Wooden flag...

Hi Everyone!  I've really been busy out in the shop lately.  I'm working on several projects at once but I don't have anything new to show you today.  But I do have a custom order flag I can share with you.  I'm almost done with it...but I have completed enough of it to share it with you.

 I've made other American flags and have shared the tutorial with you here.  The only difference in how I make them when I know for sure they are being hung outdoors is that I use my biscuit joiner to join each piece at several points to the one next to it.

 But this one is different because of the additional two stars in the middle.  My client requested 15 stars...

 ...thirteen in a circle and two in the middle.  He's planning on hanging it over his front door, which was built in 1810.  And in 1810, there were 15 states....so 15 stars.

I still have some antiquing to do and then I need to add the sealer since it will be hanging outside.  I love making these flags...and I like them even more when they are custom with a twist to them.  Did you know that in 1810 there were 15 stars and 15 stripes?...just a little trivia for you.  One of these days I will make one of these for myself and I will not sell it!  Someday.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2013/07/party-junk-197-a-diy-link-party.html 
http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2013/07/188th-power-of-paint-party-popp.html 

A hodge podge of things...

Hi Everyone! It seems like forever since I've had a project to share with you. I, like all of you, have been busy. Busy filling orders, but unfortunately, not working on anything new. It's all things you've seen before.

 Like this family tree painting...

 ...but with a twist...due to a popular request, I now add the family name and Est. Date to it.  And I've had lots of orders for this one.

Several orders for my reindeer sign....

 ...and several orders for this Faith, Family, Farming sign....

 ....and this custom Fresh Farm Eggs...the original had a group of eggs at the end but this client wanted the price...I think this looks better than the original...

 I'm currently working on this American Flag for a client...and I'm making one to replace the one I had in my studio that sold.

I haven't decorated for Christmas yet...although I do have a couple of trees left over from the craft fair that are currently on display in the studio...

...along with this hand painted snowman sign......which may be all I get done this year if the orders keep coming in.  I'm also working on a custom bench...

 ...using this headboard....

...and a coffee table storage box like this black one with the apple green fabric...only in oranges and browns.  So that's a little of what's going on here and why you haven't seen anything new yet.  I promise to bring you new things just as soon as I can.  Thanks for stopping by.

Craft fair pictures...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are having a good week.  Dad is recovering nicely and has his follow up appointment today.  Hopefully that goes well and in four weeks or so he'll be able to have the AAA repair.  I worked out in the shop a bit yesterday.  I have orders to fill which is wonderful.  I have to get caught up after the craft fair and Dad's appointments and surgery.  I thought I'd show you a few of the pictures from the fair and then follow up over the next few days with some of the things I made for it that I haven't shared with you before.

 I left for a while on Saturday to take my dogs out and my dad sold my trio of paintings.  He made a deal and grouped them all together.  I hope they found a happy home.  I'm actually kind of sad that they sold.  I guess I'll have to make another set for myself.

 This big bench sold on Saturday.  I was really sad to see this one go.  I loved this bench and if I had a place to put it, I don't think I could have sold it.

 Surprisingly, I only sold one sign over the two day fair which is really unusual.  I normally sell out of signs rather quickly.  The only bright spot to that is I don't have to remake a bunch of signs.

 This little fence and birdhouse also didn't sell.  One lady was really interested in it but I came home with it.

 I'll post about the little cupboard in a day or two.

 I have some new signs to share with you too.

 I brought home the wooden flag.  I'm not sad about that either.

 This was a very popular bench and I got a lot of great comments about it.  It sold first thing Sunday morning.  I loved the fabric on it.

 My storage box/coffee table didn't sell either but I love this fabric too.  I have an order for another one with a different cushion on it so I will be swapping out the top for the new one so I don't have to build another base yet.

 I sold a couple of those cheese cloches with birds nest and eggs.

 One of my best selling items were the soap/lotion dispensers.  This is what I did with a lot of those jars I was given by my mom's friend.

 I also sold several of these jar lamps.  And the love bird coasters.

 I was actually kind of surprised that I only sold one of the numbers and none of the wooden boxes or trays.

I sold some other items that didn't get set out until later in the day on Saturday or on Sunday and I didn't get pictures of them in the booth.  It was a good fair.  I had quite a few sales and I got some really great leads on things for the future.  I also got a few orders and hopefully a few more will come out of it too.  I met some really wonderful people and can't wait to do it all again here in September at the Apple Jack's Fair.  The couple that run this craft fair also own the craft shop in the mall and after we had brought in a few of my items, they stopped me and told me they wanted my things in their shop.  So that was great to hear.  We'll see if I can afford the booth space.  Now I really have to get working on those orders and start replenishing my inventory.  I will also try to get caught up on all of my favorite blogs that I've missed the last few weeks.  Thanks for stopping by.

American Flag

Hi Everyone!  I hope this finds you enjoying your weekend.  A few weeks ago (has it really been that long ago?) I had the opportunity to guest post for Hani @ Craftionary back in April (prior to the craft fair and my dad's ordeal).  I was honored to be asked.  So with Memorial Day and Independence Day coming up I decided to show you how to make a wooden American Flag.  I've had this on my to make list for a couple of years now.  I was happy to have a reason to make it.

I started out by picking out pieces of 1x2" boards which are called furring strips from my stock pile of boards.  I used these because they are pretty inexpensive and that way I didn't need to cut boards down to the right width.  I cut 7 of them down to 26" and 6 of them down to 39".

This is cut from a scrap of plywood.  I cut it 13x10 1/2".

Here's what it looks like when I laid it out for a dry fit.

I also cut four of theses rails.  This is what will hold all of these smaller boards in place.  Once everything was cut, I sanded each piece smooth.  The sanding is what took the longest.  Furring strips are a bit furry because they haven't really been planed and pre-sanded.  Since they are made to not be seen.

I painted everything before I put them together.  I painted 7 red boards and 6 white ones.

And I hand painted the stars on.  I decided to make the Revolutionary War flag because I was going to age it and thought that would look better.  Plus I really didn't want to paint on 50 stars.  If you don't want to hand paint them, you could always use a stencil or vinyl to make the stars.  I decided I wanted the hand painted look.  White over this color of blue took about four coats of white to get  really good coverage.

Here it is before I turned it over and added the rails.  I dry fit it together before flipping so I could move boards around for a better fit.

 I flipped it over and added the rails.  I glued and nailed them together and then added screws to key boards like the ends and the blue piece.

 Then I flipped it over and sanded it.  I hit the edges and any high points.  I then added an antique medium to it to give it an aged look.

 You can see the sanded and antiqued areas.  I really like the way that turned out.  It gives it the right amount of age.

Once I was happy with it, I added a clear coat to it so it can be used outside.  The only thing I have left to do is add the hooks to it so it can hang.  So there you have it.  Now you can make your own wooden flag.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://thecheckeredapple.blogspot.com/2012/05/patriotic-link-party.html 
http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com/2012/06/patriotic-project-parade-linky-party.html 

Guest Posting

Hi Everyone!  I need to apologize for not posting anything in the past few days.  I have been busy getting ready for the craft fair this weekend.  I was so busy I neglected to post that I was Guest Posting today at Craftionary.  So if you get a change stop by and say hi to Hani and check out the flag tutorial.

I also have some other issues going on in my family and I'll share more of that soon.  But I just wanted to apologize for not being around this past week.  I do have lots of new things to share with you when I return.  Thanks for stopping by!

Holly