Creative Woodworks & Crafts December 012 Issue

from the editor

December 2012

in this issue

Scrolling Projects:
Apple of Thine Eye
Blessings Cross
Celestial Clock
Fighting Eagles
Great Horned Owl
In the Groove
Let it Snow!
Polar Bear Family
Up in Stitches Tray
Wooden Elephant Padlock

Special Holiday Section!:
Holiday Present Ornaments
Metal Candle Holders
Noel Blocks
Quick Intarsia Ornaments
Santa and Reindeer
BONUS! Spirit of the Season Word   Art Ornaments

Features:
Benchtop Buddies: Band Saws
On the Shopping List!
   Envirotex Lite
Readers Gallery
Readers Gallery Special Feature:   Garbage Truck Bank!
Coming Next Issue

see project photos from this issue

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The new school year recently reared its head in our household. Now that my youngest is a high school freshman, I finally have to admit to myself that the days of my kids bounding out of bed to start the school day are a thing of the past. (Yes, it actually did use to happen!) I have to resort to old standbys to get them moving, such as setting the alarm clock on the other side of the room, or greeting them at 5:45 a.m. with, “It’s Thursday…only two more days until Saturday!!” The excitement of learning, the expectation that you would return home that afternoon knowing more than when you left, has faded as they’ve grown. I don’t know if this is true with all teenagers, but I must say that most of the faces I see at the bus stop these mornings do not call to mind the cheerful little folks who used to wait so eagerly for the elementary school bus to arrive!
Luckily, there are still those moments when the excitement of learning something new does break through the teens’ somber façades—the X in the equation really does equal something meaningful, the lab experiment really did produce a neat result! It’s at those times when I’m hopeful that all actually is right with the world, and there will be a day when they can once again admit that learning is cool.

Metal Candle Holder

On top of the idea that knowledge in and of itself is a good thing, it now seems impossible to open a newspaper without reading an article about how learning something new helps keep us young and healthy. With those thoughts in mind, I glanced through the offerings in this issue of Creative Woodworks & Crafts and noticed that we are definitely providing lots of opportunities for activating those brain cells!
Some notable examples include learning how to add stained glass effects to your scrolled projects using a clear resin product; Keith Fenton provides the details in his “On the Shopping List” product review. Sheila Landry teaches us how to give wood a crackled, weathered look with her Let it Snow! word art. And if you learn better by observing, visit the link to her online video where she teaches the process step by step. It’s difficult not to be awed by Dick Miraglia’s Great Horned Owl featured on our cover. Follow his instructions to master his unique technique of carving fretwork. Charles Mak shows readers how to construct a padlock, and Deb Nicholson encourages folks to recycle old vinyl record albums into new works of art using the scroll saw! Speaking of working with different mediums,

In the Groove

Wayne and Jacob Fowler revisit their earlier foray into metal cutting, taking the process to new heights by creating three-dimensional candle holders. Finally, Readers’ Gallery contributor Keith Schaefer shares his technique for constructing scaled-down replicas of large objects, such as the garbage truck bank he designed for his nephew, by utilizing the proportion of a known dimension to that of a photographed item. (Talk about solving for X!)

Let it Snow

Of course, there are also lots of projects provided that help you further develop your woodworking skills. Bob Valle’s wonderful wildlife-based designs will be a hit with scrollers, while Bruce Worthington and Janette Square share intarsia projects ranging from their Quick Intarsia Ornaments to their more involved Santa and Reindeer. Regardless of which projects you decide to make, you’re sure to end up a wiser woodworker at the end of the day!

Happy Scrolling!

Sincerely,

Debbie McGowan


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