Wednesday, November 30, 2016

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1806: Rescuing the Rabbit

As we arrive on this final day of November, we realize that Christmas and the holidays are right around the corner. Once again, I am in awe of how quickly time passes. It seems like just last week I was working on my glass pumpkin and teaching video for the November ToleTown project, and here I am with another project (and video) due. It all seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. 



But happen, it did, and as time marches brutally forward, we have no choice but to fall into line and try to do what we are able before the holidays are upon us. It is time, once again, to shift those projects that were intended to be completed by the holidays on to the list for ‘next year’ and do the best we can to complete as much as possible. It has become somewhat of a routine in my life these past years, with ideas far exceeding the timeframe that I have to implement them. 



No worries for me, though, as it creates quite a wonderful safety net of ideas for the upcoming year. I am fortunate to have developed the habit of writing the good ideas down, and my lists are long for just about every season. Naturally, they are also fluid, as new (and sometimes better) ideas are added as they are thought of. Because of this, in the rare moment that I draw a blank as to what to work on next, I have several good choices to pick from. I call it my “job security." 



As for now, however, I have the task of completing my project for the ToleTown online community. For those who are not familiar, it is an online site which (for a small membership fee) offers patterns, videos and an entire support community for decorative painting. I have been a member of their design team for a couple of years now and a member of the community for over a decade. I really find it to be a nice place for all who enjoy painting. It is a pleasure to do projects for their members. 



As I showed you last time, I had a little bit of trouble this time around with the ornament that I was making for my class. I couldn’t wrap my head around the process to achieve the look I wanted, and it became quite a disaster. By the time I called it quits on Sunday night, I was pretty discouraged. My bunny looked awful! 

But by walking away from it and taking some time to think about things, I believe I have the problem solved. I had lots of cutting to do on Monday and I thought it was best to allow the ornament to 'rest’ a bit, as well as my head. By the time I returned to working on it yesterday, I had fresh eyes and a fresh thought process as to how I could achieve what I was thinking in the first place. Things actually went pretty smooth and it seemed that the time away eliminated all of the anxiety that I had felt regarding this project the night before. I was on my way. 



Before long, the little bunny came together and actually looks a lot better. It didn’t even take very long to make him 'cute’ again. I was able to finish him up and I think he looks good:



Now this is more what I had envisioned at the beginning! A cute little winter rabbit! While I can see some small refinements that I would like to do on him, for the most part, I consider him done. I will spend today recreating him a couple of times and shooting the instructional video of me doing so. I think he will be a fun class for the ToleTown community. 



I think the moral of the story is that we shouldn’t really give up on something – no matter how bad we think it is. sometimes walking away from things for a while allows us to refocus and forget all of the anxiety that we experienced regarding a certain  project and when we come back with fresh eyes and a clear mind, we are able to accomplish what we wanted to do in the first place. I hope you all keep this in mind when things don’t quite go your way when you are trying something new. It is a good lesson in patience (with yourself) and learning. 



Right now I am very happy and proud of him and have him hanging right next to my desk. I think he will stay there all winter. I am even thinking of making some 'friends’ for him to create a set. (I’ll add it to the list!)



I also spent some time decorating my home last night. As I mentioned before, having a larger place means that there is plenty of room for the things that I couldn’t display previously. I actually have very little stuff to show because I gave most of it away, knowing that there was no room in our small apartment to either store things or show them off. But now things are different. 



I found my Skating Pond Vignette (SLDP103) that I designed several years ago. I actually made three of the larger sets but gave two of them away. I almost gave my third one away as well, but something told me to keep it. I am really glad I did! I thought it would look perfect sitting up on the sideboard in our dining area. And it does! 







I had an extra pedestal from a cake plate that I had where the top had broken. I thought that would make a wonderful 'ice pond’. I covered the insert with aluminum foil for the ice and also added a sheer, iridescent fabric that looked like small scratches in the ice made by the skates (you can’t see that part well from the photo, but it is there!) 



I then went to the dollar store and purchased a set of 20 LED battery operated lights. I put them under the 'snow’ carpet (also from the dollar store) and it makes a wonderful, lighted winter wonderland scene. It looks just lovely in the dark with the only illumination coming from the snow. I think I will leave it up all winter. :)  



I did have a large tree that went with the set, but I can’t seem to find it. I will have to make another one in my spare time. (I’ll add that to my list, too!) But for now, it looks just wonderful as it is. It is truly a fun project and I remember that I even built the little foot bridge. I have a full pattern available to make the scene if you are interested and want to follow the product link. 



All in all, it was a good day. I also cut some more projects out at the saw for customers and for some upcoming designs. I have lots of great things in the works that I can’t wait to share. 



Today, as I mentioned, I will be working on the video. Then on to my next new woodworking project (it is already cut out, but needs to be put together) and then more painting stuff. In between, I will finish up the Sloth picture as well as my Day 10 of my 12 Days of Christmas project. Then … (well – you get the point!)  I don’t think I will run out of things to do anytime soon. 



I hope you enjoyed seeing this little rabbit being 'rescued’ and that you remember that when you make a mess of one of your projects. There is always hope. :) 



Have a wonderful Wednesday! 



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153862295019

Monday, November 28, 2016

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1805: The "Bunny Blunder"

I’ll start this post off by mentioning that it was a wonderful and productive weekend. After all the nice comments on my sloth picture, I was happy and very encouraged to continue in some of the directions that I have been heading. I am actually quite humbled by the kind comments I received from everyone, and it just goes to show the power of kind words and encouragement. I really felt like an “artist.” (That may seem basic, but any artist knows that it is certainly not a given.) 



I had quite a long ‘to do’ list of what I wanted to accomplish this weekend. Since the USA Thanksgiving was over, it was high time that I began thinking of decorating for the upcoming holiday season. After all – it would come and go quickly, as all of these past months have done. For that I was sure.  



But first, I had some orders to cut. Lately, I work in my shop probably two days of the week. I try to get cuttings done as quickly as they are ordered, and with each session, I add in a few extra pieces to build my stock. It really helps when things are busy. (Which is always, lately!) 



I realized that I haven’t shown my shop lately. (Actually – I have been pretty bad with showing any progress I have made with the house here. I promise to do better in the future!)  I really, really LOVE going up there to work. What a far cry it is from having to cut my pieces in my small kitchen as I did at our old place!  While we made it work for nearly eight years, it was definitely time to find a better way. And that we did! 



I feel like a queen in my new workplace! 



It is big, bright and yes – it is always that CLEAN.  When I showed the photos on Facebook, a lot of people mentioned that it looked “too clean” and should be a mess if it is functional. 



“Why?”, I ask?? How would that make it better? 



You can see that it is all hard surfaces – wood floors, closed cabinets, etc. – so that it is very easy to vacuum the dust after each session of work. It takes a few minutes and then next time I come into work, it is a pleasant, clean and most importantly SAFE environment.  There is nothing at all wrong with that. 



As you can see, the only tools that I use in the shop are the scroll saw, drill press, and the small router. Since I do smaller, project work and I am not building furniture, it is more than adequate for my purposes. We have a small table saw at Keith’s mom’s that we use in the basement to cut our wood to size. We don’t have a planer or a jointer, and we have our friend Bernie or the lumber mill do that part for us. It may not be a full shop, but it is functional for our own purposes and works well for us. 



I also took a photo when I was about midway through the work I was cutting:



Since the shop-vac is right next to me, it is easy to just turn it on and clean up the dust every half hour or so and keep ahead of it. That way I don’t track it all over the house if I leave to go downstairs and it really does keep everything pretty clean. There is usually a light layer of dust on the floor and the nearby tools and tool box, but a quick vacuum of those surfaces keeps everything clean and fresh. It is easy, fast, and as I mentioned, keeps things safe. Also – putting things away after I use them in the proper place means that I am not spending time looking for things when I could be working. People often ask how I accomplish so much in my day, and I am certain it is because I take the time to stay organized.  No – I am not perfect, but in general, putting things where they belong when I am done with them is a habit and works for me. After all – wouldn’t you rather walk into a shop like this to start a large job than a MESS?  I know it makes me happy! Add in my cordless headphones and I am definitely in my 'happy place’! 



After finishing cutting on Saturday, I spend Sunday doing a variety of things. I did put away all of my autumn-themed decorations and I brought up the boxes of Christmas stuff. My pretty Mums that were planted outside had all died by now, so I went out there and pulled them all up out of the front garden.  I began decorating a little bit (there will be blogs about that in the next several days) but I realized that I really don’t have as much as I would like. Now that we are in a large home, we have so much more space to fill to make things look 'festive’. Since we were in a small place before, I had downsized quite a bit. Now I look around and realize just how many open, blank walls and spaces I have to fill. I had better get busy! 



I decided to decorate little by little, as I am still in the process of deciding where everything would go. I wanted to spend some time painting, as I have a deadline due at the end of the week for a project at ToleTown and while I had it clear in my head, I needed to get moving on it. 



It began nice enough, and I got the background of the piece in nicely.  But as I started doing the main subject (a bunny) I found myself feeling 'lost’. I struggled with him for an hour or so and eventually he became quite the mess:



I wound um re-base coating his head as shown above. Not very pretty is he??  



So why am I showing you my 'blunder’?



After the weekend of praise over my sloth, I want to show you all that it isn’t always a given that things go smoothly. As an artist, I find that each project has its’ challenges. It is sometimes difficult for me to switch back and forth from the kind of art that is intended to be what I call 'fine art’ and the kind of art that is meant to be reproduced and taught to others. Those of you who do both kinds of art know that there is quite a distinction between the two. Apparently, the gears in my head hadn’t switched back from one phase to the other. After making a mess of the bunny, I thought it best to let it alone for the night and come back to it today. I hope things go better. 



My point is that we shouldn’t be discouraged by our failures. I thought a bit about where I went wrong with the bunny and I think I can do things differently and salvage him and make him 'teachable’ in the process. I will be making a video to go with this class, so you will certainly all see the process that I will settle on. I am determined to make him work. :) 



So that is what is on today’s agenda along with the usual tasks. I am sure it will be a full day and hopefully it will have a good outcome for the bunny project. We will just have to see … 



Happy Monday to you all! 



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153775914594

Friday, November 25, 2016

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1804: The Value of Online Classes - My Sloth Progress

I am slowly getting to the finish line with my sloth. I think that is quite appropriate, given that I am drawing … well … a sloth!  They don’t do anything quickly, now do they? 



Actually, I think this is going much quicker than I had anticipated. So far this has only taken three evenings to reach this point: the first for the background, the second for the branch and the beginning of the eye, and the third for the head. I believe it will only take one more session to be pretty much ‘done’. I will then leave it for a bit and come back to it and see what to adjust. I am sure I will find something. 



I always thought that working with pastels would be a chalky mess. I remember one day when my daughter Danielle was young, I allowed her to use my soft pastels to 'color’. She was about six or seven years old and we put an old shower curtain on the floor and I was glad I did. There was certainly a lot of pigmented dust everywhere. I can honestly say that I haven’t touched them since. Perhaps the vision of the mess in my mind deterred me, or perhaps maybe it was because the style of art that I enjoy creating the most is photo-realistic. After all – how could you get realism from things like chalk and colored pencils?   



Oh – but times have changed! 



Because of amazing artists such as Lisa Clough of Lachri fine Art and Jason Morgan of Jason Morgan Wildlife Art, entire new worlds of creating have opened up for me.I saw some of Lisa’s work on Pinterest, where half the picture was colored and the other half was not and I stared in disbelief. Certainly, I thought it was a photograph!  To find out that she used colored pencils to create her paintings just about blew my mind. Add to that, her openness and willingness to teach her method (much without cost to us) really was amazing. I soon became a 'groupie’ and began watching her videos and studying her methods in my 'spare time’. (And you all thought I was slacking!)  I even had quite a large set of colored pencils to get me started, so all I needed to do was fill in some supplies, right?  Little did I know it would take me on another wonderful path of art discovery. 



Through Lisa, I became familiar with Jason Morgan and his work. Jason is also a multi-talented artist who’s main focus is wildlife. He is also very giving and generous in his sharing of his talents and I became a follower of his Patreon page as well as Lisa’s. For those who many not know, Patreon is a subscription where you pay a small amount (that YOU decide) each month to help support your favorite artist. Depending on the level of support, you receive access to detailed instructional videos, reference photos, and even critiques. It is a great way to advance your own abilities while helping these great art “teachers” as well. I hope that some of you consider it, as the money I pledge to them has gone much further in improving my skills than just about anything that I have invested in. (My other favorite subscription is from Mary Kinslan Gibilisco’s Net Subscription Classes. She is another amazing teacher!) 



In any case, I wanted to update you with the progress of my sloth. After three sessions here is where he stands (or rather HANGS!):



So far, I am not unhappy with him. :)  He is coming together nicely and I ham having a great time playing with his fur.  I am pleased with his eye and while the nose needs a bit more work, it is getting there:





His nose is quite tricky. It is a fleshy, light brown, yellowish nose with a texture that is hairless, but not really smooth. It is buried in the shadow for the most part on  my reference photo, and I may wind up shading the left side of it a bit more before the drawing is completed. I will go over everything once I finish the arms and adjust the colors finally then. 



I also want to make sure that the hairs are not too 'neat’. I noticed that in much of the wildlife art is see, the hairs are too uniform and not 'wild’ enough. After all – we are depicting animals. They seldom look completely neat and tidy. My slot is a bit tidy right now, but these are still not the final hairs that will be on top. I can mess them up a bit when I complete things next time. 



Overall, I am pleased. For this being my attempt at this media,I am pretty happy. Fortunately for me, the basic principles of drawing, painting and art are pretty global, no matter which media you are working in. It feels good though to pull out these supplies that I have had for over 20 years and make use of them. 



And the dust?? I would say that it is pretty much 'non-existant’.  Between the Pastelmat paper, which 'grabs’ the pastels and my light style of drawing, I can honestly say that I have done all of this work in my 'white studio’ without any issue. I think I put a white paper towel under the drawing on my desk when I did the initial background. I used the larger Conte a Paris crayons for that and there was a little more dust. But the details on the branch and sloth both were done with the CarbOthello Pastel pencils and I have hardly had to even sharpen them. With the way I draw, they will last me a good, long time. 



I hope you enjoy seeing the progress on these. In between I was drawing new scroll saw patterns. I didn’t actually start on this piece until nearly 9pm last night, and I probably put only about three hours in since the last pictures. As I said – it is a quick process as the pastels cover very quickly. I watched some great things on Netflix as I drew and had a great night after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. 



Thank you all who have sent me encouraging messages and comments. I really feel that being part of my online communities have made me a better artist and have enriched my life. I am very happy to be here. 



Have a wonderful Friday. 



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153643170989

Thursday, November 24, 2016

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1803: "Just Another Day" here in Canada . . .

There are two times during the year that seem to affect me the most regarding living here in Canada.  For those of you who may not know, I was born and raised in the United States. More specifically, in the Chicago area. I lived the first 42 years of my life there and I have many ties and fond memories.  About 12 years ago, I decided it was time for a change and the time was just right for me to move here to Nova Scotia. I am not going to go into details here, as it is a long story, but overall, I am very happy and enjoy having two countries to call ‘home’. After all, we are all North Americans, aren’t we? 



For the most part, I am very happy here. After some rough patches, I have settled into a good life that is filled with love, creativity, and peace. It doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes miss my old neighborhood, as both of my grown children and their families are there. But I seem to feel it more both on the 4th of July (America’s Independence Day) and on Thanksgiving. It is on those two days that I am most aware that I am no longer in my home country. 



For the 4th of July, we usually have a Canada Day celebration around that time. It isn’t always on the same day, but it is close. Close enough to 'feel’ that I am celebrating for both countries. It kind of melds together. 



For Thanksgiving, though, it is a different story. Here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in early October. That is something I never realized until I moved here. The first year when someone mentioned Thanksgiving being then, I thought that they had too much Captain Morgan. It seemed so out of place. 



But it came and it went that first year and it felt incredibly odd to me. Oh – I was up for a good meal, for sure. I celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving with enthusiasm that first year. But when it really hit me hard was at the end of November. That last Thursday of the month came and went just like any other Thursday. No parade. No football. No turkey. Just business as usual. 



I felt incredibly homesick. 



Since that first year, I decided to do something about it. Since I was fortunate enough to call two countries home, there was no reason in the world that I couldn’t make my own celebration late in November and have my own (second) Thanksgiving here myself. And that I did. 



Each year, on the last Thursday of November, I make my own turkey with the trimmings and celebrate. I have done this with a house full of my Canadian friends and I have done it with only me and my kitties, and just about every combination in between. After all – with all I have to be grateful for, it didn’t seem inappropriate in the least. Today is no exception. 



I am taking this day to reflect on all the good in my life. It will be a quiet day with just Keith, myself and the cats. Keith’s mom is home from the hospital, but recovering nicely at home. We are grateful for that. I have a small turkey and will make that with stuffing, cranberries and green bean casserole (one of my favorites!) and it will be a wonderful and low-key day for me and Keith. I will get some drawing in, too, I think and I will also work on my sloth pastel drawing. 



Here is the progress I made since last time. 



The branch was a beast to get looking right, but I think I have it where I want it. I am good on the eye, but the face is nowhere near done. These are just the under-layers. You can see the comparison to the (somewhat crappy) reference photo I have:



It is coming … 



I hope I have a bit of time to work on it later. But drawing new designs will come first (along with cooking, of course!)



I also wanted to mention that Keith has two new pattern designs available on our site. His first one is SLDK696 - “Do All Things Through Christ” word art (simple version.)



The second is a more detailed version of the same phrase, with two layout options. (SLDK695 - I Can Do All Things Through Christ)



Both are really nice, I think. :) 



As I look around me while I am writing. I can’t help but be thankful. We live in a nice, warm and safe home, have good friends, and wonderful families. What more could I ask for?



My three companions are happy as well. There is Coco:



Richard on the daybed (with his “Kitty”, of course):




And my 'Executive Director of Operations’ – Pancakes:



As you can see, he still has possession of my nice chair. It has been over a month now and I think getting it back is a lost cause. Oh well – as long as he is happy. :)  



I wish all of you and your families a wonderful and healthy Thanksgiving. Even though it is “just another day”, I don’t think I need a specific “day” to be grateful, as I truly am grateful every single day of my life. I know I am very, very fortunate. 



Enjoy your day – no matter where you live. 



Happy Thursday to you all!



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153614057774

A Ming-Inspired Cabinet (79)

Working on the final construction phase of this project, namely the front bifold doors. Bifold doors are by no means common on Chinese or Japanese cabinet, however I have seen a Japanese armor cabinet with bifold doors. Not that precedent is/was some sort of factor driving the design of this piece. Bifold doors, though more complicated to fabricate than single doors, project half the distance into the room, and the folded assembly can be tucked to the side of the cabinet without running into the wall behind.

When done, the doors will present a wall of bubinga across the front of the cabinet:




The hanging stiles at each corner incorporate a built-in pivot rod, which is offset forward and outward, serving as hinges. These allow the doors to move 270˚ and tuck to the side, unlike traditional Chinese examples, where the door could only open 170˚ or so. There will be quality brass hinges as well, three on each half, which effect the folds. I just ordered those hinges from Brusso, and they will be here any day now.

I re-sawed and dimensioned the front panels from the original bubinga slab about a year ago. The slices were initially dimensioned to 0.5" thickness; after about 6 months of acclimatization in my shop, they were taken down to 0.375" (9.5mm). They have sat since, and remained nice and flat so I am very confident at this point that they will remain that way from here on out.

The panels will be contained in frames and the frames and panel will be tied together and stiffened by way of 4 dovetailed battens per panel. That makes for 16 batters per set, and with two cabinet 32 battens altogether. These will receive shouldered tenons on both ends, so I have 256 faces of material to shave off the ends. Might as well get started on those bits….

The stock was re-sawn, jointed, planed, sat, was re-jointed and re-planed down to finish dimensions. Tenons next. I’ve cut tenons in a bunch of different ways, by hand and machine, and this time, as with many other junctures in recent months, it seemed like the milling machine might be a good way to cut the tenons.

First off I rough cut one tenon cheek on each end on my table saw, then deck the cheek to the required mark:


Then back to the table saw to cut the other tenon cheek:


Then over to the chop saw to remove waste:


In one of those rare ‘time and efficiency’ moves (for me!), I lift the stick and drop the waste into the adjacent off cut bin immediately following the cut:


Once all 32 sticks are through to the same stage, I re-set the mill, using the same end stop position, and deck the opposite cheek of the tenons:


This process produced a decently accurate result:


Once all tenons were to thickness, I re-set the mill again, this time to deck the narrow sides of the tenons a slight amount:


I soon decided that a different cutter was called for, and re-set the depth and position accordingly:


The result:


Another view:


Dimensional fidelity was fine:


 The completed batten tenons, from one end:


I feel like the mill was a good way to tackle that task, and took about the same time as other methods yet with slightly better accuracy.

Below the pile are the door stiles, which are being taken down to dimension over several days and stages of jointing and planing. I really want to keep those parts as straight as possible so the doors will tend to remain flat over time:


The hanging stiles, not pictured above, were cut out, dimensioned, and processed for their incorporated hinge rods a couple of months back. We’ll get to those soon enough for mortising.

Next up in this process will be the dovetail trenches on the panels however. And that will have to wait a spell as I am switching over to a Japanese ceiling project with the next entry on the Carpentry Way. Hope to see you there.

I hope my American friends have a great Thanksgiving, and for the rest of the world, I hope your Thursday is as sweet and smooth as can be.

via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153603054719

"Just Another Day" here in Canada . . .

There are two times during the year that seem to affect me the most regarding living here in Canada.  For those of you who may not know, I was born and raised in the United States. More specifically, in the Chicago area. I lived the first 42 years of my life there and I have many ties and fond memories.  About 12 years ago, I decided it was time for a change and the time was just right for me to move here to Nova Scotia. I am not going to go into details here, as it is a long story, but overall, I am very happy and enjoy having two countries to call ‘home’. After all, we are all North Americans, aren’t we? 



For the most part, I am very happy here. After some rough patches, I have settled into a good life that is filled with love, creativity, and peace. It doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes miss my old neighborhood, as both of my grown children and their families are there. But I seem to feel it more both on the 4th of July (America’s Independence Day) and on Thanksgiving. It is on those two days that I am most aware that I am no longer in my home country. 



For the 4th of July, we usually have a Canada Day celebration around that time. It isn’t always on the same day, but it is close. Close enough to 'feel’ that I am celebrating for both countries. It kind of melds together. 



For Thanksgiving, though, it is a different story. Here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in early October. That is something I never realized until I moved here. The first year when someone mentioned Thanksgiving being then, I thought that they had too much Captain Morgan. It seemed so out of place. 



But it came and it went that first year and it felt incredibly odd to me. Oh – I was up for a good meal, for sure. I celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving with enthusiasm that first year. But when it really hit me hard was at the end of November. That last Thursday of the month came and went just like any other Thursday. No parade. No football. No turkey. Just business as usual. 



I felt incredibly homesick. 



Since that first year, I decided to do something about it. Since I was fortunate enough to call two countries home, there was no reason in the world that I couldn’t make my own celebration late in November and have my own (second) Thanksgiving here myself. And that I did. 



Each year, on the last Thursday of November, I make my own turkey with the trimmings and celebrate. I have done this with a house full of my Canadian friends and I have done it with only me and my kitties, and just about every combination in between. After all – with all I have to be grateful for, it didn’t seem inappropriate in the least. Today is no exception. 



I am taking this day to reflect on all the good in my life. It will be a quiet day with just Keith, myself and the cats. Keith’s mom is home from the hospital, but recovering nicely at home. We are grateful for that. I have a small turkey and will make that with stuffing, cranberries and green bean casserole (one of my favorites!) and it will be a wonderful and low-key day for me and Keith. I will get some drawing in, too, I think and I will also work on my sloth pastel drawing. 



Here is the progress I made since last time. 



The branch was a beast to get looking right, but I think I have it where I want it. I am good on the eye, but the face is nowhere near done. These are just the under-layers. You can see the comparison to the (somewhat crappy) reference photo I have:



It is coming … 



I hope I have a bit of time to work on it later. But drawing new designs will come first (along with cooking, of course!)



I also wanted to mention that Keith has two new pattern designs available on our site. His first one is SLDK696 - “Do All Things Through Christ” word art (simple version.)



The second is a more detailed version of the same phrase, with two layout options. (SLDK695 - I Can Do All Things Through Christ)



Both are really nice, I think. :) 



As I look around me while I am writing. I can’t help but be thankful. We live in a nice, warm and safe home, have good friends, and wonderful families. What more could I ask for?



My three companions are happy as well. There is Coco:



Richard on the daybed (with his “Kitty”, of course):




And my 'Executive Director of Operations’ – Pancakes:



As you can see, he still has possession of my nice chair. It has been over a month now and I think getting it back is a lost cause. Oh well – as long as he is happy. :)  



I wish all of you and your families a wonderful and healthy Thanksgiving. Even though it is “just another day”, I don’t think I need a specific “day” to be grateful, as I truly am grateful every single day of my life. I know I am very, very fortunate. 



Enjoy your day – no matter where you live. 



Happy Thursday to you all!



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153601641714

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Find More Milling Cu

Find More Milling Cutter Information about 1pc wood bead drill bits for 20mm ball with 2mm hole Free shipping,High Quality beaded swimwear,China bit parallel Suppliers, Cheap bit holder from Tayoutec Tools on Aliexpress.com

via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153575260764

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1802: Getting Settled

I seem to have really slowed down with my blogs here these days. For those of you who are used to reading my posts every day, I promise you that I will get back to being here more often as soon as I can. It isn’t that I am doing less (I don’t believe) but that things have been spinning in different directions this year and I am sometimes unsure if my daily activities are ‘blog worthy’ or of interest to you all. Sometimes we just need to take a breath and regroup before we can forge ahead.

I had an incredibly busy weekend again. I spent a good deal of time in my shop cutting some wood orders on Saturday. I need to mention once again that I absolutely love working in my new shop. Every time I am there, I feel like a spoiled brat. I have ample space, it is clean and neat, and I have everything organized so that while I am working everything is where is should be. I even love my sound-cancelling headphones, which not only protect my ears but allow me to listen to my favorite music while working as well. I am truly thrilled with our setup and find a great deal of pleasure in filling my orders. It is not a chore at all.

It is quite an accomplishment considering that such a short time ago we were cutting from our kitchen. I think of the extra time to set up and clean and having to impose on Keith every time I filled orders and I am quite grateful that things have changed. It has been a lot of work to get here, but very much worth it. As I cut and sanded each piece, I couldn’t help but feel a great sense of pride for what we do. We have come a long way.

I was going to finish my cutting on Sunday, but I decided to finish sewing the upstairs curtains instead. We have five windows on the front of our house upstairs (three in the upstairs washroom and two in our bedroom) and while that part of our home isn’t used much, it was really (really!) time to finish making those curtains. I used the same faux linen fabric to make some semi-sheers that would still allow light in but offer us some privacy. I was fortunate that I had just enough fabric to complete them. Since we are not on that side of the upstairs very often, it was a low priority on the house projects but has been hanging over my head for several months. I finally decided on Sunday that I had waited long enough and it was time to “just do it”. So I spent the day doing that.

By the time I finished, it was evening and I decided to work on my “Day 10” of the “12 Days of Christmas” project by Lynne Andrews. I wanted to do something that was fun and relaxing. It was a good weekend.

Yesterday I finished up my cutting and the orders will ship out today. I also have my next scroll saw project cut and I will be working on the assembly and other stuff on it today as well. You will have to come back to see what I am up to in the next few days.

I did also want to show some photos of a lovely package I received on Friday from my dear friend Charlotte. Charlotte and I have become friends on Facebook through our painting endeavors and it was a wonderful and delightful surprise to receive such a wonderful package of ‘treats’ for no reason whatsoever.

I opened the box and was thrilled to see three bags of “specialty” M & M’s! (We don’t get these here in Canada.)

She sent peanut butter flavored, coffee, and even dark chocolate – all my favorites. It is wonderful to have friends who sneak up on you with treats like this. It sure makes me feel loved! But that wasn’t all …

She also made this beautiful plate for me. She knows that I just ADORE her cute sheep. They always put a smile on my face and Charlotte always spreads words of love and hope. I just loved this!

And then there was this tiny package within the package …

I wondered what it could be?

It was a little froggy domino! He immediately found a place on my message board next to my desk…

I will smile and think of Charlotte every time I see it.

What a great treat!

I found the perfect spot for the sheep plate, too! It fit perfectly right on the wall in my studio, where I spend most of my time. I love these shelving units and think that was one of the best decorating ideas that I had for my space here. It is so easy to change my displays of all the different art pieces that I made or was gifted and it keeps the room fluid and exciting.

I don’t have to keep putting holes in the walls and can display just about anything. (I got my set from Amazon at a very reasonable cost!)

By the time I was done with everything, it was time for dinner. After that, I decided to ‘play’ with some of my wonderful supplies. It seems that I have so many beautiful art supplies and I take very little time out to enjoy them if I am not doing something that is ‘work related’. It is about time that I start USING the wonderful supplies I have and enjoying them. Are there any of you out there with this problem? We see stuff we love and get all the supplies and there they sit neatly tucked away somewhere … One of my goals is to change that!

I decided to start another pastel drawing using my Conte a Paris pastel sticks and CarbOthello pastel pencils. I found my reference photo and sketched everything out. I began the background using the Conte a Paris sticks:

At this point, it looks like a mess, but I want you all to see the steps it takes to get to a good point…

By the end of the evening, the background was pretty much based in and I began working in earnest on the left side of the branch:

You can see the left end of the branch coming together. It isn’t there yet, but it is a start. It requires a bit of patience, but it is fun and relaxing. I will certainly keep you posted on the progress.

Today’s agenda consists of working on my new scrolling project(s). I will see where everything winds up this evening, but I hope to work on my 12 days or this drawing. We just need to see how the day goes.

I thank those of you who haven’t given up on me. For those who are new to reading, rest assured that there are lots of fun projects in the future for me to share. Having new ideas is never a problem with me. It is just that lately, I have been a bit overwhelmed by ‘life’ in general and getting organized in our new environment. Once I am settled in (and I am closer to that every day!) nothing will stop me.

It is another overcast and cool autumn day here for me. We certainly had our share of clouds lately But that is part of autumn, I suppose, and I don’t really mind it at all. There are a lot of great days ahead.

Happy Tuesday to you all!



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153517654129

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Woodworking plan for

Woodworking plan for building all guns More

via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153446838754

Friday, November 18, 2016

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1801: New Patterns and UPDATE Time!

It is hard to believe we are at the end of another week already. I have been trying my best to stay caught up with things, and for the most part, I think I am doing alright. I have long ago abandoned the idea having to do “x” number of designs per week/month/year. If I measured my productivity by those numbers alone, surely it would be depressing and I wouldn’t be fair to myself. There is so much more that is involved in my day-to-day activity that takes a good deal of time. 



I have learned that the way to be most productive and feel the best about things is to just keep doing the best I can and be happy with that. The reason I am mentioning that here is because I see so many of my friends and followers gearing up for the busy weeks ahead and I can already see the stresses they put upon themselves. Most of them are self-imposed and unnecessary, as they tend to set standards for themselves that are not only impossible to reach but that they wouldn’t require of anyone else. We do these things to ourselves, it seems, and it tends to take the joy out of things for us. Many of us need to really take a look at ourselves and understand that much of the fanfare isn’t what is needed or even appreciated. It is more often the simple things are the things we remember most during the holidays. The friendships. The company. The families. 



Letting go of the unnecessary stresses can  make things so much more enjoyable and fun. It is something to think about. 



With that said, Keith and I both finished up some new woodworking designs for you to enjoy.  Both of these patterns are fun, cute and relatively simple to cut out on the scroll saw and would make wonderful gifts for just about anyone on your list. 



I’ll start with Keith’s pattern … 



He had a wonderful idea to create these lovely “SLDK694 6 Simple Nested Ornaments” pattern:



These are really cool and unique because when you cut ONE ornament, you wind up with THREE pieces:



Not only do them make pretty ornaments in themselves, but they also make lovely tags and quick little last-minute gifts for just about anyone. They can be easily stack-cut to make several sets at once and can be decorated any way you choose. I think they are fun and easy and should be very popular. 



For my own pattern, I created six layered angel ornaments (SLD536 Layered Lacey Angel Ornaments



I finished them in two ways (as usual!) – one using DecoArt Americana Gel Stains (as shown above) and one version using DecoArt Metallic Lustre acrylic waxes, as shown below:



Both versions are “EASY-PEASY” to do with NO shading.  I used some beautiful crystal hot-fix rhinestones from Rhinestone Canada to accent them and they came out just fabulous! 



I really love how they came out. They would also look great done in hardwood and left their natural color or even painted using regular acrylic paint. I just wanted to play with these colors to see how they would come out. I was not disappointed at all. 



For the stained pieces, I also tried Folk Art Extreme Glitter in 2782 Hologram for a really neat effect. The shimmery wings look lovely in the natural wood tone and the effect is subtle, yet effective. 





I think that all together they make a pretty impressive set:







I am spending today writing the pattern packet and also writing the newsletter to send out to our subscribers. (You can subscribe to our newsletter HERE if you haven’t already and are interested.)  Besides these two patterns, we have updated our two catalogs and there are additional specials, sales and painting patterns added to the site. We hope to have something for everyone. 



I hope to have everything done by the end of the day. All the product links should work by then. I then want to spend part of the weekend doing some much-needed things around the house here, as well as cut some orders. As always, it will be a busy time. 



I wish you all a wonderful weekend yourself. I hope you are enjoying these cool and beautiful autumn days. Before long they will be behind us. 



Have a great Friday. 



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/153344161614