Friday, January 27, 2017

My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond #1816: Some Updates for Our Site

Good day to you all. I am still in my ‘organizational mode’ here and I am sorry to say that I have been so busy that is has been difficult to find time to blog. Add to that the many wood orders I have been receiving (thank you!) and the fact that both Keith and I are fighting this cold/flu thingy that is going around, and you will understand why I haven’t posted. It has been a crazy month to start out the new year, to say the least. 



Our kitty Richard is doing better, though, so that is a relief. So many of you have been wonderful and have asked about his progress. I think we are finally past the severe liver infection he had and all of the subsequent damage that had caused him. At least things seem to have settled down in that department so that is one worry we can check off the list. It is with 'guarded optimism’ that I say that he is well on the road to recovery. Yay for that! 



Through all of our cutting and coughing and blowing our noses, we have still been able to do some work that has kept us busy. I think that is one good thing about being self-employed. We get to slow things down a little when we aren’t feeling our best and for the most part, it can go unnoticed. After spending the weekend finishing up my SLDP256 Winter Songbirds Painting pattern, I spent a couple of days packaging and mailing out orders. While everyone was wonderful about taking my time to get them out, I knew for myself that I have other things on deck and wanted to get them filled and shipped as quickly as possible. It felt good to be so busy. 



Keith worked on some new things as well this past week. He not only has a new free pattern posted on our site, but he also has a new welcome sign that can be personalized to fill your own needs. 



I’ll start with the new free pattern … 



We really try to change our new free patterns periodically, but sometimes that task falls to the bottom of the list. We are so fortunate that we are busy. We always appreciate that and wouldn’t have it any other way. 



You can go to our Free Patterns & Resources page to find the new free scroll saw pattern:







I think it is a cool and fun sign that can be used in a variety of ways. We hope you enjoy it. 



Keith’s next new scroll saw pattern is a beautiful and elegant welcome sign that can be personalized by you to hold your family name, address numbers or any appropriate greeting. (SLDK705







This pattern comes with a full alphabet so you can change the pattern to accommodate whatever suits your fancy (within reason.)  It’s clean cut lines and pretty lettering would fit in just about any decor. We hope you enjoy it. 



As for myself, I finished the pattern for the SLDP266 Winter Songbird Mittens painting pattern and everything has been shipping out.







The pattern is 19 pages long with over 30 step-by-step photos so that even the newest painter can create these lovely mittens. I decided last weekend to do a “pre-order” on the patterns and the Super Combo Kit (SLDPS256) which includes the pattern, the wood pieces, the charms and the silver wire for hanging. The only thing I didn’t include in it was the fur. The response was tremendous and I spent the past week cutting and filling out orders. I am all caught up now though and ready to move ahead to other projects and orders. So it was a great week.



Finally, for today’s post, I wanted to give a little sneak peek of the next project that I am doing with the very talented Lynne Andrews. Lynne and I had so much fun with the “12 Days of Christmas” series that I have been showing you all, that we decided to do another year-long project. This time we are painting a series of “Noah’s Ark” designs that we think will be sure to be fun and delightful for those of you who paint and the recipients alike. The Noah’s Ark theme lends itself not only to children but also to just about any spiritual setting. Lynne’s wonderful talent and adorable critters will certainly make this series one that you will cherish for generations to come. 



In the series, there is a larger, plaque -sized Ark which will show Noah and several animals. This plaque can be used on its own as a decoration, or as the centerpiece of the entire series. In addition to the large piece, there will be 12 smaller Ark ornaments that will somewhat depict a theme for each month. (i.e. January- polar bear, February – moose with hearts, March – Raccoon with shamrocks, April – Bunny, etc.) Each design in itself is fabulous! 







Lynne is still creating the 12 ornaments at this time and I am designing a Prim type dowel tree that can be used to display everything, but those will come later on. For now, we are planning to kick off this project in early March and start the creating process. I am in the process of setting up a Facebook Group in which we can all paint together, as we did with our “12 Days” projects. Lynne will be there to moderate with me as well as Vera and Lynn who helped with the “12 Days”.  We will have videos and articles with tips and techniques and as with our other group, we will have the support of our fellow painters so that we all have a wonderful, positive and successful painting experience. I hope you join us! 



I have the surfaces ready to purchase up on my site right now so if you are interested, you can order them and be ready. The SLDPK157 is for the set of three two-piece, bevel-cut ornaments and the SLDPK158 is for the larger two-piece plaque. I ask that you order as soon as you decide so I can work on getting the pieces to you as soon as possible. I have no idea how many will be ordered, but as always, I will do my best to get you your pieces in a timely manner. Since each piece is hand-made, it does take a little time. I am so happy that you understand that. 



Lynne tells me that the patterns will be available on her site (www.lynneandrews.com) by the beginning of March. I will not be selling her patterns, but I am sure you will enjoy shopping at her site. She has so many other wonderful patterns as well, and I know you will want to get several of them. 



So that should about do it for today. I am sending out a newsletter to our Subscribers later on today to announce these new project patterns, surfaces, and sales. If you are on our list, please look for them by the end of the day. 



It is good to get back into the swing of things. I hope to be posting more here as things get back into a routine. But for now, I just post when I can. I wish you all a wonderful day and a happy weekend ahead. 



Happy Friday to you all! 



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