My Three best sellers

I had made the odd jar of relish, jam and chutney in the past but in the last 18 months I have been making quite a lot and different varieties to sell at Fusspots Cafe up the road. They have proved so popular with the locals and tourists alike that I had exhausted the supply of recycled jam jars in the village and bought out all I could find in the surrounding Vinnies and Salvos shops.

I decided to buy some jars in bulk from a Sydney manufacturer recently so now I have a steady supply and uniform size plus I don't have to go through that annoying and sometimes difficult task of removing the old labels and glue.

My latest batch is mango, apricot and mixed fruit chutney. Quite yummy even if I do say myself.

Pirate Night on the P&O Pacific Jewel

In July we went on a 12 day south pacific cruise. The first overseas holiday for Matt and my 3rd cruise. It was a fun time but the bit I liked best of all was Pirate Night. Having advance warning of the possible theme nights on board, I prepared 2 pirate costumes and bought 2 wig/hats from an online costume place. This is the result. We had a lot of fun and I was so glad Matt agreed to dress up.

Cedar Jewellery Chest

This jewellery chest is made from cedar and rather than doing inlay work on the front, Matt has engraved the flowers and painted them. There are 2 separate lift out trays, one with an additional drawer.

I really don't know where he gets his ideas sometimes but they are pretty darn good I say.

Pine Inlay Jewellery Chest

Matt experimented doing finger joins on the edges of this ply wood pine box and was pleased with the result so he decided to try a flower inlay pattern on the lid and front. Now he has perfected the finger joints he has moved on to other timbers.

This one turned out really well with the lift up tray as an additional feature. It sold last week at Fusspots.

Round Cedar Tray

This is a round drinks tray that Matt has cut from a single piece of Australian cedar and turned on the lathe. It is quite light weight but sturdy and he has done the star inlay pattern in the base. He also made the display stand. This is the first round tray he has made. He made 4 rectangular ones previously that have all sold. I think this one is the best. It is for sale at Fusspots for $135.00

The star inlay bowl

This is a beautiful example of Matt's inlay work. This bowl is quite large and he has cut all the inlay pieces individually then set them in the base.

He had some trouble with the lacquer bubbling up after several coats and this required him to sand it back and start again.

However, after all the hassle, it has turned out to be a lovely piece.

The Candle Holder

One of Matt's clever carved creations. He worked on this candle stick holder for quite a while and put it aside for a while to decide how to give it a good finish.

When we finally put it up at Fusspots for sale, Veronica bought it immediately.

Fruit Bowls

Matt has been making all sorts of fruit bowls which have proved popular. The one above we gave to our mate Wolfgang as a thank you gift for making my new denture. It is made from small pieces of several types of timber that Matt has skilfully glued together in a pattern.

The one on the right is for sale at Fusspots and us made from a burl with rosewood base. It is quite heavy.

Burl Clock

This is a lovely mantle clock made from red gum burl. The burl is part of the load of timber we bought from Taree last year. I am surprised that there was so much burl in the load. Matt has made quite a few objects from it. Very popular with the tourists who drop into Fusspots where we have our permanent craft table.

More jewellery boxes

This is one of 2 rustic recycled hardwood jewellery boxes Matt has made. 

He has used the rough outside of the wood, scrubbed off the loose bits and given it a gloss lacquer finish and I have lined it with felt.

He is currently working on 36 drink coasters that will feature various pictures of Ebor for sale as souvenirs. These will be available at Fusspots Cafe sometime next week.

the clock collection

Matt has made several clocks with some of the burls he bought with the trailer load of wood from Taree late last year. They have proved popular with customers at Fusspots Cafe, especially the jewellery box/clock at the bottom of the picture. When I took it up to Fusspots to put it on the table, I realised when I got back home that I had not photographed it so I headed back to the Cafe only to find it gone from the display table. Fair dinkum it had only been there 10 minutes. I asked Shirley where it was and she said "we liked it so much we bought it, it is behind the counter". So that, dear friends, is how I managed to get a picture of it before they whisked it away to their house.

The pirate chest jewellery box

This large jewellery chest is made from Australian cedar and Matt has made it to resemble a pirate treasure chest. 


He designed and made the brass and copper trim and made the drawer handles and clasp. It has a brass padlock which is not shown in the photos so ye can be keeping all ye treasure safe - aargh me maties!


The inside is lined with black felt and the two small trays fit inside the lid and are secured with a brass lever to move up and down when the chest is opened.

Fusspots at Ebor

Matt made this teapot shaped clock as a gift for the good folk at Fusspots Cafe up the road from us. He was asked to make teapot stands in the same shape back in May last year so that every table will have one for the customers to use.

The teapot stand became so popular that the customers were asking to buy them off the table. He has ended up making several more for sale at $20 each for which we get half.

His idea to make this clock as a gift was only recent and Harold, Shirley, Veronica and Matt love it. It hangs proudly over the door to the kitchen in a prominent spot where customers can see it as soon as they walk in.

By the way, Fusspots at Ebor serves the best burgers and coffee in the whole of the New England district of NSW.

60th Birthday Card

This is a custom made 60th birthday card made especially for my friend Sharney to give to her friend Colin.

Sharney sent me a heap of photos of Colin plus a list of things he likes, favourite colour etc. and I compiled this card using my digital scrapbooking kits.

Both Sharney and subsequently Colin were very happy with the end result.

The Jewellery Chest

Matt has been working on this jewellery chest for a few months. It has 2 lift out trays and 2 swing out trays and is lined with black felt.

It only lasted one day at Fusspots before it sold.

Someone got a great bargain.

The Ukulele

This is the first Ukulele. It is not for sale as it is the prototype for more to come.

Neither of us know how to play a ukulele so it is hard to tell if it is good or not.

Nice job though.

This is the latest creation. A tall turned pot made from cedar and silky oak.

Matt put his father's lathe together recently and has now started turning pots.

He was given a good pile of wattle logs which are still a little wet but are good to turn into a basic shape, then wrap them in newspaper and store till they are dry before finishing them off.

I suspect he will never have to buy timber for woodworking again as several of the villagers have either given him wood or offered to do so.

The Fruit Bowl

This is a fruit bowl on little legs with a small hole in the bottom for air circulation. It is made from squares of cedar, wattle, silky oak and kauri pine.

It didn't last long at Fusspots and was bought just before Christmas.

Burl clock on cedar base

This lovely clock has been made from a circle of red gum burl sitting on a cedar base. Matt hand cut the numbers from a sheet of brass and bought the hands and movement from a clock supplier.

It sold recently for $125 at Fusspots. The gloss lacquer really brings up the detail in the burl.

Jewellery boxes with burl inlay on lids

Matt has been making jewellery boxes with slices of red gum burl inlaid into the lids. I must say they turn out really well. He has also been practising finger joins on the edges of some.

They all have a 2 compartment lift out tray. He has used mainly cedar, Ebor wattle and silky oak.