February 2014 ~ Ideas Wood working

Monday, February 24, 2014

A GLIMPSE INSIDE sneak peaks

On Mothers Day I shared some of Joannes home and teased you with

the thought that I might share more,

Todays the day you get another glimpse into her wonderful decor.

Also I am currently working on 2 large Canadian made dressers.

The first one is coming along in a distressed turquoise

and the other has these amazing details.

And finally a sneak peak into our re-arranged and re-decorated dressing room.

I will get you more pictures of everything going on around here soon.

Victorian Dresser in Turquoise Milk Paint

I picked up this stunning dresser and matching mirror awhile back.

It most assuredly is from the Victorian period. So I'm putting it's age

at 110+! Other than a few dings, broken casters and some carvings on the top, it

was in damn good condition. (Minus the hideous contact paper lining the drawers...OMG)

My fave shade of milk paint, cobalt blue (really turquoise) from the Real Milk Paint Co.

I'm in love with this color! It so suits this era of furniture, IMHO.

So here is the application of the milk paint. I had already sanded and cleaned the wood and touched

up stain in the spots that needed it. The milk paint flaked perfectly. I didn't want a lot of paint,

Sunday, February 23, 2014

FRAMES

Ornate white frames can be used for so many different things.

I have finished a new batch of white frames and they are all listed on the

Accessories page with price and dimensions:

http://blogspot.ca/p/mirror-for-sale.html

GOOD NIGHT revamped beds in review

King & Queen sized mattresses were first

introduced in 1958. The footboard above was from

an older double sized frame so it had to be

converted to accomodate the 60" width of a queen

mattress. The headboard was a more modern

queen which was then matched up to the antique

foot & rails.

Most bed frames I work on are

mismatched pieces collected over time.

Here was a solid oak Georgian style

headboard just needing a new color.

This was our headboard before purchasing a new to

us craigs list cherry sleigh set. George needs his

manly man furniture around. I originally build it

from a simple chunky type pine head & foot board.

I extended the height & added all the great details.

I try to build the frame section for my beds so a

boxspring is not needed. Due to the shear size I

can only build beds in the summer when I have the

great out doors to build and photograph in.

Old pine waterbed parts including those bookshelf

headboards are perfect for parts to make new

mattress platforms from.

This french inspired headboard got a faux distressed

paint finish atop of a soft creme color.

This pine frame needed some serious revamping.

A beautiful designed headboard sprayed in white.

These designs are extruded foam a common practise

from the 60s thru the 80s.

This final photo of a driftwood bed

is a teaser for my next post.

Stay tuned!!

Before that here are a few fun facts:

You grow 2cm during the night because your spine is compressed

during the day and has a chance to straighten at night.

Your mattress can double in weight over 10yrs with dust built up.

The expression *sleep tight* comes from the 16th & 17th centuries

when mattresses were placed on top of ropes that needed regular

tightening.

and finally my personal favorite ....

Studies suggest that woman need up to an hour of extra sleep a

night compared to men.

... probably because we are the ones tightening the ropes

cleaning the mattresses, and shrinking everyday because

we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.

DEAD COMPRESSOR renates headboard

It all started with this 70s oak headboard.

Okay maybe I jumped the gun here, I suppose it really started with a drawing of a headboard.

A drawing with custom measurements.

So back to this headboard.

Every element of it was dismantled with a robertson driver.

Considering I had received such detailed measurements I had to wait for the right piece to come along.

Many of the pieces were cut to fit the new configuration.

The face sheilds were brought together.

Priming continued.

The legs were extended 2".

Extra bits were all brought together to fill out the height requested.

Some fancy had to be added.

In the form of wall candle holders I found at the second hand store.

They originally had baskets screwed on the front for the candle to sit in.

I removed the baskets and used the holes to attached them to the new headboard.

But alas I only got the primer coat finished before my compressor kicked the bucket.

So once the new compressor gets open and the final finish is applied, this is really

all you get to see.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Landscaping Ideas For Your Garden

Garden landscaping ideas - garden plans and layouts
Garden landscaping ideas
Garden landscaping ideas - garden plans and layouts

Home Improvement on a Budget: Gardening & Landscaping | Landscape ...
You can improve your garden

I harbor a dream of someday making a full time living connected with sawdust, be that building, designing, writing, teaching, or any combination thereof. To that end I have found some moderate success lately with small carved boxes to be used during a wedding ceremony in something called a Wine Ceremony.

The box is intended to hold a bottle of wine and two letters, on from each side of the matrimonial union, for many, many years. I understand the standard plan is to open the box again on the twenty fifth anniversary. That means the box must face the test of time and life, moves from one house to another, handling by children and waiting on a shelf.

That means bomb proof joinery is needed. Joinery that is just as strong as the bonds that hold a long and successful marriage together. My marriage is on the doorstep of our seventeenth anniversary and the bond we have is the thing I am most proud of in my life. I hope all these boxes make it to couples who are as fortunate as we are.

The dovetails are fun and functional, but the real star of the box is the carvings I get to cover them with. This process always starts with the simple, humble dividers. I divide the board in half in both directions and scratch the basic shapes in to achieve symmetry.

Then I follow with some initial work, carving out the big ideas with a V chisel and stamping in the patterned shaped with various sweeps of gouges.

With the basics stamped in, the next step is to remove the background from the design.

Texturing the background helps it contrast with the foreground. I also try and create the hints of motion with the texture tool by stamping it in a radius like the outer circle.

The front plate is finished, Time to start the lid.

This client wanted a "S & S" carved on the inside of the box. I find lettering to be the most technically challenging thing to carve. Everyone knows letters, the have expectations about how they should look. Letters are one of the few things I make a template for and utilize some carbon paper to get them right.

Then comes the glue up. Hide glue of course.

Then comes the carving for the lid. For this application I try and stick with an opposing heart centerpiece on the lid. Two hearts coming together as one. I think you can understand the idea and meaning.

I managed to get some good final pics at a local park. The lighting was perfect.

Ratione et Passionis
Oldwolf