Paper flowers....

This winter I really got into making things out of paper. I guess since it was so cold here and I couldn't be out in the wood shop making things out of wood, I turned to more crafty projects. Here are a few of the end results.

This is made out of sheet music. It took a while to cut out each circle and spiral but I really like the way it turned out.

I had a lot of fun making this. I added a red bird to the top of this flower and down at the base.

Sorry about the color of this one, but I think it's my favorite.
Sorry about the red color on this photo, it was dark when I took the picture and I couldn't find another pic that had the whole flower in it. I think I'm in need of a better camera. I'll add that to my wish list. Well, thanks for stopping by.

Nests...

I have nests on the brain. So I thought I'd show you some of the nests I've made recently.

I think I'm anxious for spring. I love winter and snow and curling up by the fireplace (if I had a fireplace), but I'm ready for spring. I'm ready for spring flowers and sleeping with the window open. I'm ready to be awakened by the chirping of birds.

I'm ready for grass to mow weekly and calves to feed and garden tilling and planting and everything else that springs means on a farm.

I'm ready for working outside. I'm even ready for spring allergies. I am so ready for spring. Are you?

This is a nest that I made using oil pastels. I think it turned out pretty well. Thanks for stopping by.

Spring wreath...

My thoughts have turned once again to spring. The sun is shining but it's cold here today. Here are a couple of the spring wreaths I made for the shop. This one has green, lavender and cream pip berries.
This one has pip berries that are blue, yellow, and a pink-peach color.

I made the flowers out of tart pans. I painted them then glued a wooden circle that I painted to the center.

This is a wooden bird that I drew and cut out of some scrap 1/4" wood that I had. The wings and feathers are pieces of scrap wood cut to the right shape and attached with glue. It's hard to tell in the picture but they are dimensional. Then I painted it and sanded it. Before I attached the wings, I drilled two small holes and ran a piece of wire so I could attach it to the wreath then glued the wings so the holes would be disguised.

This one sold the day after I put it in the shop. The green one is still available. Thanks for stopping by.

Signs...

I love signs. I love making signs. I like taking scraps of wood from other projects and turning them into signs. This welcome sign is on a scrap of wood left over from cutting a headboard apart for a bench. There was a small hole in the middle where a spindle was, but it has been filled and painted, then sanded and antiqued. I hand paint all the words on my signs.
This is another scrap piece left from the bottom of the headboard where the spindle was anchored on the headboard.

I'm not sure the previous life of this scrap piece, but now it has purpose as a sign. And I really like this saying. I try to live each day with purpose because you just never know.

This is a fun sign. The scrap piece was also from a soild back headboard. I had the rusty beehive and thought it needed something to go with it so I painted this on the board and then sanded it. I think it might need a little more sanding. But I thought they looked good together. I put a nest with eggs inside the bee hive for a little added color.

I think this is my favorite sign right now. I love the saying. I heard it on the movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and knew I just had to turn it into a sign. The board is from a house that was built in the 1880's that was torn down and the trim work was salvaged. It has a lot of character.

Do you like signs? What is your favorite? Well, thanks for stopping by.

You made what?....

That was my mom's reaction when I told her I built a couch. Well, I didn't have one and I wanted/needed one. So I did the most logical thing (to me) and built one. It's deep so it's really great to curl up on and watch a movie or to take a cat nap on. It's covered in micro suede so it cleans up great. There are also three over sized and plump pillows that go across the back, but I forgot to take a picture of those. And I didn't take any pictures of the building of this. Next time I tackle something like this, I'll be sure of document it. Have you made any furniture out of necessity or desire instead of buying it? Well, thanks for stopping by.

The Snowbirds return...

My parents have spent the last six weeks in a condo on the beach in Florida and they are returning to winter in Iowa today. We still have some snow on the ground and the temperature today is 34 degrees. So I thought I'd share some of the pictures they sent to me while they were in Florida.

What a way to start the day. This is sunrise from their balcony.Look at the blue water and white sand beach. This picture is of Mom on the pier. I'm jealous!

This is my dad on the beach. I wonder what he's looking at???

On Valentine's Day they took the Dolphin boat out to see the dolphins. Sounds like a great way to spend Valentine's Day!

Welcome home folks! Too bad you didn't bring the warm weather with you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thinking of Spring...

The temperature is 43 degrees with a feel like temperature of 51 degrees so I'm thinking of Spring. Especially after the snow that we had last week. So I thought I'd share with you the yard stake flower I painted. This is the fifth one of these I've made and I never get sick of them. (The detail looks much better in person).

Here it is in it's display stand to go to the shop along with a couple of birdhouse stakes.

I really loved how this butterfly turned out. It is to go on the side of a garage. A client asked me to make one to replace the one she had which was made out of 1/4" plywood (which of course doesn't last long out in the elements). I made this out of 3/4" cedar and used outdoor paint and then sealed it with outdoor poly. The paint will probably need to be redone at some point but the wood should last. I didn't take a picture of the one this is replacing but it had lost most of it's paint and the layers of plywood had come apart or were missing. So I hope this lasts a while for her. Thanks for stopping by.