Custom job - Bonsai plant stands

We received a call just before Christmas from a fellow who had stopped at Fusspots on his way to Port Macquarie and had been impressed with Matt's woodwork. He wanted to know if Matt would make him some stands for his Bonsai plants.

As there are dozens and dozens of different types of stands available, so Google told me, I downloaded images of several types and emailed them to him and asked him to choose the ones he wanted.

He has chosen the 3 on the left and they are ready to be posted to him once payment arrives in the bank. I must say they have turned out really well and when I emailed this photo to him he was very pleased.

Nice to get custom jobs. Happy New Year!

The burl Clock

This is the first attempt at making a clock from one of the pieces of red gum burl from the Taree load of wood. The burl was not quite wide enough so Matt sliced it up the middle and added a strip of cedar to the middle which also forms the part where you hang it on the wall. He added a base as well so the clock can also sit on a surface if preferred.

We bought a cheap clock from one of the bargain stores then transplanted the mechanism into this clock. It keeps remarkably good time.

The numbers were engraved into the timber then painted black. Several coats of gloss lacquer later and voila! One pretty fancy clock.

Veronica at Fusspots Cafe fell in love with it straight away and bought it for $90.00 (mates rates) and it is now hanging proudly on her living room wall.

Matt has since made another circular burl clock and donated it to our local Lions Club to be raffled next year. It too is keeping good time.

Another jewellery cabinet

This is a lovely 3 drawer jewellery cabinet with turned brass knobs. Matt has laminated together slices of cedar, silky oak and kauri pine then cut the cabinet on the bandsaw.

The drawers are lined with felt and is presently for sale at Fusspots Cafe for $125.00.

The wood from Taree

Last month Matt bought a whole 8'x5' trailer load of dressed cedar, silky oak, rosewood and other timbers including some lovely slices of red gum burl, that were part of a deceased estate. It was excellent value as the bloke wanted to sell the lot in one go. His late father was an avid woodworker and his entire stock of timber had to go. There were some items that had already been turned but not finished. Amongs these were 2 large red gum burl bowls. Matt finished this one by sanding and then applying several coats of citrus bees wax.

This next one was finished with several coats of gloss lacquer. There is so much timber that Matt is having trouble finding room in the shed for it so at the moment it is still loaded in the trailer and covered with a tarp to protect it from the weather.

He was as happy as a kid at Christmas when we got home from our long day trip to Taree to collect it all.

Cheers

A cedar jewellery cabinet

Matt's latest creation made from a single block of cedar is this lovely 5 drawer jewellery cabinet. He has turned the brass knobs from pieces brass rod and the feet from a piece of brass angle iron. The drawers are all lined with black felt.

This lovely piece is for sale at Fusspots Cafe in Ebor for $150.00.

The raffle prize for Ebor school

This is a nested jewellery box that Matt has made as one of the prizes in the Ebor School P&C Christmas Raffle which is drawn on 18 December 2011 at the Guy Fawkes Carols by Candlelight.

Not only did he do the intricate inlay on the lid but he also shaped the brass hinge and clasp from some brass he found in his father's shed. The box is lined with black felt.

It was made from some old skirting boards that had been removed from his grandmother's house in Mudgee. Her house had been built from recycled materials from the old presbytery so the wood would be at least 100 years old.

Tickets for the raffle are $1.00 each and as at the date of this post, I have sold 271 tickets. Thanks to all my email buddies that took a few.

Anna's jewellery box

Anna asked me if Matt could make a jewellery box that was shaped like a pirate chest, for her daughter's birthday in November. She wanted to have some little secret compartments in it so Matt has designed this box which is made from cedar.

The lid lifts to reveal 2 trays that swing out and are attached to another larger tray. This whole thing lifts out to reveal another compartment underneath.

Then the drawer at the bottom is large enough to hold all her little keepsakes. The trays and drawer will be lined with royal blue felt and the box is finished with brass trim. As at the date of this post, he is still finishing off outside of the box to make sure it is smooth and the finish is nice and glossy. Plus Anna has asked that he engrave her daughter's name on the bottom. I need to check spelling with her first but this will be done.

It will be ready for Anna to take home in about a week. I hope her little girl just loves it.

The "Egyptian" Platter

I have called this the Egyptian platter because it looks to me like something you would find in an Egyptian tomb. It is made from strips of cedar and pine with a silky oak trim and silky oak legs.

Matt has given in many coats of clear gloss lacquer so it would make a nice fruit bowl or bread platter.

It is for sale at Fusspots Cafe for $50.

The Marquetry Teapot Stand

This is the front of the second teapot stand Matt has made. The style is called Marquetry and he used cedar, silky oak, pine and old cupboard drawers (aka recycled timber).

He decided to make it reversable so here is side 2. You will see he has used knots in the timber so that it looks like a face in the middle, or an owl.

This was on the table at Fusspots for only 2.5 days, priced ar $75 and was sold to a local lady as a gift for her husband.

The cedar chest with brass trim

This is a 2 drawer cedar jewellery chest with silky oak inlay on the top and finished with decorative brass piano hinges as a trim. The handles are also brass and hand turned by Matthew. It is made from a single log and both drawers are lined with royal blue felt.

This sold for $70 recently at Fusspots.

This is Matt's recent project. Jason Crawford (right), a local lad, asked Matt to make a sign for the family property for his father for a Father's Day gift.

Needless to say both Jason and his Dad Mark, were thrilled with the result.

Mark told me it was the best Father's Day gift he had ever had. Not a bad result.

My certificate of recognition

On Monday 1 August, for Education Week, the combined small schools awards for the New England area were held here at Ebor Public School. I was asked to attend as I was to be given an award.

I was surprised and delighted to receive a certificate for "outstanding contribution to Ebor School by a community member" because I have been volunteering to teach the children scrapbooking. They are documenting their school year activities for 2011.

I was so proud and grateful to be recognised but I just love doing what I do. We had a nice afternoon tea and I baked a chocolate jaffa cake which was demolised rather quickly.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was a screening of a short film that the pupils have made with the assistance of a filmmaker from Bellingen. For a small school, the kids get to do some wonderful excursions. They spent 2 days in Coffs Harbour last month and went whale watching and took a helicopter ride. Never had that much fun when I was at school.

I am so glad we moved to Ebor as we have been embraced by the community and have made many new friends.

Cheers

The cedar Elephant's foot

I thought I would post a better photo of this wonderful pot. Given the shape of the log, Matt decided it would make a great elephant's foot so he went about cutting and sanding it to make the finished product.

The grain of the cedar log is brought out to perfection and the toes are made from teak.

He has made another larger one with a brass handle on the lid and the toes of that one are pine. It basically looks the same as this one.

I love it, it is so quirky and cute.

New ideas for woodwork projects

Ok, here is a photo montage created by Matthew of some of his jewellery boxes. Most of them have now been sold except the elephant's foot and the 6 drawer cabinet top left.

His workmanship is superb having worked on the pirate chest jewellery box for almost 3 months to get the details just right. The man who bought it is a carpenter and was amazed at Matt's ability given the fact that he is an amateur and only been woodworking around 12 months.

Matt now has a permanent display of his woodwork at Fusspots Cafe where everyone can see his work. Anything sold whilst I am not actually having my craft stall (every Saturday), we give 10% commission to the owners.

Everyone is happy.

Cheers

more stuff at long last

Wow, 3 months since I updated this. Matt has been busy making things but I have been slack at showing them off. Nevertheless, here are some of his latest creations.

This is a 4 drawer jewellery cabinet made from cedar, teak and red bean woods. All drawers are lined with red felt and it is finished with a gloss lacquer. The handles are made from copper wire.

This is a jewellery box made from some really old wood that Matt has sanded to reveal the lovely grain then lacquered to bring out the character. Also lined with red felt it was bought by Veronica from Fusspots Cafe.

The latest Hobbit Pot & coaster collection

These little pots are made from Australian cedar. Matt has made them from branches and followed their natural shape so that each little pot has its own unique shape. We christened them Hobbit Pots because they look like something you would find in Frodo's or Gandalf's house.

He has turned the knobs on the lids using a drill and his electric sander. One of these days we must get him a proper lathe.

He has also made drink coasters from slices of the cedar branches and has created different holders for each set of six, some of which are pictured below.

I will be having a craft stall this weekend outside the local cafe (Fusspots at Ebor) and am hopeful that these will sell well like the last lot he made.

Matt has made a couple of the coaster sets with pictures of red back spiders on them. The first lot he made like this sold in a flash at the last craft stall.

The main thing is that Matthew loves to work with wood, a new hobby he has found after we moved to Ebor. Previously he really enjoyed lawn bowls but the nearest club with a half way decent green is Armidale, an hour each way by car so he is not all that keen now. And being a retired greenkeeper, he is extremely fussy about the sort of green he plays on.

So woodwork it is and may I say I love his work.

The "Greg" Guitar

This is the "Greg" Guitar that Matt has made. It is the fourth guitar and by far the best sounding one. He has made it for his brother Greg who is a muso. I think he will like it though he doesn't know that he is getting it yet.

Matt will be making another "Greg" for his first commission. No more freebies, he needs to recoup some of the money we have outlayed on wood, glue, strings and other assorted expenses.

Fortunately the hobbit pots are popular and now that Matt has bought some seasoned red cedar logs from Ebay, he will be able to make a whole lot more of them.

Hobbit Jars

See these little jars with lids? I call them Hobbit Jars as they look like something Frodo would have lying around his home.

Matt made them from pieces of an Australian Cedar branch that was sawn into rings. He hollowed out the centres and joined them together then made lids for them. A couple of coats of gloss lacquor and they look pretty good.

They have now been sold along with the coasters in the front of the picture as I had a craft stall last weekend with Loretta outside Fusspots Cafe.

I also sold a few of my "Greetings from Ebor" souvenir cards and a few other scrapbook related products and managed to put $110.00 into the money box. Not a bad effort for a weekend.

I had the Lute/Guitar on display as well and his guitars in the car so when a lady enquired about having Matt make a guitar for her, he accepted his first commission. YAY!!

He has spent the last week in the shed making more coasters and hobbit jars in anticipation of another stall in a few weeks.

I am also selling bookmarks and cards at the post office and at the cafe so I am picking up a little pocket money each week. Nice .....

Matthew a year apart

This is a digital scrapbook layout of Matthew I made recently to show his physical changes over the space of one year.

The beard is getting progressively longer now and will no doubt keep his face warm in the coming winter.

He hopes to let the beard grow all year and maybe he can volunteer to play Santa in this year's Carols by Candlelight celebration.

Gotta love that man of mine........

My hand made greeting cards

This is a set of 6 greeting cards I have made using a music theme. I have used products from "Darkroom Door", a stamping and papercraft company owned by the wonderfully talented Photographer Rachel Greig.

They are for sale for $15.00 the set and come with envelopes and sealed in cellophane bags.

The Carving

Here is the stage coach and horses carving Matt has started. It was a solid piece of timber when he started and is working on it every now and then.

I will post a picture of the finished product some time this year.

Eeeek... there is a viking climbing through the back door

I now know what Matthew gets up to at night after I have gone to bed. He recently took a series of self portraits and managed to create a wooden viking using his own face and attached it to the back door.

It cleverly covers that part of the door which he had yet to finish painting and I reckon it looks fabulous.

He then made a sword and attached that over the painted version of the sword. He makes me laugh. He is so clever.

The Lutar

This is Matt's latest project - a Lute/Guitar also known as Lutar. He got the idea from a German web site.

This picture was taken early on in the construction, before the sound board was fitted to the front.

He has made a mould which is shaped like a half egg and has bent the strips of wood into the lute bowl shape around the mould.

The sound board is made from Australian Cedar and the sound hole and bridge are carved from Jarrah.

He has used hardwood, blue gum and some pine in the construction of the neck, nut and back.

It is strung like a regular 6 string guitar and you play it the same way.

The instrument is now finished and sounds just like a regular guitar. It is best played sitting down for ease of use.

I am very impressed and I wonder what he will think of next to make.

Cheers

Ian's Guitar

Guitar number three in progress. Matt is making this one for my brother Ian. The last coat of lacquer is done and as soon as it is dry Matt will add the strings.

The scary serpent now finished

Ok folks, this is a musical instrument and it is called a Serpent. You play it like any big brass instrument (trombone, euphonium, tuba) and because it is curved, there seems to be better sound coming from it than from the Squarpent he made previously.

Matt decided to paint scales and fangs on the thing so it would have to be the scariest looking instrument in the band.

Now we just need to find someone who can play a trombone to give it a blast and see what it is supposed to sound like. Any takers???

Cheers