Color & Shapes Puzzle

Here's a fun project that would make a perfect gift for the little ones in your life. This Color and Shapes puzzle was designed by relfEZ of Tangible Art Projects. The pattern is provided in JPG format for easy scaling. This quick project can be easily cut from plywood or MDF. Paint the shapes with craft paint, a quick clear coat of acrylic spray and you're set! Check it out. And while you're there, check out his other projects. He has a lot of unique scroll saw patterns freely available for download. Very cool.

Taking Lath Art To The Next Level

Dave Lampman has been doing lath art since 1979. He describes his work as "Casual art with a touch of understated elegance." Whatever it is, it certainly is beautiful. Check out his online gallery of some of his work. Perhaps it will inspire you to give lath art a try. When you're ready, head over to Lath Art Discussion Help and Examples blog, where he's a contributing author. There you'll find some great tips and more examples that will get you on your way!

Do You Tweet?

This morning, I jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that answers the question, "What are you doing?" The posts are limited to a mere 140 characters and is namely used for basic updates on what you're doing or thinking at that moment. A lot of woodworkers in the woodworking community stay in contact with each other via Twitter. They share ideas, new projects and get advice. Perhaps us scrollers could do the same! Think about it. A network of scroll saw enthusiasts sharing their next project, answering questions, and ranting about how the fast food drive-through forgot your fries again!
Stop by the Twitter website and check out their video. It explains the concept of Twitter very well. After you watch the video, sign up and start tweeting! I've added my Twitter feed to the sidebar. You can also follow my Twitter feed by clicking here. Be sure to let me know what your user name is so I can follow you too! Tweet On!

As Chance Has it

Its often said that "Its a small world" and "technology is shrinking the world." But with the vastness of the internet and the endless number of websites, I would normally disagree. Until now.

Our good friend and fellow blogger Allison from Wood-Alley recently tried her hand at scrolling cork flooring after reading a article here on SSg. As chance has it, the fellows at Wicanders stumbled across her blog. They noticed that the cork flooring she used looked like the cork flooring they manufacture. So they asked about it. While she was reading the email from Wicanders, the person that gave her the cork flooring happened to be there with her. So she asked him about it. And sure enough, it was the same stuff. Once she confirmed that it was indeed their product, they asked Allison if they could write about her cutting on their blog.

What makes this story interesting is the amazing collection of coincidences. One blog post leads to another, to another to another. The mere chance Wicanders happen to stumble across Allison's blog. The chance that she scrolled the same cork that these people manufacture. And the chance that the person that gave her the cork happen to be there at the same time she read the email. What does it mean? I'm not quite sure. Maybe there's the meaning of life hidden somewhere in there. Or maybe it's just a crazy coincidence. Either way, it's pretty cool. Congrats Allison on being recognized in the "civilian world" for your work.

You can read Allison's blog here. You can read the article from Wicanders about Allison's work here.

Hobby Horse Toys

International travel is fun, huh? Well, let's not stop, because this time we're flying over to Ireland. Last week I wrote about hobby horses during folk toy week. During my research, I came across some hobby horses that I was in awe of. I desperately wanted to write about it at the time, but they were so wonderful, they really deserved their own post.

Dan Hillman of Hobby Horse Toys has a really neat approach to his hobby horses. Each hobby horse includes wheels on the end to lighten the wear and tear as well as help facilitate easier movement. He also incorporated a saddle-like swoop for comfort! He painstakingly paints each horse individually with his own homemade paint and finish. Each customized with whimsical scrolls and the child's name. Dan's hobby horses really captures magic and fantasy that will delight the imagination. Be sure to check out his blog and website. He has several other cool products that you might enjoy. And keep an eye out for the dragon hobby horse! Very cool!

Real Fez

While you have your passport out, lets jump over to Algeria. Real Fez has a new blog where he shares his most recent works. If that wasn't enough, he was also kind enough to share some of his patterns! And who doesn't love free patterns? Recently, he's been experimenting with cork, which has been really interesting to read. It would be fun to try working with this often overlooked material. I think there are a lot of possibilities there. Anyway, check out his blog. He has a unique approach to his projects that might serve for some great inspiration.

La Bottegaccia

Time to grab your passport, because this time we're flying to Italy. Cristina Gallons is an Italian scroll saw artist with a relatively new blog called La Bottegaccia. Here she displays many of her portrait cuttings of the stars of the past, my favorite being this portrait of Charlie Chaplin. You'll find such stars at Abbot & Costello, Marylin Monroe and John Lennon. Her most recent cutting was a backlit lamp, that really turned out stunning. She has a lot of great stuff to look at, so be sure to stop by and check it out. Perhaps it will spark an idea or two for your next project!

If you don't speak Italian, don't worry. You can easily use Google Translate or Babel Fish to translate her website. Or you can just click here for a translation. The translation tools aren't perfect, but it should give you a pretty good indication of what's being said.

Scrollin' America

The new presidential election is right around the corner in the US. Campaign slogans, bumper stickers and heated debates are everywhere. It gets a little crazy, but exciting at the same time. We may have different political views, but one thing that unites us is the love for our country. Here's a great patriotic pattern designed by Steve Hovious. You can find this and other patterns on his blog listed under "Free Patterns" on the left sidebar. Check it out!. While you're there, take a look at his blog postings. He has a lot of great pictures of his finished scroll saw projects. Perhaps it will spark an idea or two for your next project!

Buckeye Butterfly

David from Tuliptree Crafts has published another great pattern for those who wants it. He's been working on this Buckeye Butterfly pattern over the last few days, and he finally finished it. Cut from 1/8" hardwood for the wings and 1/4" for the body, this will make a stunning centerpiece. This pattern can easily be turned into a magnet or a pot sticker. Or just hang it on the wall. This free pattern is provided in PDF format for easy printing. It also includes instructions to get you on your way. Bring a bit of nature indoors with another great pattern from David!

You can read more about the Buckeye Butterfly in this short Wikipedia article.

Native American Intarsia Portrait

I love progression pictures/tutorials. I love learning new things and new techniques. Allison from Willowshimmers Woodworks created a nice progression/tutorial on an intarsia Native American portrait. The end results really turned out stunning. She has included several pictures of the portrait coming together, along with some really great insights about intarsia. She even shares a few tips. My favorite being her heat gun tape removal method, which I hope to try out soon.

She has the Native American portrait spread over 3 posts. I've listed them below in chronological order for easier reading. While you're there, be sure to check out some of her other work!

• Indian Intarsia- A Tutorial
• The Mountain in the Indian Intarsia Pattern
• Indian Intarsia

Woven Box With Bead Accents

There's no doubt. My favorite blog is Scroll Saw Blog written by David at Tuliptree Crafts. Its on my daily read list and I look forward to each entry. He has so many clever ideas. What I like most about his blog is that he writes while he develops these ideas into a final piece. So you get a chance to witness a pattern come together from idea to prototype to final product. It may take a couple of days, or it might take a couple of weeks. But it's always a fun journey.

David's been working on a woven box pattern. We've seen these before, but what makes his unique is the incorporation of beads into these boxes. Plus, in order to save lumber and money, he has broken each level into 4 strips/sides. Most woven designs I have come across uses a solid piece of wood for each level, which has a lot of waste. David has made his pattern available to those who would like to try their hand at this beaded/woven box (called The Evealle). Check it out. And be sure to read his previous posts on how he developed this pattern. Very interesting reading!

Lath Art Progression Pictures

I learn best by example and demonstration. That's why I love progression pictures and tutorials so much. So I was pretty excited when I saw Christopher Hildebrand's set of progression pictures as he puts together a lath art painting of a horse grazing. He makes a few comments about each photo. The photos are high resolution, which makes it easy to see the details and is really quiet helpful in understanding how a lath art painting is put together.

Chris also has another set of progression pictures in his personal gallery as he puts together a golf course scene. Many of these pictures also have comments This 9 picture set breaks down each step a little bit more, which I find especially helpful.

So if lath art painting is in your future, be sure to check out Chris' two sets of progression pictures (set 1, set 2). I bet you'll learn a lot just by watching him work!

How To Make A Lath Art Painting

Last post, I talked about lath art. Now that your curiosity is piqued, you wanna give lath art a try? Tom and Esther from LathArt How to and Patterns has a nice tutorial to get you started. The tutorial is nicely illustrated and takes you step by step through the process. They even provide a free pattern for your first project! While you are there, check out the rest of their posts. They give tips on finding suitable material, painting techniques, and design tips. Very cool.

Lath Art

One thing that amazes me most about scrolling, is the number of art forms that develop because of this simple tool. I came across Lath Art a while back and found it very interesting. Lath Art is a folk art that uses, oddly enough, lath. You know, those strips of wood used to hold plaster to the wall? Sometimes you'll find fishermen using old lobster traps whereas more contemporary artists may use lattice or lumber stickers.

Lath art is similar to marquetry in that you use various shapes of wood to create a picture. Where marquetry relies on wood grain and color to define the picture, lath art relies on the position and direction of the lath strips to define detail and space. Each strip is cut into sections with the scroll saw, then individually colored. Before long, you have a wonderful piece of artwork to hang on your wall.

Lath Art Paintings has several examples of lath art. Take a look. You can really see how the direction of the lath makes all the difference in the world. It really is a fascinating art form and something that scrollers may want to try their hand at.

Cindy Mindy Pindy's Papercuttings

Cindy Mindy Pindy has a great blog that shows off her latest papercuttings. She has a assortment of scherenschnitte with a wide variety of styles ranging from abstract to traditional illustration. Take some time and look through her archives and check out her work. Its a great source of inspiration and may spawn a few ideas for your own scroll saw designs.

Bouyerchrist's Gallery

I love looking at galleries of other people's work. I often go seek them out specifically. Unfortunately, the search engines I use only offer English speaking websites. Its a shame, because there is a big ol' world out there. I stumbled across Bouyerchrist's scroll saw gallery/blog awhile back. Bouyerchrist is located in Chambéry in France. The website is mostly a gallery of photos, so the language barrier won't be much of a problem. You can use Babel Fish to translate the web page for you and you should get a good idea of what is being said. Check it out. Bouyerchrist has some wonderful scroll sawn artwork. I'm sure it will be a great inspiration to some of your own designs!

The Ascent - A Wooden Clock Kit

Last post, I talked about Adrian Iredale's video on how he makes wooden gear clocks. It is pretty inspiring and he makes it look a little less intimidating. But, maybe you're not quite ready to jump into the deep end just yet.

Jim Bumgardner of KrazyDad.com has written about his experience making a wooden gear clock. He isn't a woodworker. In fact he has very little woodworking experience. But he was curious about how clocks work, so he ordered the Ascent clock kit from Wooden-Gear-Clocks.com. Granted, the gears were all precut, but that shouldn't matter too much. As scrollers, we know how to cut. Its the precise assembly that seems overwhelming. But Jim was able to put together the kit with little trouble. You can read about his experiences here. Its pretty interesting and he gives a little writeup about how the clock works. Check it out!

Willowshimmer Woodworks

When Allison White put together her blog to show off her intarsia and scrollwork, she didn't quite know what she was getting into. Blogging, just like scrolling, can become quite addictive. Her blog, Willowshimmer Woodworks, highlights her artwork along with her thoughts about each project. Along with her woodworks, she shares some of her favorite quotes, funny cartoons, and her thoughts about life. It really is a neat scroll saw blog that has a personal and sentimental touch.

She has tagged each post so you can find the posts you are most interested in. Look under the Labels section for a list of her tags. She has a lot of great work and worth checking out.

Geno's Scroll Saw Blog

I love blogs and blogging. Its a great sneak peak into some one's lives to see what they're up to. I especially love blogs related to my interests. Geno is a scroller and woodworker from the Adirondack Mountains of NY. He runs a scroll saw blog that he posts to several times a month. He posts his latest woodworking and scroll saw projects with some thoughts on each project. I've been reading his blog for several months now and really enjoy seeing new posts. If you get a chance, swing on by and check it out. It's a great way to pass time when you really should be working!

The Piano Man

Well, Steve over at Scrollsaw Workshop did it again. He knocks out so many great patterns, its hard to keep up with. So I usually only write about the truly unique items and this one takes the cake. This time it's an Automata pattern. A what? Automata is a mechanical toy that mimics some sort of event or action. Steve's pattern features a hand crank that makes a man play the piano.

Automata is something I've always wanted to try my hand at. Steve says this pattern is pretty easy build and can made with materials that are readily available. He has included a 2 part video explaining the parts of the machine and how he assembled them. Naturally the pattern is available for free and downloadable at his website.

Play it again Sam.