LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone has a story.

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

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

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

I think I am going to like it here.
 
See less See more
#5,946 ·
Video Part 5 - Final in the Series (and then I am Taking a Small Break)

Boy, am I excited today! There is so much that I have to cram into the day, I don't know where to start. I have one adventure ahead of me and I am finishing up on the adventure of the video series here and I am wrapping up the submissions to the fall catalogs today and closing out my next magazine article. All I can say is - Wow! Good thing summer is our 'slow' season!

Remember I told you how I liked the story of "The Ant and the Grasshopper?" Well, this is the 'ant' part. All these things we have been working on are preparing us for later. We probably won't see any of the results of this hard work until mid to late fall, but they will come at a time when we would have almost forgotten about them. And all will be good.

I mention this because so many people are used to 'instant gratification' that they forget that sometimes the seeds that you plant take months to sprout and grow (In business - sometimes years!) It seems that we have been conditioned over the years that things should have an instant impact and if they don't, they aren't worth pursuing. How wrong that is, I say! Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I still feel that things that are worth having and things that are lasting take time to cultivate and nurture. Building a strong foundation takes time and patience and without that, it is rare that whatever successes we have endure.

That being said, I am optimistic that we are going to have a great year. We are holding our own right now and considering how hot it has been and how bad the economy is, I am happy with our business. I have a lot of hope for the great things to come in the future.

Since all of these things in our business are at a point where they at a lull, we decided that NOW is the best time to take off for a couple of days and head out of Dodge. So we are hitching up the 'ole wagon and hitting the trail.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Wood


We were kind of waiting for the weather to be nice, as we don't want to tour the province in the rain, but since they screw up so much every day anyway, we figured we could wait until winter and would never be sure. Besides, life is full of adventure and if it rains, it rains and we will just see how northern Nova Scotia looks in the rain. I am sure it is just as beautiful.

Another exciting thing is that I broke down and ordered a new camera for myself. I had mentioned in previous blogs that I was having the problem of my camera shutting off some nine plus minutes into recording the video segments that I have recently recorded. This was quite annoying because when it did so, it didn't 'beep' or close the lens or anything like that. I didn't even know it did it until reviewing the shot. Usually it was mid-sentence and just at the end of doing something, like painting or staining. That meant it wasn't really easy to re-shoot, as the pieces already had paint or stain on them.

Someone here on the blog suggest I change the settings, but with further investigation, I found that my model of camera was only capable of "about 10 minutes" of continuous video shooting. While it had the ability to hold several of these 10 minute segments in its memory, it would not shoot longer.

Well, those of you who know me realize that for me to get a thought across in 10 minutes would be quite a challenge - especially if I were demonstrating a technique to go along with it. Yes, I could have a timer and be more watchful and shoot in smaller segments, but that would be just another thing on the list for me to think about when I was shooting, and believe me - I didn't need more to crowd my already overfilled thought processes! Since my camera was about five years old (a dinosaur in digital camera life!) and was not very expensive (just around $100) I figured that it was time to "move it on up" and get a newer one. I carefully shopped around within my budget (about $200) and I decided on the Sony Cyber-Shot DSCWX50. It was a giant leap up from what I had and had many of the features that I feel would be useful to my business - including high definition video and the capability of shooting 29 minute segments. I carefully browsed many cameras and read all kinds of reviews and everything I saw on this camera was good. So I took the plunge.

I ordered up and the camera is arriving today. We are purposely waiting for the delivery today before we leave, as I want to take it with and try it out. That will mean some (hopefully) great pictures of the trip and give me the chance to get to know it better. I am truly excited about it, as photography is an important part of my business, especially with these videos I am doing. I plan to do more and hopefully the quality will be a bit better as I go along.

Speaking of video . . .

Below is Part 5 of the Reindeer Games project series. It is the final part and covers the finishing process that I use, both with the mineral oil and also with the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing Medium. I think it went pretty smoothly, and besides having it cut off before I stained the reindeer and me having to do it twice, all went well.



As usual, I am embedding it here for those of you who don't want to leave the site. For those who want to subscribe to my channel, you can click here: Scrollgirlcanada's Channel

I have really kind of enjoyed sharing this process with you. I have received many, many emails and positive responses from so many people who said that they learned from it. That makes me happy. While I know it isn't the best quality, I think I did OK enough to get my point across to everyone.

I will be continuing to add "lessons" onto the online class over the next few days. The videos that I will have there will be the same ones that I have shown here in my blog, but I will explain things a bit more so the people that are following the class will have a good understanding of what I am trying to convey. I know it is rather redundant, but as I said yesterday, not all of the people that followed the class read here. I just want to be sure that the information is all included in the class files.

So if I am not here for a couple of days, you know why. We are taking our laptop so that we can fill orders, but I doubt I will be spending a lot of time on the computer. I think I need a bit of time away to take a breath. I am sure when I return I will have much to do and I will be ready to jump back in with both feet.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)
 

Attachments

#5,947 ·
Video Part 5 - Final in the Series (and then I am Taking a Small Break)

Boy, am I excited today! There is so much that I have to cram into the day, I don't know where to start. I have one adventure ahead of me and I am finishing up on the adventure of the video series here and I am wrapping up the submissions to the fall catalogs today and closing out my next magazine article. All I can say is - Wow! Good thing summer is our 'slow' season!

Remember I told you how I liked the story of "The Ant and the Grasshopper?" Well, this is the 'ant' part. All these things we have been working on are preparing us for later. We probably won't see any of the results of this hard work until mid to late fall, but they will come at a time when we would have almost forgotten about them. And all will be good.

I mention this because so many people are used to 'instant gratification' that they forget that sometimes the seeds that you plant take months to sprout and grow (In business - sometimes years!) It seems that we have been conditioned over the years that things should have an instant impact and if they don't, they aren't worth pursuing. How wrong that is, I say! Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I still feel that things that are worth having and things that are lasting take time to cultivate and nurture. Building a strong foundation takes time and patience and without that, it is rare that whatever successes we have endure.

That being said, I am optimistic that we are going to have a great year. We are holding our own right now and considering how hot it has been and how bad the economy is, I am happy with our business. I have a lot of hope for the great things to come in the future.

Since all of these things in our business are at a point where they at a lull, we decided that NOW is the best time to take off for a couple of days and head out of Dodge. So we are hitching up the 'ole wagon and hitting the trail.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Wood


We were kind of waiting for the weather to be nice, as we don't want to tour the province in the rain, but since they screw up so much every day anyway, we figured we could wait until winter and would never be sure. Besides, life is full of adventure and if it rains, it rains and we will just see how northern Nova Scotia looks in the rain. I am sure it is just as beautiful.

Another exciting thing is that I broke down and ordered a new camera for myself. I had mentioned in previous blogs that I was having the problem of my camera shutting off some nine plus minutes into recording the video segments that I have recently recorded. This was quite annoying because when it did so, it didn't 'beep' or close the lens or anything like that. I didn't even know it did it until reviewing the shot. Usually it was mid-sentence and just at the end of doing something, like painting or staining. That meant it wasn't really easy to re-shoot, as the pieces already had paint or stain on them.

Someone here on the blog suggest I change the settings, but with further investigation, I found that my model of camera was only capable of "about 10 minutes" of continuous video shooting. While it had the ability to hold several of these 10 minute segments in its memory, it would not shoot longer.

Well, those of you who know me realize that for me to get a thought across in 10 minutes would be quite a challenge - especially if I were demonstrating a technique to go along with it. Yes, I could have a timer and be more watchful and shoot in smaller segments, but that would be just another thing on the list for me to think about when I was shooting, and believe me - I didn't need more to crowd my already overfilled thought processes! Since my camera was about five years old (a dinosaur in digital camera life!) and was not very expensive (just around $100) I figured that it was time to "move it on up" and get a newer one. I carefully shopped around within my budget (about $200) and I decided on the Sony Cyber-Shot DSCWX50. It was a giant leap up from what I had and had many of the features that I feel would be useful to my business - including high definition video and the capability of shooting 29 minute segments. I carefully browsed many cameras and read all kinds of reviews and everything I saw on this camera was good. So I took the plunge.

I ordered up and the camera is arriving today. We are purposely waiting for the delivery today before we leave, as I want to take it with and try it out. That will mean some (hopefully) great pictures of the trip and give me the chance to get to know it better. I am truly excited about it, as photography is an important part of my business, especially with these videos I am doing. I plan to do more and hopefully the quality will be a bit better as I go along.

Speaking of video . . .

Below is Part 5 of the Reindeer Games project series. It is the final part and covers the finishing process that I use, both with the mineral oil and also with the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing Medium. I think it went pretty smoothly, and besides having it cut off before I stained the reindeer and me having to do it twice, all went well.



As usual, I am embedding it here for those of you who don't want to leave the site. For those who want to subscribe to my channel, you can click here: Scrollgirlcanada's Channel

I have really kind of enjoyed sharing this process with you. I have received many, many emails and positive responses from so many people who said that they learned from it. That makes me happy. While I know it isn't the best quality, I think I did OK enough to get my point across to everyone.

I will be continuing to add "lessons" onto the online class over the next few days. The videos that I will have there will be the same ones that I have shown here in my blog, but I will explain things a bit more so the people that are following the class will have a good understanding of what I am trying to convey. I know it is rather redundant, but as I said yesterday, not all of the people that followed the class read here. I just want to be sure that the information is all included in the class files.

So if I am not here for a couple of days, you know why. We are taking our laptop so that we can fill orders, but I doubt I will be spending a lot of time on the computer. I think I need a bit of time away to take a breath. I am sure when I return I will have much to do and I will be ready to jump back in with both feet.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)
Have a nice day:)
I'm going to new york tommorow :p
I'm planning on going to harbor frieght.
Sheila, Do you need anything?
 

Attachments

#5,956 ·
The Adventure Begins

As wonderful as getting away was, it is always a great thing to be home again. You would think that being gone only three nights wouldn't be long enough to be on a vacation, but there came a moment approximately 6pm on Sunday night when Keith and I were going to dinner where we both just wanted to be home. The thought having to stay in a hotel room for even one more night was no longer appealing to us and we decided to take however long it took to drive home and be in our own bed for the night - even if it meant not getting there until morning.

For the most part, our time away was amazing. We took our time in driving and chose all the back roads we could find. Many of them ran right along side of the ocean, giving us the opportunity to see things that were naturally beautiful in their own rite, without commercialism or hype. Those to me are the best places, as they are quiet and serene and their appeal stands on its own. I truly prefer seeing the countryside in that manner.

We began our journey late. I had ordered a new camera and wanted to bring it with for the trip. Our usual time for delivery was approximately 12-1pm, and the camera was due to be delivered on Thursday. It gave me the morning to prepare everything and pack.

I decided on the Sony Cybershot DSC-WX50. It was just under my self-imposed cost limit of $200. My previous camera was a Sony Cybershot and I was for the most part pleased with it. But after nearly five years of use, it has technically become a 'dinosaur' and I felt it was time for a new one. The filming of the videos helped me come to this decision. While they were quite adequate and got the point across, there were some issues that were not able to be overcome.

One of the most predominant problems I had with it was its maximum capacity was to film in only 9+ minute clips. Several times in the recent past, I had overshot this time limit and unknown to me, the camera just stopped. It usually cut me off mid-sentence or mid-project and I found myself having to re-shoot the entire process. This wasn't always easy to do - especially when I was on step 5 of a scroll saw project (or a painting project for that matter!) It was very difficult to go 'backward' when cutting wood away or even painting layers on a piece, and took a lot of time to get things done.

Someone here on the blog suggested that I bump up the memory, but it turned out that these cameras have a maximum time limit of filming segments no matter what amount of storage is available, so it was just the nature of the beast. The WX50 has a capacity of shooting video in 30 minute segments, which would certainly would be much better for my purposes. It also had better zoom features, as well as an advanced focusing system that would serve us well with shooting our projects. The controls are simple and easy to understand, too. And while it doesn't offer the pinpoint adjustments that a more expensive camera may, for the money it looked like it would be quite suitable for our purposes. All the reviews I read on it from several different sources were positive. So I thought I would give it a try. I will certainly keep you updated on how I feel that it performs on a daily basis, and any issues that we may encounter. Remember though that I am not that technical when it comes to cameras, and I will be reviewing it as a lay-person, not a professional photographer.

While I was quite anxious to begin using it and taking pictures with it, we naturally needed to charge the battery before doing so. This was a good opportunity for me to look over the manual that came with it and figure out all of the adjustments. By the time we went out the door, it had almost fully charged so I could at least play with it and get to know how to operate a bit. That was fine because we were still close to home, and there weren't many new things that I wanted to take pictures of.

In order to head north, we needed to go south towards Yarmouth first. There is no clear cut way across Nova Scotia without travelling on roads that are rather desolate. We have done that before, and we thought we would head up on the South Shore side of the province. We left around 3pm, and after a quick stop in Yarmouth for a light meal, we headed up route 103, turning off onto route 3 (the lighthouse trail) from time to time and driving along the coast.

There are many beautiful lakes and rivers in Nova Scotia, and we love to ride along and see as many as we can. One of the first places we turned off was Port Clyde near the Barrington Passage. It was a beautiful afternoon and we found a nice little park to take a couple of pictures:

Water Plant People in nature Wood Sunglasses


It was situated on the banks of a small river, and we thought it was quite pretty.

Cloud Sky Water Plant Natural landscape


We took our time meandering up the coast line, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way. It felt good to get away and not have to think about anything except the road ahead for the next few days, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We stopped for supper in the town of Bridgewater, and we were happy to see that the place looked busy. So many towns in Nova Scotia are suffering because of the poor economy, and I will talk more about that in later entries. But Bridgewater and the surrounding area seemed to still be doing OK.

We got back on the road around 8pm, and headed up to Lunenburg. The drive was beautiful as the sun was beginning to set:

Water Cloud Sky Water resources Atmosphere


However, we noticed that there were more and more areas that were looking a bit shabby. We arrived in the city of Lunenburg at dusk, and it was quite shocking to see how many of the businesses were empty. I know the economy has taken its toll on many, but this area used to be one of the most affluent areas of Nova Scotia. However, since most of the economy here depended on tourism, you could see that the lack of tourists really impacted it greatly. We had been there only last year and there was a noticeable difference. It was sad to see and I am afraid to say something that we would see much more of before our trip was over.

Just before we left town, we saw a beautiful light ahead. It was the Lunenburg Academy, which was all lit up in its glory. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to try the camera in this light and I am not disappointed.

Sky Plant Building Window Tree


We continued on through Mahone Bay and were again saddened to see how the general area had declined. While there were still nice areas, there was definitely a difference from when we were there previously. More houses were for sale and more businesses were abandoned, making the place look a bit shabby. Not too long ago we were considering approaching some of the shops to see about them carrying Keith's pens and perhaps some of our wood pieces. But given the distance and also the state of things, we both think that our time is better spent elsewhere.

We continued on to Halifax and by that time it was late and we were ready to call it a night. We wanted an early start the next day to spend some time in the city and then move on toward Cape Breton.

I am going to stop here for the day, and probably continue on with things tomorrow. I plan to put all of the pictures I have taken into an album, and then I will link to it here on the blog so you all can see them if you wish. That will take a little time though so I will let you know when they are ready. I have a lot of catching up to do as you can imagine.

I hope you are enjoying this little narrative.
 

Attachments

#5,957 ·
The Adventure Begins

As wonderful as getting away was, it is always a great thing to be home again. You would think that being gone only three nights wouldn't be long enough to be on a vacation, but there came a moment approximately 6pm on Sunday night when Keith and I were going to dinner where we both just wanted to be home. The thought having to stay in a hotel room for even one more night was no longer appealing to us and we decided to take however long it took to drive home and be in our own bed for the night - even if it meant not getting there until morning.

For the most part, our time away was amazing. We took our time in driving and chose all the back roads we could find. Many of them ran right along side of the ocean, giving us the opportunity to see things that were naturally beautiful in their own rite, without commercialism or hype. Those to me are the best places, as they are quiet and serene and their appeal stands on its own. I truly prefer seeing the countryside in that manner.

We began our journey late. I had ordered a new camera and wanted to bring it with for the trip. Our usual time for delivery was approximately 12-1pm, and the camera was due to be delivered on Thursday. It gave me the morning to prepare everything and pack.

I decided on the Sony Cybershot DSC-WX50. It was just under my self-imposed cost limit of $200. My previous camera was a Sony Cybershot and I was for the most part pleased with it. But after nearly five years of use, it has technically become a 'dinosaur' and I felt it was time for a new one. The filming of the videos helped me come to this decision. While they were quite adequate and got the point across, there were some issues that were not able to be overcome.

One of the most predominant problems I had with it was its maximum capacity was to film in only 9+ minute clips. Several times in the recent past, I had overshot this time limit and unknown to me, the camera just stopped. It usually cut me off mid-sentence or mid-project and I found myself having to re-shoot the entire process. This wasn't always easy to do - especially when I was on step 5 of a scroll saw project (or a painting project for that matter!) It was very difficult to go 'backward' when cutting wood away or even painting layers on a piece, and took a lot of time to get things done.

Someone here on the blog suggested that I bump up the memory, but it turned out that these cameras have a maximum time limit of filming segments no matter what amount of storage is available, so it was just the nature of the beast. The WX50 has a capacity of shooting video in 30 minute segments, which would certainly would be much better for my purposes. It also had better zoom features, as well as an advanced focusing system that would serve us well with shooting our projects. The controls are simple and easy to understand, too. And while it doesn't offer the pinpoint adjustments that a more expensive camera may, for the money it looked like it would be quite suitable for our purposes. All the reviews I read on it from several different sources were positive. So I thought I would give it a try. I will certainly keep you updated on how I feel that it performs on a daily basis, and any issues that we may encounter. Remember though that I am not that technical when it comes to cameras, and I will be reviewing it as a lay-person, not a professional photographer.

While I was quite anxious to begin using it and taking pictures with it, we naturally needed to charge the battery before doing so. This was a good opportunity for me to look over the manual that came with it and figure out all of the adjustments. By the time we went out the door, it had almost fully charged so I could at least play with it and get to know how to operate a bit. That was fine because we were still close to home, and there weren't many new things that I wanted to take pictures of.

In order to head north, we needed to go south towards Yarmouth first. There is no clear cut way across Nova Scotia without travelling on roads that are rather desolate. We have done that before, and we thought we would head up on the South Shore side of the province. We left around 3pm, and after a quick stop in Yarmouth for a light meal, we headed up route 103, turning off onto route 3 (the lighthouse trail) from time to time and driving along the coast.

There are many beautiful lakes and rivers in Nova Scotia, and we love to ride along and see as many as we can. One of the first places we turned off was Port Clyde near the Barrington Passage. It was a beautiful afternoon and we found a nice little park to take a couple of pictures:

Water Plant People in nature Wood Sunglasses


It was situated on the banks of a small river, and we thought it was quite pretty.

Cloud Sky Water Plant Natural landscape


We took our time meandering up the coast line, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way. It felt good to get away and not have to think about anything except the road ahead for the next few days, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We stopped for supper in the town of Bridgewater, and we were happy to see that the place looked busy. So many towns in Nova Scotia are suffering because of the poor economy, and I will talk more about that in later entries. But Bridgewater and the surrounding area seemed to still be doing OK.

We got back on the road around 8pm, and headed up to Lunenburg. The drive was beautiful as the sun was beginning to set:

Water Cloud Sky Water resources Atmosphere


However, we noticed that there were more and more areas that were looking a bit shabby. We arrived in the city of Lunenburg at dusk, and it was quite shocking to see how many of the businesses were empty. I know the economy has taken its toll on many, but this area used to be one of the most affluent areas of Nova Scotia. However, since most of the economy here depended on tourism, you could see that the lack of tourists really impacted it greatly. We had been there only last year and there was a noticeable difference. It was sad to see and I am afraid to say something that we would see much more of before our trip was over.

Just before we left town, we saw a beautiful light ahead. It was the Lunenburg Academy, which was all lit up in its glory. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to try the camera in this light and I am not disappointed.

Sky Plant Building Window Tree


We continued on through Mahone Bay and were again saddened to see how the general area had declined. While there were still nice areas, there was definitely a difference from when we were there previously. More houses were for sale and more businesses were abandoned, making the place look a bit shabby. Not too long ago we were considering approaching some of the shops to see about them carrying Keith's pens and perhaps some of our wood pieces. But given the distance and also the state of things, we both think that our time is better spent elsewhere.

We continued on to Halifax and by that time it was late and we were ready to call it a night. We wanted an early start the next day to spend some time in the city and then move on toward Cape Breton.

I am going to stop here for the day, and probably continue on with things tomorrow. I plan to put all of the pictures I have taken into an album, and then I will link to it here on the blog so you all can see them if you wish. That will take a little time though so I will let you know when they are ready. I have a lot of catching up to do as you can imagine.

I hope you are enjoying this little narrative.
Looks like ya'll had a gr8 time. Sounds really relaxing. Gr8 pics also. Welcome back
 

Attachments

#5,963 ·
The Blogless Blog

Sorry for being so late everyone. I am still trying to catch up on things. My email box is still full of things I have to attend to and I hope to accomplish catching up with that today.

I spent the evening uploading pictures to my Picasa account and I mapped everything from the trip out so that took some time. I didn't really 'fix' any of the pictures in Photoshop, so what you see is kind of what you get. I created a separate album for each day:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

and Day 4

Here are slideshows for those of you who don't like leaving the site:

Day 1: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Day 2: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Day 3: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

And Day 4: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

I hope all of these work. I am trying to figure all this photo stuff out and I suppose it is good to try it here. You will all let me know if I goofed, I am sure! ;)

And for those of you who just want to see a picture, here is a photo of the road we were on:

Water Sky Mountain Natural landscape Coastal and oceanic landforms


It sure was a lovely time.

I will be spending today finishing up catching up. Then on to new things! I hope you enjoy the pictures!
 

Attachments

#5,964 ·
The Blogless Blog

Sorry for being so late everyone. I am still trying to catch up on things. My email box is still full of things I have to attend to and I hope to accomplish catching up with that today.

I spent the evening uploading pictures to my Picasa account and I mapped everything from the trip out so that took some time. I didn't really 'fix' any of the pictures in Photoshop, so what you see is kind of what you get. I created a separate album for each day:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

and Day 4

Here are slideshows for those of you who don't like leaving the site:

Day 1: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Day 2: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Day 3: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

And Day 4: https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

I hope all of these work. I am trying to figure all this photo stuff out and I suppose it is good to try it here. You will all let me know if I goofed, I am sure! ;)

And for those of you who just want to see a picture, here is a photo of the road we were on:

Water Sky Mountain Natural landscape Coastal and oceanic landforms


It sure was a lovely time.

I will be spending today finishing up catching up. Then on to new things! I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Wow! 1st let me thank you for takin me & the rest o us on vacation with you. I set up a box fan in front of me while watchin these video clips, and it felt like I was in that super nice Ford Mustang GT convertible…. thank you very much. Ahhhhh the wind blowin thru me beard, and, Wow, the sites. Part of the trip, I found myself humming to the tune from Gilligans Isle, and, I used to live in Lorain, but, it was Lorain, Ohio. You were missin one thing while sittin in that big ole adarondak chair, and that was an ice cream cone… lol This was a wonderful vacation, and thnx fer takin me with you both. For sure much beauty and serenity along the way. Very awesome sites. Thnx again. :)
 

Attachments

#5,969 ·
Settling Back In

It is odd that after three days back from our vacation, it is only now that I am beginning to feel caught up. We were only gone four days and three nights, but it seems that the time it takes to recover seems almost as long as the holiday itself. Am I getting old, or what?

I still have some emails to catch up on, and I plan to try to do that this morning, but overall I actually got some work done yesterday and feel like I am getting back on track. I do admit that I spent a great deal of time working with getting the pictures that I took uploaded. Like anything new, there is a learning curve and I consider the several hours that I spent figuring things out yesterday as school. And I do believe that any time spent learning, no matter what the subject, is time well spent.

I am happy that everyone enjoyed the pictures. I think they came out quite acceptable considering that I don't know what I am doing. While the new camera that I got had many similar controls and adjustments, for the most part I needed to start from the beginning and figure out what worked best for each situation. I still have a way to go, and I don't deny that it will be a rocky road for me at times. There is a great deal of difference in the settings needed for the larger, landscape types of shots that I took on the trip and the micro-photography that I take for my work every day. I am certain that it will take a bit of time to know which settings will be optimal for the situation. But that is part of the fun.

Cat Facial expression Carnivore Organism Rectangle


And then there are the videos.

While I took a couple of short videos when I accidentally hit the wrong button, I didn't really shoot any on purpose. Looking back, it would have probably been nice to have some videos of the places we saw, but I found myself getting tired of hunting for the camera every time a shot came up and in the end, I opted for still shots. After all, I didn't want this to be a working vacation any more than it had to be. I say that because part of me justified my time off by telling myself that I would be scouting for possible outlets for our finished work. While I did do that (it is difficult to get away from thinking in that direction - even for a short time) my conclusion was that trying to sell finished items to any of the many, many shops that we visited would in all probability cost more time than it would be worth. (So see, I learned something in that respect also.)

Overall, I must say that visiting most of the shops was quite unimpressive. I know that sounds 'snooty' but I don't think that I ever tried harder in my life to spend money and found that I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Perhaps it is because of my exposure to excellent things here on Lumberjocks, or because I see the incredible work that my colleagues and fellow artists do. I don't know quite what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I saw and I couldn't bring myself to shell out for something that was crap or made in China (which most of it was) just for the the sake of buying something.

I truly had the idea when I left that I would be doing some 'Christmas shopping' and get some gifts out of the way ahead of time. I usually ship many of my gifts and having them ready to go early would definitely be a plus. But try as I did to find nice things that would represent Nova Scotia, it just seemed that there was very little out there that was locally made and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Nearly every shop we went to had cheap garbage-y knick knacks that had either "Nova Scotia" or "Cape Breton" stamped on them. At one Christmas shop, there were some crappy resin ornaments (you know - the kinds where you could see the seams of the molds) that had tiny clear stickers stuck (crooked for the most part, I may add) on them that said "Cape Breton" as if that qualified them as a 'keepsake.' The price on the particular ornaments that I am referring to was about $12 cdn, and there was also a 'China' stamp on the underside. It was sad.

There were so many of these types of stores along the way that it made your head spin. At the start of our journey, we stopped frequently at these places in hopes of finding some lovely trinket or treasure to commemorate our trip, but more so than not, we walked out empty handed. At the start it was difficult to do so. We would usually get to the car and talk about how we felt bad for the shop keeper because we would walk through the entire place and not buy a thing. But as we kept on going, it was more and more evident that they all had the same Chinese suppliers and nothing really even stood out that was worth buying.

As we entered the Cape Breton highlands, there were several artisan shops that were much better, and we did buy a couple of small items from them. There was a pewter shop that was particularly nice, as it had a variety of things that were made on site and also affordable. The art galleries were nice too, but most of the pieces were quite expensive (in the hundreds or thousands) and as much as we love our family and friends, the prices were out of our budget. Keith's particular favorite was a larger glass shop, which featured hand cut and blown glass. There was even an out building where we could watch the blowers at work and they offered classes. And of course, there was a woodworking shop, which consisted mostly of beautiful turned pieces.

Visiting these types of shops was a pleasure, and even though we purchased only a few small items in them, it was much like a visit to a museum, where we admired the workmanship and designs. While some of Keith's pens may have fit into some of these shops nicely, we felt it would certainly be more trouble than it was worth to consider it. However, he did say that seeing the wood items made him want to bring out his lathe - something that he hasn't done in several weeks.

My biggest pet peeve with the shops was their lack of customer service. In an economy that is struggling (and it was clearly evident that most of them were) you would think that they would be more hospitable to their customers. I can't tell you how many of the shops had signs on their door announcing that "We have no bathrooms for public use." The more I saw this, the more irked I became. At one point, I needed to use the facilities and we were in a large Celtic shop that had clothing, children's items and family crests. Most of it was made in China, but some of it was textiles with family plaids and such. It was in the middle of the province as we crossed from one side to another and there really was no other businesses nearby. When I asked about using a washroom, the young woman smiled and said "We don't have a public washroom. The museum five kilometers down the road does though." I must admit it made me a bit cross.

We left the shop without buying anything and I made a mental note to myself that from that point on, I would refuse to make a purchase from any shop that wouldn't allow their customers to use their bathrooms. To me it was appalling that they would be happy to sell you a $300 cutting board, but you weren't good enough to use their bathroom. After all, we weren't high school kids looking to tear up the place. We were quite in the middle of nowhere and in all likelihood, most of the customer had been driving a considerable amount of time and it was a natural bodily function. It just didn't make sense.

I found myself quite dehydrated throughout this part of the trip. Knowing that the bathrooms were few and far between caused me to only drink what I felt necessary, even though it was quite warm. God forbid I had to use a washroom and we were in an inconvenient place. Even the roads along the woods had few places where the shoulder was wide enough for stopping (besides the lookout points, which were out of the question.)

If it were me and I owned a shop, now more than ever I would make it as comfortable as I could for my customers. Perhaps the shop owners felt that since most people were passing through, the prospect of return business was slim and they just didn't care. There were a few that were not like that, but most of them unfortunately were.

Near the beginning of our day in the highlands for instance, we visited a gallery that was owned by a charming woman. On our way out (without buying anything, I may add) she struck up a conversation with us and took the next fifteen minutes telling us what sites were the best to see. She brought out a map to give us and marked all the places she talked about on it. She was pleasant and thoughtful and even though she knew we weren't purchasing a painting, genuinely wanted us to have a good time and see the best places and artisan shops. If we return there, we will definitely visit her shop and who knows - maybe we will find something that we will buy.

As you can see, I am getting back into the swing of things. I had so many thoughts of things on this trip and there are still several things that I will be sharing as time goes on. Part of me really missed writing a great deal, but I refrained from doing so, as I did want this to be a bit of a break. I am sure as I remember things, I will convey them to you all.

Today I am writing pattern packets and getting ready for the next update for the site, which is coming shortly. I am also going to be working more with my camera and experimenting with the settings and lighting and so forth. It will be a full day.

Cat Camera lens Felidae Reflex camera Carnivore


It is good to be back, and even better to be home. Sometimes all it takes is a couple of days away to make us appreciate what we have right in our own back yard. (Isn't that what the story 'The Wizard of Oz' was trying to tell us?) Although the world around me is full of amazing beauty, being away for a while makes only makes me realize "There's no place like home."

Have a wonderful day!

Pause to appreciate the beauty around you.
Whether rainbow or butterfly,
mountain or tree, painting or poem -
whether crafted by nature or by a human hand -
beauty adds a magical element to life
that surpasses logic and science.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
 

Attachments

#5,970 ·
Settling Back In

It is odd that after three days back from our vacation, it is only now that I am beginning to feel caught up. We were only gone four days and three nights, but it seems that the time it takes to recover seems almost as long as the holiday itself. Am I getting old, or what?

I still have some emails to catch up on, and I plan to try to do that this morning, but overall I actually got some work done yesterday and feel like I am getting back on track. I do admit that I spent a great deal of time working with getting the pictures that I took uploaded. Like anything new, there is a learning curve and I consider the several hours that I spent figuring things out yesterday as school. And I do believe that any time spent learning, no matter what the subject, is time well spent.

I am happy that everyone enjoyed the pictures. I think they came out quite acceptable considering that I don't know what I am doing. While the new camera that I got had many similar controls and adjustments, for the most part I needed to start from the beginning and figure out what worked best for each situation. I still have a way to go, and I don't deny that it will be a rocky road for me at times. There is a great deal of difference in the settings needed for the larger, landscape types of shots that I took on the trip and the micro-photography that I take for my work every day. I am certain that it will take a bit of time to know which settings will be optimal for the situation. But that is part of the fun.

Cat Facial expression Carnivore Organism Rectangle


And then there are the videos.

While I took a couple of short videos when I accidentally hit the wrong button, I didn't really shoot any on purpose. Looking back, it would have probably been nice to have some videos of the places we saw, but I found myself getting tired of hunting for the camera every time a shot came up and in the end, I opted for still shots. After all, I didn't want this to be a working vacation any more than it had to be. I say that because part of me justified my time off by telling myself that I would be scouting for possible outlets for our finished work. While I did do that (it is difficult to get away from thinking in that direction - even for a short time) my conclusion was that trying to sell finished items to any of the many, many shops that we visited would in all probability cost more time than it would be worth. (So see, I learned something in that respect also.)

Overall, I must say that visiting most of the shops was quite unimpressive. I know that sounds 'snooty' but I don't think that I ever tried harder in my life to spend money and found that I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Perhaps it is because of my exposure to excellent things here on Lumberjocks, or because I see the incredible work that my colleagues and fellow artists do. I don't know quite what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I saw and I couldn't bring myself to shell out for something that was crap or made in China (which most of it was) just for the the sake of buying something.

I truly had the idea when I left that I would be doing some 'Christmas shopping' and get some gifts out of the way ahead of time. I usually ship many of my gifts and having them ready to go early would definitely be a plus. But try as I did to find nice things that would represent Nova Scotia, it just seemed that there was very little out there that was locally made and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Nearly every shop we went to had cheap garbage-y knick knacks that had either "Nova Scotia" or "Cape Breton" stamped on them. At one Christmas shop, there were some crappy resin ornaments (you know - the kinds where you could see the seams of the molds) that had tiny clear stickers stuck (crooked for the most part, I may add) on them that said "Cape Breton" as if that qualified them as a 'keepsake.' The price on the particular ornaments that I am referring to was about $12 cdn, and there was also a 'China' stamp on the underside. It was sad.

There were so many of these types of stores along the way that it made your head spin. At the start of our journey, we stopped frequently at these places in hopes of finding some lovely trinket or treasure to commemorate our trip, but more so than not, we walked out empty handed. At the start it was difficult to do so. We would usually get to the car and talk about how we felt bad for the shop keeper because we would walk through the entire place and not buy a thing. But as we kept on going, it was more and more evident that they all had the same Chinese suppliers and nothing really even stood out that was worth buying.

As we entered the Cape Breton highlands, there were several artisan shops that were much better, and we did buy a couple of small items from them. There was a pewter shop that was particularly nice, as it had a variety of things that were made on site and also affordable. The art galleries were nice too, but most of the pieces were quite expensive (in the hundreds or thousands) and as much as we love our family and friends, the prices were out of our budget. Keith's particular favorite was a larger glass shop, which featured hand cut and blown glass. There was even an out building where we could watch the blowers at work and they offered classes. And of course, there was a woodworking shop, which consisted mostly of beautiful turned pieces.

Visiting these types of shops was a pleasure, and even though we purchased only a few small items in them, it was much like a visit to a museum, where we admired the workmanship and designs. While some of Keith's pens may have fit into some of these shops nicely, we felt it would certainly be more trouble than it was worth to consider it. However, he did say that seeing the wood items made him want to bring out his lathe - something that he hasn't done in several weeks.

My biggest pet peeve with the shops was their lack of customer service. In an economy that is struggling (and it was clearly evident that most of them were) you would think that they would be more hospitable to their customers. I can't tell you how many of the shops had signs on their door announcing that "We have no bathrooms for public use." The more I saw this, the more irked I became. At one point, I needed to use the facilities and we were in a large Celtic shop that had clothing, children's items and family crests. Most of it was made in China, but some of it was textiles with family plaids and such. It was in the middle of the province as we crossed from one side to another and there really was no other businesses nearby. When I asked about using a washroom, the young woman smiled and said "We don't have a public washroom. The museum five kilometers down the road does though." I must admit it made me a bit cross.

We left the shop without buying anything and I made a mental note to myself that from that point on, I would refuse to make a purchase from any shop that wouldn't allow their customers to use their bathrooms. To me it was appalling that they would be happy to sell you a $300 cutting board, but you weren't good enough to use their bathroom. After all, we weren't high school kids looking to tear up the place. We were quite in the middle of nowhere and in all likelihood, most of the customer had been driving a considerable amount of time and it was a natural bodily function. It just didn't make sense.

I found myself quite dehydrated throughout this part of the trip. Knowing that the bathrooms were few and far between caused me to only drink what I felt necessary, even though it was quite warm. God forbid I had to use a washroom and we were in an inconvenient place. Even the roads along the woods had few places where the shoulder was wide enough for stopping (besides the lookout points, which were out of the question.)

If it were me and I owned a shop, now more than ever I would make it as comfortable as I could for my customers. Perhaps the shop owners felt that since most people were passing through, the prospect of return business was slim and they just didn't care. There were a few that were not like that, but most of them unfortunately were.

Near the beginning of our day in the highlands for instance, we visited a gallery that was owned by a charming woman. On our way out (without buying anything, I may add) she struck up a conversation with us and took the next fifteen minutes telling us what sites were the best to see. She brought out a map to give us and marked all the places she talked about on it. She was pleasant and thoughtful and even though she knew we weren't purchasing a painting, genuinely wanted us to have a good time and see the best places and artisan shops. If we return there, we will definitely visit her shop and who knows - maybe we will find something that we will buy.

As you can see, I am getting back into the swing of things. I had so many thoughts of things on this trip and there are still several things that I will be sharing as time goes on. Part of me really missed writing a great deal, but I refrained from doing so, as I did want this to be a bit of a break. I am sure as I remember things, I will convey them to you all.

Today I am writing pattern packets and getting ready for the next update for the site, which is coming shortly. I am also going to be working more with my camera and experimenting with the settings and lighting and so forth. It will be a full day.

Cat Camera lens Felidae Reflex camera Carnivore


It is good to be back, and even better to be home. Sometimes all it takes is a couple of days away to make us appreciate what we have right in our own back yard. (Isn't that what the story 'The Wizard of Oz' was trying to tell us?) Although the world around me is full of amazing beauty, being away for a while makes only makes me realize "There's no place like home."

Have a wonderful day!

Pause to appreciate the beauty around you.
Whether rainbow or butterfly,
mountain or tree, painting or poem -
whether crafted by nature or by a human hand -
beauty adds a magical element to life
that surpasses logic and science.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
I always ask a local where the good "down-home" food joints/restaurants are at. 99.9% you'll land a really good one with super food.
 

Attachments

#5,979 ·
Looking Ahead

I can tell that it is getting lighter just a bit later every morning. Its just that time of year, I suppose. Already, even though it is still quite warm, you can feel autumn coming. I don't know how, but it is just a feeling I get. It has nothing to do with calendars and logic and things like that, and it is quite undefined. But already I am thinking ahead to fall and baking yummy treats and the cool evenings and warm afternoons and it makes me happy.

Friday is upon us already. My that week went by quickly! For me, it was one of those good, discombobulated weeks when it seems you accomplished little, and actually you accomplished much. Most of those uncatalogued tasks that have been hanging around like afterthoughts seem to be under control. I have been able to tick them off my mental list, one by one and with each accomplishment, increased my sense of calm.

It is a good feeling.

When things like this occur, I always feel that it is a good time to do a complete backup of my computer. All my files are where they are supposed to be and there are few project that are in the "in progress" category. I like having things organized well when I do a backup, and while I sometimes back up when things are in disarray, it is only then out of necessity. It is good think that if I had to return to the state my computer was in this very moment, it would be organized and clean.

We are readying ourselves for another update on the site too. There are some nice patterns that we are introducing to the site and we plan on offering a sale. We don't do full scale sales often (in fact, we haven't really done one yet) but with the intense heat that many have experienced, we want to offer an incentive for people to get planning for the fall and upcoming holiday season. We will have to see how it goes.

Lately, I have had the urge to do some painting. I am sorry to say my poor little "all season tree" has been quite naked since spring. For those of you who admire my organization, know that I too don't always reach all the goals that I set for myself. But it isn't tragic, and in real life, priorities must be assigned and take place, and my tree just wasn't among them. There is still time though, and I have some plans to salvage the summer season and perhaps decorate it with something nice for August. We'll see . . .

I am still gearing up for a busy fall and winter season. My head is exploding with ideas and probably the hardest thing I have to deal with is to organize both my thoughts and actions and not begin too many projects at one time. Starting too many things without finishing them tends to overwhelm me and then I get stuck and accomplish little. I find the key for my own productivity is to take things one at a time and savor each project as I create it. It is what works best for me.

I have seen others that have the ability to design countless projects in one fell swoop. They take one concept and apply it to a multitude of themes and before you know it there are a great number of similar projects with varying themes.

While this may be the way to a large amount of sales of items, for me it would be quite unsatisfying. I would quickly get bored with designing that way and I know for myself the quality that I work so hard to achieve would not be there. My heart just would not be in it.

The other day, I had a new customer order a single pattern from me. Soon after I sent the order, I received a note in my email from him. In the note he said how impressed he was at the details and information we offered along with the pattern. It made me very happy to know all the extra work we put into our patterns is noticed and appreciated. We couldn't ask for more.

We can't only measure our successes by dollars. I suppose we can measure it by anything we want, but I cannot be that way. I still look upon money as a small part of our lives, necessary for survival. And while having financial security is comforting to many, it certainly isn't the only thing that is important. I am old enough to have seen the destruction that living for money can cause. In my own life, there have been times when I have had more money and times when I have had less. I have seen that having more doesn't necessarily equate with happiness. In fact - some of the times I was most miserable was when my bank account was the fullest. Go figure.

Over the years, I have learned to live within a means that will be comfortable for me, yet allow me to not be dictated by financial goals alone. Many have suggested that I get a larger place with a shop or purchase a home with more room, but I honestly believe that with those larger purchases comes the pressure of paying for them and having to make more money. Perhaps I am lazy, but I just don't want that at this point in my life. I like the fact that by renting here, the responsibility of keeping up a house is low. That allows me time to spend much of each day concentrating on what I love to do best - create. Living in this way has also allowed me some small 'extravagances' such as the short trip we just returned from and some other nice things that we have. It is a good feeling to be able to have things guilt free and clear, and I don't mind working hard to get them. I realize that we are not like everyone else, and I respect that. This is just what works well for me.

Geeze! I don't know how I got to rambling on! I suppose my mind is wandering this morning. I watch so many struggle day to day to make ends meet or to work in jobs that they are so unhappy doing and I can honestly say that there isn't a day that goes by that I am not appreciative of my own job and situation. I just had to say.

So today will be another good day. It's raining now, but it is a quiet and gentle rain. I rather like it. I am excited about the new ideas and excited about getting the site updated and a newsletter out and as always, it will be a pleasure to see it come to be. There are good days ahead, and I look forward to each and every one of them.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Plant Small to medium-sized cats


I hope you enjoy your Friday.

"The greatest of all gifts is the power to estimate things at their true worth" - François de la Rochefoucauld
 

Attachments

#5,980 ·
Looking Ahead

I can tell that it is getting lighter just a bit later every morning. Its just that time of year, I suppose. Already, even though it is still quite warm, you can feel autumn coming. I don't know how, but it is just a feeling I get. It has nothing to do with calendars and logic and things like that, and it is quite undefined. But already I am thinking ahead to fall and baking yummy treats and the cool evenings and warm afternoons and it makes me happy.

Friday is upon us already. My that week went by quickly! For me, it was one of those good, discombobulated weeks when it seems you accomplished little, and actually you accomplished much. Most of those uncatalogued tasks that have been hanging around like afterthoughts seem to be under control. I have been able to tick them off my mental list, one by one and with each accomplishment, increased my sense of calm.

It is a good feeling.

When things like this occur, I always feel that it is a good time to do a complete backup of my computer. All my files are where they are supposed to be and there are few project that are in the "in progress" category. I like having things organized well when I do a backup, and while I sometimes back up when things are in disarray, it is only then out of necessity. It is good think that if I had to return to the state my computer was in this very moment, it would be organized and clean.

We are readying ourselves for another update on the site too. There are some nice patterns that we are introducing to the site and we plan on offering a sale. We don't do full scale sales often (in fact, we haven't really done one yet) but with the intense heat that many have experienced, we want to offer an incentive for people to get planning for the fall and upcoming holiday season. We will have to see how it goes.

Lately, I have had the urge to do some painting. I am sorry to say my poor little "all season tree" has been quite naked since spring. For those of you who admire my organization, know that I too don't always reach all the goals that I set for myself. But it isn't tragic, and in real life, priorities must be assigned and take place, and my tree just wasn't among them. There is still time though, and I have some plans to salvage the summer season and perhaps decorate it with something nice for August. We'll see . . .

I am still gearing up for a busy fall and winter season. My head is exploding with ideas and probably the hardest thing I have to deal with is to organize both my thoughts and actions and not begin too many projects at one time. Starting too many things without finishing them tends to overwhelm me and then I get stuck and accomplish little. I find the key for my own productivity is to take things one at a time and savor each project as I create it. It is what works best for me.

I have seen others that have the ability to design countless projects in one fell swoop. They take one concept and apply it to a multitude of themes and before you know it there are a great number of similar projects with varying themes.

While this may be the way to a large amount of sales of items, for me it would be quite unsatisfying. I would quickly get bored with designing that way and I know for myself the quality that I work so hard to achieve would not be there. My heart just would not be in it.

The other day, I had a new customer order a single pattern from me. Soon after I sent the order, I received a note in my email from him. In the note he said how impressed he was at the details and information we offered along with the pattern. It made me very happy to know all the extra work we put into our patterns is noticed and appreciated. We couldn't ask for more.

We can't only measure our successes by dollars. I suppose we can measure it by anything we want, but I cannot be that way. I still look upon money as a small part of our lives, necessary for survival. And while having financial security is comforting to many, it certainly isn't the only thing that is important. I am old enough to have seen the destruction that living for money can cause. In my own life, there have been times when I have had more money and times when I have had less. I have seen that having more doesn't necessarily equate with happiness. In fact - some of the times I was most miserable was when my bank account was the fullest. Go figure.

Over the years, I have learned to live within a means that will be comfortable for me, yet allow me to not be dictated by financial goals alone. Many have suggested that I get a larger place with a shop or purchase a home with more room, but I honestly believe that with those larger purchases comes the pressure of paying for them and having to make more money. Perhaps I am lazy, but I just don't want that at this point in my life. I like the fact that by renting here, the responsibility of keeping up a house is low. That allows me time to spend much of each day concentrating on what I love to do best - create. Living in this way has also allowed me some small 'extravagances' such as the short trip we just returned from and some other nice things that we have. It is a good feeling to be able to have things guilt free and clear, and I don't mind working hard to get them. I realize that we are not like everyone else, and I respect that. This is just what works well for me.

Geeze! I don't know how I got to rambling on! I suppose my mind is wandering this morning. I watch so many struggle day to day to make ends meet or to work in jobs that they are so unhappy doing and I can honestly say that there isn't a day that goes by that I am not appreciative of my own job and situation. I just had to say.

So today will be another good day. It's raining now, but it is a quiet and gentle rain. I rather like it. I am excited about the new ideas and excited about getting the site updated and a newsletter out and as always, it will be a pleasure to see it come to be. There are good days ahead, and I look forward to each and every one of them.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Plant Small to medium-sized cats


I hope you enjoy your Friday.

"The greatest of all gifts is the power to estimate things at their true worth" - François de la Rochefoucauld
Well said, Sheila. Have a good Friday, and a gr8 weekend
 

Attachments

#5,985 ·
Finding My 'Zen'

I am in the final stages of 'organizational mode' today, and while that is very beneficial to me, it doesn't always make good reading. A I sit here this morning and try to come up with something interesting to write about, I am afraid it is one of those mornings where a juicy topic eludes me. Some days are just like that.

I spent the day yesterday doing many small and pesky tasks around the house here. I fine tuned the files and folders on my computer. I proof read my latest pattern that I am adding to the site today. I even got some sewing done. While all of these things are helpful and necessary to make my life run smoothly, when things progress the way they should, there isn't much to talk about it seems.

I find that a bit ironic.

Finding a good balance in my life has been something that I have been working toward for quite a while. Those of you who read here every day have seen the ups and downs that I have experienced from day to day as a designer and have followed me through the process. As recent as a couple of weeks ago, I was admittedly a bit frazzled, feeling quite overwhelmed at the many things in my life that were demanding my attention.

I talked about these things here, and I received advice from many as to how to get things back under control and manage things. When I mentioned that I was going to take a short holiday, many of you (my friends) cheered me on and wished me well, telling me how I deserved the time for myself. It seems that many of you knew that for me taking the time off was much more difficult than the work itself. It truly isn't in my nature.

But I did take some time, and by doing so it not only gave me the break that I so badly needed, but it also refreshed me and made me hungry for my work again. It certainly didn't take a long time for me to be away enough to miss it.

Now I am back however, and I feel rested and refreshed and I need to find a focus to kick me back into a higher gear again. The latter part of this week has been slow by my standards, and in mentioning this to Keith last night he replied something to the effect that 'we have it all.' In thinking about what he said, I do believe he is right. We have jobs that we love. We have a decent place to live and live within our means. We have good friends and family around us. We have each other. It is a state of living that most people spend their entire lives striving for.

I looked up the formal definition for the word "zen" this morning. While I knew vaguely what it meant, I wanted to see what the formal definition of the word was. We frequently hear about people "finding their zen" and I was curious to see if this was perhaps what I am experiencing. While there were many different definitions that were listed, one in particular stood out to me. It read as follows: "Complete and absolute peace".

Could it be that I have found my zen? I wonder. There has never been a time in my life that I have been so content or at peace with things. Of course there are some day to day issues that do and will arise, and I will deal with them as the come, but for at least this one moment in my life, I am at peace and I am content. Completely.

No wonder I feel odd.

It is to me like chasing the brass ring on a carousel and finally catching it. What do you do with it now that it is caught? You may look at it and admire it for a bit, but then what?

I am so used to channeling energy into solving problems and putting out small fires (and large ones too!) that now that there aren't any that are in my life at this moment, there is part of me that feels a bit lost. I am not complaining about this in the least, I am just making an observation.

There are those of you who may think that I am 'asking for it' simply by the fact that I am stating this out loud. One thing that I frequently say to Keith (who is not quite as optimistic as myself) is the phrase "from here on . . . it's smooth sailing!" He used to cringe at those words and say to me "why do you have to go and jinx things! It is like you are inviting trouble!"

But I don't feel that saying them invites trouble. I feel that it puts me on a path of optimism and hope and allows me to focus on all the positive things about any given situation. And that to me is a great asset to have and a key to being happy. I like being positive and I know for a fact that having a positive attitude helps me have a better day. It really does matter to me.

So now here I am in this 'good place' that I have been seeking. It seems that I have focused on positive things for so long that it has become quite a habit for me to do so - and a good one at that. I have caught my brass ring. But instead of just looking at it and admiring it, I want to use that energy that I have to focus in a new direction - creating. And that will be fun and exciting.

Whether or not I have 'found my zen' remains to be seen. I realize that living in our world is a kaleidoscopic chain of activity - continually changing with every second as energy flows from ourselves and others that interact with us. I don't for a second think that now that I feel I am in a good place, it will remain unchanged and stagnate there for long. But I will take these moments and enjoy them and use the positive things in my life to inspire and influence me and with any luck, the result will be an amazing burst of creativity. And I will enjoy each and every moment.

Cat Plant Botany Leaf Sculpture


Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be clam in your heart. - Unknown

I wish you all a peaceful and productive day!
 

Attachments

#5,986 ·
Finding My 'Zen'

I am in the final stages of 'organizational mode' today, and while that is very beneficial to me, it doesn't always make good reading. A I sit here this morning and try to come up with something interesting to write about, I am afraid it is one of those mornings where a juicy topic eludes me. Some days are just like that.

I spent the day yesterday doing many small and pesky tasks around the house here. I fine tuned the files and folders on my computer. I proof read my latest pattern that I am adding to the site today. I even got some sewing done. While all of these things are helpful and necessary to make my life run smoothly, when things progress the way they should, there isn't much to talk about it seems.

I find that a bit ironic.

Finding a good balance in my life has been something that I have been working toward for quite a while. Those of you who read here every day have seen the ups and downs that I have experienced from day to day as a designer and have followed me through the process. As recent as a couple of weeks ago, I was admittedly a bit frazzled, feeling quite overwhelmed at the many things in my life that were demanding my attention.

I talked about these things here, and I received advice from many as to how to get things back under control and manage things. When I mentioned that I was going to take a short holiday, many of you (my friends) cheered me on and wished me well, telling me how I deserved the time for myself. It seems that many of you knew that for me taking the time off was much more difficult than the work itself. It truly isn't in my nature.

But I did take some time, and by doing so it not only gave me the break that I so badly needed, but it also refreshed me and made me hungry for my work again. It certainly didn't take a long time for me to be away enough to miss it.

Now I am back however, and I feel rested and refreshed and I need to find a focus to kick me back into a higher gear again. The latter part of this week has been slow by my standards, and in mentioning this to Keith last night he replied something to the effect that 'we have it all.' In thinking about what he said, I do believe he is right. We have jobs that we love. We have a decent place to live and live within our means. We have good friends and family around us. We have each other. It is a state of living that most people spend their entire lives striving for.

I looked up the formal definition for the word "zen" this morning. While I knew vaguely what it meant, I wanted to see what the formal definition of the word was. We frequently hear about people "finding their zen" and I was curious to see if this was perhaps what I am experiencing. While there were many different definitions that were listed, one in particular stood out to me. It read as follows: "Complete and absolute peace".

Could it be that I have found my zen? I wonder. There has never been a time in my life that I have been so content or at peace with things. Of course there are some day to day issues that do and will arise, and I will deal with them as the come, but for at least this one moment in my life, I am at peace and I am content. Completely.

No wonder I feel odd.

It is to me like chasing the brass ring on a carousel and finally catching it. What do you do with it now that it is caught? You may look at it and admire it for a bit, but then what?

I am so used to channeling energy into solving problems and putting out small fires (and large ones too!) that now that there aren't any that are in my life at this moment, there is part of me that feels a bit lost. I am not complaining about this in the least, I am just making an observation.

There are those of you who may think that I am 'asking for it' simply by the fact that I am stating this out loud. One thing that I frequently say to Keith (who is not quite as optimistic as myself) is the phrase "from here on . . . it's smooth sailing!" He used to cringe at those words and say to me "why do you have to go and jinx things! It is like you are inviting trouble!"

But I don't feel that saying them invites trouble. I feel that it puts me on a path of optimism and hope and allows me to focus on all the positive things about any given situation. And that to me is a great asset to have and a key to being happy. I like being positive and I know for a fact that having a positive attitude helps me have a better day. It really does matter to me.

So now here I am in this 'good place' that I have been seeking. It seems that I have focused on positive things for so long that it has become quite a habit for me to do so - and a good one at that. I have caught my brass ring. But instead of just looking at it and admiring it, I want to use that energy that I have to focus in a new direction - creating. And that will be fun and exciting.

Whether or not I have 'found my zen' remains to be seen. I realize that living in our world is a kaleidoscopic chain of activity - continually changing with every second as energy flows from ourselves and others that interact with us. I don't for a second think that now that I feel I am in a good place, it will remain unchanged and stagnate there for long. But I will take these moments and enjoy them and use the positive things in my life to inspire and influence me and with any luck, the result will be an amazing burst of creativity. And I will enjoy each and every moment.

Cat Plant Botany Leaf Sculpture


Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be clam in your heart. - Unknown

I wish you all a peaceful and productive day!
Hi Sheila,

Is the opposite of zen, nez?

If so, that's were I am. LOL

Lee
 

Attachments

#5,994 ·
Tying Up Loose Ends

Yesterday I spent pretty much of the day getting the pattern ready for the site update, as well as doing the update itself and writing the newsletter. It still takes me a bit longer than it probably should to do the website things, but it did get done and I believe that it what is important. There are several things that I need to consider when doing an update, and even though Keith does much of the work and organization there, it still can be challenging for me at times.

I was also able to get everything backed up. Even with a fast drive, that does take me a bit of time. I don't always do an across the board backup, as sometimes I just back up pattern files along the way, but I was due to do a complete one and it did take a while. I realize that I can do other things on my computer while the information is transferring, but I don't like to be too busy, as I don't want to interfere with the process. Maybe I am just old school.

We decided to run an across the board sale on the site for a week. We don't do this often, but given the hot summer and the state of the economy, we thought that a little incentive for people to get some fresh pattern may inspire them to do some scrolling. While I do understand that the heat is a deterrent to many as far as working in the shop, sometimes it is nice to plan ahead and lining up projects could be part of the fun. We decided to offer 25% off everything on the site for the upcoming week. I think that is a substantial enough amount to make people feel like they are getting a good deal, as we try to keep the cost of our patterns reasonable anyway. This is traditionally a slow time of year for us anyway, and it will be interesting to see how the sale goes. (You can click HERE if you want to go to the site and check things out)

So today, I will do a bit more 'tweaking' on the site and begin to draw my next projects. I am trying to decide what direction to go first, as I have several different ideas. I am once again getting to the point where I miss being at the scroll saw, and hopefully in the next few days I will have something new to cut. I also want to try out my camera and do some more videos and see if there is a noticeable difference in the quality.

For those of you who are following the resurrected scroll saw class, I will be posting another lesson today. I hate to say but I completely forgot that I only posted the first video of this recent series up there, and while it is possible to go to my YouTube channel to see the rest, I wanted to have them all here in one place with the rest of the classes. I will be posting the remainder of them throughout the week, and then if there are any additional questions or comments it will be easy for others to follow along too.

So that will be all for today. It's funny - but even though I was thinking I was quite caught up, when listing all the loose ends that I need to tie up, I see that there is quite a substantial amount of things to keep me busy.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Fawn


I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.
 

Attachments

#5,995 ·
Tying Up Loose Ends

Yesterday I spent pretty much of the day getting the pattern ready for the site update, as well as doing the update itself and writing the newsletter. It still takes me a bit longer than it probably should to do the website things, but it did get done and I believe that it what is important. There are several things that I need to consider when doing an update, and even though Keith does much of the work and organization there, it still can be challenging for me at times.

I was also able to get everything backed up. Even with a fast drive, that does take me a bit of time. I don't always do an across the board backup, as sometimes I just back up pattern files along the way, but I was due to do a complete one and it did take a while. I realize that I can do other things on my computer while the information is transferring, but I don't like to be too busy, as I don't want to interfere with the process. Maybe I am just old school.

We decided to run an across the board sale on the site for a week. We don't do this often, but given the hot summer and the state of the economy, we thought that a little incentive for people to get some fresh pattern may inspire them to do some scrolling. While I do understand that the heat is a deterrent to many as far as working in the shop, sometimes it is nice to plan ahead and lining up projects could be part of the fun. We decided to offer 25% off everything on the site for the upcoming week. I think that is a substantial enough amount to make people feel like they are getting a good deal, as we try to keep the cost of our patterns reasonable anyway. This is traditionally a slow time of year for us anyway, and it will be interesting to see how the sale goes. (You can click HERE if you want to go to the site and check things out)

So today, I will do a bit more 'tweaking' on the site and begin to draw my next projects. I am trying to decide what direction to go first, as I have several different ideas. I am once again getting to the point where I miss being at the scroll saw, and hopefully in the next few days I will have something new to cut. I also want to try out my camera and do some more videos and see if there is a noticeable difference in the quality.

For those of you who are following the resurrected scroll saw class, I will be posting another lesson today. I hate to say but I completely forgot that I only posted the first video of this recent series up there, and while it is possible to go to my YouTube channel to see the rest, I wanted to have them all here in one place with the rest of the classes. I will be posting the remainder of them throughout the week, and then if there are any additional questions or comments it will be easy for others to follow along too.

So that will be all for today. It's funny - but even though I was thinking I was quite caught up, when listing all the loose ends that I need to tie up, I see that there is quite a substantial amount of things to keep me busy.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Fawn


I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.
Yes Sheila, it can be a bit quiet just now

A rainy day here and lots of folk on their

PC's. Sun comes out and the lines go all

silent.

Anyway Thembi our wee girl boxer is in her 63rd

day, so pups are imminent :)

We even have a house sweepstake on the pup

count. LoL
 

Attachments

#5,997 ·
I'm Not Trying to be a Spammer! (Really!)

Considering that I thought I was pretty much 'caught up' with things yesterday, I certainly was busy. It is a good thing that I didn't have a lot to do because as the day went by, I kept thinking of more and more odds and ends that I needed to work on. Besides that, I received a great response from the sale that I have currently on my website so that kept me hopping the rest of the day. I have to be honest though, and I really loved it!

I have the best customers in the world and I do love communicating with them and hearing from them. While I know I have the option of sending out the PDF patterns automatically if I look into it hard enough, I still prefer to send a little note with each order and do them manually. I realize this may not be the most efficient way to do business, but I like it and it keeps me connected with everyone a bit. I will keep doing it as long as I can.

I am pretty good about remembering returning customers, but with a customer list of a couple of thousand people, that isn't always easy to do. While I recognize name and things like that, I sometimes find it hard to connect all the information about everyone in my head. My head just isn't that big! But for the most part I do OK and even if I sometimes need to 'cheat' to refresh myself on what someone had previously ordered, it all works out in the end.

Besides writing emails, I posted my reindeer project up on the Lumberjocks site. I find that since I talk about my projects here in my blog, I often forget to put them in my gallery. I used to post them right when they were finished, but then I would receive many emails with people asking for the pattern and many times it just wasn't ready yet, or at the magazine and wouldn't be ready for months. I didn't like disappointing people, so I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't post the projects until the patterns were up on the site and ready. I think this is just good business.

But usually by then I am on to something else and I often would forget to do so and there would be several patterns piling up that needed to be added to my projects. Since I didn't want to overload things, I would put it on the back burner and tell myself I would do it later. Many times it never got done.

So with this new found organization that I have been going through, I wanted to post my Reindeer Games project right away. Since I just added the pattern to my website, I thought it would be a good thing so that people interested in making the ornaments would be able to get the pattern. Check one thing off the list.

The next thing that I needed to do was to post the next video in the resurrected scroll saw class here. I felt rather foolish because I began continuing the class right before I left for holiday and I posted the first video of the reindeer project. I didn't want to post all five at once, and even though they are here in the blog, I wanted them all in the class blog so that the people that followed there and didn't read here would be able to see them. Also, it made sense to have everything in one place for future reference, as sifting through 775 blog entries here is rather tedious.

As it happened, I posted the first part of the five videos and then went away and completely forgot about posting the subsequent entries. Completely. So I did that and also went over to my YouTube account and reference the class in all the descriptions of the videos.

While doing this, I discovered that none of the videos were even posted up on my site yet. I thought that I had done that too, and while there was a reference to them on the "Free Stuff" page, they were nowhere to be found. So I spent some time creating two sub pages for videos - one for the painting related videos and one for the scrolling related videos. It was also pretty foolish of me to take all the time to make the videos and not have them on my own site. Many times I have my own customers asking questions that are answered in the videos and now I can reference them right to that.

With all this posting and double posting though, I feel as if I am kind of spamming cyber space with my material. While it is all relevant information, it seems that there was quite a backlog of what I had produced and I had never really posted things where they should be.

Cat Felidae Spam Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats


I hope you don't all feel that I am a spammer. I have so many people question these technique over and over, which is why I began doing the class and the videos in the first place. I figure it was much easier to show things than to try to write explanations each time I was asked. I think that people have a better understanding of it too.

I suppose my biggest crime was that I didn't post everything as I created it, and now I am making up for the backlog of information that I wanted to share. Hopefully though, I am pretty much caught up and I will make a pledge to myself to post things as they are created so this won't happen again. I have three more videos to post for the class, and I will post one each of the following days. Then all will be caught up and from that point on it should be 'smooooth sailing . . . !'

This has all been a learning experience for me too. I am thrilled that the business is doing OK and that despite everything that is going on in this world, it is growing. Needless to say I didn't get much drawing done yesterday. But today is a new day and a new week and I have lots of great ideas to work on. It will definitely be a fun and productive time!

Have a great Monday everyone, and thanks again for all of your support!
 

Attachments

#5,998 ·
I'm Not Trying to be a Spammer! (Really!)

Considering that I thought I was pretty much 'caught up' with things yesterday, I certainly was busy. It is a good thing that I didn't have a lot to do because as the day went by, I kept thinking of more and more odds and ends that I needed to work on. Besides that, I received a great response from the sale that I have currently on my website so that kept me hopping the rest of the day. I have to be honest though, and I really loved it!

I have the best customers in the world and I do love communicating with them and hearing from them. While I know I have the option of sending out the PDF patterns automatically if I look into it hard enough, I still prefer to send a little note with each order and do them manually. I realize this may not be the most efficient way to do business, but I like it and it keeps me connected with everyone a bit. I will keep doing it as long as I can.

I am pretty good about remembering returning customers, but with a customer list of a couple of thousand people, that isn't always easy to do. While I recognize name and things like that, I sometimes find it hard to connect all the information about everyone in my head. My head just isn't that big! But for the most part I do OK and even if I sometimes need to 'cheat' to refresh myself on what someone had previously ordered, it all works out in the end.

Besides writing emails, I posted my reindeer project up on the Lumberjocks site. I find that since I talk about my projects here in my blog, I often forget to put them in my gallery. I used to post them right when they were finished, but then I would receive many emails with people asking for the pattern and many times it just wasn't ready yet, or at the magazine and wouldn't be ready for months. I didn't like disappointing people, so I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't post the projects until the patterns were up on the site and ready. I think this is just good business.

But usually by then I am on to something else and I often would forget to do so and there would be several patterns piling up that needed to be added to my projects. Since I didn't want to overload things, I would put it on the back burner and tell myself I would do it later. Many times it never got done.

So with this new found organization that I have been going through, I wanted to post my Reindeer Games project right away. Since I just added the pattern to my website, I thought it would be a good thing so that people interested in making the ornaments would be able to get the pattern. Check one thing off the list.

The next thing that I needed to do was to post the next video in the resurrected scroll saw class here. I felt rather foolish because I began continuing the class right before I left for holiday and I posted the first video of the reindeer project. I didn't want to post all five at once, and even though they are here in the blog, I wanted them all in the class blog so that the people that followed there and didn't read here would be able to see them. Also, it made sense to have everything in one place for future reference, as sifting through 775 blog entries here is rather tedious.

As it happened, I posted the first part of the five videos and then went away and completely forgot about posting the subsequent entries. Completely. So I did that and also went over to my YouTube account and reference the class in all the descriptions of the videos.

While doing this, I discovered that none of the videos were even posted up on my site yet. I thought that I had done that too, and while there was a reference to them on the "Free Stuff" page, they were nowhere to be found. So I spent some time creating two sub pages for videos - one for the painting related videos and one for the scrolling related videos. It was also pretty foolish of me to take all the time to make the videos and not have them on my own site. Many times I have my own customers asking questions that are answered in the videos and now I can reference them right to that.

With all this posting and double posting though, I feel as if I am kind of spamming cyber space with my material. While it is all relevant information, it seems that there was quite a backlog of what I had produced and I had never really posted things where they should be.

Cat Felidae Spam Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats


I hope you don't all feel that I am a spammer. I have so many people question these technique over and over, which is why I began doing the class and the videos in the first place. I figure it was much easier to show things than to try to write explanations each time I was asked. I think that people have a better understanding of it too.

I suppose my biggest crime was that I didn't post everything as I created it, and now I am making up for the backlog of information that I wanted to share. Hopefully though, I am pretty much caught up and I will make a pledge to myself to post things as they are created so this won't happen again. I have three more videos to post for the class, and I will post one each of the following days. Then all will be caught up and from that point on it should be 'smooooth sailing . . . !'

This has all been a learning experience for me too. I am thrilled that the business is doing OK and that despite everything that is going on in this world, it is growing. Needless to say I didn't get much drawing done yesterday. But today is a new day and a new week and I have lots of great ideas to work on. It will definitely be a fun and productive time!

Have a great Monday everyone, and thanks again for all of your support!
Being as busy as you are, you still find the time to stop and chat to all of us. No matter how busy you are, you seem to find the time to play and joke and keep us all informed. Thank you Sheila.
 

Attachments

#6,005 ·
Seize the Day

Like any other Monday, it was our day to go to the gym. After getting all of my usual stuff done here around the house, we headed out. The day was already beautiful by then, with the sun warm and the usual morning haziness nearly gone. We decided to put the top down on the car, and enjoy the morning air.

We drove past the mill down the street from us, and it was good to see it looking 'healthy' again. Last spring, during a storm, the old dam just gave way and crumbled under the weight of the rushing river. Since then, the river has been shallow and nearly dry, with the water never really rising above a couple of feet lest there was a significant amount of rain. This left the river bed looking shabby, as the dead trees and debris were left exposed. It looked more like a dumping ground than a river, and even though the debris was all natural, it wasn't pretty.

A month or so we began to see activity at the old mill. This made my heart happy, as it seemed that they were finally ready to begin repairs on the dam. Although the mill was a 'historic site' it was mostly abandoned. We would walk by it nearly every day on our winter walks and I would think how if I won the lottery or anything like that, I would like to turn it into a working mill again, but restored how it once had been. There was room on the property to build a shop, and it was fun to fantasize how we could do our scroll sawing from there, and perhaps have a little shop besides. Maybe even have a small cafe to serve coffee and biscuits - something that would encourage tourists to stop by and also preserve the area.

Oh how our minds can wander!

Seeing the progression of the repairs was exciting. Each time we passed, it seemed that it was closer to being done. After taking over a year to begin, we were wondering if they were even going to bother to fix it at all, and just eventually allow the mill to decay as they have done with so many others in the area.

But they worked quickly and the dam is finished and the river again is full. It makes a huge difference on the landscape of our little road, and it is no longer an eyesore. I will have to post a picture tomorrow.

So on we drove to the gym. Usually as we passed over the hill, the air would be noticeably cooler. Even on the warmest days the ocean seemed to hold the temperatures at bay. But today was different. It was still warm as we drove along the sea, and I began to plan.

We did our usual workouts and stopped at the store for a few groceries. As we were putting the packages in the car, Keith mentioned something to me about heading to Yarmouth. "I can't" I said to him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because the beach is calling to me." I replied.

He looked at me as if I was crazy. But he knows me better. I then saw the look of dread on his face, as if he thought I would ask him to go with.

Keith doesn't share my love of the beach. He likes it alright, but he says he doesn't enjoy 'sitting there and doing nothing.' I suppose growing up near the ocean, he doesn't see it in the special way that I do. And that is OK.

The last thing that I want to do is to go there with someone that doesn't want to be there. We have all done that before, be it with our children or someone else. Having someone with who is only thinking of how long until we leave takes all of the fun out of it. And I didn't want that.

I am totally fine with Keith for not liking the beach. There are things he does that I don't like to do either. I don't begrudge him doing them without me and he does not begrudge my beach time either. It is a good chance for us to do some things on our own and considering the amount of time we spend together, it is very positive for both of us. It gives us some of that "me time" that we all need.

So I packed up my few things and I headed out. I took a pad of sketching paper and several pencils and a sharpener and I planned on doing some work. I don't know if I could have torn myself away but for the fact that I was in the drawing part of my work cycle. While I have come to doing most of my drawing on the computer, I thought it would be nice to try drawing the old fashioned way - with a pencil and paper - and see if I still knew how.

I arrived there around 1pm. I only knew this from the clock in the car. I don't wear a watch and I refuse to have a cell phone. I will hold out as long as I can on that one. When I am away, I want to be completely away. If something were to happen, I would certainly find out soon enough.

I spent the afternoon drawing and completed the layouts for three new projects. It was warm and peaceful and in between drawing, I observed people and families and children flying kites and I just relaxed. In the group over to the side of me, I could hear a woman talking to the rest of the group saying how way on the other end of the beach, there were rocks and caves that were beautiful. She said she took many pictures and it was worth seeing. While I wanted to venture over there, I didn't want to leave my stuff for that long, as the tide was out and the beach is very flat so it was massive. The caves she spoke of were quite a distance away.

I will plan to see them next time though, and not have so much equipment with me. Perhaps Keith will come with to explore them as he does enjoy that and it isn't 'just sitting.' We shall see.

Besides drawing, I did have a book with me and did some reading. I haven't read for pleasure in years, and Keith's mom had lent me several nice books that would be quick to read without too much thinking.

It was a perfect day. I once again thought how fortunate I am to have such a good life. Not only did I accomplish some things, but I had some quiet time too. Time to contemplate and time to relax.

Sometimes things just 'happen'. When I got up in the morning, I had no idea that I would have a trip to the beach. But last year, I only visited a total of one time, even though it is only a few minutes drive from my place. Somehow that seemed wrong. And here it is almost August and again, I have only been there one time.

As I was loading my groceries into the car in the parking lot of the store, a phrase came to mind:

"Carpe diam."

In this crazy life we all live, we need to take things as they come - even if they aren't on our schedules. For we never know what tomorrow will bring, and if we will have the opportunity again.

Natural material Beach Bivalve Sand Soil


I am glad I made the decision to go to the beach. Not only did I get some quality work done, but I also had some time for myself to relax and regroup. I believe in the saying "if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be good to anyone else." We need these times to feed our souls so that we are able to be the best we can be.

I plan to make go more often.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.
 

Attachments

#6,006 ·
Seize the Day

Like any other Monday, it was our day to go to the gym. After getting all of my usual stuff done here around the house, we headed out. The day was already beautiful by then, with the sun warm and the usual morning haziness nearly gone. We decided to put the top down on the car, and enjoy the morning air.

We drove past the mill down the street from us, and it was good to see it looking 'healthy' again. Last spring, during a storm, the old dam just gave way and crumbled under the weight of the rushing river. Since then, the river has been shallow and nearly dry, with the water never really rising above a couple of feet lest there was a significant amount of rain. This left the river bed looking shabby, as the dead trees and debris were left exposed. It looked more like a dumping ground than a river, and even though the debris was all natural, it wasn't pretty.

A month or so we began to see activity at the old mill. This made my heart happy, as it seemed that they were finally ready to begin repairs on the dam. Although the mill was a 'historic site' it was mostly abandoned. We would walk by it nearly every day on our winter walks and I would think how if I won the lottery or anything like that, I would like to turn it into a working mill again, but restored how it once had been. There was room on the property to build a shop, and it was fun to fantasize how we could do our scroll sawing from there, and perhaps have a little shop besides. Maybe even have a small cafe to serve coffee and biscuits - something that would encourage tourists to stop by and also preserve the area.

Oh how our minds can wander!

Seeing the progression of the repairs was exciting. Each time we passed, it seemed that it was closer to being done. After taking over a year to begin, we were wondering if they were even going to bother to fix it at all, and just eventually allow the mill to decay as they have done with so many others in the area.

But they worked quickly and the dam is finished and the river again is full. It makes a huge difference on the landscape of our little road, and it is no longer an eyesore. I will have to post a picture tomorrow.

So on we drove to the gym. Usually as we passed over the hill, the air would be noticeably cooler. Even on the warmest days the ocean seemed to hold the temperatures at bay. But today was different. It was still warm as we drove along the sea, and I began to plan.

We did our usual workouts and stopped at the store for a few groceries. As we were putting the packages in the car, Keith mentioned something to me about heading to Yarmouth. "I can't" I said to him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because the beach is calling to me." I replied.

He looked at me as if I was crazy. But he knows me better. I then saw the look of dread on his face, as if he thought I would ask him to go with.

Keith doesn't share my love of the beach. He likes it alright, but he says he doesn't enjoy 'sitting there and doing nothing.' I suppose growing up near the ocean, he doesn't see it in the special way that I do. And that is OK.

The last thing that I want to do is to go there with someone that doesn't want to be there. We have all done that before, be it with our children or someone else. Having someone with who is only thinking of how long until we leave takes all of the fun out of it. And I didn't want that.

I am totally fine with Keith for not liking the beach. There are things he does that I don't like to do either. I don't begrudge him doing them without me and he does not begrudge my beach time either. It is a good chance for us to do some things on our own and considering the amount of time we spend together, it is very positive for both of us. It gives us some of that "me time" that we all need.

So I packed up my few things and I headed out. I took a pad of sketching paper and several pencils and a sharpener and I planned on doing some work. I don't know if I could have torn myself away but for the fact that I was in the drawing part of my work cycle. While I have come to doing most of my drawing on the computer, I thought it would be nice to try drawing the old fashioned way - with a pencil and paper - and see if I still knew how.

I arrived there around 1pm. I only knew this from the clock in the car. I don't wear a watch and I refuse to have a cell phone. I will hold out as long as I can on that one. When I am away, I want to be completely away. If something were to happen, I would certainly find out soon enough.

I spent the afternoon drawing and completed the layouts for three new projects. It was warm and peaceful and in between drawing, I observed people and families and children flying kites and I just relaxed. In the group over to the side of me, I could hear a woman talking to the rest of the group saying how way on the other end of the beach, there were rocks and caves that were beautiful. She said she took many pictures and it was worth seeing. While I wanted to venture over there, I didn't want to leave my stuff for that long, as the tide was out and the beach is very flat so it was massive. The caves she spoke of were quite a distance away.

I will plan to see them next time though, and not have so much equipment with me. Perhaps Keith will come with to explore them as he does enjoy that and it isn't 'just sitting.' We shall see.

Besides drawing, I did have a book with me and did some reading. I haven't read for pleasure in years, and Keith's mom had lent me several nice books that would be quick to read without too much thinking.

It was a perfect day. I once again thought how fortunate I am to have such a good life. Not only did I accomplish some things, but I had some quiet time too. Time to contemplate and time to relax.

Sometimes things just 'happen'. When I got up in the morning, I had no idea that I would have a trip to the beach. But last year, I only visited a total of one time, even though it is only a few minutes drive from my place. Somehow that seemed wrong. And here it is almost August and again, I have only been there one time.

As I was loading my groceries into the car in the parking lot of the store, a phrase came to mind:

"Carpe diam."

In this crazy life we all live, we need to take things as they come - even if they aren't on our schedules. For we never know what tomorrow will bring, and if we will have the opportunity again.

Natural material Beach Bivalve Sand Soil


I am glad I made the decision to go to the beach. Not only did I get some quality work done, but I also had some time for myself to relax and regroup. I believe in the saying "if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be good to anyone else." We need these times to feed our souls so that we are able to be the best we can be.

I plan to make go more often.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.
Amen. Well spoken
 

Attachments

#6,012 ·
Snowmen on the Beach

I am going to start out by talking about the new designs I have been working on. As they are evolving into reality, they are becoming more interesting and fun. One of the single ideas that I had seems to be evolving into several different possibilities, like the branches of a tree growing from the trunk. It is rather exciting because these concepts can be applied to several others I have been thinking about, creating a whole new range of patterns. that really makes it fun.

It all began with a little snowman I drew the other day on the beach. While I was listening to the waves gently washing against the sandy shore, and the sun was shining down on me as I lay on my blanket, I had the idea to draw a snowman. And then another. And another. Soon, I had a little army of six snowmen looking back at me in the bright sun and I had some really 'cool' thoughts as to how I wanted to use him.

Below is a picture of part of one of them:

Hair Nose Head Chin Hand


Now he may look a little plain now, but I have some nice plans for him (and also his buddies!) I plan on using him not only in some nice scroll sawing plans, but in some tole painting projects, too. I can barely wait to start cutting and getting going on them. It feels good to be so excited about work! You will just have to hang around and see what I come up with though. :)

An another subject, I went past the mill yesterday and took some pictures for those of you who wanted to see it. We had another perfect day here weather wise and I must admit, after hearing how many of you around the globe are either roasting or drowning, I feel very fortunate being where I am. We have had many sunny days, and some nice functional rain in between. Last night it rained and it is still a bit overcast and breezy today, but it is very welcome and the grasses are green and lush. It has been the perfect mix of sun and rain and while it has been warm, it hasn't really reached hot except a couple of days. Even then, when the sun sets the temperatures drop to a comfortable level. As I said - we are very fortunate.

So here are the photographs of the mill.

On the first picture, you can see that the river is now being held to a higher level.

Water Plant Sky Building Tree


The second picture gives you a better idea of the structure itself. The entire right side (close to the mill) was blown out in a storm early last year. This resulted in the river behind it being almost dry most of the year, with all the debris being exposed. Not only was it ugly, but it was quite depressing to see all the dead trees and branches left from the mill further up the river. With the economy the way it is, I can understand that the federal monies were probably not as available to repair it, and I was starting to wonder if they would even bother. I can't tell you how happy it made me to see them working on it over the past couple of weeks.

Water Plant Sky Wheel Tree


And the final picture of the mill:

Plant Sky Water Cloud Tree


It still looks quite picturesque. I don't know if they are going to do additional aesthetic work on the structure to match the new side to the old side, but it is a definite improvement and even if they leave it as it is, I'll take it. Already, the dry trees have floated to the surface when the water lever went up and they were able to harvest them and remove them from the river. It looks nice again, and hopefully by next year the mill itself will be open for the tourists.

I had more to talk about, as we made a quick trip to Yarmouth last night to get some necessities. But I will save that for another day. I do want to share a picture of the sunset as we rode home. I didn't retouch the pictures at all - the new camera captured the beauty and colors just as we saw them.

Cloud Sky Atmosphere Afterglow Road surface


Have a wonderful Wednesday.
 

Attachments

#6,013 ·
Snowmen on the Beach

I am going to start out by talking about the new designs I have been working on. As they are evolving into reality, they are becoming more interesting and fun. One of the single ideas that I had seems to be evolving into several different possibilities, like the branches of a tree growing from the trunk. It is rather exciting because these concepts can be applied to several others I have been thinking about, creating a whole new range of patterns. that really makes it fun.

It all began with a little snowman I drew the other day on the beach. While I was listening to the waves gently washing against the sandy shore, and the sun was shining down on me as I lay on my blanket, I had the idea to draw a snowman. And then another. And another. Soon, I had a little army of six snowmen looking back at me in the bright sun and I had some really 'cool' thoughts as to how I wanted to use him.

Below is a picture of part of one of them:

Hair Nose Head Chin Hand


Now he may look a little plain now, but I have some nice plans for him (and also his buddies!) I plan on using him not only in some nice scroll sawing plans, but in some tole painting projects, too. I can barely wait to start cutting and getting going on them. It feels good to be so excited about work! You will just have to hang around and see what I come up with though. :)

An another subject, I went past the mill yesterday and took some pictures for those of you who wanted to see it. We had another perfect day here weather wise and I must admit, after hearing how many of you around the globe are either roasting or drowning, I feel very fortunate being where I am. We have had many sunny days, and some nice functional rain in between. Last night it rained and it is still a bit overcast and breezy today, but it is very welcome and the grasses are green and lush. It has been the perfect mix of sun and rain and while it has been warm, it hasn't really reached hot except a couple of days. Even then, when the sun sets the temperatures drop to a comfortable level. As I said - we are very fortunate.

So here are the photographs of the mill.

On the first picture, you can see that the river is now being held to a higher level.

Water Plant Sky Building Tree


The second picture gives you a better idea of the structure itself. The entire right side (close to the mill) was blown out in a storm early last year. This resulted in the river behind it being almost dry most of the year, with all the debris being exposed. Not only was it ugly, but it was quite depressing to see all the dead trees and branches left from the mill further up the river. With the economy the way it is, I can understand that the federal monies were probably not as available to repair it, and I was starting to wonder if they would even bother. I can't tell you how happy it made me to see them working on it over the past couple of weeks.

Water Plant Sky Wheel Tree


And the final picture of the mill:

Plant Sky Water Cloud Tree


It still looks quite picturesque. I don't know if they are going to do additional aesthetic work on the structure to match the new side to the old side, but it is a definite improvement and even if they leave it as it is, I'll take it. Already, the dry trees have floated to the surface when the water lever went up and they were able to harvest them and remove them from the river. It looks nice again, and hopefully by next year the mill itself will be open for the tourists.

I had more to talk about, as we made a quick trip to Yarmouth last night to get some necessities. But I will save that for another day. I do want to share a picture of the sunset as we rode home. I didn't retouch the pictures at all - the new camera captured the beauty and colors just as we saw them.

Cloud Sky Atmosphere Afterglow Road surface


Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Hi Sheila;

It's nice to see places like that being restored. It's specially important in this economy. Kind of leads people to begin hoping their own situations will soon be restored as well.

Nice photo.

Lee
 

Attachments

#6,019 ·
Uncharted Territory

I awoke early this morning (even early for me!) I suppose that I was anxious to begin the day. It was still dark out, which is unusual these days, as most of the time by the time I get up the sun is already beginning to illuminate the morning sky. I can feel the days getting shorter though, and I know that it won't be long before I will be writing here in the dark in the mornings. Autumn is certainly on its way.

I had a very productive day yesterday. Not only was I able to finish my drawings on the computer of the new project that I am doing, but I also managed to cut it out completely. I am very pleased with it. While it is simple, it is cheerful and fun and I have many different versions that I am going to make it in which will appeal (hopefully!) to many different people.

I like projects like that. I like when I have one idea and can apply the design to many different formats. While some things I make don't fall into that criteria, many of them do and I sometimes don't take the time to fully develop all the different aspects of the designs that I can. But this time I think I will explore at least a couple of them, and see what the response will be.

I finished my cutting around 8pm last night, so what you will see today is just the basic cut pieces. I didn't even sand anything yet, as I want to sand them outside with the orbital sander and besides being dark, it had drizzled off and on the entire day so it was quite damp outside. Besides, I had started my day quite early and I just wanted to take an easy night and spend the last couple of hours putzing around. So what you see here is not by any means 'finished.'

Below is what I decided to do with my snowmen:

Hand Gesture Wood Font Creative arts


It seems that 'word art' has become increasingly popular, and so have those little blocks of letters which spell different seasonal phrases. I like the block idea because instead of a sign, you can arrange them a bit and have the flexibility to make them fit into any spaces that you may have available. You can even make some little vignettes by adding pieces to the set, such as trees and so forth and they will look nice either on a shelf, mantle or cabinet. But square blocks can be boring and I thought that giving them cute little shapes would be more appealing, and I haven't really seen it done before (although I am certain it must have been!)

These pieces are about 5/8" thick and stand on their own, but there is also the possibility of cutting them from thin stock and arranging them in a wreath or on a garland or even use them as ornaments. You can see where I am going here, and the sky is the limit to the possibilities.

While I am not the best cartoonist around, I find that I am getting a bit better at it. Most of my drawings I devise from realistic subject matter - be it in person or through photographs - and only in the last couple of years have I dedicated myself to learning how to draw in a non-realistic style. That is something that may seem easy to most of you, but for me it was very difficult. After many years of drawing only with a reference, and trying to capture every detail, this 'drawing out of my head' idea was quite a stretch for me. I was afraid that I didn't have enough 'imagination' to pull it off. As I sat on the beach the other day, looking at the blank pad of paper in front of me I felt quite intimidated. There was no computer filled with pictures and photos for me to reference and I felt like I was on a high wire without a safety net walking over Niagara Falls. It was quite unsettling.

But the atmosphere helped and I just started sketching. It was a good thing that I brought a separate eraser with me, as I would have used every last bit of the one on the end of the pencil, but I finally started making something that didn't look hideous and actually evolved into something rather 'cute.' It was a step in the right direction and the first one on a new path for me that I will definitely follow.

I am sure that over time I will begin to develop my own 'style' and find a comfortable place with this type of drawing. I had done some simple cartoon type drawing before when I created my "See Creature Eyeglass Holders" and those were well received. For the most part however, this is an area that I have not really explored yet. But for now, I think I had a decent start. At least good enough to keep on pursuing this.

So the day was good. And I am up and anxious to continue on with this project in the several forms that I envision it. There is much to do today and I want to get right at it as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoy them.

Head Hand Plant Shoe Human body


Have a wonderful Thursday.
 

Attachments

#6,020 ·
Uncharted Territory

I awoke early this morning (even early for me!) I suppose that I was anxious to begin the day. It was still dark out, which is unusual these days, as most of the time by the time I get up the sun is already beginning to illuminate the morning sky. I can feel the days getting shorter though, and I know that it won't be long before I will be writing here in the dark in the mornings. Autumn is certainly on its way.

I had a very productive day yesterday. Not only was I able to finish my drawings on the computer of the new project that I am doing, but I also managed to cut it out completely. I am very pleased with it. While it is simple, it is cheerful and fun and I have many different versions that I am going to make it in which will appeal (hopefully!) to many different people.

I like projects like that. I like when I have one idea and can apply the design to many different formats. While some things I make don't fall into that criteria, many of them do and I sometimes don't take the time to fully develop all the different aspects of the designs that I can. But this time I think I will explore at least a couple of them, and see what the response will be.

I finished my cutting around 8pm last night, so what you will see today is just the basic cut pieces. I didn't even sand anything yet, as I want to sand them outside with the orbital sander and besides being dark, it had drizzled off and on the entire day so it was quite damp outside. Besides, I had started my day quite early and I just wanted to take an easy night and spend the last couple of hours putzing around. So what you see here is not by any means 'finished.'

Below is what I decided to do with my snowmen:

Hand Gesture Wood Font Creative arts


It seems that 'word art' has become increasingly popular, and so have those little blocks of letters which spell different seasonal phrases. I like the block idea because instead of a sign, you can arrange them a bit and have the flexibility to make them fit into any spaces that you may have available. You can even make some little vignettes by adding pieces to the set, such as trees and so forth and they will look nice either on a shelf, mantle or cabinet. But square blocks can be boring and I thought that giving them cute little shapes would be more appealing, and I haven't really seen it done before (although I am certain it must have been!)

These pieces are about 5/8" thick and stand on their own, but there is also the possibility of cutting them from thin stock and arranging them in a wreath or on a garland or even use them as ornaments. You can see where I am going here, and the sky is the limit to the possibilities.

While I am not the best cartoonist around, I find that I am getting a bit better at it. Most of my drawings I devise from realistic subject matter - be it in person or through photographs - and only in the last couple of years have I dedicated myself to learning how to draw in a non-realistic style. That is something that may seem easy to most of you, but for me it was very difficult. After many years of drawing only with a reference, and trying to capture every detail, this 'drawing out of my head' idea was quite a stretch for me. I was afraid that I didn't have enough 'imagination' to pull it off. As I sat on the beach the other day, looking at the blank pad of paper in front of me I felt quite intimidated. There was no computer filled with pictures and photos for me to reference and I felt like I was on a high wire without a safety net walking over Niagara Falls. It was quite unsettling.

But the atmosphere helped and I just started sketching. It was a good thing that I brought a separate eraser with me, as I would have used every last bit of the one on the end of the pencil, but I finally started making something that didn't look hideous and actually evolved into something rather 'cute.' It was a step in the right direction and the first one on a new path for me that I will definitely follow.

I am sure that over time I will begin to develop my own 'style' and find a comfortable place with this type of drawing. I had done some simple cartoon type drawing before when I created my "See Creature Eyeglass Holders" and those were well received. For the most part however, this is an area that I have not really explored yet. But for now, I think I had a decent start. At least good enough to keep on pursuing this.

So the day was good. And I am up and anxious to continue on with this project in the several forms that I envision it. There is much to do today and I want to get right at it as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoy them.

Head Hand Plant Shoe Human body


Have a wonderful Thursday.
Sheila they are GREAT

They have so many possibilities.

You are sooo clever.
 

Attachments

#6,031 ·
Timing Is Everything

Sometimes the best thing you can do for a project is nothing. But that can also be the most difficult part of the process when you are anxious to see the outcome, or are on a schedule to get it finished.

There have been many times when I have been guilty of rushing through something that I am making for one reason or another and I come to regret it. But as I get older (and supposedly wiser) and have more experience, I find that rushing through part of the process to finish is more often than not more costly in time than doing it the right way in the first place. And that is without even considering the quality of the outcome.

I am so pleased that so many of you liked my new winter snowman project yesterday. I received many nice comments from all of the places that I post this blog and it really made me feel like I am doing something right. Sometimes I find that I like an idea, but it doesn't really appeal to the masses. That's OK for some things, as I enjoy doing things for myself and I am rarely accused of being a mainstream thinker, but with project such as this, which are intended to be something that I want to market, acceptance is a large part of the equation. (After all, a girl needs to make a living!) It really makes me happy that doing something that I love making so much is something that others like too. I am encouraged.

I wanted to have the next stage ready to show you today, but that isn't really possible. Yesterday's preview was just that - a raw shot of the snowmen fresh off of the saw. They weren't even sanded properly, let alone finished as they should be. They were by no means a completed project and while they did look "OK", I knew that I could take them to a much higher level with the finishing process.

I sanded them and oiled them yesterday. By 'oiled' I mean I dipped them in a mineral oil bath and they were left to dry over night. I plan to finish them both with clear spray shellac and also with some acrylic stains as I have been doing with my other projects to give them a bit of color. I think both versions will be attractive and since I can't decide on which I like best, I will once again do both and offer the pattern that way to my customers.

But in order to be able to do that properly, I needed to do the hardest part of the project - wait. If I didn't allow the oil to absorb into the maple at least overnight, there would have been some issues in applying the acrylic stain as well as the spray finish. So I did other things.

I cut a set of the same figures ( just the perimeters) which I intend to use as a painting pattern. I think the designs are cute enough and that painters will enjoy them as well as the wood cutters. Besides, I have been saying that I have the urge to paint so what better opportunity is there than to turn these into a painting project? It will be a fun twist on the design and I am anxious to see it come out. So I have much to do today.

Since that is all that I have to say about that at this time, I thought I would bring up another subject that I have been thinking about the past day or so that kind of bugged me. It would be interesting to hear others' perspectives on it and figure out if it 'is just me' that it bothers.

The other night, we went to Yarmouth to do some errands. It was near dinner time, so we made a quick stop to the local Wendy's/Tim Horton's for a bite to eat. (Tim's is much like a Starbuck's. While they have coffee and donuts, they also have some sandwiches, too.)

While we were over on the Wendy's side eating, I noticed a digital clock counting on the far wall at Tim's.

Human body Font Visual effect lighting Magenta Automotive lighting


It caught my attention, because it wasn't counting the hours, but it kept resetting to zero and then counting the seconds. The first 10 seconds, the light was green. Then from 11 on it turned to red. Then when it got to 20 it started flashing as it counted. It was as if the clock had a life of its own and was yelling louder and louder for attention as it counted.

I watched this throughout the time I ate, trying to figure out from across the room what it was counting. At one point it reached as far as 348 and I thought that maybe it was just a fancy kind of time piece and nothing more. But as I continued to watch it, it again kept going back to zero. Sometimes reaching 28. Sometimes 35. One time it only reached 11 and then reset.

I found myself cheering for the clock and seeing how quickly it would change back to zero. And then I realized I was sucked in.

I kept mentioning this to Keith, as the clock was behind him and I certainly was getting on his nerves reporting the 'score' throughout the time we were eating. I was trying not to be rude to him, but it somehow fascinated me and I couldn't figure out what it was counting. I had to ask.

I hadn't purchased a beverage with my dinner anyway, so I decided to go get one over at Tim's. In the process, I would casually ask what the clock was for. I am sure that Keith was happy that he was all the way across the place, as he didn't want me to go ask, but I somehow needed to know what that clock was for.

When I bought my coffee, the lady was very sweet. She was a bit older than me, and could have been my mom. She was pleasant, but was running around at quite a pace, and working really hard doing things. She mentioned my 'accent' as many here do to create casual conversation and since no one was behind me for the moment, I took the opportunity to ask her what the clock was for.

She said "they time the drive through orders, and they grade us on them." My worst fears had come true. "You should see it in the morning" she said. "If we don't get those orders out fast enough, we sure hear about it!"

My heart sank. I thought "what a ********************ty place to work."

When I went back to the table and told Keith about it, he said he figured as much. While they didn't actually 'clock' him when he worked in the fish plant, they certainly kept track and speed was definitely a defining factor. Production rate was paramount and put above all else.

I must admit it rather depressed me. Here this nice older woman was running her tail off serving coffee and some suit is reading that stupid clock and tallying her numbers and little or no consideration is given to the quality of service that she offered. If she doesn't work fast enough, they had hard and clear numbers which enabled them to crack the whip harder at the threat of losing her job. Never mind the pleasantries. Never mind the smile. Is this what our world is coming to? And she is probably making minimum wage or near minimum wage, to boot.

You know, we walked out of there with a renewed sense of knowing how fortunate we are. Keith and I kidded and said we should install a 'digital counter' on our wall to see how quickly we can produce patterns. Both of us tend to get sidetracked sometimes. Most times it is with work related stuff like looking into new computer equipment or getting on the phone with a customer who has a question and becoming friends with them because they tell you all about their families or the organizations they are scrolling or painting the items for and we have an actual conversation. I can imagine that the woman at Tim's doesn't have that luxury.

I have heard that Wal-Mart does the same thing. I had a friend in Digby who was an incredible opera singer. His voice was like magic and he performed at places around town on occasion. But times being what they were, he needed to get a job at the local Wal-Mart to support his family. He told of how everything they do is timed, and if "x" amount of stock isn't moved, stacked, shelved in the given time, it would show on their record. It didn't consider whether the person doing the work was a 22 year old college student or a 68 year old person who couldn't quite survive on their retirement package. It was just a cold, indifferent figure that some corporate suit came up with.

It certainly is difficult sometimes to understand. I know I live on my own Pink Cloud and that everyone isn't always able to do that, but here on my cloud, I am the boss and we don't have rules like that. And we never will.

So I let my snowmen sit for the night and rest. It was more than the lady at Tim's could do, I am afraid. This morning I looked at them and they looked good and ready to go. I will be working on them today and if all goes well, they will be finished to show you tomorrow. If they take a bit longer, then so be it. At least I know they will be done correctly.

Have a wonderful Friday.
 

Attachments

#6,032 ·
Timing Is Everything

Sometimes the best thing you can do for a project is nothing. But that can also be the most difficult part of the process when you are anxious to see the outcome, or are on a schedule to get it finished.

There have been many times when I have been guilty of rushing through something that I am making for one reason or another and I come to regret it. But as I get older (and supposedly wiser) and have more experience, I find that rushing through part of the process to finish is more often than not more costly in time than doing it the right way in the first place. And that is without even considering the quality of the outcome.

I am so pleased that so many of you liked my new winter snowman project yesterday. I received many nice comments from all of the places that I post this blog and it really made me feel like I am doing something right. Sometimes I find that I like an idea, but it doesn't really appeal to the masses. That's OK for some things, as I enjoy doing things for myself and I am rarely accused of being a mainstream thinker, but with project such as this, which are intended to be something that I want to market, acceptance is a large part of the equation. (After all, a girl needs to make a living!) It really makes me happy that doing something that I love making so much is something that others like too. I am encouraged.

I wanted to have the next stage ready to show you today, but that isn't really possible. Yesterday's preview was just that - a raw shot of the snowmen fresh off of the saw. They weren't even sanded properly, let alone finished as they should be. They were by no means a completed project and while they did look "OK", I knew that I could take them to a much higher level with the finishing process.

I sanded them and oiled them yesterday. By 'oiled' I mean I dipped them in a mineral oil bath and they were left to dry over night. I plan to finish them both with clear spray shellac and also with some acrylic stains as I have been doing with my other projects to give them a bit of color. I think both versions will be attractive and since I can't decide on which I like best, I will once again do both and offer the pattern that way to my customers.

But in order to be able to do that properly, I needed to do the hardest part of the project - wait. If I didn't allow the oil to absorb into the maple at least overnight, there would have been some issues in applying the acrylic stain as well as the spray finish. So I did other things.

I cut a set of the same figures ( just the perimeters) which I intend to use as a painting pattern. I think the designs are cute enough and that painters will enjoy them as well as the wood cutters. Besides, I have been saying that I have the urge to paint so what better opportunity is there than to turn these into a painting project? It will be a fun twist on the design and I am anxious to see it come out. So I have much to do today.

Since that is all that I have to say about that at this time, I thought I would bring up another subject that I have been thinking about the past day or so that kind of bugged me. It would be interesting to hear others' perspectives on it and figure out if it 'is just me' that it bothers.

The other night, we went to Yarmouth to do some errands. It was near dinner time, so we made a quick stop to the local Wendy's/Tim Horton's for a bite to eat. (Tim's is much like a Starbuck's. While they have coffee and donuts, they also have some sandwiches, too.)

While we were over on the Wendy's side eating, I noticed a digital clock counting on the far wall at Tim's.

Human body Font Visual effect lighting Magenta Automotive lighting


It caught my attention, because it wasn't counting the hours, but it kept resetting to zero and then counting the seconds. The first 10 seconds, the light was green. Then from 11 on it turned to red. Then when it got to 20 it started flashing as it counted. It was as if the clock had a life of its own and was yelling louder and louder for attention as it counted.

I watched this throughout the time I ate, trying to figure out from across the room what it was counting. At one point it reached as far as 348 and I thought that maybe it was just a fancy kind of time piece and nothing more. But as I continued to watch it, it again kept going back to zero. Sometimes reaching 28. Sometimes 35. One time it only reached 11 and then reset.

I found myself cheering for the clock and seeing how quickly it would change back to zero. And then I realized I was sucked in.

I kept mentioning this to Keith, as the clock was behind him and I certainly was getting on his nerves reporting the 'score' throughout the time we were eating. I was trying not to be rude to him, but it somehow fascinated me and I couldn't figure out what it was counting. I had to ask.

I hadn't purchased a beverage with my dinner anyway, so I decided to go get one over at Tim's. In the process, I would casually ask what the clock was for. I am sure that Keith was happy that he was all the way across the place, as he didn't want me to go ask, but I somehow needed to know what that clock was for.

When I bought my coffee, the lady was very sweet. She was a bit older than me, and could have been my mom. She was pleasant, but was running around at quite a pace, and working really hard doing things. She mentioned my 'accent' as many here do to create casual conversation and since no one was behind me for the moment, I took the opportunity to ask her what the clock was for.

She said "they time the drive through orders, and they grade us on them." My worst fears had come true. "You should see it in the morning" she said. "If we don't get those orders out fast enough, we sure hear about it!"

My heart sank. I thought "what a ********************ty place to work."

When I went back to the table and told Keith about it, he said he figured as much. While they didn't actually 'clock' him when he worked in the fish plant, they certainly kept track and speed was definitely a defining factor. Production rate was paramount and put above all else.

I must admit it rather depressed me. Here this nice older woman was running her tail off serving coffee and some suit is reading that stupid clock and tallying her numbers and little or no consideration is given to the quality of service that she offered. If she doesn't work fast enough, they had hard and clear numbers which enabled them to crack the whip harder at the threat of losing her job. Never mind the pleasantries. Never mind the smile. Is this what our world is coming to? And she is probably making minimum wage or near minimum wage, to boot.

You know, we walked out of there with a renewed sense of knowing how fortunate we are. Keith and I kidded and said we should install a 'digital counter' on our wall to see how quickly we can produce patterns. Both of us tend to get sidetracked sometimes. Most times it is with work related stuff like looking into new computer equipment or getting on the phone with a customer who has a question and becoming friends with them because they tell you all about their families or the organizations they are scrolling or painting the items for and we have an actual conversation. I can imagine that the woman at Tim's doesn't have that luxury.

I have heard that Wal-Mart does the same thing. I had a friend in Digby who was an incredible opera singer. His voice was like magic and he performed at places around town on occasion. But times being what they were, he needed to get a job at the local Wal-Mart to support his family. He told of how everything they do is timed, and if "x" amount of stock isn't moved, stacked, shelved in the given time, it would show on their record. It didn't consider whether the person doing the work was a 22 year old college student or a 68 year old person who couldn't quite survive on their retirement package. It was just a cold, indifferent figure that some corporate suit came up with.

It certainly is difficult sometimes to understand. I know I live on my own Pink Cloud and that everyone isn't always able to do that, but here on my cloud, I am the boss and we don't have rules like that. And we never will.

So I let my snowmen sit for the night and rest. It was more than the lady at Tim's could do, I am afraid. This morning I looked at them and they looked good and ready to go. I will be working on them today and if all goes well, they will be finished to show you tomorrow. If they take a bit longer, then so be it. At least I know they will be done correctly.

Have a wonderful Friday.
Ah, the daily grind on the piece work merry- go- round!! How I miss those days---NOT. Spent 35 years on that treadmill when I was working in manufacturing. Don't miss those days at all. Always hated it when "they" sent the time study guy down to reset the piece rates. Now I am just treading water waiting for for the right time to retire and do what I want-scroll work.
Rick
 

Attachments

#6,041 ·
Is It Winter Yet???

My goodness it has been a hot summer! While it is slightly warmer than normal here in Nova Scotia, in reading posts from my friends all over the USA, it has been brutal. Summer, as many of you know is not my favorite season. I still maintain that I would rather 'bundle up' to get comfortable than to be nearly naked and still hot. Those of you who look at me with disdain when I express my love of winter need to remember these horridly hot days you are going through now before you mock me and my opinion. In many ways, the heat can be just as debilitating as the cold.

So what have I been doing on these hot summer days up here in Canada? Making snowmen, of course!

I came up with this idea on Monday when I was laying on the beach, roasting in the hot sun and dreaming of winter. It has been fun to plan this week and watch my idea evolve into not one, but several different projects for two different mediums - the woodworkers and the painters. And while some projects that appeal to both groups can be packaged in one pattern, I think that this one should be separated into two. Otherwise I am going to be over-cluttering each pattern with too much information and make it much more complicated than necessary. So two it is.

That doesn't mean however that there aren't going to be some options for the scrollers to try. While I am not going to put the detailed painting instructions in the scrolled pattern, I am going to offer the staining instructions. I feel that this no-muss-no-fuss method of adding color is something that would be fun and add a nice option for those who "hate to paint" in case they want to give it a try. I have shown this method before, and I have received very positive feedback on it from many woodworkers who have never attempted painting. So I will keep adding the instructions in to the pattern in hopes of encouraging people to give it a try.

But for the woodworker 'purists' who choose to leave the pieces natural, I think they look cute too. Hopefully everyone will be happy!

Here is the version of just oiled with mineral oil. (Of course you can just spray them with a clear coat of finish if you like. I haven't sprayed my pieces yet because I didn't want the reflection to interfere with the photography. The spray versions will have slightly more sheen:

Wood Gesture Font Recreation Toy


I love the warm and rich color the mineral oil gives the maple. They really look nice!

The next version is the set I stained using the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing Medium and Acrylic Paint. In doing this, I only used four colors and staining the entire set only took a short time:

Product Toy Textile Gesture Finger


Don't they look happy?

Costume hat Font Stuffed toy Octopus Plush


I think that they will make a fine project for the woodworker who doesn't want to paint, colored or not. if they don't want to do these as stand up figures, they could easily be cut (or stack cut for those who want several sets) of thin plywood and used as refrigerator magnets. Think of how cute they would be on the refrigerator. I am seriously thinking that I will include the entire alphabet in the set so that people can spell their own phrases (like "chill out!") or names with them. It would be easy and make the pattern even better.

I am now in the process of doing the second version which will be geared to my painting followers. I decided that I would use a painting medium to make the paint 'crackle' and look old. (the product I used is called Weathered Wood and it is by DecoArt) It will give it that old look and add some character to the snowmen.

Nose Hairstyle Eye Marine invertebrates Toy


I am only going to give you a preview of that now, as I am not finished with the set yet. I'll be working on that today, and I am thinking that showing the process of using the crackle medium correctly will be a great opportunity for me to do a video and try the new camera out. (By the way, the Sony Cybershot DSC-WX50 camera I just got is doing a wonderful job with the still shots. Lots of good features that are improvements of my older Cybershot camera. I will talk about that later on, if you want a review on a good camera under $200.)

So that is all I am going to show today. I have been incredibly busy with doing these and managing the web site. We are in the final two days of our sale we are running on the site. For those of you who have not heard, we are offering 25% off your entire order (excluding pens) until Sunday night at midnight. We don't do this often at all, but with the heat that everyone has had, I wanted to do something to encourage people to plan ahead and get into their shop when it cools down. I am so happy with the response from everyone, as I think we may have had the busiest day ever on the site. I think it is a great deal, as it also includes the sets, which already gave a substantial savings. One customer purchased all of the forest leaves and little leaves patterns (over 80 patterns) and saved a huge amount over the regular price. You all know I don't usually advertise here, but it is a great time to stock up on your holiday patterns, as we don't know when we will be doing anything like this again.

I sure do appreciate all the support from everyone. Friends, customers, and just people stopping by to say 'hi' or give a suggestion. I am really proud of our business and our service and I am happy to hear that our customers appreciate how hard we work to make things nice for everyone.

I wish you all a wonderful Saturday, and hope you are thinking 'cool' thoughts. Have a great day!
 

Attachments

#6,042 ·
Is It Winter Yet???

My goodness it has been a hot summer! While it is slightly warmer than normal here in Nova Scotia, in reading posts from my friends all over the USA, it has been brutal. Summer, as many of you know is not my favorite season. I still maintain that I would rather 'bundle up' to get comfortable than to be nearly naked and still hot. Those of you who look at me with disdain when I express my love of winter need to remember these horridly hot days you are going through now before you mock me and my opinion. In many ways, the heat can be just as debilitating as the cold.

So what have I been doing on these hot summer days up here in Canada? Making snowmen, of course!

I came up with this idea on Monday when I was laying on the beach, roasting in the hot sun and dreaming of winter. It has been fun to plan this week and watch my idea evolve into not one, but several different projects for two different mediums - the woodworkers and the painters. And while some projects that appeal to both groups can be packaged in one pattern, I think that this one should be separated into two. Otherwise I am going to be over-cluttering each pattern with too much information and make it much more complicated than necessary. So two it is.

That doesn't mean however that there aren't going to be some options for the scrollers to try. While I am not going to put the detailed painting instructions in the scrolled pattern, I am going to offer the staining instructions. I feel that this no-muss-no-fuss method of adding color is something that would be fun and add a nice option for those who "hate to paint" in case they want to give it a try. I have shown this method before, and I have received very positive feedback on it from many woodworkers who have never attempted painting. So I will keep adding the instructions in to the pattern in hopes of encouraging people to give it a try.

But for the woodworker 'purists' who choose to leave the pieces natural, I think they look cute too. Hopefully everyone will be happy!

Here is the version of just oiled with mineral oil. (Of course you can just spray them with a clear coat of finish if you like. I haven't sprayed my pieces yet because I didn't want the reflection to interfere with the photography. The spray versions will have slightly more sheen:

Wood Gesture Font Recreation Toy


I love the warm and rich color the mineral oil gives the maple. They really look nice!

The next version is the set I stained using the DecoArt Staining and Antiquing Medium and Acrylic Paint. In doing this, I only used four colors and staining the entire set only took a short time:

Product Toy Textile Gesture Finger


Don't they look happy?

Costume hat Font Stuffed toy Octopus Plush


I think that they will make a fine project for the woodworker who doesn't want to paint, colored or not. if they don't want to do these as stand up figures, they could easily be cut (or stack cut for those who want several sets) of thin plywood and used as refrigerator magnets. Think of how cute they would be on the refrigerator. I am seriously thinking that I will include the entire alphabet in the set so that people can spell their own phrases (like "chill out!") or names with them. It would be easy and make the pattern even better.

I am now in the process of doing the second version which will be geared to my painting followers. I decided that I would use a painting medium to make the paint 'crackle' and look old. (the product I used is called Weathered Wood and it is by DecoArt) It will give it that old look and add some character to the snowmen.

Nose Hairstyle Eye Marine invertebrates Toy


I am only going to give you a preview of that now, as I am not finished with the set yet. I'll be working on that today, and I am thinking that showing the process of using the crackle medium correctly will be a great opportunity for me to do a video and try the new camera out. (By the way, the Sony Cybershot DSC-WX50 camera I just got is doing a wonderful job with the still shots. Lots of good features that are improvements of my older Cybershot camera. I will talk about that later on, if you want a review on a good camera under $200.)

So that is all I am going to show today. I have been incredibly busy with doing these and managing the web site. We are in the final two days of our sale we are running on the site. For those of you who have not heard, we are offering 25% off your entire order (excluding pens) until Sunday night at midnight. We don't do this often at all, but with the heat that everyone has had, I wanted to do something to encourage people to plan ahead and get into their shop when it cools down. I am so happy with the response from everyone, as I think we may have had the busiest day ever on the site. I think it is a great deal, as it also includes the sets, which already gave a substantial savings. One customer purchased all of the forest leaves and little leaves patterns (over 80 patterns) and saved a huge amount over the regular price. You all know I don't usually advertise here, but it is a great time to stock up on your holiday patterns, as we don't know when we will be doing anything like this again.

I sure do appreciate all the support from everyone. Friends, customers, and just people stopping by to say 'hi' or give a suggestion. I am really proud of our business and our service and I am happy to hear that our customers appreciate how hard we work to make things nice for everyone.

I wish you all a wonderful Saturday, and hope you are thinking 'cool' thoughts. Have a great day!
I sure like watchin your projects come to life. These guys are really cool. :)
 

Attachments

#6,054 ·
Cracking Up

Well, I will start out this morning by saying that I think I am 'cracking up.' Maybe it's because I have been using this crackle paint on my new snowmen, or maybe it is just me, but I am certainly not thinking the way I should be.

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty good day. Besides another heavy day of traffic from the site (thank you everyone!) I spent the day painting the little snowmen pieces for the next pattern packet. As I showed yesterday, I am using a product that is new to me called 'Weathered Wood' by DecoArt. I think it is really cool and makes the snowmen look quite interesting because it makes the paint look 'crackled.'

I will begin by saying that I realize that there are many types of crackle paint that are available on the market. DecoArt alone has a couple of different types. I found it to be quite confusing as to which type would be best suited for this project that I was working on and I wasn't sure which one I would use to get the effect that I wanted.

I began my quest for information the way I usually do - I 'googled it' and searched for some instructions on using DecoArt crackle. I had just received a product from them called "DecoArt 1 Step Crackle" but the instructions were quite vague. When I plugged the name into Google, it seemed that most of what came up was where to purchase it or other people asking questions on how to use it properly. I found no clear and concise instructions on the application process.

I looked for videos, but there didn't seem to be anything helpful there either. The few videos on applying crackle were poorly done (with poor lighting or voice that you couldn't understand) and I really learned nothing. No one demonstrating the products looked confident enough for me to take advice from them. So I was stuck.

My friend Kelly suggested that I use Elmer's Glue to make a crackle. She does a lot of primitive stuff and likes it. But for one I didn't have any here and I was unsure about using it because I needed to continue painting layers on top of the crackle surface, and I knew that Elmer's reconstitutes with water so I didn't want to risk messing things up. Besides (and this is probably irrelevant and just me being childish) I was mad at the Elmer's people for mucking up their spray glue formula so I didn't want to use their products. (At this point you can visualize me sticking my tongue out at them!)

But in my cyber travels, I saw some information on another DecoArt product that I had right here. They had sent it with their introductory package that I received when I joined their 'Helping Artist' program. It was a product called Weathered Wood and it supposedly gave you a nice crackled finish.

Liquid Plant Fluid Spice Drink


While there were limited instructions that I found, it seemed like the kind of product that I wanted so I thought I would give it a try.

For once I was smart enough to try doing it on a board first instead of my piece. On my first attempt, I almost got the look I was going for, so I kept trying different things. After a little tweaking, I got it to work really well and I was very happy with the results. A nice crackled finish. YAY!!!!

Sleeve Cap Hat Art Pattern


I felt like I just discovered sliced bread! The more I used it, the easier it got, too and soon I had all my little snowmen painted. I was thrilled!

Baked goods Event Font Icing Snowman


I even was able to sneak in a little bit of 'sparkles' on the lettering to give them a little shimmer:

Wood Sleeve T-shirt Gesture Finger


But alas - stupidity once again came knocking at my door. It wasn't until I was finished (completely) and lined them up to see how they looked altogether that I noticed that I 'goofed.'

I had intended to have the colors of the scarves go red, blue, green, red, blue, green. But as you can see in the picture, they go red, blue, red, green, blue, green. :'(

While it may seem like a small thing, to me it looks "unbalanced" that way. What a dope I am!

So guess who is going to be painting at least two of the snowmen again today????

But me being me, I decided that I am going to do at least one video on applying the crackle finish. So out of these lemons, I will make some 'crackled' lemonade! :D

While it will mean another day probably until the patterns are ready, I think that people will enjoy seeing the process and after hunting around for decent instructions on using the stuff and not being able to find one, I can see that there is a real need to have this out there. Not only will people be able to apply this process to this snowman project, but also any other painting of this type that they may want to do.

So that will be my day today. Another day of being all cracked up. It looks like it is going to be another hot one too. I suppose I will have to dream of shoveling snow and building snowmen for now. But painting them will be the next best thing.

I wish you all a wonderful Sunday.
 

Attachments

#6,055 ·
Cracking Up

Well, I will start out this morning by saying that I think I am 'cracking up.' Maybe it's because I have been using this crackle paint on my new snowmen, or maybe it is just me, but I am certainly not thinking the way I should be.

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty good day. Besides another heavy day of traffic from the site (thank you everyone!) I spent the day painting the little snowmen pieces for the next pattern packet. As I showed yesterday, I am using a product that is new to me called 'Weathered Wood' by DecoArt. I think it is really cool and makes the snowmen look quite interesting because it makes the paint look 'crackled.'

I will begin by saying that I realize that there are many types of crackle paint that are available on the market. DecoArt alone has a couple of different types. I found it to be quite confusing as to which type would be best suited for this project that I was working on and I wasn't sure which one I would use to get the effect that I wanted.

I began my quest for information the way I usually do - I 'googled it' and searched for some instructions on using DecoArt crackle. I had just received a product from them called "DecoArt 1 Step Crackle" but the instructions were quite vague. When I plugged the name into Google, it seemed that most of what came up was where to purchase it or other people asking questions on how to use it properly. I found no clear and concise instructions on the application process.

I looked for videos, but there didn't seem to be anything helpful there either. The few videos on applying crackle were poorly done (with poor lighting or voice that you couldn't understand) and I really learned nothing. No one demonstrating the products looked confident enough for me to take advice from them. So I was stuck.

My friend Kelly suggested that I use Elmer's Glue to make a crackle. She does a lot of primitive stuff and likes it. But for one I didn't have any here and I was unsure about using it because I needed to continue painting layers on top of the crackle surface, and I knew that Elmer's reconstitutes with water so I didn't want to risk messing things up. Besides (and this is probably irrelevant and just me being childish) I was mad at the Elmer's people for mucking up their spray glue formula so I didn't want to use their products. (At this point you can visualize me sticking my tongue out at them!)

But in my cyber travels, I saw some information on another DecoArt product that I had right here. They had sent it with their introductory package that I received when I joined their 'Helping Artist' program. It was a product called Weathered Wood and it supposedly gave you a nice crackled finish.

Liquid Plant Fluid Spice Drink


While there were limited instructions that I found, it seemed like the kind of product that I wanted so I thought I would give it a try.

For once I was smart enough to try doing it on a board first instead of my piece. On my first attempt, I almost got the look I was going for, so I kept trying different things. After a little tweaking, I got it to work really well and I was very happy with the results. A nice crackled finish. YAY!!!!

Sleeve Cap Hat Art Pattern


I felt like I just discovered sliced bread! The more I used it, the easier it got, too and soon I had all my little snowmen painted. I was thrilled!

Baked goods Event Font Icing Snowman


I even was able to sneak in a little bit of 'sparkles' on the lettering to give them a little shimmer:

Wood Sleeve T-shirt Gesture Finger


But alas - stupidity once again came knocking at my door. It wasn't until I was finished (completely) and lined them up to see how they looked altogether that I noticed that I 'goofed.'

I had intended to have the colors of the scarves go red, blue, green, red, blue, green. But as you can see in the picture, they go red, blue, red, green, blue, green. :'(

While it may seem like a small thing, to me it looks "unbalanced" that way. What a dope I am!

So guess who is going to be painting at least two of the snowmen again today????

But me being me, I decided that I am going to do at least one video on applying the crackle finish. So out of these lemons, I will make some 'crackled' lemonade! :D

While it will mean another day probably until the patterns are ready, I think that people will enjoy seeing the process and after hunting around for decent instructions on using the stuff and not being able to find one, I can see that there is a real need to have this out there. Not only will people be able to apply this process to this snowman project, but also any other painting of this type that they may want to do.

So that will be my day today. Another day of being all cracked up. It looks like it is going to be another hot one too. I suppose I will have to dream of shoveling snow and building snowmen for now. But painting them will be the next best thing.

I wish you all a wonderful Sunday.
Sheila…Those look great!!!

Nice job.

Lee
 

Attachments

#6,069 ·
The Crackle Finish Video is Posted

After showing the snowmen ornaments in which I had used the crackle finish, I had many people write and ask me questions about the product. I thought it would be a good time to try out the new camera and make a video showing how to apply the product.

Things went fairly well, but as with learning anything new, there are a couple of 'glitches' that I had to deal with. I did a little better with the filming itself, although at the end of the video, I accidentally dropped the heat gun and it kind of ruined the ending. Of course, this was after the entire process was complete, so instead or shooting the whole thing over again, I just edited it and re shot the ending.

The only other real issue that I had was that since the camera had the capability to shoot in a higher quality, I thought I would give it a go. I was really impressed with the picture and how every bit of crackle could be seen. The downside of that was that the file was very large, and converting it to video as well as uploading it to YouTube took several hours.

Since I finished relatively early in the afternoon, I decided to give it a go - even though I know that YouTube pares down videos on their own side and it would be of a lesser quality once it was on my account. The process of uploading it took over five hours to complete, which was fine because I am patient. But one thing that I didn't expect was that I think after all was said and done the the video was up, I accidentally hit the "cancel" button and lost it. I spent the next hour or so trying to find out what I did but the video was nowhere to be found.

It was already after 9pm, and I wanted to have it ready for this morning, so I opted to go to the medium quality and re-saved it in a lower resolution format and re uploaded it. It finished a bit after midnight, and I do think it is OK as you can see what I am doing rather clearly, but it isn't as crisp and clear as it was in the higher resolution.

In any case, here is the video:



In watching it this morning again, I think it is a bit long and I am considering re-shooting it. Initially, I wanted to show things in actual time so that you can all see how long the drying time is in between layers, but as I mention in the video itself, it is not very exciting to "watch paint dry" and I could easily cut away and come back without the tedium of watching me dry the areas with the heat gun. Your thoughts on this would be most helpful for future 'productions' of mine.

While waiting for it to upload, I was able to finish painting the two incorrectly colored pieces and now they are all happy snowmen again:

Food Gesture Font Baked goods Sweetness


Learning new things is sometimes tough. I am still rather clumsy with getting around with the new camera. By that I mean using the proper settings and such and finding which one works best in which situation. There are no written instructions really - just a quick start up book. The meat of the instructions are in the 'in camera guide' and I find it somewhat difficult to fumble through everything to find what I need. Then unfortunately when I get to the subject I question (such as "delete multiple images") it gives me a definition of what that means, rather than how to do it (such as "permanently deletes many images at once") Well, DUH! But how the heck do you go about it???

I finally figured it out, but it wasn't because I had any assistance from the manual. While I love the camera and think it is a big step up from what I was using, the one thing I don't like about it is that you can't delete images from your own computer. You can view them, but not delete them. That means you are stuck fumbling through files and folders and getting rid of them one at a time from the small screen. I have worked my way around it by just dragging the whole folder to my desk and then dumping it in its entirety on the camera, but it is an extra step that I don't like.

Anyway, I am learning.

Today I will be working on the pattern packets for both of these projects. I hope to finish by today, and have them up on the site soon. That should keep me busy for most of the day.

Today is a civic holiday in Canada, so many things are closed. It is a good day to get caught up after the busy weekend. I hope you all enjoy the video. I am trying my best to make videos that are informative and helpful. While I know that I am not ready for Hollywood yet, I am trying to get a little better with each one.

Gesture Artifact Font Art Tree


Have a great Monday!
 

Attachments

#6,070 ·
The Crackle Finish Video is Posted

After showing the snowmen ornaments in which I had used the crackle finish, I had many people write and ask me questions about the product. I thought it would be a good time to try out the new camera and make a video showing how to apply the product.

Things went fairly well, but as with learning anything new, there are a couple of 'glitches' that I had to deal with. I did a little better with the filming itself, although at the end of the video, I accidentally dropped the heat gun and it kind of ruined the ending. Of course, this was after the entire process was complete, so instead or shooting the whole thing over again, I just edited it and re shot the ending.

The only other real issue that I had was that since the camera had the capability to shoot in a higher quality, I thought I would give it a go. I was really impressed with the picture and how every bit of crackle could be seen. The downside of that was that the file was very large, and converting it to video as well as uploading it to YouTube took several hours.

Since I finished relatively early in the afternoon, I decided to give it a go - even though I know that YouTube pares down videos on their own side and it would be of a lesser quality once it was on my account. The process of uploading it took over five hours to complete, which was fine because I am patient. But one thing that I didn't expect was that I think after all was said and done the the video was up, I accidentally hit the "cancel" button and lost it. I spent the next hour or so trying to find out what I did but the video was nowhere to be found.

It was already after 9pm, and I wanted to have it ready for this morning, so I opted to go to the medium quality and re-saved it in a lower resolution format and re uploaded it. It finished a bit after midnight, and I do think it is OK as you can see what I am doing rather clearly, but it isn't as crisp and clear as it was in the higher resolution.

In any case, here is the video:



In watching it this morning again, I think it is a bit long and I am considering re-shooting it. Initially, I wanted to show things in actual time so that you can all see how long the drying time is in between layers, but as I mention in the video itself, it is not very exciting to "watch paint dry" and I could easily cut away and come back without the tedium of watching me dry the areas with the heat gun. Your thoughts on this would be most helpful for future 'productions' of mine.

While waiting for it to upload, I was able to finish painting the two incorrectly colored pieces and now they are all happy snowmen again:

Food Gesture Font Baked goods Sweetness


Learning new things is sometimes tough. I am still rather clumsy with getting around with the new camera. By that I mean using the proper settings and such and finding which one works best in which situation. There are no written instructions really - just a quick start up book. The meat of the instructions are in the 'in camera guide' and I find it somewhat difficult to fumble through everything to find what I need. Then unfortunately when I get to the subject I question (such as "delete multiple images") it gives me a definition of what that means, rather than how to do it (such as "permanently deletes many images at once") Well, DUH! But how the heck do you go about it???

I finally figured it out, but it wasn't because I had any assistance from the manual. While I love the camera and think it is a big step up from what I was using, the one thing I don't like about it is that you can't delete images from your own computer. You can view them, but not delete them. That means you are stuck fumbling through files and folders and getting rid of them one at a time from the small screen. I have worked my way around it by just dragging the whole folder to my desk and then dumping it in its entirety on the camera, but it is an extra step that I don't like.

Anyway, I am learning.

Today I will be working on the pattern packets for both of these projects. I hope to finish by today, and have them up on the site soon. That should keep me busy for most of the day.

Today is a civic holiday in Canada, so many things are closed. It is a good day to get caught up after the busy weekend. I hope you all enjoy the video. I am trying my best to make videos that are informative and helpful. While I know that I am not ready for Hollywood yet, I am trying to get a little better with each one.

Gesture Artifact Font Art Tree


Have a great Monday!
Nice how-to video Sheila. A good demo of the crackle paint. Your snowmen all have such gr8 facial expressions, even if they are crackin-up. :)
 

Attachments

#6,075 ·
"A" Is For "Almost Done"

I had hoped to have the two pattern packets done today and ready to put up on the site today (the snowmen pattern for both scroll sawing and painting) but there was a lot going on and I had another idea and it rather slowed me down.

It's times like this when I am glad I am on a flexible schedule. And while I don't think these ideas are bad (quite the contrary!) they do tend to throw things out of kilter just a bit. Good thing I am the 'boss' and have the ability to make my own decisions about stuff like this.

What happened was I was going along there and preparing the elements of the patterns for the snowmen. Since I kind of designed both the scrolled version and the painted version kind of together, my design files and photographs were kind of mish-moshed together. The line work on the two sets is almost identical, except for the added 'stops' that would keep the pieces together when cutting the detail lines in with the scroll saw. So there really wasn't that much left to do in that department besides the final adjustments I make to the lines after actually cutting the pieces - strengthening certain areas as needed.

As I was working on the lettering, I had an idea. That is sometimes dangerous, but in this case, I thought of something that would make the pattern much better. Why not include the entire alphabet? It was a simple concept, but something that would really add to the value of the pattern, I though. Having all the letters included would instantly expand the possibilities of the pattern in both the painted and scroll sawn versions. Now, instead of spelling out just "winter", customers could use the snowmen for garlands ("Let It Snow!"), wreaths with the family name or perhaps "Welcome" spelled out by the snowmen, or just about anything they could think of. Including all the lettering would make the project even more cool and fun for everyone.

But including the entire alphabet meant that I would need to work on the other 20 letters and a couple of symbols to make them 'scrollable' and work when cutting. I spent most of the afternoon doing that and finished just around dinner time. And now I need to continue to write the actual instructions and text and assemble the packets. So I am a day behind what I anticipated, but I think it is well worth it. The extra time will make a nice pattern even nicer.

Toy Fawn Stuffed toy Woolen Cat


Sometimes things like that just happen. Ideas come to me as I am working on something and I need to take a bit more time and change up my schedule a bit. But especially when it is for the better of the pattern, I don't mind doing that at all.

I also talked with several customers yesterday through emails and on the phone. So many people send me ideas for designing that I just can't keep up. In addition to my own ideas, I have lots of great ideas that are offered to me and I really and truly do try to implement them as quickly as I can. I try not to feel overwhelmed with things and I realize that I can only do one thing at a time. I appreciate that everyone is pretty patient and I hope that they understand if I can't get to the ideas right off. I have to follow my own heart too.

When I awoke this morning, it was the first time in a while that it was almost completely dark outside. It was yet another clear reminder that before long, autumn will be here and the days will be much shorter. I am sorry to say that once again, my little "all season tree" is standing in the corner quite neglected. While it has its white lights on, it is quite naked otherwise. I had intended to adorn it with some summer ornaments and trinkets to give it personality through the summer season, but time once again got away from me.

I think about it more so now because it is on those dark mornings when I first awake that I admire it most. While dawn was just breaking when I began my day and soon after I awoke it was light, I know the days are coming when I will have a couple of hours of darkness in the early part of my day and will want it lit. I think that is when I give it the most attention.

So I will end here for today, as I am about an hour ahead of my normal time and I have several emails that I need to attend. I also have printing to do from the weekend orders, as the post office was closed yesterday and there are several orders that need to be shipped today. It will be a busy day.

I hope you all enjoy your day and do something you love.
 

Attachments

#6,076 ·
"A" Is For "Almost Done"

I had hoped to have the two pattern packets done today and ready to put up on the site today (the snowmen pattern for both scroll sawing and painting) but there was a lot going on and I had another idea and it rather slowed me down.

It's times like this when I am glad I am on a flexible schedule. And while I don't think these ideas are bad (quite the contrary!) they do tend to throw things out of kilter just a bit. Good thing I am the 'boss' and have the ability to make my own decisions about stuff like this.

What happened was I was going along there and preparing the elements of the patterns for the snowmen. Since I kind of designed both the scrolled version and the painted version kind of together, my design files and photographs were kind of mish-moshed together. The line work on the two sets is almost identical, except for the added 'stops' that would keep the pieces together when cutting the detail lines in with the scroll saw. So there really wasn't that much left to do in that department besides the final adjustments I make to the lines after actually cutting the pieces - strengthening certain areas as needed.

As I was working on the lettering, I had an idea. That is sometimes dangerous, but in this case, I thought of something that would make the pattern much better. Why not include the entire alphabet? It was a simple concept, but something that would really add to the value of the pattern, I though. Having all the letters included would instantly expand the possibilities of the pattern in both the painted and scroll sawn versions. Now, instead of spelling out just "winter", customers could use the snowmen for garlands ("Let It Snow!"), wreaths with the family name or perhaps "Welcome" spelled out by the snowmen, or just about anything they could think of. Including all the lettering would make the project even more cool and fun for everyone.

But including the entire alphabet meant that I would need to work on the other 20 letters and a couple of symbols to make them 'scrollable' and work when cutting. I spent most of the afternoon doing that and finished just around dinner time. And now I need to continue to write the actual instructions and text and assemble the packets. So I am a day behind what I anticipated, but I think it is well worth it. The extra time will make a nice pattern even nicer.

Toy Fawn Stuffed toy Woolen Cat


Sometimes things like that just happen. Ideas come to me as I am working on something and I need to take a bit more time and change up my schedule a bit. But especially when it is for the better of the pattern, I don't mind doing that at all.

I also talked with several customers yesterday through emails and on the phone. So many people send me ideas for designing that I just can't keep up. In addition to my own ideas, I have lots of great ideas that are offered to me and I really and truly do try to implement them as quickly as I can. I try not to feel overwhelmed with things and I realize that I can only do one thing at a time. I appreciate that everyone is pretty patient and I hope that they understand if I can't get to the ideas right off. I have to follow my own heart too.

When I awoke this morning, it was the first time in a while that it was almost completely dark outside. It was yet another clear reminder that before long, autumn will be here and the days will be much shorter. I am sorry to say that once again, my little "all season tree" is standing in the corner quite neglected. While it has its white lights on, it is quite naked otherwise. I had intended to adorn it with some summer ornaments and trinkets to give it personality through the summer season, but time once again got away from me.

I think about it more so now because it is on those dark mornings when I first awake that I admire it most. While dawn was just breaking when I began my day and soon after I awoke it was light, I know the days are coming when I will have a couple of hours of darkness in the early part of my day and will want it lit. I think that is when I give it the most attention.

So I will end here for today, as I am about an hour ahead of my normal time and I have several emails that I need to attend. I also have printing to do from the weekend orders, as the post office was closed yesterday and there are several orders that need to be shipped today. It will be a busy day.

I hope you all enjoy your day and do something you love.
This is why I love your patterns! You always think of awesome extras to make patterns even more valuable and special. All of your extra thought and work truly does show up in the quality of the patterns that you make. The snowmen are so cute, and I love the idea of making a wreath with my last name or welcome. Now the hard part will be deciding if I should scroll it or paint it…I'll have to do both and hang one at school.
 

Attachments

#6,080 ·
Cover Girl

No matter how many years I work with the magazine, I never get over the feeling I get when I have one of my projects featured on the cover of the magazine. There is a wonderful feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes with being on the cover, as it means that the publishers believe that my project is nice enough to entice readers passing by the news stand to stop and take notice, and perhaps purchase the issue. And that means a lot.

I just received word that the 2012 Holiday Issue of Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine is out. Over the past couple of days, the people in the forums have been talking about it, mentioning that they were starting to receive their copies in the mail. On one forum, it was mentioned that Keith and myself were well-represented in it, which of course we knew because we were the ones that submitted the projects and articles. But seeing the actual issue made things more 'real' and it was indeed exciting.

When I went to the CWW website, I was able to get my first look at the magazine. I was really pleased to see the cover, which was a collage of the many different varieties of ornaments that were included. The Holiday issue is known for its great variety of ornaments and this year was no different. The great part about it was that not only were two of my ornament projects featured on the cover, but two of Keith's as well.



The three holiday stars on the right are done by me, as well as the scroll sawn bell ornament. Keith contributed the beautiful filigree angel ornament as well as the traditional word art "rejoice" ornament. Between us we did pretty well, I think.

Besides the ornaments, I have a project featured that is a countdown to Christmas chalkboard calendar which can either sit on a mantle or you can add magnets on the back and put it on your refrigerator:



And finally, I have an article on using the textured paste (Margot's MUD) to decorate ornaments and woodworking projects quickly and easily using this fun product.

All in all, I think we did pretty well.

I love working with my editor Debbie on my submissions to the magazine. Debbie is always looking for something new and different and she encourages me to write articles which review different products and finishes that I have worked with that can be used to enhance projects and give them some additional interest.

This is right up my alley, as most of you know I work closely with DecoArt, which has a huge variety of products for just that purpose. I love being able to try new things and incorporate them into my designing. I don't always stick with only DecoArt, as I showed when working with Margot's MUD, but I get to choose new products that I feel are fun and easy to use and that woodworkers will hopefully try so they can add some variety to what they do. It is really fun to be able to work like this, and I look forward to trying other new things and reporting back to you all about them. Perhaps I will find something that will interest you too.

Today I am still finishing up the pattern packets. I had quite a bit of correspondences to answer yesterday, as well as several customer inquiries. Each day seems to get busier here and it is just how I like it. I am able to talk to so many nice people throughout the day and answer questions for them and fill orders and it really gives my job a lot of variety and makes it fun. While I had hoped to finish up on the patterns for the snowmen, I am not quite there yet and hope to do so today. There are only so many hours in the day.

For those of you who are waiting, I thank you for your patience. I know you understand the time it takes me to create good instructions and in the end, the wait will all be worth it (I hope!)

So with that said, I had better get to it today. I have orders to mail out and patterns to write and some other things that I am beginning to work on. It is going to be a great day.

I hope you have a wonderful day too! Happy Wednesday!
 

Attachments

#6,081 ·
Cover Girl

No matter how many years I work with the magazine, I never get over the feeling I get when I have one of my projects featured on the cover of the magazine. There is a wonderful feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes with being on the cover, as it means that the publishers believe that my project is nice enough to entice readers passing by the news stand to stop and take notice, and perhaps purchase the issue. And that means a lot.

I just received word that the 2012 Holiday Issue of Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine is out. Over the past couple of days, the people in the forums have been talking about it, mentioning that they were starting to receive their copies in the mail. On one forum, it was mentioned that Keith and myself were well-represented in it, which of course we knew because we were the ones that submitted the projects and articles. But seeing the actual issue made things more 'real' and it was indeed exciting.

When I went to the CWW website, I was able to get my first look at the magazine. I was really pleased to see the cover, which was a collage of the many different varieties of ornaments that were included. The Holiday issue is known for its great variety of ornaments and this year was no different. The great part about it was that not only were two of my ornament projects featured on the cover, but two of Keith's as well.

Organism Poster Illustration Event Advertising


The three holiday stars on the right are done by me, as well as the scroll sawn bell ornament. Keith contributed the beautiful filigree angel ornament as well as the traditional word art "rejoice" ornament. Between us we did pretty well, I think.

Besides the ornaments, I have a project featured that is a countdown to Christmas chalkboard calendar which can either sit on a mantle or you can add magnets on the back and put it on your refrigerator:

Purple Font Wood Rectangle Mythical creature


And finally, I have an article on using the textured paste (Margot's MUD) to decorate ornaments and woodworking projects quickly and easily using this fun product.

All in all, I think we did pretty well.

I love working with my editor Debbie on my submissions to the magazine. Debbie is always looking for something new and different and she encourages me to write articles which review different products and finishes that I have worked with that can be used to enhance projects and give them some additional interest.

This is right up my alley, as most of you know I work closely with DecoArt, which has a huge variety of products for just that purpose. I love being able to try new things and incorporate them into my designing. I don't always stick with only DecoArt, as I showed when working with Margot's MUD, but I get to choose new products that I feel are fun and easy to use and that woodworkers will hopefully try so they can add some variety to what they do. It is really fun to be able to work like this, and I look forward to trying other new things and reporting back to you all about them. Perhaps I will find something that will interest you too.

Today I am still finishing up the pattern packets. I had quite a bit of correspondences to answer yesterday, as well as several customer inquiries. Each day seems to get busier here and it is just how I like it. I am able to talk to so many nice people throughout the day and answer questions for them and fill orders and it really gives my job a lot of variety and makes it fun. While I had hoped to finish up on the patterns for the snowmen, I am not quite there yet and hope to do so today. There are only so many hours in the day.

For those of you who are waiting, I thank you for your patience. I know you understand the time it takes me to create good instructions and in the end, the wait will all be worth it (I hope!)

So with that said, I had better get to it today. I have orders to mail out and patterns to write and some other things that I am beginning to work on. It is going to be a great day.

I hope you have a wonderful day too! Happy Wednesday!
Sheila & Keith very well done.

It is a nice feeling to get in the front page

Even Dr Hook could not do that.



jamie
 

Attachments

#6,094 ·
Using My Time Wisely

I woke up this morning an hour or so early. Not because I was worried or troubled or ill or anything like that. But just because I wanted to start my day. These are the good days.

I have never really needed eight hours of sleep anyway. When the kids were small, I used to get by fine on about four hours a night on the average. There just always seems so much to do and time slips by so quickly. I remember once seeing an episode of 'Seinfeld' where Kramer was reading a book on Leonardo DaVinci and decided to emulate him by sleeping only 20 minutes every three hours. But that didn't turn out well for him, as when he finally did fall asleep, he was so exhausted that his girlfriend thought he was dead and put him in a sack and dumped him in the Hudson river. I don't know what made me think of that, but it was funny.

I don't think that I will be as extreme as Kramer, and I can honestly say that I am quite comfortable with about six hours a day. While every once in a while I do indulge in an afternoon nap, for the most part I do fine on what I get, and feel well throughout the day.

So what did I do with my extra hour this morning?

I took the time to read through some of my mail and then I actually settled down and proofread the two patterns that I finished yesterday. Even though I proof read them last night, I thought that one more going over was warranted before I sent them to Leldon for him to check.

Since I awoke at five, it was still dark. For the first time this season, I lit my little (naked, mind you) all season tree in the morning. I don't know why I find such comfort in these early morning hours, but I certainly felt it this morning. After making my morning coffee and settling down by my computer, my dear cat Pancakes came to curl up on my lap, as he is now. Many morning he sits here as I write my blog, and it is a nice and peaceful time for both of us. With the summer's heat later in the day, it is too uncomfortable for both he and I to have him sit on me, so it seems that he takes advantage of the cool morning hours to do so.

While I normally would put some soft classical music on, today seemed just fine listening to the birds waking up and enjoying the peaceful quiet. I was able to go through both patterns very thoroughly, and I did find several things that needed changing or rewording. Apparently for me, it is essential that I have complete quiet when doing a final read on my writings. I don't think I have the capacity to concentrate when other things are going on around me. Perhaps that is why I enjoy my quiet so much.

The patterns are both finished (the wood version and the painted version of the snowmen) and I am ready to put them up on the site. I always feel a certain amount of pride when completing patterns, as silly as it seems. While I use a basic 'template' as far as format and order that I teach the designs, I find that lately I veer away from the template more often and offer more specialized instructions which pertain to each individual project. I believe that this is in part due to the many questions that I receive from customers and people here, as the questions that are asked serve to teach me how to be a better instructor. They show me what I may have not explained clearly enough in the past and I try to do a bit better.

We all learn from each other it seems.

So what is on the agenda today?

I believe that I will do a quick file organization and begin working on my next project. I have had many requests lately for patterns and while I know there is no way that I can get them all done, I will try to do what I can. I also have many ideas of my own that I need to work on. There is just a never ending flow of ideas, it seems. (What a wonderful state to be in!)

So I will take my extra hour and put it to good use. As I look at the clock now, I see that I have already been up for about three hours. I got a lot done this morning already and it isn't even 8am yet. That is just how I like it.

Bat Font Watch Clock Tail


Enjoy your day today! May the time you have been given used to its best advantage.

"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Attachments

#6,095 ·
Using My Time Wisely

I woke up this morning an hour or so early. Not because I was worried or troubled or ill or anything like that. But just because I wanted to start my day. These are the good days.

I have never really needed eight hours of sleep anyway. When the kids were small, I used to get by fine on about four hours a night on the average. There just always seems so much to do and time slips by so quickly. I remember once seeing an episode of 'Seinfeld' where Kramer was reading a book on Leonardo DaVinci and decided to emulate him by sleeping only 20 minutes every three hours. But that didn't turn out well for him, as when he finally did fall asleep, he was so exhausted that his girlfriend thought he was dead and put him in a sack and dumped him in the Hudson river. I don't know what made me think of that, but it was funny.

I don't think that I will be as extreme as Kramer, and I can honestly say that I am quite comfortable with about six hours a day. While every once in a while I do indulge in an afternoon nap, for the most part I do fine on what I get, and feel well throughout the day.

So what did I do with my extra hour this morning?

I took the time to read through some of my mail and then I actually settled down and proofread the two patterns that I finished yesterday. Even though I proof read them last night, I thought that one more going over was warranted before I sent them to Leldon for him to check.

Since I awoke at five, it was still dark. For the first time this season, I lit my little (naked, mind you) all season tree in the morning. I don't know why I find such comfort in these early morning hours, but I certainly felt it this morning. After making my morning coffee and settling down by my computer, my dear cat Pancakes came to curl up on my lap, as he is now. Many morning he sits here as I write my blog, and it is a nice and peaceful time for both of us. With the summer's heat later in the day, it is too uncomfortable for both he and I to have him sit on me, so it seems that he takes advantage of the cool morning hours to do so.

While I normally would put some soft classical music on, today seemed just fine listening to the birds waking up and enjoying the peaceful quiet. I was able to go through both patterns very thoroughly, and I did find several things that needed changing or rewording. Apparently for me, it is essential that I have complete quiet when doing a final read on my writings. I don't think I have the capacity to concentrate when other things are going on around me. Perhaps that is why I enjoy my quiet so much.

The patterns are both finished (the wood version and the painted version of the snowmen) and I am ready to put them up on the site. I always feel a certain amount of pride when completing patterns, as silly as it seems. While I use a basic 'template' as far as format and order that I teach the designs, I find that lately I veer away from the template more often and offer more specialized instructions which pertain to each individual project. I believe that this is in part due to the many questions that I receive from customers and people here, as the questions that are asked serve to teach me how to be a better instructor. They show me what I may have not explained clearly enough in the past and I try to do a bit better.

We all learn from each other it seems.

So what is on the agenda today?

I believe that I will do a quick file organization and begin working on my next project. I have had many requests lately for patterns and while I know there is no way that I can get them all done, I will try to do what I can. I also have many ideas of my own that I need to work on. There is just a never ending flow of ideas, it seems. (What a wonderful state to be in!)

So I will take my extra hour and put it to good use. As I look at the clock now, I see that I have already been up for about three hours. I got a lot done this morning already and it isn't even 8am yet. That is just how I like it.

Bat Font Watch Clock Tail


Enjoy your day today! May the time you have been given used to its best advantage.

"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
LOL I luv Sienfeld, and Kramer fer sure…
 

Attachments

#6,097 ·
In Between

I am happy to say that the new patterns are up on the site and completely 'completed.' While they were finished yesterday, I wound up spending some more time re-taking photos and working on fine tuning things of that nature. While everything looked pretty good yesterday morning, I knew that I could do better on the presentation photos and we had a beautifully bright day so the lighting was optimal for re-shooting the pictures. To me it wasn't much of a decision.

Many times when I show what I am up to here on the blog, I take the pictures while it is still dark or near darkness. While they are for the most part acceptable to get my point across, using the artificial light we have in the kitchen tends to give a yellowish cast to everything. I am able to correct most of this with Photoshop, but for the final pictures I still rather prefer natural light, as the colors look truer and less washed out.

I do have an Ott Light True Color light, which helps quite a bit, but it can be a bit harsh depending on what I am shooting. We also have built a nice light box which works quite well for smaller things like Keith's pens and ornaments. It gives a controlled environment and allows for consistency in the photographs.

I have used all these options with a great deal of success. But depending on what I want to photograph, I need to decide the best way to go about taking the picture. The new camera that I have is quite a bit better in taking quality pictures in not so optimal settings I am finding. My biggest issue there is re-learning how to set things for the situation at hand, and I am still becoming comfortable with that. It is getting better though, and overall I am pleased with the overall improvements of the camera over my previous model.

So yesterday I spent most of the day working on the pictures and getting things ready to upload to the site. Keith is the self-appointed "site-master" (thank goodness!) as he has far more technical knowledge than I do and his organization skills far exceed mine. His favorite word is 'consistency' and he continually strives to have everything on the site consistent. While I am no slouch in that department, I approach the site stuff much as I would an old fashioned game of horse shoes - close is good enough for me. It isn't that I don't want it to be right, but there are so many things on my plate at a given moment, I have to weigh what requires the most attention and tend to that first. But that is when I most appreciate having a good partner. He enjoys fine tuning the website and I believe that a great deal of the success we have had with it is attributed to his hard work. He turns my 'close enoughs' into 'dead ringers ' and makes it better all around.

Cat Carnivore Felidae Grey Small to medium-sized cats


Having someone around with such a high standard of things also helps to raise my own standard. It is very difficult (for me it is, anyway) to not give a full and 100% effort when the person next to you obviously is. Between the two of us, we have this positive domino effect of raising the bar for each other continually. There is a good, healthy competition between us that drives each of us to push just a little bit harder. In this case, everybody wins because not only is our own personal level of work raised a bit, but it offers better products, services and presentation for our customers in the process. It is very good for our company and our overall attitude.

While I was doing my thing, Keith was in the process of re-naming and replacing many of the older pictures on the site. I started the site over ten years ago, and I must admit that I had little knowledge of what I was doing. I knew nothing then about files sizes and all the internal factors that made a website run efficiently and work properly. Some of my pictures that I had there were huge files. Others were close to thumb nails. Some products had several versions of them uploaded to the server, leaving many excess 'dead' files to clutter things up. Behind the scenes, it was quite a mess.

Keith noticed this and began cleaning house on the back of the site. He found that in order to get a good Google ranking, certain things behind the scenes are considered, such as file names, keywords and types of files that are on your site. Even having things like the word "approximately" too many times (as in when giving measurements of a product) could skew your rating one way or another. Things like this never crossed my mind. So Keith has dedicated himself to going through all the product folders and sorting and resizing and renaming all the files which is a monumental task. He works on it a couple of hours a day between his normal work and while you may not see it on the front of the site, it certainly helps with the organization behind the scenes. We believe it has helped with our ratings too, as we have been edging up on Google and other search engines. Again, it is time well spent.

So with that all said, we have reached another plateau. I am ready to gear up to begin drawing again and move on to the next project. I have many directions that I wish to go in, and that alone seems to slow me down. After yesterdays' discussion of time management, I talked with some about the value of creating lists to get organized and accomplished. What I didn't talk about were situations when the list was long and full and there were many directions in which to head. I find that this sometimes overwhelms me and I wind up accomplishing little or nothing, as I can't make up my mind as to what to do first.

When this happens, I need to take my own advice and just pick one idea and run with it. It is much like jumping into a swimming pool when you know the water isn't quite as warm as you would like. By slowly submerging yourself, you tend to only make the torture last longer. By just jumping in all at once, within seconds you are over the anxiety and in a good place and not thinking about it anymore.

So that's the plan for today. I will pick my subject and begin to draw again. I can't really tell you what I am going to choose, because at this very moment I am not sure myself. I will look at the list and just pick something and go with it and see what it brings. You will have to come back tomorrow to see what I choose.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Whiskers


Have a happy Friday!
 

Attachments

#6,098 ·
In Between

I am happy to say that the new patterns are up on the site and completely 'completed.' While they were finished yesterday, I wound up spending some more time re-taking photos and working on fine tuning things of that nature. While everything looked pretty good yesterday morning, I knew that I could do better on the presentation photos and we had a beautifully bright day so the lighting was optimal for re-shooting the pictures. To me it wasn't much of a decision.

Many times when I show what I am up to here on the blog, I take the pictures while it is still dark or near darkness. While they are for the most part acceptable to get my point across, using the artificial light we have in the kitchen tends to give a yellowish cast to everything. I am able to correct most of this with Photoshop, but for the final pictures I still rather prefer natural light, as the colors look truer and less washed out.

I do have an Ott Light True Color light, which helps quite a bit, but it can be a bit harsh depending on what I am shooting. We also have built a nice light box which works quite well for smaller things like Keith's pens and ornaments. It gives a controlled environment and allows for consistency in the photographs.

I have used all these options with a great deal of success. But depending on what I want to photograph, I need to decide the best way to go about taking the picture. The new camera that I have is quite a bit better in taking quality pictures in not so optimal settings I am finding. My biggest issue there is re-learning how to set things for the situation at hand, and I am still becoming comfortable with that. It is getting better though, and overall I am pleased with the overall improvements of the camera over my previous model.

So yesterday I spent most of the day working on the pictures and getting things ready to upload to the site. Keith is the self-appointed "site-master" (thank goodness!) as he has far more technical knowledge than I do and his organization skills far exceed mine. His favorite word is 'consistency' and he continually strives to have everything on the site consistent. While I am no slouch in that department, I approach the site stuff much as I would an old fashioned game of horse shoes - close is good enough for me. It isn't that I don't want it to be right, but there are so many things on my plate at a given moment, I have to weigh what requires the most attention and tend to that first. But that is when I most appreciate having a good partner. He enjoys fine tuning the website and I believe that a great deal of the success we have had with it is attributed to his hard work. He turns my 'close enoughs' into 'dead ringers ' and makes it better all around.

Cat Carnivore Felidae Grey Small to medium-sized cats


Having someone around with such a high standard of things also helps to raise my own standard. It is very difficult (for me it is, anyway) to not give a full and 100% effort when the person next to you obviously is. Between the two of us, we have this positive domino effect of raising the bar for each other continually. There is a good, healthy competition between us that drives each of us to push just a little bit harder. In this case, everybody wins because not only is our own personal level of work raised a bit, but it offers better products, services and presentation for our customers in the process. It is very good for our company and our overall attitude.

While I was doing my thing, Keith was in the process of re-naming and replacing many of the older pictures on the site. I started the site over ten years ago, and I must admit that I had little knowledge of what I was doing. I knew nothing then about files sizes and all the internal factors that made a website run efficiently and work properly. Some of my pictures that I had there were huge files. Others were close to thumb nails. Some products had several versions of them uploaded to the server, leaving many excess 'dead' files to clutter things up. Behind the scenes, it was quite a mess.

Keith noticed this and began cleaning house on the back of the site. He found that in order to get a good Google ranking, certain things behind the scenes are considered, such as file names, keywords and types of files that are on your site. Even having things like the word "approximately" too many times (as in when giving measurements of a product) could skew your rating one way or another. Things like this never crossed my mind. So Keith has dedicated himself to going through all the product folders and sorting and resizing and renaming all the files which is a monumental task. He works on it a couple of hours a day between his normal work and while you may not see it on the front of the site, it certainly helps with the organization behind the scenes. We believe it has helped with our ratings too, as we have been edging up on Google and other search engines. Again, it is time well spent.

So with that all said, we have reached another plateau. I am ready to gear up to begin drawing again and move on to the next project. I have many directions that I wish to go in, and that alone seems to slow me down. After yesterdays' discussion of time management, I talked with some about the value of creating lists to get organized and accomplished. What I didn't talk about were situations when the list was long and full and there were many directions in which to head. I find that this sometimes overwhelms me and I wind up accomplishing little or nothing, as I can't make up my mind as to what to do first.

When this happens, I need to take my own advice and just pick one idea and run with it. It is much like jumping into a swimming pool when you know the water isn't quite as warm as you would like. By slowly submerging yourself, you tend to only make the torture last longer. By just jumping in all at once, within seconds you are over the anxiety and in a good place and not thinking about it anymore.

So that's the plan for today. I will pick my subject and begin to draw again. I can't really tell you what I am going to choose, because at this very moment I am not sure myself. I will look at the list and just pick something and go with it and see what it brings. You will have to come back tomorrow to see what I choose.

Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Whiskers


Have a happy Friday!
Ok, if that's how you feel about it, I'll come back tomorrow!

Have a good day.

Lee
 

Attachments

#6,103 ·
Direction

I am once again moving in a forward direction.

It wasn't that I was stagnant or out of ideas or anything of that sort, it was just trying to make the decision as to which idea I would develop and which direction I needed to move in next was causing some apprehension. After all, choosing more than one direction can be counter-productive if not carefully considered, and I didn't want to make my decisions lightly.

There are so many ideas, details and opportunities in front of us. Something tells me that this is a crucial time in the life of our business. In a time where small businesses are struggling and dying, we find that we are still inching ahead in a positive direction. And that is a good thing. I realize that this is the result of the hard work that both Keith and I have put into the company. It was (and is!) our goal to grow and expand the business.

In the past couple of years, we have cast out multiple lines in the water in hopes of advancing the company a bit further. Now it seems that several of those lines are tugging at us all at once, yet we aren't quite sure which ones we need to focus our attention on to continue growing, and sometimes that can leave us frustrated.

If we head in one direction, are we going to forfeit opportunity elsewhere? Probably so. We can't be in two places at once, and as I have said on previous occasions - there is only so much each of us can do in a day. So there are times when we get 'stuck' and are afraid to move in any direction, fearing we will choose the wrong one.

But staying in a holding pattern isn't the answer either. By doing that we realize that we have little chance to grow and advance at all. So instead of allowing things to pile up, we have a meeting and talk things through and decide together where our attention needs to go first, and work together to get ready to sail.

Wheel Tire Cat Vertebrate Automotive tire


Once that decision is made, we find it easy to once again move ahead. For with purpose and direction, we are better able to focus on one idea at a time, and put our best effort forward. It actually feels quite good, and it is then when I feel the excitement and drive once again return. The spark is once again ignited and my energy is put into a place that I know will be of benefit, and progress is once again made.

Yesterday was one of those days that I call a 'regrouping day.' After finishing my patterns, both Keith and I were in a place in our designing times where we were in between projects and figuring out what to do next. It was the perfect time to have an informal meeting about the company and what we wanted to do next. There are deadlines from several different places in our immediate future, and although we are on top of things now, we are responsible enough to know that even with several weeks ahead of us before the next hard and fast deadline was due, if we didn't work on some things now, everything would fall upon us all at once, and it would be like trying to control an avalanche.

We talked things over and discussing the opportunities at hand, weighing the positives with the negatives of each one carefully and making some decisions as to what we would pursue both collectively and individually in the next several weeks. It helped tremendously in alleviating the building anxiety that I was experiencing. Now not only did we have a plan, but we had a plan that we both agreed on and we were clear on our collective directions. That is a big issue when you have a business partner. Leaving things unsaid or to chance only tends to heighten then stress.

With that being said, we both spent the majority of the day working with renewed purpose. I began working on my next project for the magazine, which seemed to be at the top of my list, and Keith worked on updating our catalog by adding two pages of new products that were created since the Spring 2012 edition was released. Since we recently have had a large inflow of new customers, we felt that it was important to update the catalog so that all of our best and most recent work would be represented. This is no small task.

The new edition of the catalog will be 'live' on the site later on today and ready for download. The majority of it is finished, and it only needs to be cross-linked throughout the site. It will look much like the original catalog, but it will say "Update Aug. 2012 with two full pages of new patterns" on the front of it. I hope you go check it out.

From there on, we will continue to sail ahead. There are some new things on the horizon for us that I will talk about as they come to be. I have seen many others who are working in building their own small businesses go through the same dilemmas that we do here. There are many directions beckoning to them, and they aren't sure which way to head. From my own experience, I can attest to how much it can stifle you, or cause you to try to do everything at once and make a mess of things. I am finding that by stepping back and evaluating the situation, you are then able to make the best decision as to which direction to head. And once you do that, you are well on your way to growth.

I wish you all the best.

Water Cat Boat Watercraft Felidae


The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor" - Oliver Wendell Holmes
 

Attachments

#6,104 ·
Direction

I am once again moving in a forward direction.

It wasn't that I was stagnant or out of ideas or anything of that sort, it was just trying to make the decision as to which idea I would develop and which direction I needed to move in next was causing some apprehension. After all, choosing more than one direction can be counter-productive if not carefully considered, and I didn't want to make my decisions lightly.

There are so many ideas, details and opportunities in front of us. Something tells me that this is a crucial time in the life of our business. In a time where small businesses are struggling and dying, we find that we are still inching ahead in a positive direction. And that is a good thing. I realize that this is the result of the hard work that both Keith and I have put into the company. It was (and is!) our goal to grow and expand the business.

In the past couple of years, we have cast out multiple lines in the water in hopes of advancing the company a bit further. Now it seems that several of those lines are tugging at us all at once, yet we aren't quite sure which ones we need to focus our attention on to continue growing, and sometimes that can leave us frustrated.

If we head in one direction, are we going to forfeit opportunity elsewhere? Probably so. We can't be in two places at once, and as I have said on previous occasions - there is only so much each of us can do in a day. So there are times when we get 'stuck' and are afraid to move in any direction, fearing we will choose the wrong one.

But staying in a holding pattern isn't the answer either. By doing that we realize that we have little chance to grow and advance at all. So instead of allowing things to pile up, we have a meeting and talk things through and decide together where our attention needs to go first, and work together to get ready to sail.

Wheel Tire Cat Vertebrate Automotive tire


Once that decision is made, we find it easy to once again move ahead. For with purpose and direction, we are better able to focus on one idea at a time, and put our best effort forward. It actually feels quite good, and it is then when I feel the excitement and drive once again return. The spark is once again ignited and my energy is put into a place that I know will be of benefit, and progress is once again made.

Yesterday was one of those days that I call a 'regrouping day.' After finishing my patterns, both Keith and I were in a place in our designing times where we were in between projects and figuring out what to do next. It was the perfect time to have an informal meeting about the company and what we wanted to do next. There are deadlines from several different places in our immediate future, and although we are on top of things now, we are responsible enough to know that even with several weeks ahead of us before the next hard and fast deadline was due, if we didn't work on some things now, everything would fall upon us all at once, and it would be like trying to control an avalanche.

We talked things over and discussing the opportunities at hand, weighing the positives with the negatives of each one carefully and making some decisions as to what we would pursue both collectively and individually in the next several weeks. It helped tremendously in alleviating the building anxiety that I was experiencing. Now not only did we have a plan, but we had a plan that we both agreed on and we were clear on our collective directions. That is a big issue when you have a business partner. Leaving things unsaid or to chance only tends to heighten then stress.

With that being said, we both spent the majority of the day working with renewed purpose. I began working on my next project for the magazine, which seemed to be at the top of my list, and Keith worked on updating our catalog by adding two pages of new products that were created since the Spring 2012 edition was released. Since we recently have had a large inflow of new customers, we felt that it was important to update the catalog so that all of our best and most recent work would be represented. This is no small task.

The new edition of the catalog will be 'live' on the site later on today and ready for download. The majority of it is finished, and it only needs to be cross-linked throughout the site. It will look much like the original catalog, but it will say "Update Aug. 2012 with two full pages of new patterns" on the front of it. I hope you go check it out.

From there on, we will continue to sail ahead. There are some new things on the horizon for us that I will talk about as they come to be. I have seen many others who are working in building their own small businesses go through the same dilemmas that we do here. There are many directions beckoning to them, and they aren't sure which way to head. From my own experience, I can attest to how much it can stifle you, or cause you to try to do everything at once and make a mess of things. I am finding that by stepping back and evaluating the situation, you are then able to make the best decision as to which direction to head. And once you do that, you are well on your way to growth.

I wish you all the best.

Water Cat Boat Watercraft Felidae


The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor" - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Sheila it is all a balance

We find that if we work hard spend

quality time together smell the roses

now and again. It all works out

I think that is why I'm enjoying your

posts. You have the balance right.

I think if we were neighbours we would

probably get together and brainstorm, laugh

eat & talk about our pets (kids if there around :)

And realise how lucky we all are.

Odd thing is, the more we work at it the better

it gets. A stagnant pond…......... no chance.

Yours

Jamie

eating some fresh treacle scones with tea and some

wonderful friends

Dog Carnivore Dog breed Working animal Fawn
 

Attachments

#6,113 ·
New Designs

I started off early today and now after a couple of hours of 'doing things' I don't seem that far ahead of the day. But that is OK, because I was in the process of planning out my next design and I got distracted.

My head is whirling right now. I wish I could do 10 things at once. I realize that it is coming up on my favorite season of the year (autumn) and I have so many ideas that I don't know which one to do first.

Yesterday I finished drawing up my next magazine submission. I had described it to my editor and she seemed eager to see it. When I described it to her, it was still only living in my head, and since then, I have brought it to life on my drawing board and I think it looks even better than I originally thought it would. Today I get to do the actual cutting and see it take shape in wood. I think that is the most exciting part of all.

I don't want to show the whole thing yet, as there needs to be some anticipation built up. Don't you think? Besides, I still don't know just how much I want to preview before it reaches the magazine. I often fight with showing the magazine submissions here or not. While I had spoken to my editor about it quite a while ago and they didn't seem to be bothered in the least. I suppose it is good advertisement for their magazine and as long as I don't give the pattern away or sell the pattern, they are OK with it. After all, they do previews themselves of 'upcoming issues' to entice the readers to look ahead.

Since the only thing I have right now in front of me is the line work, I will only give you a glimpse of it:

White Gesture Font Art Pattern


Since this is for the winter issue, you could have probably guessed that it would involve some snow. I suppose that isn't much of a surprise.

I have really been having fun working with the magazine because with the new editor, she seems much more open to having me demonstrate and use many of the different paints and finishing products that I have access to. While the other editor accepted some things with different finishes and such, Deb is not only happy that I am using them, but she also likes me to write accompanying articles about the products if possible.

You may or may not have remembered the product I used a couple of months ago called "Margot's MUD" which was a texture paste that I used on my Christmas Bell Ornaments that is now being featured in the magazine.

Flower Plant Petal Creative arts Finger


The issue of the magazine that contained that article came out last week and already there has been quite a good response from it. Both my editors at the magazine and Margot herself have heard a lot of positive things about it due to my project and article. (By the way, you can see more about the MUD at Margot's site at www.margotclark.com) Besides that, I have also received several phone calls regarding the product. It seems that a lot of woodworkers are interested in learning new ways to make their items stand out a bit.

My affiliation with DecoArt is also a great asset, as they have a huge range of products not only suitable for decorative painting (tole painting if you will) but also home decor, which is becoming more and more popular as people are doing more around the home themselves. While many industries are suffering because of the unstable economy, I still feel that the do-it-yourself industry will be all right, and maybe even grow. I am certainly not an economist, but I know for myself when money was really tight when my kids were growing up, I chose to make many of my holiday gifts and decorations rather than purchase something cheap and ill-made. That is really the time when I honed my 'career' as a designer and crafts person. I think home made gifts will be more popular than ever in the upcoming years. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part, but we will have to wait and see.

In any case, Deb (my new editor) had asked both Keith and I if we would like to contribute more articles to the magazine in addition to our regular project submissions. We both jumped at the chance. Keith has had several articles published already and while he likes to do articles on many of the technical aspects, I enjoy trying out and demonstrating new products that are both fun and easy to use, yet make things look really cool.

Along with this project, I will be doing an article on the Weathered Wood Crackle Medium. I will be using it in my design that I am working on today, and I will also make an accompanying article which will clearly demonstrate the process of using it for the readers. I will also be making another video - a bit shorter and perhaps a bit better organized that the article will link to so that the readers can see the product being applied first-hand. All in all it will offer them a complete package of instruction.

I love doing things this way. And I love the flexibility and support that the magazine has offered me. Working like this has turned a great job into a dream job, where I am able to really teach something new to people on a wide scale. It just seems better and better.

I realize that some woodworkers aren't interested in painting or adding different effects to their wood working projects. They like the natural beauty of the wood to show through and that is enough for them. I also like that look for many of the designs that I make, and agree that color and finishes aren't for everyone. But all the designs that I am making in this respect are shown in two versions - one which adds effects and/or color and one left natural. This way people who like the design but aren't partial to the effects will still be able to enjoy it and make it and it will look attractive.

And who knows? Maybe with all the instructions in front of them, they will give a new technique a try and find that they like it. You never know.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday. I know I will because I will be busy at the saw and working on creating something fun and new.

Have a great one!
 

Attachments

#6,114 ·
New Designs

I started off early today and now after a couple of hours of 'doing things' I don't seem that far ahead of the day. But that is OK, because I was in the process of planning out my next design and I got distracted.

My head is whirling right now. I wish I could do 10 things at once. I realize that it is coming up on my favorite season of the year (autumn) and I have so many ideas that I don't know which one to do first.

Yesterday I finished drawing up my next magazine submission. I had described it to my editor and she seemed eager to see it. When I described it to her, it was still only living in my head, and since then, I have brought it to life on my drawing board and I think it looks even better than I originally thought it would. Today I get to do the actual cutting and see it take shape in wood. I think that is the most exciting part of all.

I don't want to show the whole thing yet, as there needs to be some anticipation built up. Don't you think? Besides, I still don't know just how much I want to preview before it reaches the magazine. I often fight with showing the magazine submissions here or not. While I had spoken to my editor about it quite a while ago and they didn't seem to be bothered in the least. I suppose it is good advertisement for their magazine and as long as I don't give the pattern away or sell the pattern, they are OK with it. After all, they do previews themselves of 'upcoming issues' to entice the readers to look ahead.

Since the only thing I have right now in front of me is the line work, I will only give you a glimpse of it:

White Gesture Font Art Pattern


Since this is for the winter issue, you could have probably guessed that it would involve some snow. I suppose that isn't much of a surprise.

I have really been having fun working with the magazine because with the new editor, she seems much more open to having me demonstrate and use many of the different paints and finishing products that I have access to. While the other editor accepted some things with different finishes and such, Deb is not only happy that I am using them, but she also likes me to write accompanying articles about the products if possible.

You may or may not have remembered the product I used a couple of months ago called "Margot's MUD" which was a texture paste that I used on my Christmas Bell Ornaments that is now being featured in the magazine.

Flower Plant Petal Creative arts Finger


The issue of the magazine that contained that article came out last week and already there has been quite a good response from it. Both my editors at the magazine and Margot herself have heard a lot of positive things about it due to my project and article. (By the way, you can see more about the MUD at Margot's site at www.margotclark.com) Besides that, I have also received several phone calls regarding the product. It seems that a lot of woodworkers are interested in learning new ways to make their items stand out a bit.

My affiliation with DecoArt is also a great asset, as they have a huge range of products not only suitable for decorative painting (tole painting if you will) but also home decor, which is becoming more and more popular as people are doing more around the home themselves. While many industries are suffering because of the unstable economy, I still feel that the do-it-yourself industry will be all right, and maybe even grow. I am certainly not an economist, but I know for myself when money was really tight when my kids were growing up, I chose to make many of my holiday gifts and decorations rather than purchase something cheap and ill-made. That is really the time when I honed my 'career' as a designer and crafts person. I think home made gifts will be more popular than ever in the upcoming years. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part, but we will have to wait and see.

In any case, Deb (my new editor) had asked both Keith and I if we would like to contribute more articles to the magazine in addition to our regular project submissions. We both jumped at the chance. Keith has had several articles published already and while he likes to do articles on many of the technical aspects, I enjoy trying out and demonstrating new products that are both fun and easy to use, yet make things look really cool.

Along with this project, I will be doing an article on the Weathered Wood Crackle Medium. I will be using it in my design that I am working on today, and I will also make an accompanying article which will clearly demonstrate the process of using it for the readers. I will also be making another video - a bit shorter and perhaps a bit better organized that the article will link to so that the readers can see the product being applied first-hand. All in all it will offer them a complete package of instruction.

I love doing things this way. And I love the flexibility and support that the magazine has offered me. Working like this has turned a great job into a dream job, where I am able to really teach something new to people on a wide scale. It just seems better and better.

I realize that some woodworkers aren't interested in painting or adding different effects to their wood working projects. They like the natural beauty of the wood to show through and that is enough for them. I also like that look for many of the designs that I make, and agree that color and finishes aren't for everyone. But all the designs that I am making in this respect are shown in two versions - one which adds effects and/or color and one left natural. This way people who like the design but aren't partial to the effects will still be able to enjoy it and make it and it will look attractive.

And who knows? Maybe with all the instructions in front of them, they will give a new technique a try and find that they like it. You never know.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday. I know I will because I will be busy at the saw and working on creating something fun and new.

Have a great one!
You have many artistic talents Sheila. Keep on keepin on. Congrats on the magazine. Sounds like you & Keith are expanding quite nicely.
 

Attachments

#6,116 ·
Do As I Say, Not As I Do

I never for a moment think that I have all the answers. In fact, I often think that the day I stop learning will be the day I take my last breath here on Earth.

Sometimes learning something is an entirely new experience. We see something fresh and new and it is exciting to learn about it and expand our knowledge. We have a feeling of pride and accomplishment as we learn these new things, and it makes us feel great.

Other times, we re-learn something that we knew in the past, but over the years the knowledge seemed to have been pushed in to a back corner of our minds and we 'forgot.' Something may happen to trigger that memory and we feel quite foolish, for had we remembered what we knew in the first place, things could have gone quite a bit easier.

Yesterday I experienced the second type of learning I described.

I was really excited about cutting out my new patterns, and I couldn't wait to get started. However, when I went to look for the appropriate wood that I needed to cut them, I found that we have a severe shortage of thicker wood here at our place. (By thicker I mean approximately 3/4" thick.) The project that I was doing was some lettering, so I needed the thickness so that the lettering stood up on its own and didn't tip over.

Most of our projects are made from wood that is 1/2" or less, as they are usually ornaments or plaques. We rarely use wood that is 3/4" thick so we have very little of it around. I did remember seeing some however, but when I wen to look for it, I realized that there was far less on hand than I had anticipated. And that was not good. Besides - it was Sunday and everything was closed. We had some wood at Bernie's, but he doesn't work either on Sunday's and going there was out of the question.

We all know the feeling of being 'raring to go' on a project and not having all you need to make it or running out of something. It isn't great and I was a bit discouraged. But I dug deep in the pile and came up with some 3/4" oak and 3/4" cedar that would do the job. I was cutting two sets of the letters - one to leave natural finish and the other to stain - so they didn't need to be the same type of wood. What was more important was that the pieces would fit on the wood with the grain going in the proper direction, and that they did.

So I laid everything out and began cutting. The oak pieces went fine. It was a bit slow going because of the density of the wood, and it took me a bit longer than I had anticipated to cut, but in the end they looked really nice and I was very happy. Then it was time to cut the cedar.

And the lesson began. . .

Many years ago when I was first starting scrolling, I cut some layered baskets of cedar. I loved how it looked and I loved how it smelled and I thought it would be lovely wood for the project. I was very wrong.

It wasn't that it was not pretty or anything like that, but the airy grain of the wood is NOT a good choice for scroll sawing. The baskets I made were the type with the layers of rings and they snapped so many times, I believe that there was more glue on them than wood in the end. Doing them was a nightmare and I was very sad and discouraged and felt like a total failure. I swore I would never buy cedar to scroll again.

But with Keith making his pens, he had purchased a decent sized piece of 3/4" cedar to perhaps make some pens with. It was long enough and wide enough for the project I was doing and since desperate times call for desperate measures, I used it for one set of the lettering yesterday.

As soon as I began cutting, I remembered why I didn't like using it. Besides being very dry and brittle, it was also slightly warped in the middle, causing the pieces to rock quite a bit when I was trying to cut them. Of course I didn't figure this out until everything was glued up and I was already cutting. It turned what would have been a pleasant cutting session into one of very high stress, and I was just waiting for these pieces to snap.

I am proud to say they did not. I am pleased that I drew the pattern of the letters so that there was plenty of strength in the important areas and everything survived. Now I can only hope that they will survive the finishing process and subsequent shipping to the magazine for photography and publication. I will have to do an expert packing job to insure that they will.

By the time I finished, it was dinner time. I must admit that I was (for the moment) tired of looking at them. The anxiety of the afternoon somewhat ruined the thrill I felt in working with them. It was as if I was miffed at them for being what they were. I decided to walk away from them for the evening and call it a day and take the night off and start fresh on them in the morning.

But I was antsy sitting at my computer last night. I browsed through Facebook and all my other places and didn't feel like playing any games. There were too many project that I had on my mind and I couldn't sit still. So I drew.

I came up with a wonderful frame for some new ornaments that I thought of a while back and want to make. I thought I would just get started on it, but I kept going until about 11pm and finished the frames for them for the most part. And they looked really cool! Here is a sample for you to see:

Font Pattern Metal Symmetry Circle


It is not my 'usual' style and is quite Victorian. The design is rather free form and I think it came out kind of cool. Wait until you see what I am going to do with it! ;)

When I awoke this morning, on my table sat the letters from yesterday. As I looked at them sitting there, I no longer felt the anguish that I experienced yesterday. They also looked rather cool, and I will spend the day today finishing them up - cedar and all. (The cedar set is at the top and the oak set is on the bottom.)

Gold Font Wood Pattern Metal


I suppose using the cedar wasn't a disaster after all. However it was quite a reminder to me that I should NOT use it for scroll saw projects. At least the kind of projects that I do. I feel very, very, VERY lucky that all the pieces are still in tact, and it will only be with gentle handling that they will survive the rest of the process.

For this project, I will tell my customers to "do as I say and not as I do" and pick a wood that will hold up better than the cedar that I used. While it should do OK for the purposes that I am using it, I don't think it will hold up well to normal use or handling.

You (re) learn something new every day.

Have a great Monday!
 

Attachments

#6,117 ·
Do As I Say, Not As I Do

I never for a moment think that I have all the answers. In fact, I often think that the day I stop learning will be the day I take my last breath here on Earth.

Sometimes learning something is an entirely new experience. We see something fresh and new and it is exciting to learn about it and expand our knowledge. We have a feeling of pride and accomplishment as we learn these new things, and it makes us feel great.

Other times, we re-learn something that we knew in the past, but over the years the knowledge seemed to have been pushed in to a back corner of our minds and we 'forgot.' Something may happen to trigger that memory and we feel quite foolish, for had we remembered what we knew in the first place, things could have gone quite a bit easier.

Yesterday I experienced the second type of learning I described.

I was really excited about cutting out my new patterns, and I couldn't wait to get started. However, when I went to look for the appropriate wood that I needed to cut them, I found that we have a severe shortage of thicker wood here at our place. (By thicker I mean approximately 3/4" thick.) The project that I was doing was some lettering, so I needed the thickness so that the lettering stood up on its own and didn't tip over.

Most of our projects are made from wood that is 1/2" or less, as they are usually ornaments or plaques. We rarely use wood that is 3/4" thick so we have very little of it around. I did remember seeing some however, but when I wen to look for it, I realized that there was far less on hand than I had anticipated. And that was not good. Besides - it was Sunday and everything was closed. We had some wood at Bernie's, but he doesn't work either on Sunday's and going there was out of the question.

We all know the feeling of being 'raring to go' on a project and not having all you need to make it or running out of something. It isn't great and I was a bit discouraged. But I dug deep in the pile and came up with some 3/4" oak and 3/4" cedar that would do the job. I was cutting two sets of the letters - one to leave natural finish and the other to stain - so they didn't need to be the same type of wood. What was more important was that the pieces would fit on the wood with the grain going in the proper direction, and that they did.

So I laid everything out and began cutting. The oak pieces went fine. It was a bit slow going because of the density of the wood, and it took me a bit longer than I had anticipated to cut, but in the end they looked really nice and I was very happy. Then it was time to cut the cedar.

And the lesson began. . .

Many years ago when I was first starting scrolling, I cut some layered baskets of cedar. I loved how it looked and I loved how it smelled and I thought it would be lovely wood for the project. I was very wrong.

It wasn't that it was not pretty or anything like that, but the airy grain of the wood is NOT a good choice for scroll sawing. The baskets I made were the type with the layers of rings and they snapped so many times, I believe that there was more glue on them than wood in the end. Doing them was a nightmare and I was very sad and discouraged and felt like a total failure. I swore I would never buy cedar to scroll again.

But with Keith making his pens, he had purchased a decent sized piece of 3/4" cedar to perhaps make some pens with. It was long enough and wide enough for the project I was doing and since desperate times call for desperate measures, I used it for one set of the lettering yesterday.

As soon as I began cutting, I remembered why I didn't like using it. Besides being very dry and brittle, it was also slightly warped in the middle, causing the pieces to rock quite a bit when I was trying to cut them. Of course I didn't figure this out until everything was glued up and I was already cutting. It turned what would have been a pleasant cutting session into one of very high stress, and I was just waiting for these pieces to snap.

I am proud to say they did not. I am pleased that I drew the pattern of the letters so that there was plenty of strength in the important areas and everything survived. Now I can only hope that they will survive the finishing process and subsequent shipping to the magazine for photography and publication. I will have to do an expert packing job to insure that they will.

By the time I finished, it was dinner time. I must admit that I was (for the moment) tired of looking at them. The anxiety of the afternoon somewhat ruined the thrill I felt in working with them. It was as if I was miffed at them for being what they were. I decided to walk away from them for the evening and call it a day and take the night off and start fresh on them in the morning.

But I was antsy sitting at my computer last night. I browsed through Facebook and all my other places and didn't feel like playing any games. There were too many project that I had on my mind and I couldn't sit still. So I drew.

I came up with a wonderful frame for some new ornaments that I thought of a while back and want to make. I thought I would just get started on it, but I kept going until about 11pm and finished the frames for them for the most part. And they looked really cool! Here is a sample for you to see:

Font Pattern Metal Symmetry Circle


It is not my 'usual' style and is quite Victorian. The design is rather free form and I think it came out kind of cool. Wait until you see what I am going to do with it! ;)

When I awoke this morning, on my table sat the letters from yesterday. As I looked at them sitting there, I no longer felt the anguish that I experienced yesterday. They also looked rather cool, and I will spend the day today finishing them up - cedar and all. (The cedar set is at the top and the oak set is on the bottom.)

Gold Font Wood Pattern Metal


I suppose using the cedar wasn't a disaster after all. However it was quite a reminder to me that I should NOT use it for scroll saw projects. At least the kind of projects that I do. I feel very, very, VERY lucky that all the pieces are still in tact, and it will only be with gentle handling that they will survive the rest of the process.

For this project, I will tell my customers to "do as I say and not as I do" and pick a wood that will hold up better than the cedar that I used. While it should do OK for the purposes that I am using it, I don't think it will hold up well to normal use or handling.

You (re) learn something new every day.

Have a great Monday!
Sheila, they really pop!

Yup, learning all the time. :)

If I buy a book and I get one useful tip

I always feel I got a bonus

Jamie

In a Sunny, rainy, moggie Scotland
 

Attachments

#6,124 ·
Let's Have Some SNOW Already!

These past couple of weeks have been by far the warmest of the year. While I understand that most people have it worse, I can't help but think if it is this warm in Nova Scotia, it really has to feel hot everywhere else.

It is no secret that I don't like the really hot weather. Unless I can be lounging on a beach somewhere enjoying the sun, it just doesn't do it for me. My philosophy is that you can always put more clothes on if you are cold, but when you are hot and uncomfortable and nearly naked already, you are rather 'stuck.'

High humidity is even worse than heat I think. I really don't like when you step out of the shower and you are already sweating before your hair is even dry. We are only a couple of kilometers from the ocean, but far enough to have a bit of a difference in temperature and humidity. It is usually a few degrees warmer here (Celsius) and the difference can truly be felt. The other day when I was at the saw, I could feel the sawdust sticking to my damp body as I cut and I longed for the days of sweaters and snow.

I can feel a difference in the air in the mornings, and it gives me hope that cooler weather is right around the corner. The difference is subtle, but definitely present. Or is that just my wishful thinking?

I spent the day yesterday working on the two projects that I had on the go. The "Snow" letters and the mystery project that I will be working on today. While I probably spent more time on the mystery project, I will talk about that in a later post, as I am excited about how the "Snow" lettering came out and I am happy with the results.

As is seems to becoming the norm, I made two sets of letters for submission. One set would leave the wood in natural tones (for the wood purists) and the other would add some color for those who like to play around with color and finishes. I honestly thought I would like the colored one hands-down better than the natural one, but the natural set, cut from oak, has a nice, rich quality to it and looks equally attractive in my eyes. I can't really choose which one I like the best though, and I am happy that I made two versions.

First of off here is the stained version of the project:

Natural material Creative arts Wood Art Pattern


I really only used four colors for this. I did use crackle medium on the snowflakes to give it a bit of 'oomph' and I like how they look. The overlay snowflakes are made of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood and are really a nice accent I think. They distribute the lightness of the color over the entire piece and really make it look more balanced.

Applying the crackle to the small snowflake areas was a bit of a different process than on the snowman. I want to say it was even easier, but there is a technique to it that is quite helpful. When Keith was watching me getting ready to apply the crackle, he questioned how I was going to be able to do it without making a mess. I could tell he doubted that it would be done to his satisfaction, and I was happy when after he saw the final results, he was impressed. I think it would be a great opportunity for me to make another video (a bit shorter) that showed how I accomplished this. I love the stuff and I was happy to use it on another project and hope to use it more.

Silver Petal Ornament Wood Font


You can see how the crackle really worked well even on the small pieces and gave a cool effect. I decided to use corresponding brush on glitter paint called DecoArt Glamour Dust Ultra Fine Glitter Paint to add a bit of shimmer. I love this product, as I am like a crow in that I love sparkly things. This is a fairly new product by DecoArt and it has finely ground glitter in a clear base so you can add just a little shimmer to stuff without it looking chunky or gaudy. I find myself using it more and more to add some pizzazz to projects and make them look great. Even though you can't see it much with the photos, it does make a difference.

The natural wood pieces also came out nice:

Art Creative arts Font Wood Symmetry


I decided to use the 1/8" birch plywood for the snowflakes for this piece too. The plywood that I have doesn't have dark lines on the sides where the plys meet and I liked the lighter color that contrasted a bit against the oak. For the pieces (including the ply) I did my usual mineral oil bath and let it soak in for the day. It really turned the oak to a warm and rich color and the veining lines in the snowman showed up a lot better once it was applied:

Wood Font Toy Symbol Fashion accessory


I don't know if you could tell, but I did sneak just a tad of clear Glamour Dust paint into this piece. I lightly brushed the face of all the snowflakes and the snowman too. The results is very subtle, but all the 'snow' areas shimmer. It looks cool!

I love doing these word pieces and I plan on doing several more before the season is up. I like thinking of ways to make the letters different than the run of the mill alphabet/block ones that we see around here. It is sometimes challenging to make them in both versions - a natural one and a tinted one - and have them both look good, but I think on this project I did OK.

This design is going to be headed for the magazine if it is accepted, so it won't be available on my own site for a while, but I have so many other new ideas for myself I don't think that people will even notice.

Today I am moving on to the next design that I started the other day. This is something that is more geared to cutting and fretwork and I am still trying to decide exactly how I am going to do it. I have so many versions of it in my head that I could probably make three or four different variations using the same line work and each one of them will be different. I am trying to picture in my head how to do them and I may just have a 'suggestion' sheet added to the pattern to show people all the possibilities. It seems though that my patterns are all turning into books, as I like to share all the different ideas I have with my customers. Where do I draw the line? I want to show all the ideas that I have.

I suppose it is a good problem to have. (Too many ideas!) So for now I will just keep going and see where things wind up. So far it has been doing pretty well.

I wish you all a great day today. Here I thought it was Wednesday and it is only Tuesday! That is like getting an extra day for me! :)

Make it a good one!
 

Attachments

#6,125 ·
Let's Have Some SNOW Already!

These past couple of weeks have been by far the warmest of the year. While I understand that most people have it worse, I can't help but think if it is this warm in Nova Scotia, it really has to feel hot everywhere else.

It is no secret that I don't like the really hot weather. Unless I can be lounging on a beach somewhere enjoying the sun, it just doesn't do it for me. My philosophy is that you can always put more clothes on if you are cold, but when you are hot and uncomfortable and nearly naked already, you are rather 'stuck.'

High humidity is even worse than heat I think. I really don't like when you step out of the shower and you are already sweating before your hair is even dry. We are only a couple of kilometers from the ocean, but far enough to have a bit of a difference in temperature and humidity. It is usually a few degrees warmer here (Celsius) and the difference can truly be felt. The other day when I was at the saw, I could feel the sawdust sticking to my damp body as I cut and I longed for the days of sweaters and snow.

I can feel a difference in the air in the mornings, and it gives me hope that cooler weather is right around the corner. The difference is subtle, but definitely present. Or is that just my wishful thinking?

I spent the day yesterday working on the two projects that I had on the go. The "Snow" letters and the mystery project that I will be working on today. While I probably spent more time on the mystery project, I will talk about that in a later post, as I am excited about how the "Snow" lettering came out and I am happy with the results.

As is seems to becoming the norm, I made two sets of letters for submission. One set would leave the wood in natural tones (for the wood purists) and the other would add some color for those who like to play around with color and finishes. I honestly thought I would like the colored one hands-down better than the natural one, but the natural set, cut from oak, has a nice, rich quality to it and looks equally attractive in my eyes. I can't really choose which one I like the best though, and I am happy that I made two versions.

First of off here is the stained version of the project:

Natural material Creative arts Wood Art Pattern


I really only used four colors for this. I did use crackle medium on the snowflakes to give it a bit of 'oomph' and I like how they look. The overlay snowflakes are made of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood and are really a nice accent I think. They distribute the lightness of the color over the entire piece and really make it look more balanced.

Applying the crackle to the small snowflake areas was a bit of a different process than on the snowman. I want to say it was even easier, but there is a technique to it that is quite helpful. When Keith was watching me getting ready to apply the crackle, he questioned how I was going to be able to do it without making a mess. I could tell he doubted that it would be done to his satisfaction, and I was happy when after he saw the final results, he was impressed. I think it would be a great opportunity for me to make another video (a bit shorter) that showed how I accomplished this. I love the stuff and I was happy to use it on another project and hope to use it more.

Silver Petal Ornament Wood Font


You can see how the crackle really worked well even on the small pieces and gave a cool effect. I decided to use corresponding brush on glitter paint called DecoArt Glamour Dust Ultra Fine Glitter Paint to add a bit of shimmer. I love this product, as I am like a crow in that I love sparkly things. This is a fairly new product by DecoArt and it has finely ground glitter in a clear base so you can add just a little shimmer to stuff without it looking chunky or gaudy. I find myself using it more and more to add some pizzazz to projects and make them look great. Even though you can't see it much with the photos, it does make a difference.

The natural wood pieces also came out nice:

Art Creative arts Font Wood Symmetry


I decided to use the 1/8" birch plywood for the snowflakes for this piece too. The plywood that I have doesn't have dark lines on the sides where the plys meet and I liked the lighter color that contrasted a bit against the oak. For the pieces (including the ply) I did my usual mineral oil bath and let it soak in for the day. It really turned the oak to a warm and rich color and the veining lines in the snowman showed up a lot better once it was applied:

Wood Font Toy Symbol Fashion accessory


I don't know if you could tell, but I did sneak just a tad of clear Glamour Dust paint into this piece. I lightly brushed the face of all the snowflakes and the snowman too. The results is very subtle, but all the 'snow' areas shimmer. It looks cool!

I love doing these word pieces and I plan on doing several more before the season is up. I like thinking of ways to make the letters different than the run of the mill alphabet/block ones that we see around here. It is sometimes challenging to make them in both versions - a natural one and a tinted one - and have them both look good, but I think on this project I did OK.

This design is going to be headed for the magazine if it is accepted, so it won't be available on my own site for a while, but I have so many other new ideas for myself I don't think that people will even notice.

Today I am moving on to the next design that I started the other day. This is something that is more geared to cutting and fretwork and I am still trying to decide exactly how I am going to do it. I have so many versions of it in my head that I could probably make three or four different variations using the same line work and each one of them will be different. I am trying to picture in my head how to do them and I may just have a 'suggestion' sheet added to the pattern to show people all the possibilities. It seems though that my patterns are all turning into books, as I like to share all the different ideas I have with my customers. Where do I draw the line? I want to show all the ideas that I have.

I suppose it is a good problem to have. (Too many ideas!) So for now I will just keep going and see where things wind up. So far it has been doing pretty well.

I wish you all a great day today. Here I thought it was Wednesday and it is only Tuesday! That is like getting an extra day for me! :)

Make it a good one!
Wow Sheila. Lotsa fine cut details. Your camera takes magnificent pics for sure. Those closeups are super clear. Be like the energizer bunny, and keep going and going and going.. :)
 

Attachments

#6,138 ·
Things and Stuff

Yesterday was a full day of all kinds of things. But all was good.

People often ask me how I stay so organized when I am doing so many different things. I think that the answer to that is quite easy - maintenance.

Even though I wanted to charge into the next project(s) that I am thinking about, I looked around here and things were getting a little shabby around the edges. Not myself actually (although I am sure some would argue with you!) but the usual tell tale things like my kitchen table, my computer desktop and my general living space. With living in a small place here, it is imperative that we keep things in order or we would be surrounded by clutter and crap. And I don't like working like that. After all, I can't focus on my drawings and designing if my senses are bombarded with clutter and crap all around. My brain can only process so much information at once.

So as much as I would have liked to move ahead with my designs, I decided that it was time to pick up things and get them in order and organize. It was the perfect opportunity because Keith had some errands to run and would be gone for several hours and I had the place to myself to play some good music and get things done. So that is exactly what I did.

I know that doesn't make for great blog reading, but it seems that many of you look on our little setup here and believe that things just fall into place. That is really not the case at all, but all it takes is a little time on a regular basis and instead of becoming a big problem, it is something that can be brought under control in a relatively short time.

Not only did I clean, but I also organized my computer files (again) and everything is in tip top shape. I even got my files together to submit the "Snow" lettering that I showed yesterday to my editor for her to consider for the magazine. I also wanted to do an accompanying article on using the Weathered Wood product, much like I did with the MUD in the previous issue.

I am happy to say that the article that I did on the MUD for the holiday issue has so far received a wonderful response! Not only am I happy for Margot, but I am also happy that it seems that people are interested in learning these new techniques to make their woodworking projects look a bit more snazzy. Sometimes all it takes is a bit to make things stand out among others in a craft mall or show and I have many products like this that are just for that purpose. Since the magazine, Margot and myself have all received nice response from the article, it shows that people are looking for this kind of information and encourages me to do more.

I am happy to say that my editor got back to me within a couple of hours of me submitting the project and wanted not only the project, but the article too! I am excited about this and think it is a wonderful opportunity for me to not only show how to do this process, but to also do another (shorter) video using the suggestions I was given regarding the first one that I can reference to in the article. I think that it will be quite helpful if the readers not only have pictures to follow the learning process, but a video too. It will really be cool.

So it was quite a full day and I am really happy because everything is in order and I am ready to move ahead. Keith went to the nearby lumber yard and picked up some ash, beautiful curly maple, poplar, and birch and went to the mill near us here and had them planed to the thicknesses I need for my next round of projects. We are once again set for a while and are both full of new ideas to develop. It is quite exciting!

Today I need to run to Yarmouth for some shopping and some errands. There are some things that I want to use for designing that I need to get, and it just seems like a good day to get out. I am going to try to get some drawing done so I can perhaps cut tomorrow, but in my head I am still sorting through some of the ideas I have. I have several versions of some designs that I want to do, and I need to sort through them so that I can present them in an organized way. I could easily take one pattern and show several versions on it, but there comes a point when you have to stop and divide things into things that are manageable. I am almost there, as things are evolving into more of what I was thinking, so I just need to take my time and let it come on its own. Nothing like shopping to clear my head. :)

Wheel Dog Cat Carnivore Plant


I wish you all a wonderful day today. It looks to be a good one here already and I am sure that I will have a fun day ahead of me. I hope you all do too!
 

Attachments

#6,139 ·
Things and Stuff

Yesterday was a full day of all kinds of things. But all was good.

People often ask me how I stay so organized when I am doing so many different things. I think that the answer to that is quite easy - maintenance.

Even though I wanted to charge into the next project(s) that I am thinking about, I looked around here and things were getting a little shabby around the edges. Not myself actually (although I am sure some would argue with you!) but the usual tell tale things like my kitchen table, my computer desktop and my general living space. With living in a small place here, it is imperative that we keep things in order or we would be surrounded by clutter and crap. And I don't like working like that. After all, I can't focus on my drawings and designing if my senses are bombarded with clutter and crap all around. My brain can only process so much information at once.

So as much as I would have liked to move ahead with my designs, I decided that it was time to pick up things and get them in order and organize. It was the perfect opportunity because Keith had some errands to run and would be gone for several hours and I had the place to myself to play some good music and get things done. So that is exactly what I did.

I know that doesn't make for great blog reading, but it seems that many of you look on our little setup here and believe that things just fall into place. That is really not the case at all, but all it takes is a little time on a regular basis and instead of becoming a big problem, it is something that can be brought under control in a relatively short time.

Not only did I clean, but I also organized my computer files (again) and everything is in tip top shape. I even got my files together to submit the "Snow" lettering that I showed yesterday to my editor for her to consider for the magazine. I also wanted to do an accompanying article on using the Weathered Wood product, much like I did with the MUD in the previous issue.

I am happy to say that the article that I did on the MUD for the holiday issue has so far received a wonderful response! Not only am I happy for Margot, but I am also happy that it seems that people are interested in learning these new techniques to make their woodworking projects look a bit more snazzy. Sometimes all it takes is a bit to make things stand out among others in a craft mall or show and I have many products like this that are just for that purpose. Since the magazine, Margot and myself have all received nice response from the article, it shows that people are looking for this kind of information and encourages me to do more.

I am happy to say that my editor got back to me within a couple of hours of me submitting the project and wanted not only the project, but the article too! I am excited about this and think it is a wonderful opportunity for me to not only show how to do this process, but to also do another (shorter) video using the suggestions I was given regarding the first one that I can reference to in the article. I think that it will be quite helpful if the readers not only have pictures to follow the learning process, but a video too. It will really be cool.

So it was quite a full day and I am really happy because everything is in order and I am ready to move ahead. Keith went to the nearby lumber yard and picked up some ash, beautiful curly maple, poplar, and birch and went to the mill near us here and had them planed to the thicknesses I need for my next round of projects. We are once again set for a while and are both full of new ideas to develop. It is quite exciting!

Today I need to run to Yarmouth for some shopping and some errands. There are some things that I want to use for designing that I need to get, and it just seems like a good day to get out. I am going to try to get some drawing done so I can perhaps cut tomorrow, but in my head I am still sorting through some of the ideas I have. I have several versions of some designs that I want to do, and I need to sort through them so that I can present them in an organized way. I could easily take one pattern and show several versions on it, but there comes a point when you have to stop and divide things into things that are manageable. I am almost there, as things are evolving into more of what I was thinking, so I just need to take my time and let it come on its own. Nothing like shopping to clear my head. :)

Wheel Dog Cat Carnivore Plant


I wish you all a wonderful day today. It looks to be a good one here already and I am sure that I will have a fun day ahead of me. I hope you all do too!
I can relate really well with the lines about the clutter and crap that just keeps piling up it seems. I did much of the same these past few days. It's amazing how the clutter around you will also clutter your mind. It's best to "clean house", and that helps clean your mind. Have a good day. Drive safe. Oh, and congrats on your article/s.
 

Attachments

#6,140 ·
Planning

Yesterday was a busy day, but from the outside looking in, it may have seemed that I accomplished little.

There were many things going on and errands to run and I spent the bulk of the afternoon and evening doing things away from the house and planning on the next projects.

Planning is an odd thing. While I believe it is the backbone of most of my projects, it is something that no one can see, touch or feel. Yet it is there. And without it the entire structure of the project would be chaotic and sloppy.

My friend Cari's dad used to say that we were like fighter pilots. He admired our ability to take care of children, plan dinner and still be creative - all in the course of the same hour. Coming from him that was a great compliment, as he was an engineer with such high and exacting standards that he was admired and respected by all. He was, in fact, the one who first introduced both Cari and I to the scroll saw. While he had a son who was older than Cari, he also had two daughters and treated all three children as equals. He loved to give each of them the opportunity to learn new things by offering the tools and the basic knowledge and he received a great deal of pleasure seeing them 'run' with it.

Since I was so close to Cari and constantly around, I also benefited from his philosophy and was exposed to many creative things that I otherwise would not have been. Improving my ability to map out my projects before starting them was one of the things that I remember most, for Cari's dad believed that with good planning, any project will be successful.

It was an important lesson to learn.

Now, several years later, careful planning of my projects has become a habit. I don't think much about it unless there are days like today where I have little physical progress to show. But even while I was gala-venting around yesterday, my mind was busy thinking about the next several things that I want to make and how I am planning to go about doing them.

I believe Keith notices this in me. Sometimes when we are driving or in a place where I will see something that will take my thoughts away, he will stop and question what I was thinking about. "Nothing." I usually reply, as most of the time my thoughts don't warrant discussion. But while these ideas and thoughts may seemingly be unimportant, I believe they are essential to what I do and make things go much easier in the long run. I need to take this time in order to feel comfortable about what I am doing and be able to enjoy the process.

So there isn't much to report today. Only that I have made progress in my planning of things. You won't see the results of this work that I have been doing for several days or even weeks, when the projects just seem to flow.

I like days like yesterday. We had a good day together and accomplished a lot. In the course of our errands, we seemed to have not had much to buy, and we came home with less than usual. That is a good feeling. It is good not to be wanting anything and realizing that you have all you need to be happy and comfortable. It seems as if we are reaching the point where we are all shopped out and ready to settle in for the winter. While I know it isn't upon us yet, before long it will be here and we will be prepared. Without anxiety or worry.

I believe that is called 'contentment.'

Today I will begin implementing some of those thoughts. Hopefully, you will all see the resulting flow of work that will follow. (And understand why it looks so easy.)

I wish you all a wonderful day! Take the time to gather your thoughts and plan your course of action. It will be a wonderful relief to you and hopefully make your day much more pleasant.

Cat Plant Organism Carnivore Grass


What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. - Mark Twain
 

Attachments

#6,141 ·
Planning

Yesterday was a busy day, but from the outside looking in, it may have seemed that I accomplished little.

There were many things going on and errands to run and I spent the bulk of the afternoon and evening doing things away from the house and planning on the next projects.

Planning is an odd thing. While I believe it is the backbone of most of my projects, it is something that no one can see, touch or feel. Yet it is there. And without it the entire structure of the project would be chaotic and sloppy.

My friend Cari's dad used to say that we were like fighter pilots. He admired our ability to take care of children, plan dinner and still be creative - all in the course of the same hour. Coming from him that was a great compliment, as he was an engineer with such high and exacting standards that he was admired and respected by all. He was, in fact, the one who first introduced both Cari and I to the scroll saw. While he had a son who was older than Cari, he also had two daughters and treated all three children as equals. He loved to give each of them the opportunity to learn new things by offering the tools and the basic knowledge and he received a great deal of pleasure seeing them 'run' with it.

Since I was so close to Cari and constantly around, I also benefited from his philosophy and was exposed to many creative things that I otherwise would not have been. Improving my ability to map out my projects before starting them was one of the things that I remember most, for Cari's dad believed that with good planning, any project will be successful.

It was an important lesson to learn.

Now, several years later, careful planning of my projects has become a habit. I don't think much about it unless there are days like today where I have little physical progress to show. But even while I was gala-venting around yesterday, my mind was busy thinking about the next several things that I want to make and how I am planning to go about doing them.

I believe Keith notices this in me. Sometimes when we are driving or in a place where I will see something that will take my thoughts away, he will stop and question what I was thinking about. "Nothing." I usually reply, as most of the time my thoughts don't warrant discussion. But while these ideas and thoughts may seemingly be unimportant, I believe they are essential to what I do and make things go much easier in the long run. I need to take this time in order to feel comfortable about what I am doing and be able to enjoy the process.

So there isn't much to report today. Only that I have made progress in my planning of things. You won't see the results of this work that I have been doing for several days or even weeks, when the projects just seem to flow.

I like days like yesterday. We had a good day together and accomplished a lot. In the course of our errands, we seemed to have not had much to buy, and we came home with less than usual. That is a good feeling. It is good not to be wanting anything and realizing that you have all you need to be happy and comfortable. It seems as if we are reaching the point where we are all shopped out and ready to settle in for the winter. While I know it isn't upon us yet, before long it will be here and we will be prepared. Without anxiety or worry.

I believe that is called 'contentment.'

Today I will begin implementing some of those thoughts. Hopefully, you will all see the resulting flow of work that will follow. (And understand why it looks so easy.)

I wish you all a wonderful day! Take the time to gather your thoughts and plan your course of action. It will be a wonderful relief to you and hopefully make your day much more pleasant.

Cat Plant Organism Carnivore Grass


What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. - Mark Twain
Yes Sheila that creative gap

truly content and in the moment.

101 Question

What would be the best blade be for Oak

Snowfolk?

Jamie
 

Attachments

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