room and see very little clutter. The closets are good too, and every box is labeled so that we know where our supplies are and can access them easily. It is well worth the couple of days of chaos.

I am sure it doesn't make for exciting blog reading, but I do hope that I inspire some of you who are feeling overwhelmed to maybe evaluate things and do some sorting. You would be amazed how much more productive a clean and organized shop can be, and how much more you will enjoy working in it. Cleaning things can be quite therapeutic.

Textile Shelf Wood Floor Shelving


I wish you all a wonderful Monday!
Hi Sheila;

Now those are some organized cats. Is it don e by size or color?

I guess your system really works!

Lee
 

Attachments

#4,131 ·
More on Organization - Finally Finished!

It has been a busy several days and I feel like I have hardly been at the computer at all. I haven't been making sawdust either, although I have had my share of breathing 'real dust' from all the deep, dark places I have been cleaning. What a job this was!

Maintaining order in a small working environment is something that takes regular attention. It doesn't just 'happen.' While I think that I am pretty good about keeping up with things, it is times like this that make me realize that there is still some need for improvement.

It happens to all of us. We just get 'too busy' to take the time to start putting things in their rightful place. Or sometimes, we run out of space in the designated place we have for things and start to improvise and before we know it, things are scattered here and there and all the order is lost.

Much earlier this year, I had purchased a little tote box. It actually was a plastic box that held four of those flat, clear boxes with the many dividers that you can use for storing small things. With the accumulation of beads, small screws and pieces that I use for my design work, this seemed like the perfect solution to the drawers that were filled with small bags of things that were clumped together. However, even though I bought the piece several months ago, it remained sitting empty in the closet, taking up space. One of the tasks I did over the past couple of days was to go through the several drawers of small things and actually sort them into the new system. That alone took several hours. But in the end, I was able to get rid of a seven drawer tower and free up valuable floor space not to mention that all my small parts were right at hand where I could immediately find them. The new container will save me much time in the future hunting for a particular type of bead or part that I wanted to use for a project. It will also save me from purchasing again what I already had, as we all have done from time to time.

Another very big problem that we had here is the accumulation of projects. It seems funny because in the past few weeks I hadn't felt like I had done a lot this year in the line of making new items and projects, but when I had them all in the same room and they were looking back at me, I was quite overwhelmed. Perhaps I wasn't so lazy after all.

When they were all spread out and stored in various places, I would only see bits and pieces of what I had done and felt like I should have done more. But seeing them altogether was quite startling to me and I realized that I had done quite a bit over the past year. But it was time to either find proper owners for them or get rid of them. As harsh as it seems, several things were damaged from improper storage and they just had to go in the garbage. There was really no point in keeping them, as I have said before that I keep my 'decorations' here to a bare minimum. My little tree is the exception, and it is plenty sitting in its cozy little corner. I have several nice sets of ornaments and plaques and candle trays that I am sure I will find nice homes for and I would rather see them go to people I love and care about then in the trash.

Selling the things is not really an option right now. As I explained before, it requires time and planning that I just don't have. I suppose I could spend the time it takes, but it would take me away from designing and with all the chips hit the ground, designing is what is going to make me a living and that is where my attention and time needs to be spent. Once the designs are done, I need to move on to the next project. Listing and marketing and taking things to shops and negotiating pricing just isn't good business sense to me. Not now anyway.

The other day when I went to town, I bought several large semi-clear plastic containers so that I can store my things efficiently. Getting containers all the same size allowed me to stack them nicely and neatly and make the best use of my space. I also started labeling the outside of each container with a card so I know at a glance exactly what was inside. I like the method of taping the card on the outside with clear postage tape because if I ever use the container for something else, I simply remove the card and replace it with a new one. I used this method for years with cardboard boxes too, so there isn't much scribbled on the side and I could really tell what it currently contained.

I also found that not filling the containers to capacity was the best option. That way, later on when there is one or two more things you need to add into it, it isn't a problem. I am doing this with my little tree decorations for example. I have an entire large container designated for the things that I want to use on my little tree (lights, ornaments, etc.) as well as the few pieces that I have around the house here, such as the seasonal refrigerator magnets. The box isn't even half full, but as I continue to add to my tree, I will have a centralized place where I can store the pieces. That way I know just where to go when I change seasons and it will be simple and I won't have to be hunting for things. The changeover will be fast and easy.

All these ramblings may sound like I am over thinking things, but in the long run, I think it will allow me to once again be really productive and have a neat and clean working environment and place to live. Since both are the same to me, I find it especially important and it makes a huge difference on not only the rate that I work, but also the quality of what I produce.

Today will be the final day of finishing up the process. I have to go through the large cabinet that we built in January and do a little bit of sorting there, but other than that, I am just about finished. I have gone through every cabinet, drawer, and closet in our little place over the past few days, as well as consolidate all our stored items into one centralized place, and I actually have room to spare. The lathe is out of our kitchen (We got it to fit into the closet along with the large shop vac!) and it pulls out very easily when Keith is inspired to work on it. We gained a lot of empty floor space and our little place seems larger than ever. It feels pretty good.

Home appliance Cabinetry Electronic instrument Audio equipment Shelf


I hope by sharing these stories with you, it encourages and inspires you to do the same. We will see in the next weeks and months the impact of having things in order can have, as all the pieces are in place for me for a very productive winter. The ideas are there, as are the deadlines. And now I have a wonderfully clean and organized environment to work in too.

Even the cats seem happy:

Christmas tree Furniture Cat Table Output device


(That's my sweet "Pancakes" snoozing on Keith's keyboard across the couch from me.)

I wish you all a wonderfully productive and fun day!
 

Attachments

#4,132 ·
More on Organization - Finally Finished!

It has been a busy several days and I feel like I have hardly been at the computer at all. I haven't been making sawdust either, although I have had my share of breathing 'real dust' from all the deep, dark places I have been cleaning. What a job this was!

Maintaining order in a small working environment is something that takes regular attention. It doesn't just 'happen.' While I think that I am pretty good about keeping up with things, it is times like this that make me realize that there is still some need for improvement.

It happens to all of us. We just get 'too busy' to take the time to start putting things in their rightful place. Or sometimes, we run out of space in the designated place we have for things and start to improvise and before we know it, things are scattered here and there and all the order is lost.

Much earlier this year, I had purchased a little tote box. It actually was a plastic box that held four of those flat, clear boxes with the many dividers that you can use for storing small things. With the accumulation of beads, small screws and pieces that I use for my design work, this seemed like the perfect solution to the drawers that were filled with small bags of things that were clumped together. However, even though I bought the piece several months ago, it remained sitting empty in the closet, taking up space. One of the tasks I did over the past couple of days was to go through the several drawers of small things and actually sort them into the new system. That alone took several hours. But in the end, I was able to get rid of a seven drawer tower and free up valuable floor space not to mention that all my small parts were right at hand where I could immediately find them. The new container will save me much time in the future hunting for a particular type of bead or part that I wanted to use for a project. It will also save me from purchasing again what I already had, as we all have done from time to time.

Another very big problem that we had here is the accumulation of projects. It seems funny because in the past few weeks I hadn't felt like I had done a lot this year in the line of making new items and projects, but when I had them all in the same room and they were looking back at me, I was quite overwhelmed. Perhaps I wasn't so lazy after all.

When they were all spread out and stored in various places, I would only see bits and pieces of what I had done and felt like I should have done more. But seeing them altogether was quite startling to me and I realized that I had done quite a bit over the past year. But it was time to either find proper owners for them or get rid of them. As harsh as it seems, several things were damaged from improper storage and they just had to go in the garbage. There was really no point in keeping them, as I have said before that I keep my 'decorations' here to a bare minimum. My little tree is the exception, and it is plenty sitting in its cozy little corner. I have several nice sets of ornaments and plaques and candle trays that I am sure I will find nice homes for and I would rather see them go to people I love and care about then in the trash.

Selling the things is not really an option right now. As I explained before, it requires time and planning that I just don't have. I suppose I could spend the time it takes, but it would take me away from designing and with all the chips hit the ground, designing is what is going to make me a living and that is where my attention and time needs to be spent. Once the designs are done, I need to move on to the next project. Listing and marketing and taking things to shops and negotiating pricing just isn't good business sense to me. Not now anyway.

The other day when I went to town, I bought several large semi-clear plastic containers so that I can store my things efficiently. Getting containers all the same size allowed me to stack them nicely and neatly and make the best use of my space. I also started labeling the outside of each container with a card so I know at a glance exactly what was inside. I like the method of taping the card on the outside with clear postage tape because if I ever use the container for something else, I simply remove the card and replace it with a new one. I used this method for years with cardboard boxes too, so there isn't much scribbled on the side and I could really tell what it currently contained.

I also found that not filling the containers to capacity was the best option. That way, later on when there is one or two more things you need to add into it, it isn't a problem. I am doing this with my little tree decorations for example. I have an entire large container designated for the things that I want to use on my little tree (lights, ornaments, etc.) as well as the few pieces that I have around the house here, such as the seasonal refrigerator magnets. The box isn't even half full, but as I continue to add to my tree, I will have a centralized place where I can store the pieces. That way I know just where to go when I change seasons and it will be simple and I won't have to be hunting for things. The changeover will be fast and easy.

All these ramblings may sound like I am over thinking things, but in the long run, I think it will allow me to once again be really productive and have a neat and clean working environment and place to live. Since both are the same to me, I find it especially important and it makes a huge difference on not only the rate that I work, but also the quality of what I produce.

Today will be the final day of finishing up the process. I have to go through the large cabinet that we built in January and do a little bit of sorting there, but other than that, I am just about finished. I have gone through every cabinet, drawer, and closet in our little place over the past few days, as well as consolidate all our stored items into one centralized place, and I actually have room to spare. The lathe is out of our kitchen (We got it to fit into the closet along with the large shop vac!) and it pulls out very easily when Keith is inspired to work on it. We gained a lot of empty floor space and our little place seems larger than ever. It feels pretty good.

Home appliance Cabinetry Electronic instrument Audio equipment Shelf


I hope by sharing these stories with you, it encourages and inspires you to do the same. We will see in the next weeks and months the impact of having things in order can have, as all the pieces are in place for me for a very productive winter. The ideas are there, as are the deadlines. And now I have a wonderfully clean and organized environment to work in too.

Even the cats seem happy:

Christmas tree Furniture Cat Table Output device


(That's my sweet "Pancakes" snoozing on Keith's keyboard across the couch from me.)

I wish you all a wonderfully productive and fun day!
Job well done ! I know when we clean always find something that we went out and bought or something we bought and forgot we had it .

How about finding something you lost ?

have a good day
 

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#4,138 ·
Let's Talk Turkey!!:D

Well, I suppose this last week or so has been my 'vacation.' I feel like I haven't done any real work in weeks, yet every day has been full from sun up to sun down (and then some!)

I look around and see that I have accomplished a lot, but somehow I don't feel like I have. Why does that happen?

Today I am preparing for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Even though here in Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving in the beginning of October, I am still American and I can't allow the American holiday pass without cooking a full dinner. There are some things that I will never let go of.

This is my eighth year here in Canada, and every year that I have been here I have done this. It seems odd I am sure to people around me because around here it is just like every other Thursday, but I try to keep the tradition going and I will do so as long as I can because it makes me feel a little closer to home and my children and friends from the states.

Besides, I usually don't have too much trouble rounding up some of my Canadian friends to share in a full turkey dinner in the middle of the week. It is another good way to celebrate family and friendship as far as I am concerned.

This year I will be having my 'Canadian parents' Bernie and Ellen over, as well as Keith's parents. Even though our place is not large, we did this last year and everyone was surprisingly comfortable. I liked having everyone meet and we had a good time talking and eating and laughing and it was a day where everything was relaxed and fun. It felt good to be in the company of those who I feel close to here in Canada and I think it was a nice 'extra' holiday for them too.

I don't go overboard on cooking, but I like to have the basics of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and pie. Throw in a couple of vegetables and it is plenty of food with some great leftovers. What can be better?

I think it is good for me to change gears every now and then like this. Since I really don't take much time off on a day to day basis, focusing on something else is rather nice for a change. While I feel a bit (just a bit!) guilty about neglecting the business, I am not really doing that at all, as I have been as attentive as ever with customers and orders and such. I suppose I am so used to being in high gear with designing that any slowdown whatsoever is rather uncomfortable and makes me feel as if I am slacking.

But what the heck? It's times like these that make life fun and enjoyable and I believe that taking time for myself and family and just time to ENJOY life is what allows me to work the way I do most of the time. Think of how frustrating and boring it would get if I never took time out to enjoy things!

So with that said, I am going to take some time to be guilt free and prepare my dinner for tomorrow and take in the holiday. No apologies. :)

Cat Window Picture frame Felidae Carnivore


So I wish you all a great day today! I am going to be donning my apron and getting ready for tomorrow. There is a dusting of snow on the ground and the day is already beautiful. I hope you have a beautiful day too!
 

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#4,139 ·
Let's Talk Turkey!!:D

Well, I suppose this last week or so has been my 'vacation.' I feel like I haven't done any real work in weeks, yet every day has been full from sun up to sun down (and then some!)

I look around and see that I have accomplished a lot, but somehow I don't feel like I have. Why does that happen?

Today I am preparing for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Even though here in Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving in the beginning of October, I am still American and I can't allow the American holiday pass without cooking a full dinner. There are some things that I will never let go of.

This is my eighth year here in Canada, and every year that I have been here I have done this. It seems odd I am sure to people around me because around here it is just like every other Thursday, but I try to keep the tradition going and I will do so as long as I can because it makes me feel a little closer to home and my children and friends from the states.

Besides, I usually don't have too much trouble rounding up some of my Canadian friends to share in a full turkey dinner in the middle of the week. It is another good way to celebrate family and friendship as far as I am concerned.

This year I will be having my 'Canadian parents' Bernie and Ellen over, as well as Keith's parents. Even though our place is not large, we did this last year and everyone was surprisingly comfortable. I liked having everyone meet and we had a good time talking and eating and laughing and it was a day where everything was relaxed and fun. It felt good to be in the company of those who I feel close to here in Canada and I think it was a nice 'extra' holiday for them too.

I don't go overboard on cooking, but I like to have the basics of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and pie. Throw in a couple of vegetables and it is plenty of food with some great leftovers. What can be better?

I think it is good for me to change gears every now and then like this. Since I really don't take much time off on a day to day basis, focusing on something else is rather nice for a change. While I feel a bit (just a bit!) guilty about neglecting the business, I am not really doing that at all, as I have been as attentive as ever with customers and orders and such. I suppose I am so used to being in high gear with designing that any slowdown whatsoever is rather uncomfortable and makes me feel as if I am slacking.

But what the heck? It's times like these that make life fun and enjoyable and I believe that taking time for myself and family and just time to ENJOY life is what allows me to work the way I do most of the time. Think of how frustrating and boring it would get if I never took time out to enjoy things!

So with that said, I am going to take some time to be guilt free and prepare my dinner for tomorrow and take in the holiday. No apologies. :)

Cat Window Picture frame Felidae Carnivore


So I wish you all a great day today! I am going to be donning my apron and getting ready for tomorrow. There is a dusting of snow on the ground and the day is already beautiful. I hope you have a beautiful day too!
Addition to the blog:

After writing this, I looked up and it was light out and look what greeted me -

Tire Sky Wheel Car Vehicle


MERRY CHRISTMAS, EMPORIUM!!!! :D

Our first snow of the year!!! What a wonderful surprise for a happy Thanksgiving! :)

(And it is coming down like gangbusters!)

Sheila
 

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#4,145 ·
Happy Thanksgiving - No Matter Which Country You Live In!

If these are 'days off' how come I felt so tired at the end of the day yesterday? It was a good kind of tired though, and the day itself was filled with fun and preparations for today.

We had our first real snow yesterday. As I finished writing my blog and the sun was coming up, it was coming down pretty hard. I had to go out and put the garbage to the curb (there was LOTS due to the reorganization project!) and it looked like a winter wonderland in the woods. Even the river looked nice. I snapped a quick picture just because:

Tire Sky Wheel Car Vehicle


By the time we ventured out, there was pretty much on the ground. It was quite wet and slippery though and even Keith's car seemed to have a mind of its own. We went slow though and finished our errands without incident. I thought it was beautiful, although several people were already grumbling about it. The way I look at it: We live in Canada - it is going to snow. There is little we can do to change that. (Not that I want to)

Did you ever notice that when the weather acts up that people are more talkative to each other? It seems that everyone has a story or a thought on the weather and they have no qualms about sharing it with whoever is in ear shot. I don't mean that in a negative way at all. I think it is interesting though. It kind of brings people together.

As I went through the grocery store gathering my last few things that I will need for my dinner today, I realized that I was quite alone in my excitement over the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is one of the times when it is most evident to me that I am no longer living in the United States. To people here, it is just another day and everyone is going about their business as they normally would. Perhaps that is why it is so important to me to take time out to celebrate it. It makes me feel a little closer to home.

While I love being here, I can't help but feel 'homesick' at times like these. I miss my children most of all and look back fondly on the memories that we have made together in the past. I look forward to the future when perhaps we can again spend our holidays together. Even if I did live close to them, it would be very difficult to get us all together on the same day. My son went back to work yesterday after being off for several weeks for his eye surgery and it seems that most of his holidays are also displaced because of the hours he has to work as a police officer. My daughter is a waitress and working while attending college, so she also is working and takes the hours as she can get them. I know it is like that for many people, with most being grateful that they have jobs at all.

I think it is kind of disgusting that so many of the large chain stores are going to be open on Thanksgiving. I usually don't offer my opinion on things like this, but this time I am going to. I think it is bad enough that families are torn apart by members having to work insane hours or more than one job just to make ends meet. Now it appears that one can't even have a single day to enjoy their families and relax. I can't imagine the mom who has to make a full dinner, or travel to see family only to have to return early to start work at 10pm for the 'early sales'. The same with the teens and young people who are just starting in the work force. To me it is just showing them how little family time is valued by their employers. It used to be that only essential services were open on what were considered the major holidays, but now it is more important for these companies to be the first in line to get your Christmas shopping dollars and they go to any lengths it seems to do so. It is quite sad.

Perhaps that is why this holiday is so important to me. I look at my life and there are so many, many things that I have to be thankful for. For those of you who read my writings here on a regular basis, you know that I think about how fortunate I am in my life just about every day. There are times when I just stop and consider all the good things in my life and I am quite overwhelmed by it, and I express it many times throughout the year. So to have an official holiday for us to reflect on our lives and the good things we have is really an important one to me. I have a lot of company here on my pink cloud that day, and people do take time to be grateful for the good in their lives. That is a good thing.

I finished lots of the cooking and preparation yesterday. I got two kinds of stuffing made, as well as some home made cranberry sauce. The turkey is thawing and looks to be a fine 'guest of honor'. Within a few hours, the house here will have that incredible smell of roast turkey and stuffing. I think that is one of my favorite things about it.

The snow has melted for the most part and turned to rain. But that is OK. The driving will be safer for Bernie and Ellen anyway. I did get a taste of the snow to come and with it gone, I will be able to experience it all over again the next time, when it is fresh and beautiful.

I have more preparation yet to do, and I promise to take some pictures of my own cats. It seems that many of you think that my daily cat pictures are of my own crew here. I have received messages from several of you asking how I got them to pose, etc. No, I am not that creative and they are not that cooperative, but I will try to get a picture or two of them enjoying the festivities today. I am glad you like my daily pictures. I enjoy finding them and they make me smile. As far as I am concerned, you can never have too many smiles in your day, so I try to add one or two.

Focusing on the good things in your life is a wonderful way to live. While we can't always avoid negative things, there are many times when it is possible to leave them in the background and put our attention to something more positive. Whether it is a silly cartoon or noticing something that someone did that was nice, or even looking at one of your own accomplishments with pride, it is a good and positive way to spend the day. Soon you begin to notice (and appreciate) these good things as a habit, and before you know it - you are happy. Being grateful and showing gratitude to others is a part of that.

I wish you all a wonderful day today. No matter which country you are from, take some time out to think about all the good things you have in your life. Don't take them for granted. Appreciate them like the precious gifts they are. You will be amazed at how good it will make you feel! Happy Thanksgiving!

Cat Vertebrate Bow tie Hat Headgear


For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

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#4,146 ·
Happy Thanksgiving - No Matter Which Country You Live In!

If these are 'days off' how come I felt so tired at the end of the day yesterday? It was a good kind of tired though, and the day itself was filled with fun and preparations for today.

We had our first real snow yesterday. As I finished writing my blog and the sun was coming up, it was coming down pretty hard. I had to go out and put the garbage to the curb (there was LOTS due to the reorganization project!) and it looked like a winter wonderland in the woods. Even the river looked nice. I snapped a quick picture just because:

Tire Sky Wheel Car Vehicle


By the time we ventured out, there was pretty much on the ground. It was quite wet and slippery though and even Keith's car seemed to have a mind of its own. We went slow though and finished our errands without incident. I thought it was beautiful, although several people were already grumbling about it. The way I look at it: We live in Canada - it is going to snow. There is little we can do to change that. (Not that I want to)

Did you ever notice that when the weather acts up that people are more talkative to each other? It seems that everyone has a story or a thought on the weather and they have no qualms about sharing it with whoever is in ear shot. I don't mean that in a negative way at all. I think it is interesting though. It kind of brings people together.

As I went through the grocery store gathering my last few things that I will need for my dinner today, I realized that I was quite alone in my excitement over the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is one of the times when it is most evident to me that I am no longer living in the United States. To people here, it is just another day and everyone is going about their business as they normally would. Perhaps that is why it is so important to me to take time out to celebrate it. It makes me feel a little closer to home.

While I love being here, I can't help but feel 'homesick' at times like these. I miss my children most of all and look back fondly on the memories that we have made together in the past. I look forward to the future when perhaps we can again spend our holidays together. Even if I did live close to them, it would be very difficult to get us all together on the same day. My son went back to work yesterday after being off for several weeks for his eye surgery and it seems that most of his holidays are also displaced because of the hours he has to work as a police officer. My daughter is a waitress and working while attending college, so she also is working and takes the hours as she can get them. I know it is like that for many people, with most being grateful that they have jobs at all.

I think it is kind of disgusting that so many of the large chain stores are going to be open on Thanksgiving. I usually don't offer my opinion on things like this, but this time I am going to. I think it is bad enough that families are torn apart by members having to work insane hours or more than one job just to make ends meet. Now it appears that one can't even have a single day to enjoy their families and relax. I can't imagine the mom who has to make a full dinner, or travel to see family only to have to return early to start work at 10pm for the 'early sales'. The same with the teens and young people who are just starting in the work force. To me it is just showing them how little family time is valued by their employers. It used to be that only essential services were open on what were considered the major holidays, but now it is more important for these companies to be the first in line to get your Christmas shopping dollars and they go to any lengths it seems to do so. It is quite sad.

Perhaps that is why this holiday is so important to me. I look at my life and there are so many, many things that I have to be thankful for. For those of you who read my writings here on a regular basis, you know that I think about how fortunate I am in my life just about every day. There are times when I just stop and consider all the good things in my life and I am quite overwhelmed by it, and I express it many times throughout the year. So to have an official holiday for us to reflect on our lives and the good things we have is really an important one to me. I have a lot of company here on my pink cloud that day, and people do take time to be grateful for the good in their lives. That is a good thing.

I finished lots of the cooking and preparation yesterday. I got two kinds of stuffing made, as well as some home made cranberry sauce. The turkey is thawing and looks to be a fine 'guest of honor'. Within a few hours, the house here will have that incredible smell of roast turkey and stuffing. I think that is one of my favorite things about it.

The snow has melted for the most part and turned to rain. But that is OK. The driving will be safer for Bernie and Ellen anyway. I did get a taste of the snow to come and with it gone, I will be able to experience it all over again the next time, when it is fresh and beautiful.

I have more preparation yet to do, and I promise to take some pictures of my own cats. It seems that many of you think that my daily cat pictures are of my own crew here. I have received messages from several of you asking how I got them to pose, etc. No, I am not that creative and they are not that cooperative, but I will try to get a picture or two of them enjoying the festivities today. I am glad you like my daily pictures. I enjoy finding them and they make me smile. As far as I am concerned, you can never have too many smiles in your day, so I try to add one or two.

Focusing on the good things in your life is a wonderful way to live. While we can't always avoid negative things, there are many times when it is possible to leave them in the background and put our attention to something more positive. Whether it is a silly cartoon or noticing something that someone did that was nice, or even looking at one of your own accomplishments with pride, it is a good and positive way to spend the day. Soon you begin to notice (and appreciate) these good things as a habit, and before you know it - you are happy. Being grateful and showing gratitude to others is a part of that.

I wish you all a wonderful day today. No matter which country you are from, take some time out to think about all the good things you have in your life. Don't take them for granted. Appreciate them like the precious gifts they are. You will be amazed at how good it will make you feel! Happy Thanksgiving!

Cat Vertebrate Bow tie Hat Headgear


For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
God bless you… from Lebanon
Georges
 

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#4,160 ·
Back to WORK!!!

It isn't like it is a bad thing! But it's time to get focused back in the direction of woodworking and work. One of the good things about what I do is that there is this kind of wave effect which allows me to take a bit of time off here and there and not really feel the difference. Once the designs are 'out there' they kind of do their own thing whether I work on new things every day or not.

I do miss it though, and even though this past week was really functional (and also necessary!), it's time to buckle down and start some new designs again.

The next thing that I need to do right off is to create the next installments for the calendar holder that I did for the magazine. The first part was the calendar holder base as well as overlays for the months of January and February. The second installment includes the overlays for the months of March through July. This will be a nice and fun project to do and I already have most of the ideas in my head. The third and final installment will be the remaining five months of the year.

I plan to begin drawing on those today and I hope to get the finished items in the mail by next week. It will feel really good to get back at the saw again and do some actual cutting.

It is a really good feeling to have everything here in place and in order. Knowing right where everything is and having all my supplies right at hand and a clean working environment makes a huge difference on how productive we are I think. I feel like I am now ready for the winter and snow and holidays and can face everything with a clear head.

Yesterday turned out to be a wonderful day. Even though our place here is small, it was nice and comfortable for six people to sit down to dinner. I had everything I could ready ahead of time, and by the time everyone got here, just about everything was done. It helped a lot to have the lathe out of the kitchen, too! We had kind of gotten used to it there so now that it is in the closet, it seems like there is a great deal more room!

Even Ellen (who can be somewhat fussy over things at times) kept saying that she didn't know how we were able to do all we could from our little place and keep it so neat. (I don't know if she would have said that a week ago!) I felt really good though about being able to have a nice dinner and have everyone comfortable.

The food came out good and there are plenty of left overs so I won't need to worry about cooking for about a week. I never mind left overs. I find that after cooking for a couple of days to prepare for this meal, it will feel really nice to just be able to pull something out of the refrigerator and heat it up and be done with it. It will give me a chance to really get back to focusing on work and still eat well.

All in all it was a fine day. I couldn't have asked for any better. Even the cats enjoyed it, as they were exceptionally sociable and entertaining. They each did their favorite tricks and visited the entire time. Pancakes played 'fetch' with his favorite mouse and kept bringing it to Keith and dropping it at his feet. Richard did all his "baby" tricks for attention, and even shy Coco brought her little black mouse who we call 'Rebecca' out of hiding to show people. It was as if they all wanted to interact and play with the company. No dogs could have been friendlier! They certainly won the hearts of everyone there.

I didn't get many pictures because I was pretty busy setting up and cleaning up, but I did get one picture as we all sat down to eat:

Food Tableware Table Smile Sharing


It's hard to get a good picture when people don't want to pose - especially when they are all hungry and wanting to eat, so this is the best I could do. That's Ellen on the left and then Bernie and Keith and then Keith's dad Artie and his mom Dianne.

It was a wonderful gathering and a grand holiday and the evening ended with Keith showing his mom and dad his new sound card on the computer and playing "Comfortably Numb", a track from Pink Floyd's album "The Wall." (I think if I had an all time favorite album, that would be it!) At first his mom said she didn't think she liked Pink Floyd (she was more into Blue Grass) but when listening, she said "This is alright" Maybe we will convert her! :)

I hope you all had a great day too! Time to bring on the holidays!
 

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#4,161 ·
Back to WORK!!!

It isn't like it is a bad thing! But it's time to get focused back in the direction of woodworking and work. One of the good things about what I do is that there is this kind of wave effect which allows me to take a bit of time off here and there and not really feel the difference. Once the designs are 'out there' they kind of do their own thing whether I work on new things every day or not.

I do miss it though, and even though this past week was really functional (and also necessary!), it's time to buckle down and start some new designs again.

The next thing that I need to do right off is to create the next installments for the calendar holder that I did for the magazine. The first part was the calendar holder base as well as overlays for the months of January and February. The second installment includes the overlays for the months of March through July. This will be a nice and fun project to do and I already have most of the ideas in my head. The third and final installment will be the remaining five months of the year.

I plan to begin drawing on those today and I hope to get the finished items in the mail by next week. It will feel really good to get back at the saw again and do some actual cutting.

It is a really good feeling to have everything here in place and in order. Knowing right where everything is and having all my supplies right at hand and a clean working environment makes a huge difference on how productive we are I think. I feel like I am now ready for the winter and snow and holidays and can face everything with a clear head.

Yesterday turned out to be a wonderful day. Even though our place here is small, it was nice and comfortable for six people to sit down to dinner. I had everything I could ready ahead of time, and by the time everyone got here, just about everything was done. It helped a lot to have the lathe out of the kitchen, too! We had kind of gotten used to it there so now that it is in the closet, it seems like there is a great deal more room!

Even Ellen (who can be somewhat fussy over things at times) kept saying that she didn't know how we were able to do all we could from our little place and keep it so neat. (I don't know if she would have said that a week ago!) I felt really good though about being able to have a nice dinner and have everyone comfortable.

The food came out good and there are plenty of left overs so I won't need to worry about cooking for about a week. I never mind left overs. I find that after cooking for a couple of days to prepare for this meal, it will feel really nice to just be able to pull something out of the refrigerator and heat it up and be done with it. It will give me a chance to really get back to focusing on work and still eat well.

All in all it was a fine day. I couldn't have asked for any better. Even the cats enjoyed it, as they were exceptionally sociable and entertaining. They each did their favorite tricks and visited the entire time. Pancakes played 'fetch' with his favorite mouse and kept bringing it to Keith and dropping it at his feet. Richard did all his "baby" tricks for attention, and even shy Coco brought her little black mouse who we call 'Rebecca' out of hiding to show people. It was as if they all wanted to interact and play with the company. No dogs could have been friendlier! They certainly won the hearts of everyone there.

I didn't get many pictures because I was pretty busy setting up and cleaning up, but I did get one picture as we all sat down to eat:

Food Tableware Table Smile Sharing


It's hard to get a good picture when people don't want to pose - especially when they are all hungry and wanting to eat, so this is the best I could do. That's Ellen on the left and then Bernie and Keith and then Keith's dad Artie and his mom Dianne.

It was a wonderful gathering and a grand holiday and the evening ended with Keith showing his mom and dad his new sound card on the computer and playing "Comfortably Numb", a track from Pink Floyd's album "The Wall." (I think if I had an all time favorite album, that would be it!) At first his mom said she didn't think she liked Pink Floyd (she was more into Blue Grass) but when listening, she said "This is alright" Maybe we will convert her! :)

I hope you all had a great day too! Time to bring on the holidays!
great picture sheila, love the cat story, glad it all went well, and i have no doubts the food the top notch…yes, i think your ready to get back to the saw, but its been a great past week too…ive got to figure what im going to mess with, depends on how i feel…but…you have a wonderful day…kiss all them kitties for me…i love kitties…...grizz
 

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#4,166 ·
Two Videos About Creativity in Today's World

Yesterday I saw a couple of interesting videos. Although they are not directly about woodworking, I think that they pertain to many of us who are involved in not only creating woodworking projects, but also those who design their own patterns for furniture, boxes and all other projects.

My brother was the one who sent me the links. He said that they made him think of me and how when watching them he wondered how differently my life may have been if everyone thought more like the guy who was lecturing. It made me think too.

As I watched each one, there were many things that came to mind as to how true what he was saying is. From the time I was very young, I wanted to be an artist. I was only 13 and I painted a replica of the cover of Elton John's album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" on a 16" x 20" canvas. That was in 1975. I was living in the suburbs of Chicago at the time and I had heard that Bernie Taupin (Elton John's lyricist in the early days) was going to be at a radio station downtown one day. My girlfriend and I took the day off of school and several busses to get to that station, and we waited for hours until Mr. Taupin emerged from the elevator at the building where the show was broadcast from. We did finally see him and I presented him with the painting for Elton. It was quite a thrill. (I have a picture of Bernie Taupin that I came across recently, and I will post it later if I can put my finger on it!)

Looking back, it seemed like a silly thing to do. But teens are silly and I was no exception. I loved Elton John and had pictures of him plastered all over my bedroom wall. I also loved art and loved to recreate things through painting. Creating is part of my life and part of me.

Of course my parents weren't as thrilled about this I was. I am sure they worried about my future. My sister went on to receive a master's degree in business from DePaul University Business School (with honors, no less!) I suppose it was quite disappointing to them to hear my own ambitions.

I am not close with my own family for many reasons that I will not get into. Let's just say that we differ on many basic views and values and leave it at that. The point that I am trying to make is that sometimes it isn't easy to be true to yourself and follow your own dreams. There are many obstacles and pressures along the way that try to push you into directions that may seem unnatural to you.

I was surprised at the feelings that these videos brought up from deep inside me. I suppose it stirred up many memories of my own childhood and my own struggles in finding my place and doing what my heart dictated. It has been a life long struggle to get here, but never have I felt so comfortable and happy in my life as I have since I began to actually LISTEN to what my own heart was saying.

I think my own children feel much differently than I did as a child. I have always made a conscious effort to support them in any decisions they have made. Of course, I advise them, but I also allow them to not only follow their own paths, but to make mistakes and hopefully learn from them and refine their plans. So far it is working for them both.

As creative people, we need to find support from those we choose to have around us. I believe that is why this forum here at Lumberjocks is so popular. We think somewhat alike in the respect that being creative is an important factor to our own happiness. We seek support from our peers and it feeds our creativity and lets us know that 'it's ok' to want to make beautiful things for the sake of making beautiful things alone.

There are different degrees of success here, but I think it depends on what you define the word 'success' as. Myself, I think that just by being here and creating is success in itself. It has nothing to do with financial gain or status. It is feeding our souls and it is the immesurable amount of satisfaction and peace we feel within ourselves when we are being creative. No money could ever equal that.

I hope you take the time to watch these videos. They are about 20 minutes each and they are full of some valuable observances that really make you think about things. (Both of them can be translated into 50 languages, for those of you who don't speak English as a first language) I believe that most of you will see yourselves in some of the examples. I certainly did.

Here are the links to them:

The first one is called Schools Kill Creativity>http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf .

And the second one is called Bring On The Learning Revolution>http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf :

I hope you take time to look at them. You may not agree with everything that is said, but I think that it may make you aware of some things or even validate some of the things that you as a creative person may feel or have felt over the years. In any case, I think they send some important messages to all of us.

I want to thank my brother Bob for bringing this to my attention. I also want to thank him for the support he has shown me these past several years. I love you, Bob!

I hope you all have a wonderful and creative day.

(I had a difficult time posting the video here. I couldn't get it to link and embedded it. If you want to read more about Sir Ken Robinson, you can click HERE to go to his page)
 
#4,167 ·
Sheila, I can't see anything wrong with giving your painting to Elton John. He obviously did a lot for you and you were returning the favour. I, too am not close to my family. With the exception of my mother, who died in 1988, none of them encouraged me and both my father and brother wanted me to conform. The former silently with disapproval the latter because he wanted me to be like him. How tedious. We are all different. We should go our own way. I am lucky nowadays in that Sue gives me the time and space to do my own thing, which is to synthesise my technical, creative, making, challenging way of making boxes from my various life experiences. I've passed the videos on to Sue but I think she may have seen them already. Anyway her style of teaching is very much of the same as Ken is encouraging.
 
#4,176 ·
Preparing for Germ Warfare

I'm getting ready to face battle here. My partner Keith has come down with what is turning into a nasty cold. The last thing I want or need is to get sick right now so I am doing everything I can to avoid sharing in the experience. To me there are just some things you don't want to share.

It started last week when we were doing the major cleaning. He was sneezing and saying his throat was sore and his nose was bothering him. We thought that it definitely could have been allergies, because of all the dust we disturbed when cleaning out the wood piles, under the beds and in all the closets. Not to mention we were digging in the basement at his parents house for a couple of days.

But that was last weekend and over the course of the week it seems to have only gotten worse. Now he is starting to cough too and the dust has long settled and he should be getting back to normal by now. I think he really has a cold.

But I am not giving in that easily. I have too much to do and I am trying to 'will myself' to not be sick. Let's see if I can pull it off. It has been over a week so far and as of now I am in the clear. (Well - I can try, can't I?)

Yesterday I spent the day drawing. The next installments on the calendar project is due and I need to ship it this upcoming week. The first part was the calendar holder base and January and February. I finished that about a month ago but did some other projects in between that and before I knew it, the next part is due. This part includes the overlays for the months of March through July. The name plates for all the months were completed when I began so that is just a matter of cutting them out, so what I need to work on is the three overlay pieces for each of the five months.

Drawing went well yesterday and I was able to complete March, April and May and even begin with June. I pretty much know what I will be doing though so it is just a matter of getting it into the computer. I may possibly be able to begin cutting today, if all goes well. But Keith is cutting a new project too so I may wait until tomorrow. That's OK because I have plenty of other things to do in the mean time.

I am trying to keep these pieces on the calendar project simple enough so that anyone can do them. I really do like the idea and it is kind of fun getting all excited about it all over again. It will be even more fun to see it come to life.

So there isn't too much to talk about today other than that. I am glad that some of you watched the videos yesterday and liked them. I appreciate all the messages you sent me - both here and privately and I hope that they showed a somewhat different way to think about things. I know that they did for me.

Have a great Sunday today and do something that makes you happy. I am going to put on my nurses' hat and see if I can get enough vitamin C into me (as well as Keith) to combat this cold and not be affected.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Whiskers


We can only hope!
 

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#4,177 ·
Preparing for Germ Warfare

I'm getting ready to face battle here. My partner Keith has come down with what is turning into a nasty cold. The last thing I want or need is to get sick right now so I am doing everything I can to avoid sharing in the experience. To me there are just some things you don't want to share.

It started last week when we were doing the major cleaning. He was sneezing and saying his throat was sore and his nose was bothering him. We thought that it definitely could have been allergies, because of all the dust we disturbed when cleaning out the wood piles, under the beds and in all the closets. Not to mention we were digging in the basement at his parents house for a couple of days.

But that was last weekend and over the course of the week it seems to have only gotten worse. Now he is starting to cough too and the dust has long settled and he should be getting back to normal by now. I think he really has a cold.

But I am not giving in that easily. I have too much to do and I am trying to 'will myself' to not be sick. Let's see if I can pull it off. It has been over a week so far and as of now I am in the clear. (Well - I can try, can't I?)

Yesterday I spent the day drawing. The next installments on the calendar project is due and I need to ship it this upcoming week. The first part was the calendar holder base and January and February. I finished that about a month ago but did some other projects in between that and before I knew it, the next part is due. This part includes the overlays for the months of March through July. The name plates for all the months were completed when I began so that is just a matter of cutting them out, so what I need to work on is the three overlay pieces for each of the five months.

Drawing went well yesterday and I was able to complete March, April and May and even begin with June. I pretty much know what I will be doing though so it is just a matter of getting it into the computer. I may possibly be able to begin cutting today, if all goes well. But Keith is cutting a new project too so I may wait until tomorrow. That's OK because I have plenty of other things to do in the mean time.

I am trying to keep these pieces on the calendar project simple enough so that anyone can do them. I really do like the idea and it is kind of fun getting all excited about it all over again. It will be even more fun to see it come to life.

So there isn't too much to talk about today other than that. I am glad that some of you watched the videos yesterday and liked them. I appreciate all the messages you sent me - both here and privately and I hope that they showed a somewhat different way to think about things. I know that they did for me.

Have a great Sunday today and do something that makes you happy. I am going to put on my nurses' hat and see if I can get enough vitamin C into me (as well as Keith) to combat this cold and not be affected.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Whiskers


We can only hope!
oh no..poor keith…hope he gets well soon…...yea try hard not to get sick, sterilize everything…lol…...nice kitty shot too…we have rain and 64 today…but colder weather is coming…you have a great day…bob
 

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#4,179 ·
Cutting today

Yesterday was a good day and I was able to finish up all the drawing that I needed to do for the next project that I need to send out to the magazine later on this week. That means that I get to spend the day at the scroll saw cutting. As always, that is one of my favorite parts of what I do. It will be nice to see everything come to life.

My partner Keith is still fighting his cold. Unfortunately it has turned into a cough and sounds like it is going into his lungs. Even though he is coughing quite a bit this morning, the chances of getting him to go in and get it looked after are slim. You guys all probably understand. I don't mean to sound sexist but I just can't see it happening. Not yet anyway. I did suggest it yesterday and I got the reply 'It's only a cold' from him and left it at that.

I really hope I don't get it too. I have been extra careful and taking lots of extra vitamin C and washing my hands fifty two hundred times a day and hopefully my own immune system is strong enough for me to avoid getting it myself. (Well, I can hope, can't I?)

I must say my little kitty with the mask avitar has gotten some attention. I would have never thought. I received several comments and messages on it and I am glad I could make you all smile. I think I am going to keep it until I am out of danger from catching this cold that Keith has. Besides, I am cutting today and we should wear our masks when doing so.

Many of you think that all the kitty pictures that I post are of my own three, but usually they are not. I don't think that they would stand for half the stuff that I show. I just love cats as many of you figured out and I find it fun to see them in silly poses and situations.

I used to dress up my cat as a child. From the time I was three years old until I was sixteen, I had a beautiful sleek all black cat we called Cindy. I remember dressing her in a pink night gown, complete with a little pink night hat and she would allow us to push her around the neighborhood in our doll buggy. One time in particular, a neighbor stopped to see our "baby" (I was about seven years old at the time) and pulled back the top of the buggy, expecting a doll. I will never forget the look on her face when she saw the black, furry face with golden eyes staring up back at her wearing a pink night dress! It startled the dickens out of her! Cindy was a good pet for my entire childhood and I am sure that my love of cats began with her. There has rarely been a time in my life when I was without feline companionship and for the short times that I was, I felt as if my life was missing something.

I am glad you enjoy my pictures that I find. As you can imagine, after over five hundred posts here on the blog it would get pretty boring if I strictly adhered to woodworking and only woodworking. (Come on! Admit it!) Those days when I am 'in between' doing stuff or drawing or days like today when I am cutting, but don't really have woodworking pictures to show yet, I still like to give you a little bit of eye candy to brighten your day and make you smile.

Here is a picture of my three:

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Fawn


It's not a very good one, I must say. But it is a rare time when all three are sitting together. That's Coco on the left. (I named her after Coco Chanel) She is big and beautiful and has the most gentle disposition of any cat I ever saw. Her fur is long and feels like silk.

Pancakes is in the middle. He is the cat that my daughter brought (and left) with me. He was born on a farm in Michigan and given to my daughter when he was just four weeks old (don't ask!) He lived in Chicago with her for a month or so and she then brought him here to Nova Scotia. He is one well-traveled cat. But he is settled now and loves his "grammy" (me!) and is constantly at my side, as he is now, sleeping next to me on the arm of my couch. He turned out to be quite the friend.

And the handsome thin guy on the right is Richard. He is probably the smartest of the bunch and does many things that you would only expect from a dog.

Rich and Coco were chosen from the nearby shelter. After being 'catless' for my first few months after coming to Nova Scotia (I had lost my dear companion of 17 years, Jasmine the week before I moved here) I thought it was time to find some new friends and I thought the shelter was the best place to look. I never regretted it.

Tomorrow I should have some actual woodworking pictures for you of my new project. I look forward to cutting it out today and I know I will enjoy the process. I am already planning on what music I will listen to while I cut.

Have a wonderful Monday!
 

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#4,180 ·
Cutting today

Yesterday was a good day and I was able to finish up all the drawing that I needed to do for the next project that I need to send out to the magazine later on this week. That means that I get to spend the day at the scroll saw cutting. As always, that is one of my favorite parts of what I do. It will be nice to see everything come to life.

My partner Keith is still fighting his cold. Unfortunately it has turned into a cough and sounds like it is going into his lungs. Even though he is coughing quite a bit this morning, the chances of getting him to go in and get it looked after are slim. You guys all probably understand. I don't mean to sound sexist but I just can't see it happening. Not yet anyway. I did suggest it yesterday and I got the reply 'It's only a cold' from him and left it at that.

I really hope I don't get it too. I have been extra careful and taking lots of extra vitamin C and washing my hands fifty two hundred times a day and hopefully my own immune system is strong enough for me to avoid getting it myself. (Well, I can hope, can't I?)

I must say my little kitty with the mask avitar has gotten some attention. I would have never thought. I received several comments and messages on it and I am glad I could make you all smile. I think I am going to keep it until I am out of danger from catching this cold that Keith has. Besides, I am cutting today and we should wear our masks when doing so.

Many of you think that all the kitty pictures that I post are of my own three, but usually they are not. I don't think that they would stand for half the stuff that I show. I just love cats as many of you figured out and I find it fun to see them in silly poses and situations.

I used to dress up my cat as a child. From the time I was three years old until I was sixteen, I had a beautiful sleek all black cat we called Cindy. I remember dressing her in a pink night gown, complete with a little pink night hat and she would allow us to push her around the neighborhood in our doll buggy. One time in particular, a neighbor stopped to see our "baby" (I was about seven years old at the time) and pulled back the top of the buggy, expecting a doll. I will never forget the look on her face when she saw the black, furry face with golden eyes staring up back at her wearing a pink night dress! It startled the dickens out of her! Cindy was a good pet for my entire childhood and I am sure that my love of cats began with her. There has rarely been a time in my life when I was without feline companionship and for the short times that I was, I felt as if my life was missing something.

I am glad you enjoy my pictures that I find. As you can imagine, after over five hundred posts here on the blog it would get pretty boring if I strictly adhered to woodworking and only woodworking. (Come on! Admit it!) Those days when I am 'in between' doing stuff or drawing or days like today when I am cutting, but don't really have woodworking pictures to show yet, I still like to give you a little bit of eye candy to brighten your day and make you smile.

Here is a picture of my three:

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Fawn


It's not a very good one, I must say. But it is a rare time when all three are sitting together. That's Coco on the left. (I named her after Coco Chanel) She is big and beautiful and has the most gentle disposition of any cat I ever saw. Her fur is long and feels like silk.

Pancakes is in the middle. He is the cat that my daughter brought (and left) with me. He was born on a farm in Michigan and given to my daughter when he was just four weeks old (don't ask!) He lived in Chicago with her for a month or so and she then brought him here to Nova Scotia. He is one well-traveled cat. But he is settled now and loves his "grammy" (me!) and is constantly at my side, as he is now, sleeping next to me on the arm of my couch. He turned out to be quite the friend.

And the handsome thin guy on the right is Richard. He is probably the smartest of the bunch and does many things that you would only expect from a dog.

Rich and Coco were chosen from the nearby shelter. After being 'catless' for my first few months after coming to Nova Scotia (I had lost my dear companion of 17 years, Jasmine the week before I moved here) I thought it was time to find some new friends and I thought the shelter was the best place to look. I never regretted it.

Tomorrow I should have some actual woodworking pictures for you of my new project. I look forward to cutting it out today and I know I will enjoy the process. I am already planning on what music I will listen to while I cut.

Have a wonderful Monday!
:-=)
as you see we survived the storm pretty well over here … beside one ferry stayed on ground for 19 hours
148 people on bord nothing have happened here but other parts of the country was hit a little hard
by the wind and with seawater in the streets no mentions of killed or hurt peoples sofare
only damage on dead things …except for my right knockles and my back
but that was from the saturday night fights in the taxi ….
don´t they ever learn not to tuch the Chrismas beers and the Snaps …. gess not
had to change my clothes two times becourse of damage and blood on it :-( ... don´t worry not my blood :)
but I´m getting way toooooo old for this night driving in the weekends
but the last two days have been stressfull but fun with helping people over the telefon how they cuold
expect they cuold get with one of the ferry´s and witch one to take
so now I´m deadtired as the say here and can hear the bed call on me

have a great day
Dennis
 

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#4,183 ·
My Ornament Exchange Gift

One of the best parts of networking being on woodworking and painting sites is seeing what everyone else is creating. Whether it is an original design, or that from a pattern, it is such a joy to see how people interpret and create things. Even when things are from a pattern, it is rare that the final piece is exactly like the sample. People have a wonderful way of adding their own personality and tastes into what they do and they make them unique.

Every time I get a chance, I participate in exchanges. I think that exchanges are a wonderful way to share our work and enjoy the work of our friends. This year, I had the opportunity to participate in the Christmas ornament exchange on Steve Good's site. (http://www.stevedgood.com/community/index.php) It is a wonderful group of helpful and creative people and I it is a nice place to 'hang out' and talk about scroll sawing.

Yesterday, I received my ornaments from my exchange partner Torsten Harms. Torsten lives in Germany and does wonderful work. We are also friends on Facebook and he is a frequent contributor to Steve's site. When I opened the little box he sent, I was just thrilled with the beautiful ornaments that it contained.

There was a stand up tree:

Christmas tree Wood Branch Art Woody plant


A beautiful flowing angel:

Holiday ornament Art Ornament Font Sleeve


A mama and baby deer:

Motor vehicle Wood Font Brick Tints and shades


And a delicate walnut heart, which would also be suitable as a pretty pendant:

Wood Font Jewellery Circle Metal


It was such a wonderful box of treasures! I have the stand up tree sitting here on my desk and just looking at it makes me smile.

There is something about receiving a gift that is hand made that makes it really special. Perhaps because as someone who does woodworking, I know the amount of care and skill that goes into creating pieces such as these. I think that exchanges such as this bring us all closer and I know that I will treasure my wonderful little ornaments for a lifetime.

I want to encourage you all to participate in and exchange if you have the opportunity. We all love receiving something in the mail, and it also allows you to give a little special something of yourself to someone who lives perhaps half way around the world.

Thank you, Torsten for the lovely package you sent! It is a beautiful display of your talents and I know I will treasure the pieces for years and years to come. It made my Christmas extra special!
 

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#4,184 ·
My Ornament Exchange Gift

One of the best parts of networking being on woodworking and painting sites is seeing what everyone else is creating. Whether it is an original design, or that from a pattern, it is such a joy to see how people interpret and create things. Even when things are from a pattern, it is rare that the final piece is exactly like the sample. People have a wonderful way of adding their own personality and tastes into what they do and they make them unique.

Every time I get a chance, I participate in exchanges. I think that exchanges are a wonderful way to share our work and enjoy the work of our friends. This year, I had the opportunity to participate in the Christmas ornament exchange on Steve Good's site. (http://www.stevedgood.com/community/index.php) It is a wonderful group of helpful and creative people and I it is a nice place to 'hang out' and talk about scroll sawing.

Yesterday, I received my ornaments from my exchange partner Torsten Harms. Torsten lives in Germany and does wonderful work. We are also friends on Facebook and he is a frequent contributor to Steve's site. When I opened the little box he sent, I was just thrilled with the beautiful ornaments that it contained.

There was a stand up tree:

Christmas tree Wood Branch Art Woody plant


A beautiful flowing angel:

Holiday ornament Art Ornament Font Sleeve


A mama and baby deer:

Motor vehicle Wood Font Brick Tints and shades


And a delicate walnut heart, which would also be suitable as a pretty pendant:

Wood Font Jewellery Circle Metal


It was such a wonderful box of treasures! I have the stand up tree sitting here on my desk and just looking at it makes me smile.

There is something about receiving a gift that is hand made that makes it really special. Perhaps because as someone who does woodworking, I know the amount of care and skill that goes into creating pieces such as these. I think that exchanges such as this bring us all closer and I know that I will treasure my wonderful little ornaments for a lifetime.

I want to encourage you all to participate in and exchange if you have the opportunity. We all love receiving something in the mail, and it also allows you to give a little special something of yourself to someone who lives perhaps half way around the world.

Thank you, Torsten for the lovely package you sent! It is a beautiful display of your talents and I know I will treasure the pieces for years and years to come. It made my Christmas extra special!
Nice Sheila! Torsten does some fine work, doesn't he? I received mine from Jimbo in New Zealand, and he included a couple of blanks of "Rimu" wood and a a turned pen! I have yet to cut mine, but it isn't leaving the country so I don't feel too pressured.

You are a great resource for both LJ's and Steve's site, so please keep the contributions coming!
 

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#4,189 ·
Still Cutting

As usual, I earned the title of "Queen of Underestimation." At least I kind of did plan for it this time, so I don't feel too bad about it.

The second leg in the calendar project is just about done being cut. It is funny, but in my head I only allowed a day to get all the pieces done. Even I should know better. I am really OK though because as long as I get it out this week, I should be good. I don't feel a great deal of pressure in that department.

The second part of this projects consists of the overlay pieces from March through and including July. For those of you who haven't seen the first part of it, here is a picture for you:

Glasses Beige Wood Rectangle Font


It is a calendar holder in which the overlay pieces are held on by magnets and interchangeable. This is a project that is going to be featured in three sequential issues of Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine. The first part will be building the base and the overlays for the month of January and February (shown below.)

Brown Rectangle Beige Font Wood


The second part will be the next five month's worth of overlays. That is what I am working on now. While one month in itself doesn't take very long to cut, depending on the details some of the pieces took a while. I suppose I should have figured more time for it, but I tend to underestimate things quite often and don't allow for the usual interruptions of answering questions and emails and doing other things like going to the post office and printing orders. I need to gear my mind in these several directions at once, it seems.

Today I only need to cut the overlays for the month of July and I will be finished with the cutting part. I then have the fun job of staining and finishing up the pieces. I am making two sets of pieces to send to the magazine and keeping one here for myself. The magazine will get a set of natural colored pieces and also a set of stained one and both processes will be shown. For myself, I prefer the stained set so I don't really see it necessary to make two.

I usually don't keep many of my projects, but I particularly like this one and I think I will use it in my own kitchen. It is quite fun and I can also think of several other themes that can be used for the overlays (like birthdays, etc.) and may want to do some other things with it later on.

After last weeks major cleaning, I don't want to start accumulating lots of stuff here, but this is kind of the exception.

Hopefully by tomorrow, I will have some more pictures for you of the new sets of overlays. So far they are coming out really nice and I think this will make a good project.

I am going to take the day to enjoy my job and have fun seeing it completed.

As a PS, I noticed that it is Mark Twain's birthday today. He is one of my favorite writers. He always looked at the world with a sense of humor. One of my favorite quotes from him :

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded. -Mark Twain

Have a great day!
 

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#4,190 ·
Still Cutting

As usual, I earned the title of "Queen of Underestimation." At least I kind of did plan for it this time, so I don't feel too bad about it.

The second leg in the calendar project is just about done being cut. It is funny, but in my head I only allowed a day to get all the pieces done. Even I should know better. I am really OK though because as long as I get it out this week, I should be good. I don't feel a great deal of pressure in that department.

The second part of this projects consists of the overlay pieces from March through and including July. For those of you who haven't seen the first part of it, here is a picture for you:

Glasses Beige Wood Rectangle Font


It is a calendar holder in which the overlay pieces are held on by magnets and interchangeable. This is a project that is going to be featured in three sequential issues of Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine. The first part will be building the base and the overlays for the month of January and February (shown below.)

Brown Rectangle Beige Font Wood


The second part will be the next five month's worth of overlays. That is what I am working on now. While one month in itself doesn't take very long to cut, depending on the details some of the pieces took a while. I suppose I should have figured more time for it, but I tend to underestimate things quite often and don't allow for the usual interruptions of answering questions and emails and doing other things like going to the post office and printing orders. I need to gear my mind in these several directions at once, it seems.

Today I only need to cut the overlays for the month of July and I will be finished with the cutting part. I then have the fun job of staining and finishing up the pieces. I am making two sets of pieces to send to the magazine and keeping one here for myself. The magazine will get a set of natural colored pieces and also a set of stained one and both processes will be shown. For myself, I prefer the stained set so I don't really see it necessary to make two.

I usually don't keep many of my projects, but I particularly like this one and I think I will use it in my own kitchen. It is quite fun and I can also think of several other themes that can be used for the overlays (like birthdays, etc.) and may want to do some other things with it later on.

After last weeks major cleaning, I don't want to start accumulating lots of stuff here, but this is kind of the exception.

Hopefully by tomorrow, I will have some more pictures for you of the new sets of overlays. So far they are coming out really nice and I think this will make a good project.

I am going to take the day to enjoy my job and have fun seeing it completed.

As a PS, I noticed that it is Mark Twain's birthday today. He is one of my favorite writers. He always looked at the world with a sense of humor. One of my favorite quotes from him :

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded. -Mark Twain

Have a great day!
Sheila,
This is beautiful stuff and I'm interested in learning more about your creative process and the tools you use to turn your ideas into patterns. I'm amazed by so many of the scrolling designs I see and I think I'd like to be able to make some myself. Even some of the seemingly simple-by-comparison ones look like they demand a lot from the designer in getting from the basic ideas and themes to a finished product usable by another scroller. I find great satisfaction in nurturing what starts out as just a vague notion or impulse along the path to fruition.
 

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#4,196 ·
Formula for Success

I really had a full and busy day yesterday. I had a lot of fun, too. There are days when my job takes me in many directions at one time and everything is manageable. Those are the days when I go to bed feeling like I really accomplished a lot and have everything under control. I hope there are many more of them to follow.

I like to talk about these things because it is a time when all the work and experience comes into play. I want to show people that there is hope for having a business and that there are days when everything works like it is supposed to. This doesn't happen by chance. A great deal of hard work and planning go into it. To me it is a 'pay day' without having any cash involved. Just the satisfaction of knowing that you are in a good place is reward enough some times. Some things you just cant measure by dollar amounts.

The day started out with several orders that came in through the night. A couple needed to be printed out, as the customers wanted them mailed. I did that as I was writing my blog here (multi-tasking!) and by the time I was ready to leave for the gym, everything was ready to go. I got the outdoor stuff done and was back before lunch time. I thought that was good because I also had a load of emails to attend to in the morning and got all that cleared out prior to leaving too. I was on a roll.

I finished my cutting in the afternoon. The next five months of the calendar project are now all cut and I will spend today sanding and finishing and staining the pieces, as well as writing an article to submit to the magazine. I think I am going to do an article on making a 'zero clearance' table for the scroll saw. it is very helpful when you have delicate pieces.

After the cutting, I worked on updating the site. Here is where having a (great!) partner comes into play. All the while I was doing other things, Keith was setting things up for the new sales and getting things in place on the site. He even assembled my pattern packet for my Polar Bear Pull Toy Replica which I am finally able to release on the site to sell.

Wood Creative arts Toy Wheel Sculpture


It was in the last issue of the magazine and 'on hold' for several months. I am happy to finally be able to offer it - just in time for Christmas!

Usually Keith and I do our own patterns, as we are always busy with our own work and projects. But Keith wanted to get the update done and when I got back from my errands I was pleasantly surprised that he was working on my Polar Bear pattern for me, knowing I had a deadline on the cutting for the calendar. It's wonderful to have a team member that helps you out when you really need it. I haven't had that before and I am surely grateful for his help. It really defines the word 'partner' and I am certain that is why the business is doing as well as it is. We both work well together and cover for each other when necessary and don't pick about who does what. If something needs doing, whomever is able to do so just jumps right in and does it. There isn't any squabbling about one doing more than the other. We are both working for a common goal and I am certain that is why things are flourishing.

I wanted to show off Keith's new plaque here too. He is terrible about posting new projects here (as I am!) and I think it is a really nice and attractive piece that is selling already since we posted it last night. It is a Christmas Wishes Plaque and really looks nice:

Leaf Wood Font Rectangle Plant


After I finished my cutting, I needed to make the new newsletter for the month of December. (You can join our mailing list HERE) I decided to put all the ornament patterns that I sell on sale, as well as have a special "Secret Sale" for my mailing list customers. I want them to know how important they are to me and how much I appreciate them. I spent the rest of the afternoon compiling that and I actually got it sent out about three hours shy of December 1st, which was my own personal goal. I was proud because I am really getting the hang of it and it went together without much of a struggle at all. We even put a new coupon code on the site for mailing list customers to receive an additional discount off of their order. The last time I did that it took a while, but this time it went pretty quick. Could I say I am 'learning?'

During the day, I received an email from my main wholesaler that she was unable to fit some of my new projects into the catalog that she was working on that would be distributed at the end of December. Among them were the songbird ornaments and a couple of other patterns of mine. It seemed that the only new things for that catalog would be Kieth's projects and none of mine made the cut.

A year ago, this would have really disappointed me. I would have been quite upset and probably angry too. But for some reason, it didn't seem to bother me very much. It isn't that I didn't care, but I suppose it is because I have diversified to the point that one leg of the business not working out will not devastate or cripple the rest. That is HUGE. I have worked hard in enough other directions that I don't depend on only one source to be functional and survive. As a small business in a volatile economy, I think that is a very good place to be.

For those of you who are working to make your woodworking and painting part or all of your living, please take this into consideration. If you are a woodworker and say you are depending on one or two shows to make money, you are putting yourself at a greater risk than if you have several shows or say some shows, some shops and an online presence too. With each layer you add to your business, you are also adding another layer of security and lessening the impact of one part not doing so well or failing. It just makes sense. The more diverse you are, the less the percentage any one aspect becomes, and therefore the overall health of your business is strengthened.

Is this more work? You bet! But contrary to what many people believe, being an 'entrepreneur' isn't just sitting on the beach sipping exotic drinks with little umbrellas stuck in them. It is harder work than any one who doesn't do it can imagine. Ask anyone who is successful in their own business. The difference is that when you really, really love what you do, the work doesn't feel like work at all. Every day is fun and enjoyable and when everything clicks, nothing can match the satisfaction that you feel.

I realize that I tell you all that I love my job on a regular basis. Perhaps you may get sick of hearing it. Now days, there are so many people who are unhappy in their jobs and I am so fortunate to actually like what I do. I like dealing with the magazines, the wholesalers and the companies. I like providing the absolute best customer service that I can give to people. Seeing the impact of that alone is really satisfactory to me. And of course, I love designing not only the woodworking patterns, but also the painting patterns and seeing how people enjoy and use them and learn from them. It is a winning situation all around. I think if I didn't tell you how much I loved it, it would be time for me to give it up.

So all is good today. I am really happy and feel good about things. November was a great month for me on the site and with the wonderful stuff that I have planned - not only for the near future, but for the upcoming year - I hope it continues in the direction it is already heading.

It is still dark here but I already know it is going to be a great day. I just have a feeling.

I wish you all a wonderful day too.
 

Attachments

#4,197 ·
Formula for Success

I really had a full and busy day yesterday. I had a lot of fun, too. There are days when my job takes me in many directions at one time and everything is manageable. Those are the days when I go to bed feeling like I really accomplished a lot and have everything under control. I hope there are many more of them to follow.

I like to talk about these things because it is a time when all the work and experience comes into play. I want to show people that there is hope for having a business and that there are days when everything works like it is supposed to. This doesn't happen by chance. A great deal of hard work and planning go into it. To me it is a 'pay day' without having any cash involved. Just the satisfaction of knowing that you are in a good place is reward enough some times. Some things you just cant measure by dollar amounts.

The day started out with several orders that came in through the night. A couple needed to be printed out, as the customers wanted them mailed. I did that as I was writing my blog here (multi-tasking!) and by the time I was ready to leave for the gym, everything was ready to go. I got the outdoor stuff done and was back before lunch time. I thought that was good because I also had a load of emails to attend to in the morning and got all that cleared out prior to leaving too. I was on a roll.

I finished my cutting in the afternoon. The next five months of the calendar project are now all cut and I will spend today sanding and finishing and staining the pieces, as well as writing an article to submit to the magazine. I think I am going to do an article on making a 'zero clearance' table for the scroll saw. it is very helpful when you have delicate pieces.

After the cutting, I worked on updating the site. Here is where having a (great!) partner comes into play. All the while I was doing other things, Keith was setting things up for the new sales and getting things in place on the site. He even assembled my pattern packet for my Polar Bear Pull Toy Replica which I am finally able to release on the site to sell.

Wood Creative arts Toy Wheel Sculpture


It was in the last issue of the magazine and 'on hold' for several months. I am happy to finally be able to offer it - just in time for Christmas!

Usually Keith and I do our own patterns, as we are always busy with our own work and projects. But Keith wanted to get the update done and when I got back from my errands I was pleasantly surprised that he was working on my Polar Bear pattern for me, knowing I had a deadline on the cutting for the calendar. It's wonderful to have a team member that helps you out when you really need it. I haven't had that before and I am surely grateful for his help. It really defines the word 'partner' and I am certain that is why the business is doing as well as it is. We both work well together and cover for each other when necessary and don't pick about who does what. If something needs doing, whomever is able to do so just jumps right in and does it. There isn't any squabbling about one doing more than the other. We are both working for a common goal and I am certain that is why things are flourishing.

I wanted to show off Keith's new plaque here too. He is terrible about posting new projects here (as I am!) and I think it is a really nice and attractive piece that is selling already since we posted it last night. It is a Christmas Wishes Plaque and really looks nice:

Leaf Wood Font Rectangle Plant


After I finished my cutting, I needed to make the new newsletter for the month of December. (You can join our mailing list HERE) I decided to put all the ornament patterns that I sell on sale, as well as have a special "Secret Sale" for my mailing list customers. I want them to know how important they are to me and how much I appreciate them. I spent the rest of the afternoon compiling that and I actually got it sent out about three hours shy of December 1st, which was my own personal goal. I was proud because I am really getting the hang of it and it went together without much of a struggle at all. We even put a new coupon code on the site for mailing list customers to receive an additional discount off of their order. The last time I did that it took a while, but this time it went pretty quick. Could I say I am 'learning?'

During the day, I received an email from my main wholesaler that she was unable to fit some of my new projects into the catalog that she was working on that would be distributed at the end of December. Among them were the songbird ornaments and a couple of other patterns of mine. It seemed that the only new things for that catalog would be Kieth's projects and none of mine made the cut.

A year ago, this would have really disappointed me. I would have been quite upset and probably angry too. But for some reason, it didn't seem to bother me very much. It isn't that I didn't care, but I suppose it is because I have diversified to the point that one leg of the business not working out will not devastate or cripple the rest. That is HUGE. I have worked hard in enough other directions that I don't depend on only one source to be functional and survive. As a small business in a volatile economy, I think that is a very good place to be.

For those of you who are working to make your woodworking and painting part or all of your living, please take this into consideration. If you are a woodworker and say you are depending on one or two shows to make money, you are putting yourself at a greater risk than if you have several shows or say some shows, some shops and an online presence too. With each layer you add to your business, you are also adding another layer of security and lessening the impact of one part not doing so well or failing. It just makes sense. The more diverse you are, the less the percentage any one aspect becomes, and therefore the overall health of your business is strengthened.

Is this more work? You bet! But contrary to what many people believe, being an 'entrepreneur' isn't just sitting on the beach sipping exotic drinks with little umbrellas stuck in them. It is harder work than any one who doesn't do it can imagine. Ask anyone who is successful in their own business. The difference is that when you really, really love what you do, the work doesn't feel like work at all. Every day is fun and enjoyable and when everything clicks, nothing can match the satisfaction that you feel.

I realize that I tell you all that I love my job on a regular basis. Perhaps you may get sick of hearing it. Now days, there are so many people who are unhappy in their jobs and I am so fortunate to actually like what I do. I like dealing with the magazines, the wholesalers and the companies. I like providing the absolute best customer service that I can give to people. Seeing the impact of that alone is really satisfactory to me. And of course, I love designing not only the woodworking patterns, but also the painting patterns and seeing how people enjoy and use them and learn from them. It is a winning situation all around. I think if I didn't tell you how much I loved it, it would be time for me to give it up.

So all is good today. I am really happy and feel good about things. November was a great month for me on the site and with the wonderful stuff that I have planned - not only for the near future, but for the upcoming year - I hope it continues in the direction it is already heading.

It is still dark here but I already know it is going to be a great day. I just have a feeling.

I wish you all a wonderful day too.
Well, that news about the drinks with the umbrellas is rather unsettling!

It sounds as though you've really come a long way with the understanding of running a business successfully, even in the current economic conditions. That is saying something. And you even sound as though you're enjoying it!

Bravo!

Lee
 

Attachments

#4,200 ·
Busy Hands are Happy Hands!

Holy Moley, what a day I had yesterday! To say I was "busy" just doesn't seem to cover it. But it was a really GOOD type of busy and I had an incredible time. Who would have thought that things could have been so much fun?

I had made an announcement on Steve Good's scroll saw forum that I put up a new free pattern. Steve had also mentioned to his readers about joining my mailing list. Well, that was all it took to keep me busy all day! I couldn't believe the positive response that I received and the number of people who joined up. It was incredible.

For those of you who don't know about Steve, his site is one of the best sites in the scroll saw community. Steve has dedicated himself to promoting and education woodworkers on the scroll saw. He has a wonderful daily blog in which he gives many free patterns and he also has a site filled with educational and fun videos, as well as a nice active forum - all focusing on scroll sawing. In fact, it is because of Steve that I am here at Lumberjocks.com, as he is the one who introduced me to this site.

Steve's site has several thousand members and it is the other main forum that I visit on a daily basis besides here. I have made several nice friendships through that forum and that is where I participated in the ornament exchange from which I showed some pictures earlier this week. All in all, it is a great place that focuses on scroll sawing and scroll work. (You can visit it if you go to Scrollsaw Workshop)
I want to thank Steve, not only for what he does for scroll sawing, but also for what he has done for me and my business personally. I don't think that my business would be in the place it is today without him.

I spent much of the day filling orders and sending out newsletters to new subscribers to my mailing list. I truly feel like I am heading in the right place with things and very pleased to see all the work that we put into the business start to pay off. I know I have been saying that a lot lately, but I am a bit taken aback by everything and it feels good to be in the place that I am.

In between those things, I did manage to sand and prepare the pieces for the calendar project. There were quite a few of them, as you can see:

Font Pattern Paper Design Paper product


I needed to make three copies of each piece. One natural colored and one stained to go to the magazine, and one set for myself (which will also be stained.) As you can see, some of the pieces were a bit involved:

Product Textile Organism Yellow Font


Today I will be oiling and staining everything and I promise to have better pictures by tomorrow. These were just snapshots so you get an idea of what I am doing. It looks to be a busy day today, it seems.

I also wanted to make an announcement. With the holiday season quickly approaching, I have been receiving many private emails from people who are thinking about getting a scroll saw who are asking about my Excalibur saw. For those of you who read regularly, you know how much I love this saw and how much of an improvement I feel it is over my DeWalt. It has been over six months now that I have used it on a daily basis and I am very happy with the performance. I had promised to put a review after using it a while and I will be doing so in the next few days.

The reason that I am bringing it up now is that I just found out that Seyco (www.seyco.com) has an offer going for free shipping on all Excalibur saws for the entire month of December. (This is only good for the United States, I believe) I have talked to several people very recently who were considering getting the Excalibur and I wanted you all to be aware of this offer. I purchased my saw from Ray at Seyco and picked it up when I was at the show in Saratoga Springs this March. I had heard from so many people about Ray's customer service and after having trouble with DeWalt regarding service on my DW788, I wanted to be sure that I got my saw from somebody would would be there for me if I needed them.

I must say that I have not been disappointed at all. In the beginning, there were a few minor adjustments that I needed to make on the saw, and Ray talked Keith through it very patiently and everything was set. Whenever we have had questions regarding the saw, we get to speak to Ray himself and he is always cheerful and helpful and thorough. I talk to many, many scrollers in my travels and just about anyone who I have spoken to has said the same thing about Ray and Seyco in general. In these days of minimal customer service, it is good to hear that someone is consistently going above and beyone in order to make sure things are right. I realize that the Excalibur is not a cheap saw, but I don't mind spending a bit more knowing that I will be getting a good product and good customer service too.

I realize it sounds like I am doing a commercial for Ray and Seyco, and perhaps I am. But I feel that with so many people asking my advice, there is nothing wrong with me conveying my own personal feelings regarding a product that I really have come to enjoy that I use every day. After over 500 posts here on the blog, you all can see that I don't sit here and sell things to you every day. As I said, I have been asked many times very recently and I think that if you are considering a new saw, this one is a great one to think about. After all, the purpose of the forum here is to share information.

I look forward to the day ahead again. I find a lot of satisfaction in seeing my work come to life and I can't wait to oil and stain all those pieces. It certainly is going to be fun.

Have a great day, too!

(PS - It seems I dodged the bullet and didn't get sick after all! The power of positive thinking at work! :D)
 

Attachments

#4,201 ·
Busy Hands are Happy Hands!

Holy Moley, what a day I had yesterday! To say I was "busy" just doesn't seem to cover it. But it was a really GOOD type of busy and I had an incredible time. Who would have thought that things could have been so much fun?

I had made an announcement on Steve Good's scroll saw forum that I put up a new free pattern. Steve had also mentioned to his readers about joining my mailing list. Well, that was all it took to keep me busy all day! I couldn't believe the positive response that I received and the number of people who joined up. It was incredible.

For those of you who don't know about Steve, his site is one of the best sites in the scroll saw community. Steve has dedicated himself to promoting and education woodworkers on the scroll saw. He has a wonderful daily blog in which he gives many free patterns and he also has a site filled with educational and fun videos, as well as a nice active forum - all focusing on scroll sawing. In fact, it is because of Steve that I am here at Lumberjocks.com, as he is the one who introduced me to this site.

Steve's site has several thousand members and it is the other main forum that I visit on a daily basis besides here. I have made several nice friendships through that forum and that is where I participated in the ornament exchange from which I showed some pictures earlier this week. All in all, it is a great place that focuses on scroll sawing and scroll work. (You can visit it if you go to Scrollsaw Workshop)
I want to thank Steve, not only for what he does for scroll sawing, but also for what he has done for me and my business personally. I don't think that my business would be in the place it is today without him.

I spent much of the day filling orders and sending out newsletters to new subscribers to my mailing list. I truly feel like I am heading in the right place with things and very pleased to see all the work that we put into the business start to pay off. I know I have been saying that a lot lately, but I am a bit taken aback by everything and it feels good to be in the place that I am.

In between those things, I did manage to sand and prepare the pieces for the calendar project. There were quite a few of them, as you can see:

Font Pattern Paper Design Paper product


I needed to make three copies of each piece. One natural colored and one stained to go to the magazine, and one set for myself (which will also be stained.) As you can see, some of the pieces were a bit involved:

Product Textile Organism Yellow Font


Today I will be oiling and staining everything and I promise to have better pictures by tomorrow. These were just snapshots so you get an idea of what I am doing. It looks to be a busy day today, it seems.

I also wanted to make an announcement. With the holiday season quickly approaching, I have been receiving many private emails from people who are thinking about getting a scroll saw who are asking about my Excalibur saw. For those of you who read regularly, you know how much I love this saw and how much of an improvement I feel it is over my DeWalt. It has been over six months now that I have used it on a daily basis and I am very happy with the performance. I had promised to put a review after using it a while and I will be doing so in the next few days.

The reason that I am bringing it up now is that I just found out that Seyco (www.seyco.com) has an offer going for free shipping on all Excalibur saws for the entire month of December. (This is only good for the United States, I believe) I have talked to several people very recently who were considering getting the Excalibur and I wanted you all to be aware of this offer. I purchased my saw from Ray at Seyco and picked it up when I was at the show in Saratoga Springs this March. I had heard from so many people about Ray's customer service and after having trouble with DeWalt regarding service on my DW788, I wanted to be sure that I got my saw from somebody would would be there for me if I needed them.

I must say that I have not been disappointed at all. In the beginning, there were a few minor adjustments that I needed to make on the saw, and Ray talked Keith through it very patiently and everything was set. Whenever we have had questions regarding the saw, we get to speak to Ray himself and he is always cheerful and helpful and thorough. I talk to many, many scrollers in my travels and just about anyone who I have spoken to has said the same thing about Ray and Seyco in general. In these days of minimal customer service, it is good to hear that someone is consistently going above and beyone in order to make sure things are right. I realize that the Excalibur is not a cheap saw, but I don't mind spending a bit more knowing that I will be getting a good product and good customer service too.

I realize it sounds like I am doing a commercial for Ray and Seyco, and perhaps I am. But I feel that with so many people asking my advice, there is nothing wrong with me conveying my own personal feelings regarding a product that I really have come to enjoy that I use every day. After over 500 posts here on the blog, you all can see that I don't sit here and sell things to you every day. As I said, I have been asked many times very recently and I think that if you are considering a new saw, this one is a great one to think about. After all, the purpose of the forum here is to share information.

I look forward to the day ahead again. I find a lot of satisfaction in seeing my work come to life and I can't wait to oil and stain all those pieces. It certainly is going to be fun.

Have a great day, too!

(PS - It seems I dodged the bullet and didn't get sick after all! The power of positive thinking at work! :D)
Hi Sheila;

Congratulations on getting a lot of new members to your mailing list… I'm sure you've heard the saying, "the money is in the list" There is a lot of truth to that, and if I ever figure out how to get it out of the list, I'll let you know. LOL

Tha calender project looks like it was close to overwhelming. Very nice work.

As far as recommending Ray, you should be doing just that. When you find a good product, others deserve to know about it.

Have a great day.

Lee
 

Attachments

#4,206 ·
The Waiting Game

We all have heard the saying "good things take time" and I am discovering how true that is while finishing my latest project.

Yesterday I spent the bulk of my time doing the final sanding and applying mineral oil to the many pieces for my calendar project. As you saw from yesterday's post, there really were a lot of pieces and it was a slow process.

I actually made three sets of overlay pieces for the project. Two were of 1/8" maple and one was of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood. I was able to stack cut them, which did cut down on the time it took at the saw, but there was no way to get around taking some time the rest of the way.

I did three sets because the two maple sets will be heading out to the magazine for publication and I wanted a set to keep here for myself. I was rather curious as to how the Baltic birch would look with a mineral oil finish and I must say that I am quite pleased at the outcome.

It seemed that the mineral oil darkened the ply edged a bit, but not in an unpleasant way. The effect resembled laser cutting, with the edges being a bit darker than the lighter birch face of the wood. Overall I think it looked pretty nice.

Here is a piece of oiled maple:

Gesture Wood Thumb Metal Fashion accessory


And here is a piece of oiled Baltic birch:

Finger Wood Thumb Beige Fashion accessory


You can see the ply edges are a bit darker, but I don't think it looks bad at all.

As for the veining detail lines that were cut into the pieces, I liked the way they looked too. Even though I used a very small (2 reverse tooth) scroll saw blade, the oil accent the lines enough so that they really show up. So often, when putting veining details into pieces, it is necessary to use a very small blade and the resulting kerf lines are so small that they get 'lost' in the piece. I found that this wasn't the case and I will be recommending mineral oil more often on projects in the future.

Footwear Hand Arm Helmet Human body


And here is a picture of the two pieces side by side. The maple is on the left and the Baltic birch piece on the right. I think they look pretty similar, don't you?

Hand Wood Jaw Gesture Font


I really like using just plain oil mineral oil. Besides the cheap cost and lack of odor, it really helps make my hands soft in the process of working with it. After all the sanding of these piece, my hands were quite dry, and using the oil seemed to re-hydrate them quite a bit. I didn't mind the amount of time it took to work with these pieces at all.

For the oiling process, I used some styrofoam trays that I kept from when I purchased hamburger. The wide and shallow trays are ideal for this process and if you get them too messy, you just throw them out when you are done. I have a good 1" brush with some bristles that are a bit stiffer than normal (the white synthetic type) that is great for getting into the sides and crevices of the pieces. You don't want it too stiff though, or you take the chance of breaking the delicate pieces.

I poured abut 1/4" of oil into the bottom of the tray, and then I dipped each piece and used the brush to work the oil into the corners and sides, if necessary. I then brushed the excess oil back onto the tray and set the pieces on several layers of paper towel to blot the excess. I then placed all the pieces on cookie drying racks that I got at the grocery store. This is a really nice one and only cost me about $6. I kept the pieces pretty wet, but not drippy. I let them all sit a couple of hours in order to allow the oil to soak in good.

Then, after a few hours, I took each piece and wiped off the excess oil with a paper towel. I cleaned off each rack too, so that there wouldn't be any pools of oil. This again took some time and I needed to be careful not to break any of the delicate ones. I had about three or four layers of paper towels and used them as a pad. I set the pieces on them and kind of blotted them firmly but gently to remove the excess oil. I then returned them all to the racks to 'dry' overnight. They now look like this:

Wood Textile Cuisine Flooring Pattern


Although the oil never really fully "dries", it does absorb quite deeply into the wood. At this point, it looks moist, but not wet at all. If I am going to keep the pieces their natural color, I am now ready to spray several coats of shellac over them to seal them.

Some of the pieces I plan to stain, using the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium and acrylic paint. I have found that since most of the oil has soaked in, it doesn't interfere at all with this process. I simply mix the medium with the paint and brush a thin coat or coats (depending on how much color I want) over just the tops of the pieces. The veining lines are wonderful 'dividers' and help keep the paint where it should be. I also don't go over the sides to paint the edges when I do this process. I don't feel it is necessary and it is a lot more work with little improvement in my opinion. That is one of the reasons I oil the pieces that are to be stained, too. It gives a nice warm color to both the sides of the pieces and the back.

The stain works out beautifully, and since it is a gel type stain, I don't find that it lifts or peels off once it is dry. Once it is sealed in, it is good to go. When it is dry, I just spray several coats of shellac or even polyurethane sealer. It looks beautiful and will last for years.

While I am not sure how this process will work on larger pieces such as furniture, it works fine on craft type projects like this. I did all of my recent projects with color like this and I haven't had any problems. I think it is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to have excellent results.

The hardest part of doing things like this is waiting overnight for the oil to completely penetrate. You really don't want to spray the shellac or do the staining while the pieces are 'wet' and oily to the touch. Waiting and leaving them overnight seems to be quite sufficient for allowing the stain to penetrate enough to move on.

So for today, I will be finishing and staining the pieces. Now they will really come to life. I wanted to share this process with you all because I think it is a wonderful alternative to expensive and smelly stains, and even if you HATE to paint, you can easily accomplish this.

I wish you all a wonderfully productive Saturday! Have fun and do something creative. Most of all, be happy! :D
 

Attachments

#4,207 ·
The Waiting Game

We all have heard the saying "good things take time" and I am discovering how true that is while finishing my latest project.

Yesterday I spent the bulk of my time doing the final sanding and applying mineral oil to the many pieces for my calendar project. As you saw from yesterday's post, there really were a lot of pieces and it was a slow process.

I actually made three sets of overlay pieces for the project. Two were of 1/8" maple and one was of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood. I was able to stack cut them, which did cut down on the time it took at the saw, but there was no way to get around taking some time the rest of the way.

I did three sets because the two maple sets will be heading out to the magazine for publication and I wanted a set to keep here for myself. I was rather curious as to how the Baltic birch would look with a mineral oil finish and I must say that I am quite pleased at the outcome.

It seemed that the mineral oil darkened the ply edged a bit, but not in an unpleasant way. The effect resembled laser cutting, with the edges being a bit darker than the lighter birch face of the wood. Overall I think it looked pretty nice.

Here is a piece of oiled maple:

Gesture Wood Thumb Metal Fashion accessory


And here is a piece of oiled Baltic birch:

Finger Wood Thumb Beige Fashion accessory


You can see the ply edges are a bit darker, but I don't think it looks bad at all.

As for the veining detail lines that were cut into the pieces, I liked the way they looked too. Even though I used a very small (2 reverse tooth) scroll saw blade, the oil accent the lines enough so that they really show up. So often, when putting veining details into pieces, it is necessary to use a very small blade and the resulting kerf lines are so small that they get 'lost' in the piece. I found that this wasn't the case and I will be recommending mineral oil more often on projects in the future.

Footwear Hand Arm Helmet Human body


And here is a picture of the two pieces side by side. The maple is on the left and the Baltic birch piece on the right. I think they look pretty similar, don't you?

Hand Wood Jaw Gesture Font


I really like using just plain oil mineral oil. Besides the cheap cost and lack of odor, it really helps make my hands soft in the process of working with it. After all the sanding of these piece, my hands were quite dry, and using the oil seemed to re-hydrate them quite a bit. I didn't mind the amount of time it took to work with these pieces at all.

For the oiling process, I used some styrofoam trays that I kept from when I purchased hamburger. The wide and shallow trays are ideal for this process and if you get them too messy, you just throw them out when you are done. I have a good 1" brush with some bristles that are a bit stiffer than normal (the white synthetic type) that is great for getting into the sides and crevices of the pieces. You don't want it too stiff though, or you take the chance of breaking the delicate pieces.

I poured abut 1/4" of oil into the bottom of the tray, and then I dipped each piece and used the brush to work the oil into the corners and sides, if necessary. I then brushed the excess oil back onto the tray and set the pieces on several layers of paper towel to blot the excess. I then placed all the pieces on cookie drying racks that I got at the grocery store. This is a really nice one and only cost me about $6. I kept the pieces pretty wet, but not drippy. I let them all sit a couple of hours in order to allow the oil to soak in good.

Then, after a few hours, I took each piece and wiped off the excess oil with a paper towel. I cleaned off each rack too, so that there wouldn't be any pools of oil. This again took some time and I needed to be careful not to break any of the delicate ones. I had about three or four layers of paper towels and used them as a pad. I set the pieces on them and kind of blotted them firmly but gently to remove the excess oil. I then returned them all to the racks to 'dry' overnight. They now look like this:

Wood Textile Cuisine Flooring Pattern


Although the oil never really fully "dries", it does absorb quite deeply into the wood. At this point, it looks moist, but not wet at all. If I am going to keep the pieces their natural color, I am now ready to spray several coats of shellac over them to seal them.

Some of the pieces I plan to stain, using the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing medium and acrylic paint. I have found that since most of the oil has soaked in, it doesn't interfere at all with this process. I simply mix the medium with the paint and brush a thin coat or coats (depending on how much color I want) over just the tops of the pieces. The veining lines are wonderful 'dividers' and help keep the paint where it should be. I also don't go over the sides to paint the edges when I do this process. I don't feel it is necessary and it is a lot more work with little improvement in my opinion. That is one of the reasons I oil the pieces that are to be stained, too. It gives a nice warm color to both the sides of the pieces and the back.

The stain works out beautifully, and since it is a gel type stain, I don't find that it lifts or peels off once it is dry. Once it is sealed in, it is good to go. When it is dry, I just spray several coats of shellac or even polyurethane sealer. It looks beautiful and will last for years.

While I am not sure how this process will work on larger pieces such as furniture, it works fine on craft type projects like this. I did all of my recent projects with color like this and I haven't had any problems. I think it is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to have excellent results.

The hardest part of doing things like this is waiting overnight for the oil to completely penetrate. You really don't want to spray the shellac or do the staining while the pieces are 'wet' and oily to the touch. Waiting and leaving them overnight seems to be quite sufficient for allowing the stain to penetrate enough to move on.

So for today, I will be finishing and staining the pieces. Now they will really come to life. I wanted to share this process with you all because I think it is a wonderful alternative to expensive and smelly stains, and even if you HATE to paint, you can easily accomplish this.

I wish you all a wonderfully productive Saturday! Have fun and do something creative. Most of all, be happy! :D
yes yes yes, and Min oil is a food safe finish, in case anyone mistakes any of these for a Christmas cookie, and also, yes.. you are the intricate "mastress" (is that a word??) a master, only in the female version. :)
 

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#4,217 ·
A Full Day Ahead

I had such a good day yesterday! It was a nice mix of work and friendship and being creative. I was all set to spend the day working on my project and I got a call from one of my friends that I used to paint with in Bear River and she was going to be in my little side of the world and asked if I wanted to meet up. Since I only see her once or twice a year, I jumped at the chance to do so and switched up on my plans.

I suppose that is one of the best parts of being self-employed. You get to switch things at the drop of a hat if you need to. Now that doesn't mean that you could do it all the time, but sometimes you are fortunate enough to have enough slack in scheduling that you are able to shuffle things around a little bit. Since it was Saturday and my stuff for the magazine can't be mailed out until Monday, I had a day of play in there and was happy to change things up.

We went to take her computer to the local repair shop (her "excuse" for being in my area) and then we went to our little Chinese restaurant and split a meal for lunch. There is only one Chinese place in the area and it is small, but very clean and the food is really excellent. Since Keith is not partial to Chinese food, it was a great opportunity to visit. We had a nice relaxed lunch and caught up on lots of things. It was great so see her after so much time. We talk on the phone every few weeks, but it isn't the same as visiting in person.

After lunch we went to a couple of the gift places in the area. They were all having sales this week it seemed and we picked around and did a little shopping. Nothing much, but it was fun to see all the Christmas displays set up so nicely.

After shopping, she stopped by our place here for just a bit. I like when people come here and are shocked at how neat and uncluttered we have it here, knowing that we also use our place for our workplace and shop. It gives me a sense of pride to be able to keep it up and after the overhaul of the past couple of weeks, I was particularly proud it.

After she left, I had a quick dinner. It was amazing that the entire day was just about over. Here I didn't get anything done on my project yet either.

So I sat down and decided to do at least one of the months pieces before I called it a night. I worked on March.

Green Plant Cake decorating supply Font Flower


I think the colors really make it look cool! I was sitting there last night, with some nice soft Christmas piano music playing in the background, looking at the orange glow of my Autumn tree, and painting shamrocks and thinking what a funny time warp my life is.

It seems I am all mixed up with my holidays. But that is OK. Every day is a holiday to me, it seems!

For today, finishing up all the staining on these pieces is a first priority. I am excited about seeing how they come out and I look forward to seeing how they look too. I also will be photographing them properly (these photos that I am showing you are what I call 'snapshots') and packing them up to send on their way tomorrow.

I will then take the remaining day to do some holiday stuff around the house. It is time for my little orange lit tree to get changed over for Christmas. I need to do that but first I need to find the multi-colored lights that I bought for it. I may have packed them and put them into storage (DOH!) and will probably take a run to Keith's parents later on to retrieve them. I also want to do some baking. And I need to wrap stuff for the kids so I can get that ready to send out too. And if I still have energy left, I am going to work on Ellen's project that she wanted me to paint.

I suppose I won't bet bored!

It promises to be a good day all around. I look forward to every one of the tasks I have to do and hope I can make headway with them all.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
 

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#4,218 ·
A Full Day Ahead

I had such a good day yesterday! It was a nice mix of work and friendship and being creative. I was all set to spend the day working on my project and I got a call from one of my friends that I used to paint with in Bear River and she was going to be in my little side of the world and asked if I wanted to meet up. Since I only see her once or twice a year, I jumped at the chance to do so and switched up on my plans.

I suppose that is one of the best parts of being self-employed. You get to switch things at the drop of a hat if you need to. Now that doesn't mean that you could do it all the time, but sometimes you are fortunate enough to have enough slack in scheduling that you are able to shuffle things around a little bit. Since it was Saturday and my stuff for the magazine can't be mailed out until Monday, I had a day of play in there and was happy to change things up.

We went to take her computer to the local repair shop (her "excuse" for being in my area) and then we went to our little Chinese restaurant and split a meal for lunch. There is only one Chinese place in the area and it is small, but very clean and the food is really excellent. Since Keith is not partial to Chinese food, it was a great opportunity to visit. We had a nice relaxed lunch and caught up on lots of things. It was great so see her after so much time. We talk on the phone every few weeks, but it isn't the same as visiting in person.

After lunch we went to a couple of the gift places in the area. They were all having sales this week it seemed and we picked around and did a little shopping. Nothing much, but it was fun to see all the Christmas displays set up so nicely.

After shopping, she stopped by our place here for just a bit. I like when people come here and are shocked at how neat and uncluttered we have it here, knowing that we also use our place for our workplace and shop. It gives me a sense of pride to be able to keep it up and after the overhaul of the past couple of weeks, I was particularly proud it.

After she left, I had a quick dinner. It was amazing that the entire day was just about over. Here I didn't get anything done on my project yet either.

So I sat down and decided to do at least one of the months pieces before I called it a night. I worked on March.

Green Plant Cake decorating supply Font Flower


I think the colors really make it look cool! I was sitting there last night, with some nice soft Christmas piano music playing in the background, looking at the orange glow of my Autumn tree, and painting shamrocks and thinking what a funny time warp my life is.

It seems I am all mixed up with my holidays. But that is OK. Every day is a holiday to me, it seems!

For today, finishing up all the staining on these pieces is a first priority. I am excited about seeing how they come out and I look forward to seeing how they look too. I also will be photographing them properly (these photos that I am showing you are what I call 'snapshots') and packing them up to send on their way tomorrow.

I will then take the remaining day to do some holiday stuff around the house. It is time for my little orange lit tree to get changed over for Christmas. I need to do that but first I need to find the multi-colored lights that I bought for it. I may have packed them and put them into storage (DOH!) and will probably take a run to Keith's parents later on to retrieve them. I also want to do some baking. And I need to wrap stuff for the kids so I can get that ready to send out too. And if I still have energy left, I am going to work on Ellen's project that she wanted me to paint.

I suppose I won't bet bored!

It promises to be a good day all around. I look forward to every one of the tasks I have to do and hope I can make headway with them all.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Nice, Sheila.

Lee
 

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