Something Very Christmas

As I mentioned in my last post, my next one would be something very very Christmas. This pattern is from Scroll Saw Woodworking and crafts holiday edition 2003. I kind of stumbled on it while I was looking for the name train project featured in the last post. This nativity scene is a special pattern by John Morgan. Each figure is made up of interlocking puzzle pieces. You can't really tell that from the picture.
Hardest part of this project was not the cutting but the careful painting of each piece. It took me far longer than I thought it would and I am not very confident in doing it. But it came out fairly well I think.
While making this set I thought about how frantic this season is. The crowds, the traffic, the weather the rush to get things done, the preparation for Christmas day.
We need to be reminded of what this day means. Suddenly Christmas morning arrives and everything slows to a stop and there is truly peace on earth, at least our part of it. This nativity scene reminds us that this is the birth of all we believe in , all we hope for and live for, our families, our friends.
May you all find the joy and the peace of this season amongst the hustle and bustle, the hype and hyperbole. MERRY CHRISTMAS from Terry's Scroll Shoppe.

All Aboard!

Well here it is all finished. The Terry Train. Of course you can make them in any kid's name which makes this a great gift for a toddler or a nifty dresser top decoration for the new baby's room. You can paint the letters any colors you want. I chose green and white. If you know me
you know why. I call the the "Capital One Bowl Express".

Picking a price point for these for orders is kind of tricky. It has to be based on a per piece rate because names are different lengths. The average length is about five letters plus the engine and caboose makes 7. About $2.50 per is what I figured. Making this one $17.50. OOOHH that smarts. But the expenses include the wood, wheels, cup hooks for coupling, and paint. Now you can start figuring in the labor and I'm working cheap!

Thing is, names used to be so simple like Mike, Alan, Dave, Ken. Now a days its Alexander,
Brandon, Conner, Chelsae, Melissa, Caitlyn...you get the idea. Those would be some pretty expensive trains. Now if you're an Ian, Tom, Or Joe, you can save a lot of bucks. So think about that when you name your kids, Mortimer and Ethelred!

Hardest part of this was the painting. I stink at it. I tried spay paint and it came out terrible except for the engine and caboose which, as you can see are just one color. For the letters the bottom is yellow to represent the car the letter sits on. Painting the letters is hard because you need to get the insides covered and the paint runs. Still I managed to get it done. It's....nice........ NOT THRILLING.... but....nice (Dom DeLuise, History of the World Pt I).

By the way the creator of the pattern for this project is John A Nelson and it is from the 2003 edition of "Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts" Holiday issue. (yes I keep and save them all!)

Well, the next project is already in progress. All I'll say at this time is that it is something very, very, Christmas.. Probably won't get it done this weekend because I'm going to be busy with my other enterprise...arena announcing at sporting events. Look for another post early next week.

Busy Weekend in Ye Olde Scroll Shoppe

First completely free weekend I've had in I don't know when. No extracurriculars this weekend.
No basketball, No hockey, No announcing, No place I had to be. So I decided it was a good
weekend to spend entirely in the shop. Displayed above are some of the projects from the weekend.
I have already told you the story of the item at the top of the board..."Live Life Laugh Often" so let me tell you about the others. The "Merry Christmas 2010" ornament with the nativity scene was ordered by one of my friends at my day job. She wanted two of them and I already had one so I cut this one out on Saturday.
The key chain you see hanging next to it is done with a new technique to me that I learned on-line. I down loaded a program that produces patterns for oval shaped key chains with the letters cut into the wood. I then put a backer of a different color wood on it and filled the letters with polymer modeling clay. It comes in a wide variety of colors. I chose red for an at work Friend that wanted eight of them to honor his late father in-law. After packing the clay into the letter cut outs I baked them for half an hour in the oven and then sanded off the excess. A wipe down with Watco Danish Oil gives them a beautiful finish.
The cars are something I have just recently gotten interested in. The body's are cut from your basic contrstuction type 2x4 and the fenders are from scrap wood. The wheels are just a standard craft store product and 1/4 inch dowels serve as the axles. Funny story about the smaller more modern looking car. To cut the body I affix a pattern to the 2x4 using krylon Easy Tack spay on glue. It is a temporary bond and easy to remove. For the finish I decided on Krylon Clear Glaze, a kind of lacquer that gives it a nice gloss. Well...Krylon Easy Tack and Krylon Clear Glaze come in very similar looking cans! You can see what's coming here, can't you? After coating my little hot rod till I had a nice shine on it I stepped back to admire my work and looked down at the can in my hand. I suddenly realized I had just covered by beloved project in GLUE!!!!!! I grabbed in (sticking to my fingers) and raced to the other room where I poured a can of mineral spirits into a pan and proceeded to give it a bath. Fortunately it worked and everything is fine now. Boy, was I mad!!!
There is one unfinished project you see here. It is my name train. Tomorrow axles and wheels will be added to each piece and they will all be painted different colors. It will serve as a decoration for my desk at work as we try to win the decorating contest for the holidays. I'll post a new picture when it's done. See ya then.

You Are Only As Good As You Take the Time to Be

Cut this one out in the shoppe tonight. It is a lovely piece of word art from a pattern by scroll saw artist and pattern designer Sue May. I've sold quite a few of these so when a friend at my

day job ask me to make one for her to give as a "Secret Santa" gift I was pleased to oblige.

So I came home and copied the pattern and pieced it together (to big to fit on one sheet) and

affixed it to a 1/4 inch piece of baltic birch plywood.

As I looked over the pattern I thought "Gee, this is pretty simple. Nice big interior cutouts, long sweeping gentle curves, no real delicate work, I should be able to knock this out in about 15 minutes". BUZZZZZ!!!! WRONG!!!

I started with the interior cuts as I always do and began to zip through them. Suddenly I began to notice that my curves were looking flat on one side. Some spots that should be straight were turning out rather crooked. I finished cutting it out in about 45 minutes and peeled the pattern off it and began to look it over. IT WAS AWFULL!!!! The tops of the "L's" had flat spots all over them, the big "O"(mind out of the gutter please!) looked like a flat tire and the "f" in often looked like a crooked tree limb. Well this won't do. I can't give her this. So after supper I decided to cut another one. Hey, mu reputation is on the line when I let my blade wander so far off the line, so it is back to fundamentals.

When cutting big sweeping curves that bend into short tight ones like the "L's" in Live and Life it is important to let the blade do the work and not "push" your work into the blade. You must keep light finger pressure on the piece and just guide it through the blade and do not stop to re-orient the blade to the line. When you do that you get those flat spots. You take it SLOW and steer the wood through the curve just like you would your car. Steer too slow and your blade will wander to the outside of the curve. Too fast and the blades cuts to the inside of the curve.

It takes a lot of practice, and I've had a lot of practice but for some reason tonight I thought I could just zip through it and get away with it. I'm too embarrassed to even show you that first attempt. I did keep it right in front of me as I cut the second one just to remind me where I messed it up. Another I did was to cut the second one sitting on a stool. I tried the first one standing up and with some of the cuts being extraordinarily long my back just can't take it anymore.

But, in conclusion, no matter how good you think you are (and I think this includes everything you attempt to do in life) you are only as good as you take the time to be.

Thanksgiving Weekend

When you have a big task in front of you people tend to say "You've got your work cut out for you". Well for me the have to say "You have your work to cut out". In the above picture you see three of the Angel's Greeting tree ready to cut out. Here is the process.
1. Cut three blanks of 3/8 cherry.
2. Sand both faces
3. Add the pattern to the wood by coating the back side with temporary spray adhesive and pressing on to the wood.
4. Cover the pattern with strips of clear packaging tape. Why do this? When sawing out the
pattern the blade tends to heat up and hardwood, especially cherry, tends to get burn marks on the inside of the cut. The tape acts as a lubricant on the blade so this does not happen. I use the two inch wide rolls. There cheap and its well worth it.
5. Now we take out blanks to the drill press and drill a 1/16th inch hole in each of the inside
opening in the pattern.
6. Now we are ready to cut. We will do all of the interior cuts first and then the outside perimeter cuts.
7. Next we'll cut the base from a 1" piece of walnut and cut the hole for the tree stem to fit into.
This has to be done just right for a good fit.
8. Now it's time to finish. I'll take the trees to the finish room and pour some danish oil into a 9x12 pan and immerse the tree in the oil. I take it out and wipe off the excess and set it aside to dry. I do the same with the walnut base. The danish oil gives it a nice rich warm color and brings out the patterns of the grain. After it dries it is ready to assemble and present.

This tree has been a big hit this year. Without doubt the most successful holiday project ever.
Thanks to you all from the bottom of my heart and thanks to Paul Boer for the wonderful pattern.

Don't Forget this week to...

Decided this weekend it was time to create a little Thanksgiving art. Remembered these two
patterns and also found some new Thanksgiving ornaments from Steve Good on his blog.
Did manage to finish a couple of orders this past week between raking up the rest of the leaves and announcing a couple of games, two basketball and one hockey. It is really a busy time which accounts for the lack of posts lately. Sorry but I just haven't had the time.
We are going to be decorating the office in the next week or so. We are in competition with the other areas of the company so we're goin for the Gold. Can't tell you the theme just yet. It is a
closely guarded secret.
Don't recall if I mentioned it yet, but priority one for 2011 has to be a website for Terry's Scroll
Shoppe where people can make purchases of my stuff. It must be Fantastic...user friendly...
dynamic...and CHEAP TO DESIGN. I know nothing about website design. I'm sure there is a "Website Design for Dummies" out there. Hopefully it works for Morons too!
Have a pleasant Thanksgiving. Loved Ones, I'll be thinking of you in my heart and with a tear in my eye. Be Well.

Working on Orders This Weekend

Paul's "The Angel's Greeting" tree was a huge hit a work on Friday. I got one order before I even set a price on it and two more tentative orders as well. Price point for this is $28. Cutting
time was about two and a half hours and the wood is Cherry. The piece I cut it from was 3/8 inch thick and add to that a one inch thick walnut base and you have a bout $5 worth of wood in it. To see the finish project check out the previous post.
Some other things I've been working on this weekend: a word art with the phrase "Prayer Answers All" and some personalized ornaments. A lot more to do this week.
For next week: another word art Christmas tree on a different theme. More orders for people at work and try to find time to do some decorating of the house and yard for Christmas.

The Angel's Greeting

Well here it is, what I've been working on this week. It is from a pattern in the Holiday issue of Creative Woodworks and Crafts. The pattern was designed by Paul Boer, one of the mags great contributors.
This took about two and a half hours to cut and I spread that out over three days. Normally I'd do something like this all in one session but my busy schedule has been limiting my time in the scroll shoppe.
The wood is cherry and the base is walnut. I finished it in danish oil and am looking forward to displaying it on my desk at work.
Speaking of work, getting lots of Christmas orders from the gals at the office. Most want Christmas ornaments or things to give special people in their lives. I'm starting to get a lengthy list and I need to get busy on it. I'll post pictures of the work as I go along.
I'm trying to design some name ornaments similar to Steve Good's pattern using Inkscape but so far haven't been successful. I know it is doable, it is just a matter of learning the software.
There are a couple of good tutorials on the web and I'll be studying those this week. Wish me luck.

The People Have Spoken!

Despite the poor reviews of the Scrolling with the Stars judges, thanks to your votes Terry's Scroll Shoppe returns to scroll again (see previous post ). Took my Sheila Landry musical instrument ornaments to work today and they were and instant hit. One might even say BOFFO! One lady was so taken she has ordered the entire set! Others spoke for individual ones as well. I'm overwhelmed. I'll be spending the next week or so cutting out a couple more sets. Now that I have the confidence and technique down I'll try stack cutting two at a time.

Working on another special project I hope to finish in the next couple of days. Should have some photos when it's done. Maybe I won't need to do bazaars this month after all.

Sheila's Ornaments

Finally finished cutting out my first set of Sheila Landry's musical instrument ornaments. November is by far the busiest month of the year for me and, unfortunately, not all of it involves scroll sawing. These ornaments have some fine details in them that you cannot see in the picture and it was quite challenging for me. I wouldn't give this work an A plus but it would get a passing grade.
Scroll sawers are usually far more critical of their own work than anybody Else but as I was cutting these I was wondering what if my scrolling work were being critiqued by the judges of the hit tv show "Dancing With The Stars". Probably go something like this.

Announcer: Scrolling Sheila Landry's French Horn Ornament...Terry of Terry's Scroll Shoppe.

Tom: Come on over here Terry and let's get the judges comments, starting with the
who never seems to get enough fiber in his diet, Len.

Len: Well over all I thought it was pretty good...but for me...the French horn must have
elegant, smooth, flowing curves, and yours were a bit flat at times. You've got to
work on that.

Tom: OKAY speaking of elegant curves let's go now to the ever weeping Carrie Ann.

Carrie:(wiping away a tear) You know, I see so much potential in you. It's clear that you truly
love what you do. But I want to be moved to tears by your artistry and not by the
fact that you have'nt reached it yet. AND I did see a LIFT!

Terry: But I was just lifting the arm to change a dull blade!

Carrie: Next time start with a sharp one That is fundamental.

Tom: All right...now to the always flamboyant Bruno.

Bruno: (rising and shouting) YOU SEXY SCROLLING BEAST. YOU APPROACH YOUR WORK
WITH A FIRE AND A PASSION I HAVE NOT SEEN. (sitting back down and
lowering his voice) But I'm afraid Len is right, you know. The curves are a bit
flat. You should try loosening the grip on your wood and that will make it easier
to manipulate.
Tom: (evil grin)Bruno...would you care to expand on the "loosen the grip on your wood
to manipulate it better?

Bruno: YOU NAUGHTY BOY. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN. I SHOULD PUT
YOU OVER MY KNEE AND SPANK YOU.

Tom: Could be exciting for both of us. How bout right after the show?
be sure to join us tomorrow night to see if Terry is going to return next week or
leave in shame and humiliation. THIS IS SCROLLING WITH THE STARS!

Please folks...I need your votes...

Weekend Projiects

Made these two angel puzzles from a pattern by Dave and Judy Petersen. They specialize in puzzles and have published three pattern books. One which I have deals with animals. They have another called "Fantasy and Legends" which has unicorns, dragons, and the like and their most recent is Zodiac puzzles utilizing the signs of the zodiac for patterns. This pattern isn't in
any of them so I was glad to find it in the Holiday edition of "Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts" magazine.
The wood I used for these angels is a spalted maple. It has beautiful streaks in it and it is a soft maple so it cuts and shapes easily. I used a flap wheel sander in my drill press to round over the edges slightly which gives it a softer look and a little depth to the parts. A number five blade made the pieces slide together easily.
Hope to do more of these in the future cutting and shaping more of Judy and Dave's patterns.
I need practice using the flap wheel sander. One problem I have is not holding the pieces tight enough and the wheel propels them out of my hand and across my shop turning them into deadly missiles! Another is holding the pieces against the wheel too long causing burning or two much rounding. But, learning is what it is all about, right?
Have a good one. More to come soon.

Simple can be Good. Don't you think?

These simple little trucks were both made from a left over hunk of 2x4. The most expensive
thing on them are the wheels at about 25 cents each. They were cut from very simple patterns

designed by Steve Good in just a matter of minutes. Then, of course there is sanding and

finishing. I put a coat of spray lacquer on each one and the small car seen on the flatbed. Dries quickly and looks really good. I have been looking for more of these kinds of patterns and am finding many on the web that are quite reasonably priced. I put these on top of my workstation and it looks good for getting some orders for Christmas. Got a feeling that if I want to I can be very busy making things over the next month.

A Pleasant Visit With One of My Heroes

Had a pleasant conversation this afternoon with Sheila Landry of Sheila Landry Designs. Sheila is a pattern designer and long time scroll saw artist. For years I have enjoyed her patterns and cut many beautiful things from them. I have read her articles in magazines I subscribe to as well. So when I was having trouble placing an order on her new website I dropped her an email at the address on the site and she emailed me back asking for my phone number so she could call me. I readily agreed and sure enough she called me in just minutes!
Turned out the problem was a simple one. And it was all mine not hers. As soon as I corrected it, BAM...Bob's your uncle, there were my patterns in my email. After we straightened out the problem we talked a little about some of the patterns I had cut and some of the places her work is available. The whole point of this is...what I really love about this hobby/business is that the people we look on as the peak of success are REAL people. They take the time to talk with you,
answer your questions and give you helpful hints. As busy as they are, they are never too busy.
And you know what? They are all livin my dream, to make a business out of something you love to do and still be down to earth real people. Thanks again Sheila. I love the patterns. Now I have to get into the shop and start cuttin!

Happy Halloween!

Made these nifty Halloween ornaments this weekend. Instead of using hardwood I decided to use some scraps of quarter inch baltic birch I had and paint them black. Gives them a nice silhouette effect, don't you think? Patterns are by Steve Good.

Christmas seasons always begins early for me

Some Christmas ornaments I cut last night. The magazines that print scroll saw patterns for Christmas projects have been out for over a month now. Goal for me in the next week is to get into at least two bazaars in November and one in December. Gotta make a few calls and hope they are not all filled.

Last Game of the Season

Nothing to show you from the saw tonight so I thought I'd show you how beautiful Michigan is right now. The color is spectacular but sadly it will only last about another week. One of the great things I get to do besides scroll sawing is serve as the public address announcer at our local high school football games. Tomorrow night is the last game for us. The playoffs start next week but we didn't do so well so I have to say "PLAYOFFS! ARE YOU KIDD'N ME! PLAYOFFS? DON'T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!" Just couldn't resist the old Jim Mora rant. Football fans know exactly what I'm talking about.
I did cut some ornaments tonight and they are drying on the finishing rack. I'll post them tomorrow if time allows.

This could be the big hit of the season!

How cute is this? Took this one to work today and showed to only 3 people and got orders for four right off the bat. And this one isn't even that good. I made it from walnut and used my favorite finish of choice Danish Oil. Where I went somewhat wrong though was trying to sand the edges with my flap sander chucked in the drill press. I had the speed to high and took off more material than I wanted to in some areas. But live and learn. I'll make new ones for the orders and they will look a lot better. I stack three of them at a time and will mix walnut, cherry and oak to offer customers a choice.

The pattern is by John Browner and can be found in Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts magazine, the Holiday Ornaments issue on page 32.

The little photo inserts are available from a number of suppliers of scroll saw accessories.

Have a good night. Might not get to post tomorrow. I'll be behind the mic again at a football game.

People Watching at the Craft Show

With sales so slow this weekend there wasn't much to do but people watch and so that is what I did and here are some of the things I saw.

Directly across from me old Hawk is sitting on one of the tables he's made holding a rubber band gun he obviously made from left over scraps. It shoots ping pong balls and every time a kid walks by he fires one into a car board box sitting there and it makes a loud pop. It gets the kid's
attention and he pulls Mom to a stop in front of old Hawk and he talks Mom into buying one for him and then she starts looking at his tables and buys one of those also. Clever marketing by old Hawk. Why do I call em old Hawk. He's 87 years old! God bless him. May we all live to be that age and still do the things we love.

Down the aisle a bit farther is a woman selling life like baby dolls. They really look like the real thing and they weigh about the same as a real baby. She's bouncing one on her knee and drawing a lot of attention. People are all holding them and cuddling them as if they were the real thing.

Here comes a cute couple down the aisle way. They look to be in their mid sixties and the man has a beard and a pony tail and she is wearing a denim skirt and has long brown hair. The kicker is: They are wearing matching tie dyed shirts! They look like a couple that met at Woodstock in 1969 and have been living happily together ever since in a VAN DOWN BY THE
RIVER!

Finally: I made some oven rack pulls from a Steve Good pattern with two notches in them, one for hooking on to the oven rack and pulling it out and the other for pushing it back in. I had to
explain to just about everybody under the age of 50 what it was and how you use it! And no you
can't use it in the microwave oven.

Back to the saw tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

Davison Day 2-Second Verse Worse Than the First.

I didn't think it was actually possible to do worse than yesterday and I haven't added up the numbers yet but I think it is very close. I know I did not recoup my space fee which, in my opinion, was way out of line. I'll not be doing another show with this promoter. The promise of over three thousand people visiting wasn't even realized in two days, let alone one. Other vendors I talked to were less than impressed as well. Those who were there for the most part experienced a big drop in sales from last year. To be fair I have heard it a lot..."people in Michigan just are not buying anything." It has often been said that when the U.S. economy catches a cold Michigan catches pneumonia. Well were on the respirator now and there will be a change in the governors office (Jenny is Term limited out) and there better be a big change in
policies too. But I digress.

I did manage to sell a few ornaments today and one of my higher priced crosses, but in the end this weekend was a big bust for me. Lots of other things I would have chosen to do If I knew it was going to be like this but that is the way the game is played. You just never know.

I'll be looking around here for some shows for next month and will likely pay a third or less of what I paid for this debacle and will do far better, I guarantee it.

One thing that was fun this weekend was people watching. Craft shows are great for that.
More on that tomorrow.

Davison Day 1

What a dud this turned out to be! It was supposed to be one of the biggest shows of the year. In the past "thousands" attended, or so I was told. This year there were lots of people but very few buyers. I didn't see many walking around carrying bags and I sold very little today. Looks like I may not make my space fee back unless I have a bigger day tomorrow. This is the second show in a row where I went with a big time craft promoter and paid a hefty fee and have been burned. Well that's it. It's back to playing "little ball". For the rest of the season I am staying close to home and I am going to try to get into the local church bazaars and not pay big time space rental fees. Judging by the other vendors I talked to today the promoters selling the spaces are the only ones making money.

Strike up the band!

I've had a lot of success over the years selling musical insturment ornaments at craft shows. Seems like everybody has a kid in the band and these make great stocking stuffers. I have more
than just these. I have drums, french horns, tubas and the like. What I don't have are flutes and clarinets and I really need them. I have never found or been able to design a suitable pattern for them. they have too many valves and buttons on them. It's hard to make a flute
that doesn't look like just a stick with holes in it and similar for the clarinet. I keep experementing with it though and one day I will come up with a beauty for both and I'll be able to retire or at the least, quit my day job.

You may have noticed a slight revision to the tower. I told my wife I thought I needed some kind of background on the tower to make the ornaments stand out more. She came up with this
red cloth and hemmed it at the top so it would wrap around and then drop down the inside. Then she put ties on the bottom to hold it straight. Really makes a difference! Great job honey!

See you at Davison this weekend. If you read Terry's Scroll Shoppe blog be sure to come up and say hi.

Cuttin' Corian

Corian is a trademark name for a certain counter top material that remodelers use. Scroll

Saw artists such as my self are not above begging them for their scrap pieces left over from recent jobs. It comes in a variety of colors and if you can get your hands on any it makes nice trivets and nick knacks.

Well I haven't located a source around here for it but I managed to pick up some pieces at this summers Scroll Saw Expo in Ohio. I finally got up the nerve to try cutting some of it. Pictured above is the result of my efforts.

Corian cuts something like wood but it has certain challenging characteristics. One is that you need to set your blade speed very low because if you don't the blade gets hot and the sawdust melts as you cut fusing the kerf right back together.

The size of the blade is important. For you scrollers reading this I tried a number five first but that didn't work out too well so I moved up to a 7. Much better. What ever blade you choose it needs to be able to clear the dust from the kerf otherwise it is very difficult to separate your finished piece from the stock. I ended up making a lot of release cuts.

As a final thought, I do like it and hope to cut some more soon. Results will be posted here. Meanwhile I need to find a good hearted remodeler who will let me have some scraps.

Ribbons drying on the Bench

Remember I told you I handed out a couple of these at the breast cancer awareness event last Saturday. Well sure enough the orders are starting to come in. I'm trying to figure out now what my costs are and then what percentage of the profits to donate to the American Cancer Society or the Susan G. Komin (sp?) for the Cure. So What do you think? Should I (a) donate ?all the funds to the Cancer Society ? after all it is a good cause. (b) donate half the proceeds?

after all, I deserve something for my time and effort. Or (c) keep it all because I'm a capitalist entrepaneur and after all "Greed is Good" (Gordon Gecko in Wall Street ). Humor aside my personal feeling is that this is the international symbol in the fight against breast cancer and it would be wrong for me to make a profit beyond my cost of materials and such. So a large portion of what ever I reap from this will go to cancer research.

Tower of Ornaments

Working on displays for Davison this week. This is a new idea I came up with for displaying my scroll sawn Christmas Ornaments. I have used small Christmas trees in the past but they do not allow enough room to display many and the ornaments are difficult to remove from the tree. As you can tell this is the old wire shelving you can get at any home center. I connected four of them with cable ties to form a square. I can display ornaments on all four sides if I want. The only thing I need is to figure out some kind of carousel arrangement so it can be rotated on the table. It is also pretty ugly right now. I need to dress it up somehow. Tomorrow will try to work on some shelves for my puzzles and word art.

These are not Weapons

Cut these letter openers out this weekend. I have several different patterns for them and I like them very much. The Challenge in these is in the sanding and shaping of them, not the cutting. So far I am not very good at it but they do work for opening mail and the more I do the better they will come out. The wood used for these is Bloodwood. It is very hard and very pricey but a friend of mine had some scraps left over from a project and graciously let me have them. It is a beautiful wood and the scraps were 1/8th and 1/4 inch thick Which is perfect for these. Hope to display and sell them at next weeks craft show.

Pink Day

It is a beautiful Mid-Michigan morning. Sunshine, temperature low 60's, crisp fall breeze. We

decided to join the 3.5 mile walk for breast cancer awareness today. Thousands turned out for this event today as the walk began in a local park and traverse a couple of country roads in a circle pattern. I had stack cut a half a dozen of he pink ribbons shown here from 1/8 inch Baltic birch plywood. Attached fishing line for a lanyard. Kept two for the wife and I and passed the

rest out to friends. One is a captain of a relay for life team and wants 50 of them painted purple for their event next summer. I'm considering making a lot of these and donating proceeds to the American Cancer Society.

Nothing much is going to get done on the saw today. Michigan Sate Football this afternoon. Saginaw Spirit Hockey tonight. I am the Spirit's pa announcer and tonight is Pink Out for breast cancer awareness. So the pink theme continues.

The Blog is Back

Well I've done it again, started a blog and then neglected it for months! Kick me in the butt.
It seems I got a little discouraged after Clarkston and just quit. I quit blogging but not sawing.
I also went to school a little bit. I have been studying a couple of successfull craft bloggers and
entrepenuers to see what they do to make their business work. One thing they do is post almost
daily updating what they are doing in the shop and how their business is running. I have also been doing a lot of on line reading about how to market and sell crafts on line. The one thing they stress is that a website and a blog are a must. Well, I don't have the website yet but I do have the blog and one thing neccessary to make it work are lots of posts and updates. So get ready 'cause it's comin at you. I'm getting back on the horse. This weekend I am doing the Davison High School Fall Spectacular craftshow. Lots to do to get ready for it and I plan to chronicle it here in words and pictures. Terry's Scrollshoppe blog is back.

Clarkston Results (it could've been better)

Weather: Wonderful
Crowds : good
Venue: Excellent
Sales: Pathetic

What can I say. You can lead customers to your product but you can't make em buy.
I haven't totaled up the receipts yet but I don't think I even made back my space rental.
Very disappointing. What were the reasons? All the factors were perfect. Plenty of potential customers but they just didn't buy. In the first three hours I made $14! I know my product is good. I am very proud of it. I know it is fairly priced. But folks just were not in the mood to buy it even though they had high praise for it.
I think I'm going to focus on just the lower end items from now on. People just don't want the good stuff. They'll buy a 6 to 8 dollar word art, a $8 to $10 puzzle, but they aren't going any higher. The same people will spend $25 to $50 on costume jewelry. They know what they want and I ain't got it.
Also I know that my displays in a word SUCK! I tried to build some new shelves to display stuff
but they weren't big enough and steady enough in the wind. One blew over and broke about half the stuff on it. I need help designing and building displays. Any body got any ideas include them in the comments section. As Bones used to say to Captain Kirk "Damn it Jim, I'm scroll saw artist not a carpenter."

Getting ready for Clarkston

Here are a couple of beauties I cut this weekend to sell at the Clarkston art and craft show.

People seem to really like word art and I think these should sell easily for my asking price.

Which brings to a delicate subject...Pricing. I have constantly been told I am way under pricing my stuff. I guess it all goes back to a lack of self confidence and underestimating what people will pay for things I made. But that is changing and I have to say I am no longer undervalueing my work. Today I sold a little piece of word art called "Home is where the dogs are". I made it special for the lady who sits next to me at work, one of what my wife calls, my "girlfriends". I told her it would be six dollars. She insisted in paying me ten. Gradually my wonderful test market ladies are teaching me what my work is worth. I've got to start getting it and this is going to be the weekend. I don't negotiate on my prices. I remember one crafter telling me that when people ask him how much less he'll take then what he's asking he says "actually the price just went up!" Don't think I could be that bold but I aint goin down either.

So for the show this weekend I've been concentrating on puzzels and word art. Will take last years left over Christmas ornaments. And, of course my wildlife wall art. And this being 4th of July weekend I hope to sell a few patriotic things to. Military ribbons and such. Wish me luck.

It's the first big show of 2010 for me. If it goes well, I'll do more. In any case, the scoll saw will always be hummin.

The Wizzard of Westwood

At first glance this looks like something Yogi Bera might have said. But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Quick is good. Quick is decisive. Quick wins championships. Hurry is caused by desperation. Hurry causes mistakes. Hurry means turnovers. Hurry can cost you the game.
This is a quote from the great John Wooden, the greatest basketball coach and teacher this country has ever produced. You probably know that he passed away last week at the age of 99.
If you never saw him coach or watched one of his teams play you really missed something. I was in high school during the high point of John Wooden's career. It was amazing. It seems like his teams NEVER LOST. And they seldom did. They went 88 games without losing before Notre Dame upset them in South Bend. They won 10 national championships in 12 years! Nobody has ever done that. Not Dean Smith, Not Bob Knight, not Coach K (I can't spell his name either). John Wooden won all those national titles having to change players every year.
Back then freshmen could not play on the varsity so he only had Kareem Abdul Jabar (then Lew Alcindor) and Bill Walton and others for three years! His teams were so fundamentally sound it was ridiculous. They weren't flashy. They didn't dunk (it was illegal back then anyway). They used the back board and banked their jumpshots in because Wooden taught them how to use the angles. He taught them not only basketball but Geometry as well! They played a zone press defense that hounded teams into turn over after turnover. John Wooden would never let his teams over celebrate. They never beat their chest and said "look at me, Look at me" like today's players. They just beat your brains out with sound fundamentals and walked off the court afterword with their heads held high, because they knew that this one was over and another one was coming up and John Wooden always said, "You have to do it over and over and over again". Those of you who never saw him coach or one of his teams play, I encourage you to research this man. Learn the principles of his pyramid for success. You will learn why he was far more than just a basketball coach and why, sadly, we'll never see his like again.

Inspritational Word Art

I have been in to word art a lot lately. People seem to get such a kick out of it. A lady at my real job asked me to design the piece you see here. It was the theme of her church's retreat weekend. She wanted 3 originally, one for her and one for her pastor and another as a gift. I had a feeling when the others on the retreat saw them I would be making more. Sure enough, last week she came to me with orders for 12 more and that was just a start, she said. Another freind of hers had a weekend entitled "Still I Rise". If I get as many orders for that one I will be able to pay admission fees for several shows this summer and fall. That's all for now but there is another post coming right behind this one. So please read on.

Ahhh The Simple Things

A while back one of my wonderful test market ladies at work asked me to make something for her two daughters with their names on it. Well, we thought for a while and one of the other gals came up with the idea of a small coat hanging rack with their names on top. So I made her a couple before I knew it I had orders for three more. Then another and another and so on.

The one in this picture is a little bit fancier than what I usually do. I usually use the old fashion wood shaker pegs, but Grandmother decided she wanted something a little different so she picked up these glass knobs at Home Depot. They sell for about eight bucks a piece as opposed to about 40 cents apiece for the shaker pegs so it added considerably to the cost. But I'm sure she feels little Grace Elaine is worth it.

By the way, sorry for the lack of posts lately. Guess I just haven't been bitten by the writing bug till tonight. Cheers...

Forsooth! Thou dost fine scroll saw work.

Behold, a portrait of old Bill Shakespeare himself. It is not a self portrait, but rather one done by myself in 1/8th inch oak plywood. Portraits in wood are quite popular among scollers. It is amazing how close you can capture the image of some one by converting a photograph of them into a scroll say pattern. I have cut patterns of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Judy Garland and more and they are great fun to do. Some are very simple, like this one and others are very complicated.
Now...before you ask me if I can do one of your Dad, Son, Baby, dog, Grandfather or someone else I must ask you to consider the following:
First of all I do not have a system yet for turning photographs into cutable patters. There are a couple on the market but their cost is a little to high to justify my purchasing them right now.
But I must say I am tempted because cutting portraits is a lot of fun. I know of a guy on-line who will make a pattern from any photo you give him...at 25 dollars a pop!
The second thing is, when people find out what you need to get paid for these they just look at you kind of stunned, swallow hard and say "Well never mind then. I'll pass." Most of the scroll saw artists that I know of sell portrait cuttings for from $75 to $1oo dollars framed and at least $50 unframed. Let me know if you think it would be worth my while to look into some pattern making programs for portraits. I am tempted. I just need a little push.

Hey Kids, remember this one?

Found this pattern while looking for something else. Have had it for about 18 years or more so decided to cut one. A friend of mine hand drew this pattern and was kind enough to give it to me. I was going to make a ton of them and sell them at spring craft shows for $10 each and make a small fortune. Well, best laid plans...., but I plan to take it to work tomorrow and see it gets any action. I am going to offer them un painted becaue I think painting is half the fun. will Charge $7 unpainted. Happy Easter everybody.

Custom Design Projects

Made this for one of the wonderful test market ladies I work with. Andre is her eight year old grandson and I guess he is a pretty good football player. She asked for this piece some time ago and it has taken me til now because I am not very good at custom designing things. I much prefer to work from patterns. The pros use vector graphics design programs such as photoshop and corel draw. Corel Draw is the cadillac of vector design programs and sells for around $700 dollars. I found one on the internet that pretty much does what I want it to do and it was in my price range...FREE...So I downloaded it and spent the last two weeks or so learning how to use it.
It makes designing a lot easier but I still have a lot more to learn. I designed and made a couple of coat racks with the kids names on the top. They are about twenty four inches long and six inches high with shaker pegs for hanging clothes on. Momma loved em and now people from all over the building are coming to me saying "I need two" "I need Four" "I need one for my grandson"! I am a victim of my own success.
Frankly I do love designing things for people. The problem is that it takes a lot of extra time and consequently it has to be added to the price of the item and people may not want to pay it. So I have to be up front with that. A friend cautioned me that if I don't charge enough people will be all over me wanting six of something all different and by this weekend. I guess she's right but I hate to say no to people, especially ones I like. But I do have to admit, designing things can get to be addictive.

The Eagle Has Landed

Well, this kind of wraps up this weekend's project. This is another puzzle for my test market ladies at work. It is made from poplar. It is not cheap buying it at Home Depot or Lowes but I can get a lot of puzzles out of it and it paints very well so it more that pays for itself. This particular board is darker than the other one I bought and I don't like it as well, but then again,
that is what paint and stain is for.
Should have done more projects this weekend but the weather is getting nice and the mighty Gibby needs his walks (so does his person) and of course I had to take time off today to witness the Spartan BEAT DOWN of the Wolverines.

How To Be A Smart A** Without Opening Your Mouth

Clever word art is fun and easy to make. It also makes good use of scrap wood. These patterns are from Steve Good. I like the font he uses for these. I have not found one I like yet for designing my own. I found a vector graphics program called Inkscape that is a free download but haven't learned how to use it yet. When I do you may see some original designs.

We Stick Our Necks Out For Nobody

Made this puzzle last week and took it to work and set it on my desk. When I came back from lunch it was gone. Later my friend came and told me she took it and wanted to know what she owed me for it. This is the fourth one I have made and every one sells as soon as I get it displayed. Do you think I should make more?

Polly Wanna Scroll Saw?

I love this puzzle. Have wanted to cut it for years and finally did this past Saturday. Cutting the pieces took about an hour and then another hour painting it on Sunday. Might not sell this one.
At least not for a while. Pattern came from a book published by Wood Magazine.

Tie me Kangaroo Down Sport

Do you remember that little Aussie folk ballad? It was a big hit back in the sixties. I don't think radio stations even play it anymore. Anyway, this is a cute puzzle that I cut out once before and it sold right away. I'm sure this one will too. it's one of those you can't really make enough of.

the pattern is by Judy and Dave Peterson. I have their book and will be doing a lot more animal puzzles. They really sell. More to come. Keep logging in.

Where Are My Glasses? The Nose Knows!

Another great use of scrap wood from Steve Good, pattern designer. Have made several of these and sold a few. The tricky part is contouring the bridge of the nose to fit your glasses.

This one is made from poplar which is easier to shape than oak or Cherry or walnut. What do you think is a good price point for these? Love to see your comments.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

One of the ladies I work with is having a birthday tomorrow. She loves tigers so the other gals in the bay took up a collection and asked me to make this clock for her. I was blown away that they thought enough of my work to ask me to do this . Hope you like it Linda. I really enjoyed cutting it.

Oven Rack Pulls Anyone?

From a pattern by Steve Good, these are said to be big sellers at craft shows. Hope he's right.
These are made from 1/2 hardwood. The top one is oak and the bottom one walnut. Really neat thing is, they are made from scrap wood and only take about a half hour to 45 minutes to cut out.

This is My Scroll Saw

This is the famous Dewalt DW788. It is the saw most veteran scollers use to create thier work.

I got this one for Christmas from my wife and it has proved to be a wonderfull gift.

I had been using a Delta Q3 for the last nine years and it served me well and paid for itself many time over. But lately I had been having a problem with it cutting square and straight. When I would cut puzzles from 3/4 inch wood the pieces would slide freely one way but hang up the other. I also had trouble with blades breaking after just a short time of use.

With the DW 788 both problems were instantly solved. It cuts true and square and is also very quiet. About the only sound you hear is the blade going through the wood. I really like it and expect it will pay for itself even faster.

Taking the plunge...First shows of 2010 scheduled

Well I finally got around to booking my first shows of 2010. I heard about this guy in Lapeer who does pretty good craft shows that get good results so I decided to try a couple. The first one is August 28th in Clio. It's the Arts and Music Fest. It is out doors and will give me a chance to use my EZ UP tent. The second is October 16th and 17th in Davison. A friend of mine did this show last year and it was HUGE!

I will be booking more shows for the spring and summer in the near future. The problem is my hand cramps up severely every time I write a check or even think about it. It's kind of like the shooting pain I get in my shoulder whenever I reach for my wallet! But despite the pain, I need to get these shows booked so I can start working on projects that I can post here for you to see.

They will be coming soon.

Welcome

Welcome to Terry' Scroll Shoppe, a place where you can see what I am working on lately. I hope to provide regular updates about things I am cutting, craft show experiences and more. Please use the comments section or contact me at info@terrylenz.com