[a1Jim]

Big Things Coming From Small Places (My Shop)

Last night when I was just about 'done' with stuff at somewhere around 10pm, I was picking around this site. I noticed that many of you had maps on your home pages which showed exactly where you lived. I liked that feature very much, as it helped me learn more about each woodworker and the proximity of his or her location.

Nova Scotia always sounded so exotic to me when I lived near Chicago. I pictured icebergs floating with little penguins and polar bears lounging on them and harp seals swimming freely in the ocean. When I first came here, it was far from what I had pictured in my mind, albeit beautiful. In actuality, it was much farther south than I had realized and just across the Bay of Fundy from Maine. As a matter of fact, the landscape is quite similar to the northern Maine coast and you would barely tell the difference when driving other than the ocean being on the other side. So I proceeded to map my location for others to see when they were exploring the scope of the site.

This morning, I woke to a couple of responses to my mapping (something which I didn't even think would be noticed) and they requested pictures of my 'shop'. Well, that really caught me by surprise. I guess it is expected, because I myself love to see the pictures of all the shops of fellow woodworkers here. It is amazing to me to see all the cool tools, storage and space that people have to work with. There are so many incredible places that I thought, "No wonder they create such beautiful items."

Thinking about taking pictures of my 'shop' made me cringe. Due to some personal circumstances in my life the past several years, I am lucky to have a roof over my head - let alone a shop! (I said in the beginning that this would be a bit personal, but I am not going to go into it further than that, but it is the honest truth). To make a long story short, mine had a happy ending. I changed the circumstances in my life and as of last year, I have been back to the 'old Sheila' (so my friends have told me) and on the upswing. I now, however live in a small - although modern, peaceful and clean one bedroom apartment which is on the end of a sprawling ranch house across from the Meteghan River. The area is beautiful as I said, and although there isn't a lot of room, I love the surroundings and the peace that living here has brought to my life and it has been very conducive to my inspiration and productivity.

After seeing the pictures of the wonderful shops here on LJ, I felt quite silly when I thought about my workplace. Here I am a Contributing Editor to a national magazine and I probably have less room and less big tools than 98 percent of you. However, I am what I am, and I realize that it isn't the tools that make the craftsman (or craftswoman), but how we use them and what we produce that counts.

As I said before, I grew up with limited means. We weren't poor, but we certainly weren't considered 'upper-class'. I know I could have taken a different path in my life and made a ton of money doing something that I didn't like to do, but I studied classical piano in university and I chose to make designing and art and teaching my livelihood because it is what I truly love to do. I still think that I am much happier than some people I know with lots of money. So I stand by my choice and I am pleased with it.

So without further adieu . . . . ladies and gentlemen . . . . MY SHOP!

Here is the "nerve center" of most of my work - my DeWalt scroll saw and Sears craftsman drill press. It is located on the opposite side of the kitchen, which is behind the sofa.

From Shop Pictures

Another view of my work station. ( I didn't notice when I took the picture that Richard, my short-haired orange tabby was in the background) This pic is from standing near the kitchen table.

From Shop Pictures

Every square inch is used for storage. In the cabinet I keep my little wood pieces, some finishing supplies, 1/3 sheet orbital sander, clamps, glue and sand paper. In the drawer are scroll saw blades, drill bits, scissors and tape.

From Shop Pictures

I also sew and made a little Chococat stool cover for my stool. It makes it fun and looks cool! (I love cats!)

From Shop Pictures

This closet holds my cordless drill/circular saw/ kit, my router (I like using a laminate trimmer because it is smaller and easier to handle for me), my Dremel and accessories, router bit sets and other misc. things like computer wires, etc.

From Shop Pictures

My other closet holds some thin boards that I use for ornaments and small boxes and plaques. The shelves opposite also hold small boards for little projects.

From Shop Pictures

I also have several pieces of dressed boards of a variety of hard wood that I keep in my bedroom. I keep the boards flat under the dresser and also on top of the longer dresser and on a deacon's bench I have in there. Most of the boards are under six feet long so they fit well laid flat. I keep gallon sized water jugs on top of them to keep the boards from twisting and it does work pretty well. I do admit that if you go in there you know I do woodworking, but when you are in the rest of the house, you really wouldn't know.

I didn't do a 'fast cleanup' just for the pictures. I clean things up with a quick vacuum when I am done and that is that. Because the scroll saw uses tiny blades, there really isn't a great deal of dust. I do the routing and sanding on the front deck so there isn't dust there. All the dressing and planing of the wood is done at my friend Bernie's shop. Bernie is a master craftsman and lives in Digby which is about 45 minutes north of me and he has built over 100 houses and literally thousands of pieces of furniture. He is 'retired' now and works in his shop six days a week from 7am until 5pm at night. I first met him when I lived in Digby and needed some planing done. He gave me the key to his shop shortly afterword and I have full use of all of his tools whenever I want. It is people like that who make this world a great place. I love woodworkers so much. He has taught me a lot and I must say I have even taught him a couple of things from time to time which really makes me proud.

All in all, it works for me. I am getting back on my feet and saving to get my own place again and you can bet it will be a place with a nice shop. But for now, I feel very fortunate with what I have and it hasn't seemed to stop me from being productive. This has been one of the most productive years I have ever had.

I guess it goes to show that good things can come from small places. We just have to learn to use what we have to make it work for us.

I hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much. My editor wanted me to write an article about my little shop and he thinks it may inspire those with small spaces and limited means. After writing this blog entry, I may just do that. I hope that seeing how I do things lets others in similar circumstances know that there is always a way!

On another note, I am posting my latest project after I am done with this. This will be going to the magazine and shows the finished turn buttons that I worked on yesterday. If you want to see them in place, I will have pictures in my project section.

Happy Friday everyone!
(Every day is Friday when you love what you do!)

Great shop

 

[ScrollSawVideo]

Big Things Coming From Small Places (My Shop)

Last night when I was just about 'done' with stuff at somewhere around 10pm, I was picking around this site. I noticed that many of you had maps on your home pages which showed exactly where you lived. I liked that feature very much, as it helped me learn more about each woodworker and the proximity of his or her location.

Nova Scotia always sounded so exotic to me when I lived near Chicago. I pictured icebergs floating with little penguins and polar bears lounging on them and harp seals swimming freely in the ocean. When I first came here, it was far from what I had pictured in my mind, albeit beautiful. In actuality, it was much farther south than I had realized and just across the Bay of Fundy from Maine. As a matter of fact, the landscape is quite similar to the northern Maine coast and you would barely tell the difference when driving other than the ocean being on the other side. So I proceeded to map my location for others to see when they were exploring the scope of the site.

This morning, I woke to a couple of responses to my mapping (something which I didn't even think would be noticed) and they requested pictures of my 'shop'. Well, that really caught me by surprise. I guess it is expected, because I myself love to see the pictures of all the shops of fellow woodworkers here. It is amazing to me to see all the cool tools, storage and space that people have to work with. There are so many incredible places that I thought, "No wonder they create such beautiful items."

Thinking about taking pictures of my 'shop' made me cringe. Due to some personal circumstances in my life the past several years, I am lucky to have a roof over my head - let alone a shop! (I said in the beginning that this would be a bit personal, but I am not going to go into it further than that, but it is the honest truth). To make a long story short, mine had a happy ending. I changed the circumstances in my life and as of last year, I have been back to the 'old Sheila' (so my friends have told me) and on the upswing. I now, however live in a small - although modern, peaceful and clean one bedroom apartment which is on the end of a sprawling ranch house across from the Meteghan River. The area is beautiful as I said, and although there isn't a lot of room, I love the surroundings and the peace that living here has brought to my life and it has been very conducive to my inspiration and productivity.

After seeing the pictures of the wonderful shops here on LJ, I felt quite silly when I thought about my workplace. Here I am a Contributing Editor to a national magazine and I probably have less room and less big tools than 98 percent of you. However, I am what I am, and I realize that it isn't the tools that make the craftsman (or craftswoman), but how we use them and what we produce that counts.

As I said before, I grew up with limited means. We weren't poor, but we certainly weren't considered 'upper-class'. I know I could have taken a different path in my life and made a ton of money doing something that I didn't like to do, but I studied classical piano in university and I chose to make designing and art and teaching my livelihood because it is what I truly love to do. I still think that I am much happier than some people I know with lots of money. So I stand by my choice and I am pleased with it.

So without further adieu . . . . ladies and gentlemen . . . . MY SHOP!

Here is the "nerve center" of most of my work - my DeWalt scroll saw and Sears craftsman drill press. It is located on the opposite side of the kitchen, which is behind the sofa.

From Shop Pictures

Another view of my work station. ( I didn't notice when I took the picture that Richard, my short-haired orange tabby was in the background) This pic is from standing near the kitchen table.

From Shop Pictures

Every square inch is used for storage. In the cabinet I keep my little wood pieces, some finishing supplies, 1/3 sheet orbital sander, clamps, glue and sand paper. In the drawer are scroll saw blades, drill bits, scissors and tape.

From Shop Pictures

I also sew and made a little Chococat stool cover for my stool. It makes it fun and looks cool! (I love cats!)

From Shop Pictures

This closet holds my cordless drill/circular saw/ kit, my router (I like using a laminate trimmer because it is smaller and easier to handle for me), my Dremel and accessories, router bit sets and other misc. things like computer wires, etc.

From Shop Pictures

My other closet holds some thin boards that I use for ornaments and small boxes and plaques. The shelves opposite also hold small boards for little projects.

From Shop Pictures

I also have several pieces of dressed boards of a variety of hard wood that I keep in my bedroom. I keep the boards flat under the dresser and also on top of the longer dresser and on a deacon's bench I have in there. Most of the boards are under six feet long so they fit well laid flat. I keep gallon sized water jugs on top of them to keep the boards from twisting and it does work pretty well. I do admit that if you go in there you know I do woodworking, but when you are in the rest of the house, you really wouldn't know.

I didn't do a 'fast cleanup' just for the pictures. I clean things up with a quick vacuum when I am done and that is that. Because the scroll saw uses tiny blades, there really isn't a great deal of dust. I do the routing and sanding on the front deck so there isn't dust there. All the dressing and planing of the wood is done at my friend Bernie's shop. Bernie is a master craftsman and lives in Digby which is about 45 minutes north of me and he has built over 100 houses and literally thousands of pieces of furniture. He is 'retired' now and works in his shop six days a week from 7am until 5pm at night. I first met him when I lived in Digby and needed some planing done. He gave me the key to his shop shortly afterword and I have full use of all of his tools whenever I want. It is people like that who make this world a great place. I love woodworkers so much. He has taught me a lot and I must say I have even taught him a couple of things from time to time which really makes me proud.

All in all, it works for me. I am getting back on my feet and saving to get my own place again and you can bet it will be a place with a nice shop. But for now, I feel very fortunate with what I have and it hasn't seemed to stop me from being productive. This has been one of the most productive years I have ever had.

I guess it goes to show that good things can come from small places. We just have to learn to use what we have to make it work for us.

I hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much. My editor wanted me to write an article about my little shop and he thinks it may inspire those with small spaces and limited means. After writing this blog entry, I may just do that. I hope that seeing how I do things lets others in similar circumstances know that there is always a way!

On another note, I am posting my latest project after I am done with this. This will be going to the magazine and shows the finished turn buttons that I worked on yesterday. If you want to see them in place, I will have pictures in my project section.

Happy Friday everyone!
(Every day is Friday when you love what you do!)

My long time friend continues to inspire others! Thanks.

 

[sbryan55]

Big Things Coming From Small Places (My Shop)

Last night when I was just about 'done' with stuff at somewhere around 10pm, I was picking around this site. I noticed that many of you had maps on your home pages which showed exactly where you lived. I liked that feature very much, as it helped me learn more about each woodworker and the proximity of his or her location.

Nova Scotia always sounded so exotic to me when I lived near Chicago. I pictured icebergs floating with little penguins and polar bears lounging on them and harp seals swimming freely in the ocean. When I first came here, it was far from what I had pictured in my mind, albeit beautiful. In actuality, it was much farther south than I had realized and just across the Bay of Fundy from Maine. As a matter of fact, the landscape is quite similar to the northern Maine coast and you would barely tell the difference when driving other than the ocean being on the other side. So I proceeded to map my location for others to see when they were exploring the scope of the site.

This morning, I woke to a couple of responses to my mapping (something which I didn't even think would be noticed) and they requested pictures of my 'shop'. Well, that really caught me by surprise. I guess it is expected, because I myself love to see the pictures of all the shops of fellow woodworkers here. It is amazing to me to see all the cool tools, storage and space that people have to work with. There are so many incredible places that I thought, "No wonder they create such beautiful items."

Thinking about taking pictures of my 'shop' made me cringe. Due to some personal circumstances in my life the past several years, I am lucky to have a roof over my head - let alone a shop! (I said in the beginning that this would be a bit personal, but I am not going to go into it further than that, but it is the honest truth). To make a long story short, mine had a happy ending. I changed the circumstances in my life and as of last year, I have been back to the 'old Sheila' (so my friends have told me) and on the upswing. I now, however live in a small - although modern, peaceful and clean one bedroom apartment which is on the end of a sprawling ranch house across from the Meteghan River. The area is beautiful as I said, and although there isn't a lot of room, I love the surroundings and the peace that living here has brought to my life and it has been very conducive to my inspiration and productivity.

After seeing the pictures of the wonderful shops here on LJ, I felt quite silly when I thought about my workplace. Here I am a Contributing Editor to a national magazine and I probably have less room and less big tools than 98 percent of you. However, I am what I am, and I realize that it isn't the tools that make the craftsman (or craftswoman), but how we use them and what we produce that counts.

As I said before, I grew up with limited means. We weren't poor, but we certainly weren't considered 'upper-class'. I know I could have taken a different path in my life and made a ton of money doing something that I didn't like to do, but I studied classical piano in university and I chose to make designing and art and teaching my livelihood because it is what I truly love to do. I still think that I am much happier than some people I know with lots of money. So I stand by my choice and I am pleased with it.

So without further adieu . . . . ladies and gentlemen . . . . MY SHOP!

Here is the "nerve center" of most of my work - my DeWalt scroll saw and Sears craftsman drill press. It is located on the opposite side of the kitchen, which is behind the sofa.

From Shop Pictures

Another view of my work station. ( I didn't notice when I took the picture that Richard, my short-haired orange tabby was in the background) This pic is from standing near the kitchen table.

From Shop Pictures

Every square inch is used for storage. In the cabinet I keep my little wood pieces, some finishing supplies, 1/3 sheet orbital sander, clamps, glue and sand paper. In the drawer are scroll saw blades, drill bits, scissors and tape.

From Shop Pictures

I also sew and made a little Chococat stool cover for my stool. It makes it fun and looks cool! (I love cats!)

From Shop Pictures

This closet holds my cordless drill/circular saw/ kit, my router (I like using a laminate trimmer because it is smaller and easier to handle for me), my Dremel and accessories, router bit sets and other misc. things like computer wires, etc.

From Shop Pictures

My other closet holds some thin boards that I use for ornaments and small boxes and plaques. The shelves opposite also hold small boards for little projects.

From Shop Pictures

I also have several pieces of dressed boards of a variety of hard wood that I keep in my bedroom. I keep the boards flat under the dresser and also on top of the longer dresser and on a deacon's bench I have in there. Most of the boards are under six feet long so they fit well laid flat. I keep gallon sized water jugs on top of them to keep the boards from twisting and it does work pretty well. I do admit that if you go in there you know I do woodworking, but when you are in the rest of the house, you really wouldn't know.

I didn't do a 'fast cleanup' just for the pictures. I clean things up with a quick vacuum when I am done and that is that. Because the scroll saw uses tiny blades, there really isn't a great deal of dust. I do the routing and sanding on the front deck so there isn't dust there. All the dressing and planing of the wood is done at my friend Bernie's shop. Bernie is a master craftsman and lives in Digby which is about 45 minutes north of me and he has built over 100 houses and literally thousands of pieces of furniture. He is 'retired' now and works in his shop six days a week from 7am until 5pm at night. I first met him when I lived in Digby and needed some planing done. He gave me the key to his shop shortly afterword and I have full use of all of his tools whenever I want. It is people like that who make this world a great place. I love woodworkers so much. He has taught me a lot and I must say I have even taught him a couple of things from time to time which really makes me proud.

All in all, it works for me. I am getting back on my feet and saving to get my own place again and you can bet it will be a place with a nice shop. But for now, I feel very fortunate with what I have and it hasn't seemed to stop me from being productive. This has been one of the most productive years I have ever had.

I guess it goes to show that good things can come from small places. We just have to learn to use what we have to make it work for us.

I hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much. My editor wanted me to write an article about my little shop and he thinks it may inspire those with small spaces and limited means. After writing this blog entry, I may just do that. I hope that seeing how I do things lets others in similar circumstances know that there is always a way!

On another note, I am posting my latest project after I am done with this. This will be going to the magazine and shows the finished turn buttons that I worked on yesterday. If you want to see them in place, I will have pictures in my project section.

Happy Friday everyone!
(Every day is Friday when you love what you do!)

Sheila, this is certainly one of the more unique shop spaces that I have had the distinct pleasure of touring. It looks like you have some nice tools to play with. A scrollsaw is one tool on my list that I just have not found either the space or the opportunity to add to my collection but it is on my wish list nonetheless.

Thanks for the pictures. It was both interesting and enjoyable to tour your shop.

 

[Dennisgrosen]

Big Things Coming From Small Places (My Shop)

Last night when I was just about 'done' with stuff at somewhere around 10pm, I was picking around this site. I noticed that many of you had maps on your home pages which showed exactly where you lived. I liked that feature very much, as it helped me learn more about each woodworker and the proximity of his or her location.

Nova Scotia always sounded so exotic to me when I lived near Chicago. I pictured icebergs floating with little penguins and polar bears lounging on them and harp seals swimming freely in the ocean. When I first came here, it was far from what I had pictured in my mind, albeit beautiful. In actuality, it was much farther south than I had realized and just across the Bay of Fundy from Maine. As a matter of fact, the landscape is quite similar to the northern Maine coast and you would barely tell the difference when driving other than the ocean being on the other side. So I proceeded to map my location for others to see when they were exploring the scope of the site.

This morning, I woke to a couple of responses to my mapping (something which I didn't even think would be noticed) and they requested pictures of my 'shop'. Well, that really caught me by surprise. I guess it is expected, because I myself love to see the pictures of all the shops of fellow woodworkers here. It is amazing to me to see all the cool tools, storage and space that people have to work with. There are so many incredible places that I thought, "No wonder they create such beautiful items."

Thinking about taking pictures of my 'shop' made me cringe. Due to some personal circumstances in my life the past several years, I am lucky to have a roof over my head - let alone a shop! (I said in the beginning that this would be a bit personal, but I am not going to go into it further than that, but it is the honest truth). To make a long story short, mine had a happy ending. I changed the circumstances in my life and as of last year, I have been back to the 'old Sheila' (so my friends have told me) and on the upswing. I now, however live in a small - although modern, peaceful and clean one bedroom apartment which is on the end of a sprawling ranch house across from the Meteghan River. The area is beautiful as I said, and although there isn't a lot of room, I love the surroundings and the peace that living here has brought to my life and it has been very conducive to my inspiration and productivity.

After seeing the pictures of the wonderful shops here on LJ, I felt quite silly when I thought about my workplace. Here I am a Contributing Editor to a national magazine and I probably have less room and less big tools than 98 percent of you. However, I am what I am, and I realize that it isn't the tools that make the craftsman (or craftswoman), but how we use them and what we produce that counts.

As I said before, I grew up with limited means. We weren't poor, but we certainly weren't considered 'upper-class'. I know I could have taken a different path in my life and made a ton of money doing something that I didn't like to do, but I studied classical piano in university and I chose to make designing and art and teaching my livelihood because it is what I truly love to do. I still think that I am much happier than some people I know with lots of money. So I stand by my choice and I am pleased with it.

So without further adieu . . . . ladies and gentlemen . . . . MY SHOP!

Here is the "nerve center" of most of my work - my DeWalt scroll saw and Sears craftsman drill press. It is located on the opposite side of the kitchen, which is behind the sofa.

From Shop Pictures

Another view of my work station. ( I didn't notice when I took the picture that Richard, my short-haired orange tabby was in the background) This pic is from standing near the kitchen table.

From Shop Pictures

Every square inch is used for storage. In the cabinet I keep my little wood pieces, some finishing supplies, 1/3 sheet orbital sander, clamps, glue and sand paper. In the drawer are scroll saw blades, drill bits, scissors and tape.

From Shop Pictures

I also sew and made a little Chococat stool cover for my stool. It makes it fun and looks cool! (I love cats!)

From Shop Pictures

This closet holds my cordless drill/circular saw/ kit, my router (I like using a laminate trimmer because it is smaller and easier to handle for me), my Dremel and accessories, router bit sets and other misc. things like computer wires, etc.

From Shop Pictures

My other closet holds some thin boards that I use for ornaments and small boxes and plaques. The shelves opposite also hold small boards for little projects.

From Shop Pictures

I also have several pieces of dressed boards of a variety of hard wood that I keep in my bedroom. I keep the boards flat under the dresser and also on top of the longer dresser and on a deacon's bench I have in there. Most of the boards are under six feet long so they fit well laid flat. I keep gallon sized water jugs on top of them to keep the boards from twisting and it does work pretty well. I do admit that if you go in there you know I do woodworking, but when you are in the rest of the house, you really wouldn't know.

I didn't do a 'fast cleanup' just for the pictures. I clean things up with a quick vacuum when I am done and that is that. Because the scroll saw uses tiny blades, there really isn't a great deal of dust. I do the routing and sanding on the front deck so there isn't dust there. All the dressing and planing of the wood is done at my friend Bernie's shop. Bernie is a master craftsman and lives in Digby which is about 45 minutes north of me and he has built over 100 houses and literally thousands of pieces of furniture. He is 'retired' now and works in his shop six days a week from 7am until 5pm at night. I first met him when I lived in Digby and needed some planing done. He gave me the key to his shop shortly afterword and I have full use of all of his tools whenever I want. It is people like that who make this world a great place. I love woodworkers so much. He has taught me a lot and I must say I have even taught him a couple of things from time to time which really makes me proud.

All in all, it works for me. I am getting back on my feet and saving to get my own place again and you can bet it will be a place with a nice shop. But for now, I feel very fortunate with what I have and it hasn't seemed to stop me from being productive. This has been one of the most productive years I have ever had.

I guess it goes to show that good things can come from small places. We just have to learn to use what we have to make it work for us.

I hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much. My editor wanted me to write an article about my little shop and he thinks it may inspire those with small spaces and limited means. After writing this blog entry, I may just do that. I hope that seeing how I do things lets others in similar circumstances know that there is always a way!

On another note, I am posting my latest project after I am done with this. This will be going to the magazine and shows the finished turn buttons that I worked on yesterday. If you want to see them in place, I will have pictures in my project section.

Happy Friday everyone!
(Every day is Friday when you love what you do!)

Sheila thank´s for the look into your shop
but it´s not how much space you have it just have to forfill
what you like to do , of course if you want to build schooners
you need a lot more space )
if you don´t belive me then take a look here, thats another
small workshop ,but what Dilo has accomplished there is unbelieveble

http://lumberjocks.com/dilo/workshop

the other day there was one (can´t remember who) that posted a blog
about a shop where every maschine was downsiced so they match
what she was doing , it is pens made on a lathe see if you can find it and take a look
its another cool shop deticated to what she needed

I liked your shopstool it´s very funny

have a great weekend Sheila

take care Dennis

 

[littlecope]

Big Things Coming From Small Places (My Shop)

Last night when I was just about 'done' with stuff at somewhere around 10pm, I was picking around this site. I noticed that many of you had maps on your home pages which showed exactly where you lived. I liked that feature very much, as it helped me learn more about each woodworker and the proximity of his or her location.

Nova Scotia always sounded so exotic to me when I lived near Chicago. I pictured icebergs floating with little penguins and polar bears lounging on them and harp seals swimming freely in the ocean. When I first came here, it was far from what I had pictured in my mind, albeit beautiful. In actuality, it was much farther south than I had realized and just across the Bay of Fundy from Maine. As a matter of fact, the landscape is quite similar to the northern Maine coast and you would barely tell the difference when driving other than the ocean being on the other side. So I proceeded to map my location for others to see when they were exploring the scope of the site.

This morning, I woke to a couple of responses to my mapping (something which I didn't even think would be noticed) and they requested pictures of my 'shop'. Well, that really caught me by surprise. I guess it is expected, because I myself love to see the pictures of all the shops of fellow woodworkers here. It is amazing to me to see all the cool tools, storage and space that people have to work with. There are so many incredible places that I thought, "No wonder they create such beautiful items."

Thinking about taking pictures of my 'shop' made me cringe. Due to some personal circumstances in my life the past several years, I am lucky to have a roof over my head - let alone a shop! (I said in the beginning that this would be a bit personal, but I am not going to go into it further than that, but it is the honest truth). To make a long story short, mine had a happy ending. I changed the circumstances in my life and as of last year, I have been back to the 'old Sheila' (so my friends have told me) and on the upswing. I now, however live in a small - although modern, peaceful and clean one bedroom apartment which is on the end of a sprawling ranch house across from the Meteghan River. The area is beautiful as I said, and although there isn't a lot of room, I love the surroundings and the peace that living here has brought to my life and it has been very conducive to my inspiration and productivity.

After seeing the pictures of the wonderful shops here on LJ, I felt quite silly when I thought about my workplace. Here I am a Contributing Editor to a national magazine and I probably have less room and less big tools than 98 percent of you. However, I am what I am, and I realize that it isn't the tools that make the craftsman (or craftswoman), but how we use them and what we produce that counts.

As I said before, I grew up with limited means. We weren't poor, but we certainly weren't considered 'upper-class'. I know I could have taken a different path in my life and made a ton of money doing something that I didn't like to do, but I studied classical piano in university and I chose to make designing and art and teaching my livelihood because it is what I truly love to do. I still think that I am much happier than some people I know with lots of money. So I stand by my choice and I am pleased with it.

So without further adieu . . . . ladies and gentlemen . . . . MY SHOP!

Here is the "nerve center" of most of my work - my DeWalt scroll saw and Sears craftsman drill press. It is located on the opposite side of the kitchen, which is behind the sofa.

From Shop Pictures

Another view of my work station. ( I didn't notice when I took the picture that Richard, my short-haired orange tabby was in the background) This pic is from standing near the kitchen table.

From Shop Pictures

Every square inch is used for storage. In the cabinet I keep my little wood pieces, some finishing supplies, 1/3 sheet orbital sander, clamps, glue and sand paper. In the drawer are scroll saw blades, drill bits, scissors and tape.

From Shop Pictures

I also sew and made a little Chococat stool cover for my stool. It makes it fun and looks cool! (I love cats!)

From Shop Pictures

This closet holds my cordless drill/circular saw/ kit, my router (I like using a laminate trimmer because it is smaller and easier to handle for me), my Dremel and accessories, router bit sets and other misc. things like computer wires, etc.

From Shop Pictures

My other closet holds some thin boards that I use for ornaments and small boxes and plaques. The shelves opposite also hold small boards for little projects.

From Shop Pictures

I also have several pieces of dressed boards of a variety of hard wood that I keep in my bedroom. I keep the boards flat under the dresser and also on top of the longer dresser and on a deacon's bench I have in there. Most of the boards are under six feet long so they fit well laid flat. I keep gallon sized water jugs on top of them to keep the boards from twisting and it does work pretty well. I do admit that if you go in there you know I do woodworking, but when you are in the rest of the house, you really wouldn't know.

I didn't do a 'fast cleanup' just for the pictures. I clean things up with a quick vacuum when I am done and that is that. Because the scroll saw uses tiny blades, there really isn't a great deal of dust. I do the routing and sanding on the front deck so there isn't dust there. All the dressing and planing of the wood is done at my friend Bernie's shop. Bernie is a master craftsman and lives in Digby which is about 45 minutes north of me and he has built over 100 houses and literally thousands of pieces of furniture. He is 'retired' now and works in his shop six days a week from 7am until 5pm at night. I first met him when I lived in Digby and needed some planing done. He gave me the key to his shop shortly afterword and I have full use of all of his tools whenever I want. It is people like that who make this world a great place. I love woodworkers so much. He has taught me a lot and I must say I have even taught him a couple of things from time to time which really makes me proud.

All in all, it works for me. I am getting back on my feet and saving to get my own place again and you can bet it will be a place with a nice shop. But for now, I feel very fortunate with what I have and it hasn't seemed to stop me from being productive. This has been one of the most productive years I have ever had.

I guess it goes to show that good things can come from small places. We just have to learn to use what we have to make it work for us.

I hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much. My editor wanted me to write an article about my little shop and he thinks it may inspire those with small spaces and limited means. After writing this blog entry, I may just do that. I hope that seeing how I do things lets others in similar circumstances know that there is always a way!

On another note, I am posting my latest project after I am done with this. This will be going to the magazine and shows the finished turn buttons that I worked on yesterday. If you want to see them in place, I will have pictures in my project section.

Happy Friday everyone!
(Every day is Friday when you love what you do!)

Thanks for this, and all your other great blogs, Sheila. Welcome to LJ's!!
As far as shop size, if I could afford any type shop I wanted, it would still be a small one… Less steps!!
It's you who makes your shop work…

 

[scrollgirl]

Some Days are Just Frustrating

Did you ever get out of bed and before you were done with your first cup of coffee wish you could start the day over again? I guess it happens to all of us from time to time. I guess this blog isn't going to be too much about woodworking today, but it does have to do with running a woodworking business and all that entails, so I forewarn you if you are looking for a tip or to see a project, this may not be the place - at least for today.

I promise this won't turn into too much a rant. (maybe a little whining though!) However, I may vent a little frustration. After all, if I were Mary Sunshine every day it would probably make everyone sick and want to slap me. I guess those of you who also run a business can relate to much of what I am going to say - we have our good days and we have our not so good days. It is only 7:30 here on a Saturday morning and I have only been up for a little over an hour and already my stress bucket is pretty full. I wonder how I will be by tonight?

Over the years, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. Life has taken me on a winding path so far and after seeing and experiencing some not so nice things, I learn that getting upset about little things can be classified as over reacting. I try generally to be a positive person. What's a little rain? Or even a storm now and then? As long as you are able to keep reasonably dry you should be ok. I wait for the big ones to run for cover. I try not to worry about what may be and think more about what is. I think that is a healthier way to do things.

So anyway, I spent most of yesterday writing articles and working on my web site. Having a web site can be a full time job in itself. As I said earlier, I have been pretty productive this year. I have had many new designs both for the magazine and also for my personal sales and wholesalers and with that comes the job of managing everything. My partner is great with computers, and blissfully he has taken over much of the web site work and maintenance. We make a good team because he does a lot of the higher technical stuff (I am a lower level tech than he is!) and I do most of the PR (I am the 'yakkity' one who likes to socialize and write the introductions, updates and correspondence with others - I bet you couldn't tell!) So it balances out pretty well.

In any case, I spent yesterday updating my part of the site. I had eleven new products to upload, including writing enticing descriptions for them as well as adding some pictures and stuff into the Customer's Gallery and writing a new News page and composing a bulk email to go out to customers who signed up for updates (this is voluntary and I don't send stuff to people who don't ask for it). I also polished and uploaded two new free articles for them to download. We had just updated the site about 2-3 weeks ago, but this one was a much better one with lots more new stuff. I was really excited about it.

So after working on the computer until almost 11pm last night, everything was ready to go. Everything on the site was up and running and the test email was ready to send (I always send one to myself first to make sure that everything looks good and works properly). So I send the email and thought when it was OK, I would send it to the 800+ customers on the list and go to bed. I hit the send button and usually it pops right up in my email box within seconds. So I waited. And I went for a glass of milk. And I waited. And I went to brush my teeth. And I waited. The screen was stuck on 'Sending messages - please wait' for over half an hour and no email arrived. I tried rebooting and resending, but it was stuck on that screen. I copied and pasted the email into a new one and tried to resend and the same thing happened. This time it was past midnight and I thought, OK, it will go in the morning.

So I get up this morning and still no email. I get online with customer support chat from my host and they said that I was running old software (which was THEIR software) and they had problems with the bulk emails there. They were working on it. So NOW I am getting frustrated. I asked why I wasn't asked to upgrade when the new software was available and she said she didn't know. I have been working with that host for over seven years now and the site is on a kind of template. It is OK for someone new, but quite restrictive and we have been overriding many of the HTML things to make it look and perform better. So I was still pretty calm and asked her to upgrade me. She said I have to write them and send in a consent and back up my whole site and transfer it over. And I thought . . . . WOW! It was like being hit in the face with a pie like you see in the old TV shows.

Now as I said, I am pretty big on technology. I have Windows7 64 bit, and keep everything up to date. I certainly would have taken the opportunity to upgrade my software if I was told I needed to. My partner has been at me since we started really working on the site this year to change to a new host and get off the template. I know he is right, but I have over 400 products and things that have to be moved, changed and reuploaded along with the pictures and all that building a site entails. My site has been doing well this year and shows the care and attention we have been offering it. I had more in sales the first three months of this year than in 2008 and 2009 combined. It has become a integral part of my sales and I have been really proud of the work we have done on it. The thought of scrapping it and starting over just seems like looking up at Mt. Fugi to me.

So I left the conversation with the help line politely, not knowing when I will be able to send my email out. I put in a request for the upgrade on the software, but I cringe at the thought of what that will entail. I am almost ready to jump on my partner's wagon and scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. I still have the unpleasant task of breaking the news to him, too. I am sure since he will be doing most of the gut work, it won't make his day either.

So with that said, my rant is over. It is funny how you think when you are going to do woodworking full time you think you are going to do just that - woodworking full time. Unfortunately, there are other things like book work, purchasing, marketing, and the other things that go with running a business that get in the way - not to mention cooking, laundry, cleaning and well . . . . life! I haven't been able to draw in over a week and I haven't worked on the saw since Tuesday or so when I cut the frame out. It isn't because I have been goofing off, either. I read the blog by kolwdwrkr called "Get Away Sometime" and I was really glad he posted it. It reminded me that as with anything in life, if you have too much of a good thing, it sometimes isn't that good. Sometimes we need to change gears and do something unrelated so we can refresh our mind and soul. It was a great post.

I have some family stuff to do today and as I look out the sun is shining and it is beautiful. Besides my quest for turn buttons and a couple of trips for groceries, I haven't been out in a couple of weeks except for a funeral of a friends grandma. I can't really call that recreational time off. I live 2 km from the ocean and haven't had a nice walk on the beach this year yet. I think the time to plan a short road trip is in order. I probably won't be able to go until next weekend, with today's responsibility, but I think it is time to take the top down on the 'ole Mustang and crank the music and let her stretch her wheels and go for a ride. I need a day where the only wood I will be looking at is still living and growing.

Life is too short.

 

[BritBoxmaker]

Some Days are Just Frustrating

Did you ever get out of bed and before you were done with your first cup of coffee wish you could start the day over again? I guess it happens to all of us from time to time. I guess this blog isn't going to be too much about woodworking today, but it does have to do with running a woodworking business and all that entails, so I forewarn you if you are looking for a tip or to see a project, this may not be the place - at least for today.

I promise this won't turn into too much a rant. (maybe a little whining though!) However, I may vent a little frustration. After all, if I were Mary Sunshine every day it would probably make everyone sick and want to slap me. I guess those of you who also run a business can relate to much of what I am going to say - we have our good days and we have our not so good days. It is only 7:30 here on a Saturday morning and I have only been up for a little over an hour and already my stress bucket is pretty full. I wonder how I will be by tonight?

Over the years, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. Life has taken me on a winding path so far and after seeing and experiencing some not so nice things, I learn that getting upset about little things can be classified as over reacting. I try generally to be a positive person. What's a little rain? Or even a storm now and then? As long as you are able to keep reasonably dry you should be ok. I wait for the big ones to run for cover. I try not to worry about what may be and think more about what is. I think that is a healthier way to do things.

So anyway, I spent most of yesterday writing articles and working on my web site. Having a web site can be a full time job in itself. As I said earlier, I have been pretty productive this year. I have had many new designs both for the magazine and also for my personal sales and wholesalers and with that comes the job of managing everything. My partner is great with computers, and blissfully he has taken over much of the web site work and maintenance. We make a good team because he does a lot of the higher technical stuff (I am a lower level tech than he is!) and I do most of the PR (I am the 'yakkity' one who likes to socialize and write the introductions, updates and correspondence with others - I bet you couldn't tell!) So it balances out pretty well.

In any case, I spent yesterday updating my part of the site. I had eleven new products to upload, including writing enticing descriptions for them as well as adding some pictures and stuff into the Customer's Gallery and writing a new News page and composing a bulk email to go out to customers who signed up for updates (this is voluntary and I don't send stuff to people who don't ask for it). I also polished and uploaded two new free articles for them to download. We had just updated the site about 2-3 weeks ago, but this one was a much better one with lots more new stuff. I was really excited about it.

So after working on the computer until almost 11pm last night, everything was ready to go. Everything on the site was up and running and the test email was ready to send (I always send one to myself first to make sure that everything looks good and works properly). So I send the email and thought when it was OK, I would send it to the 800+ customers on the list and go to bed. I hit the send button and usually it pops right up in my email box within seconds. So I waited. And I went for a glass of milk. And I waited. And I went to brush my teeth. And I waited. The screen was stuck on 'Sending messages - please wait' for over half an hour and no email arrived. I tried rebooting and resending, but it was stuck on that screen. I copied and pasted the email into a new one and tried to resend and the same thing happened. This time it was past midnight and I thought, OK, it will go in the morning.

So I get up this morning and still no email. I get online with customer support chat from my host and they said that I was running old software (which was THEIR software) and they had problems with the bulk emails there. They were working on it. So NOW I am getting frustrated. I asked why I wasn't asked to upgrade when the new software was available and she said she didn't know. I have been working with that host for over seven years now and the site is on a kind of template. It is OK for someone new, but quite restrictive and we have been overriding many of the HTML things to make it look and perform better. So I was still pretty calm and asked her to upgrade me. She said I have to write them and send in a consent and back up my whole site and transfer it over. And I thought . . . . WOW! It was like being hit in the face with a pie like you see in the old TV shows.

Now as I said, I am pretty big on technology. I have Windows7 64 bit, and keep everything up to date. I certainly would have taken the opportunity to upgrade my software if I was told I needed to. My partner has been at me since we started really working on the site this year to change to a new host and get off the template. I know he is right, but I have over 400 products and things that have to be moved, changed and reuploaded along with the pictures and all that building a site entails. My site has been doing well this year and shows the care and attention we have been offering it. I had more in sales the first three months of this year than in 2008 and 2009 combined. It has become a integral part of my sales and I have been really proud of the work we have done on it. The thought of scrapping it and starting over just seems like looking up at Mt. Fugi to me.

So I left the conversation with the help line politely, not knowing when I will be able to send my email out. I put in a request for the upgrade on the software, but I cringe at the thought of what that will entail. I am almost ready to jump on my partner's wagon and scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. I still have the unpleasant task of breaking the news to him, too. I am sure since he will be doing most of the gut work, it won't make his day either.

So with that said, my rant is over. It is funny how you think when you are going to do woodworking full time you think you are going to do just that - woodworking full time. Unfortunately, there are other things like book work, purchasing, marketing, and the other things that go with running a business that get in the way - not to mention cooking, laundry, cleaning and well . . . . life! I haven't been able to draw in over a week and I haven't worked on the saw since Tuesday or so when I cut the frame out. It isn't because I have been goofing off, either. I read the blog by kolwdwrkr called "Get Away Sometime" and I was really glad he posted it. It reminded me that as with anything in life, if you have too much of a good thing, it sometimes isn't that good. Sometimes we need to change gears and do something unrelated so we can refresh our mind and soul. It was a great post.

I have some family stuff to do today and as I look out the sun is shining and it is beautiful. Besides my quest for turn buttons and a couple of trips for groceries, I haven't been out in a couple of weeks except for a funeral of a friends grandma. I can't really call that recreational time off. I live 2 km from the ocean and haven't had a nice walk on the beach this year yet. I think the time to plan a short road trip is in order. I probably won't be able to go until next weekend, with today's responsibility, but I think it is time to take the top down on the 'ole Mustang and crank the music and let her stretch her wheels and go for a ride. I need a day where the only wood I will be looking at is still living and growing.

Life is too short.

I now find I'm on LJ's, Facebook etc so much I'm not doing enough woodwork. I'll stop right….

 

[scrollgirl]

Some Days are Just Frustrating

Did you ever get out of bed and before you were done with your first cup of coffee wish you could start the day over again? I guess it happens to all of us from time to time. I guess this blog isn't going to be too much about woodworking today, but it does have to do with running a woodworking business and all that entails, so I forewarn you if you are looking for a tip or to see a project, this may not be the place - at least for today.

I promise this won't turn into too much a rant. (maybe a little whining though!) However, I may vent a little frustration. After all, if I were Mary Sunshine every day it would probably make everyone sick and want to slap me. I guess those of you who also run a business can relate to much of what I am going to say - we have our good days and we have our not so good days. It is only 7:30 here on a Saturday morning and I have only been up for a little over an hour and already my stress bucket is pretty full. I wonder how I will be by tonight?

Over the years, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. Life has taken me on a winding path so far and after seeing and experiencing some not so nice things, I learn that getting upset about little things can be classified as over reacting. I try generally to be a positive person. What's a little rain? Or even a storm now and then? As long as you are able to keep reasonably dry you should be ok. I wait for the big ones to run for cover. I try not to worry about what may be and think more about what is. I think that is a healthier way to do things.

So anyway, I spent most of yesterday writing articles and working on my web site. Having a web site can be a full time job in itself. As I said earlier, I have been pretty productive this year. I have had many new designs both for the magazine and also for my personal sales and wholesalers and with that comes the job of managing everything. My partner is great with computers, and blissfully he has taken over much of the web site work and maintenance. We make a good team because he does a lot of the higher technical stuff (I am a lower level tech than he is!) and I do most of the PR (I am the 'yakkity' one who likes to socialize and write the introductions, updates and correspondence with others - I bet you couldn't tell!) So it balances out pretty well.

In any case, I spent yesterday updating my part of the site. I had eleven new products to upload, including writing enticing descriptions for them as well as adding some pictures and stuff into the Customer's Gallery and writing a new News page and composing a bulk email to go out to customers who signed up for updates (this is voluntary and I don't send stuff to people who don't ask for it). I also polished and uploaded two new free articles for them to download. We had just updated the site about 2-3 weeks ago, but this one was a much better one with lots more new stuff. I was really excited about it.

So after working on the computer until almost 11pm last night, everything was ready to go. Everything on the site was up and running and the test email was ready to send (I always send one to myself first to make sure that everything looks good and works properly). So I send the email and thought when it was OK, I would send it to the 800+ customers on the list and go to bed. I hit the send button and usually it pops right up in my email box within seconds. So I waited. And I went for a glass of milk. And I waited. And I went to brush my teeth. And I waited. The screen was stuck on 'Sending messages - please wait' for over half an hour and no email arrived. I tried rebooting and resending, but it was stuck on that screen. I copied and pasted the email into a new one and tried to resend and the same thing happened. This time it was past midnight and I thought, OK, it will go in the morning.

So I get up this morning and still no email. I get online with customer support chat from my host and they said that I was running old software (which was THEIR software) and they had problems with the bulk emails there. They were working on it. So NOW I am getting frustrated. I asked why I wasn't asked to upgrade when the new software was available and she said she didn't know. I have been working with that host for over seven years now and the site is on a kind of template. It is OK for someone new, but quite restrictive and we have been overriding many of the HTML things to make it look and perform better. So I was still pretty calm and asked her to upgrade me. She said I have to write them and send in a consent and back up my whole site and transfer it over. And I thought . . . . WOW! It was like being hit in the face with a pie like you see in the old TV shows.

Now as I said, I am pretty big on technology. I have Windows7 64 bit, and keep everything up to date. I certainly would have taken the opportunity to upgrade my software if I was told I needed to. My partner has been at me since we started really working on the site this year to change to a new host and get off the template. I know he is right, but I have over 400 products and things that have to be moved, changed and reuploaded along with the pictures and all that building a site entails. My site has been doing well this year and shows the care and attention we have been offering it. I had more in sales the first three months of this year than in 2008 and 2009 combined. It has become a integral part of my sales and I have been really proud of the work we have done on it. The thought of scrapping it and starting over just seems like looking up at Mt. Fugi to me.

So I left the conversation with the help line politely, not knowing when I will be able to send my email out. I put in a request for the upgrade on the software, but I cringe at the thought of what that will entail. I am almost ready to jump on my partner's wagon and scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. I still have the unpleasant task of breaking the news to him, too. I am sure since he will be doing most of the gut work, it won't make his day either.

So with that said, my rant is over. It is funny how you think when you are going to do woodworking full time you think you are going to do just that - woodworking full time. Unfortunately, there are other things like book work, purchasing, marketing, and the other things that go with running a business that get in the way - not to mention cooking, laundry, cleaning and well . . . . life! I haven't been able to draw in over a week and I haven't worked on the saw since Tuesday or so when I cut the frame out. It isn't because I have been goofing off, either. I read the blog by kolwdwrkr called "Get Away Sometime" and I was really glad he posted it. It reminded me that as with anything in life, if you have too much of a good thing, it sometimes isn't that good. Sometimes we need to change gears and do something unrelated so we can refresh our mind and soul. It was a great post.

I have some family stuff to do today and as I look out the sun is shining and it is beautiful. Besides my quest for turn buttons and a couple of trips for groceries, I haven't been out in a couple of weeks except for a funeral of a friends grandma. I can't really call that recreational time off. I live 2 km from the ocean and haven't had a nice walk on the beach this year yet. I think the time to plan a short road trip is in order. I probably won't be able to go until next weekend, with today's responsibility, but I think it is time to take the top down on the 'ole Mustang and crank the music and let her stretch her wheels and go for a ride. I need a day where the only wood I will be looking at is still living and growing.

Life is too short.

Doubtful, Martyn, doubtful.

I don't know about you, but it helps me keep in touch with my kids and all my friends in the States and my woodworking friends in several different countries. (wow- that sounds la-dee-da! sorry!)

I like keeping touch with others that have the same interests. It's a hell of a lot better than TV. My computer is my 'window to the world!'

I actually think I get MORE done when talking to others. The enthusiasm helps fuel the creativity and production!

 

[patron]

Some Days are Just Frustrating

Did you ever get out of bed and before you were done with your first cup of coffee wish you could start the day over again? I guess it happens to all of us from time to time. I guess this blog isn't going to be too much about woodworking today, but it does have to do with running a woodworking business and all that entails, so I forewarn you if you are looking for a tip or to see a project, this may not be the place - at least for today.

I promise this won't turn into too much a rant. (maybe a little whining though!) However, I may vent a little frustration. After all, if I were Mary Sunshine every day it would probably make everyone sick and want to slap me. I guess those of you who also run a business can relate to much of what I am going to say - we have our good days and we have our not so good days. It is only 7:30 here on a Saturday morning and I have only been up for a little over an hour and already my stress bucket is pretty full. I wonder how I will be by tonight?

Over the years, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. Life has taken me on a winding path so far and after seeing and experiencing some not so nice things, I learn that getting upset about little things can be classified as over reacting. I try generally to be a positive person. What's a little rain? Or even a storm now and then? As long as you are able to keep reasonably dry you should be ok. I wait for the big ones to run for cover. I try not to worry about what may be and think more about what is. I think that is a healthier way to do things.

So anyway, I spent most of yesterday writing articles and working on my web site. Having a web site can be a full time job in itself. As I said earlier, I have been pretty productive this year. I have had many new designs both for the magazine and also for my personal sales and wholesalers and with that comes the job of managing everything. My partner is great with computers, and blissfully he has taken over much of the web site work and maintenance. We make a good team because he does a lot of the higher technical stuff (I am a lower level tech than he is!) and I do most of the PR (I am the 'yakkity' one who likes to socialize and write the introductions, updates and correspondence with others - I bet you couldn't tell!) So it balances out pretty well.

In any case, I spent yesterday updating my part of the site. I had eleven new products to upload, including writing enticing descriptions for them as well as adding some pictures and stuff into the Customer's Gallery and writing a new News page and composing a bulk email to go out to customers who signed up for updates (this is voluntary and I don't send stuff to people who don't ask for it). I also polished and uploaded two new free articles for them to download. We had just updated the site about 2-3 weeks ago, but this one was a much better one with lots more new stuff. I was really excited about it.

So after working on the computer until almost 11pm last night, everything was ready to go. Everything on the site was up and running and the test email was ready to send (I always send one to myself first to make sure that everything looks good and works properly). So I send the email and thought when it was OK, I would send it to the 800+ customers on the list and go to bed. I hit the send button and usually it pops right up in my email box within seconds. So I waited. And I went for a glass of milk. And I waited. And I went to brush my teeth. And I waited. The screen was stuck on 'Sending messages - please wait' for over half an hour and no email arrived. I tried rebooting and resending, but it was stuck on that screen. I copied and pasted the email into a new one and tried to resend and the same thing happened. This time it was past midnight and I thought, OK, it will go in the morning.

So I get up this morning and still no email. I get online with customer support chat from my host and they said that I was running old software (which was THEIR software) and they had problems with the bulk emails there. They were working on it. So NOW I am getting frustrated. I asked why I wasn't asked to upgrade when the new software was available and she said she didn't know. I have been working with that host for over seven years now and the site is on a kind of template. It is OK for someone new, but quite restrictive and we have been overriding many of the HTML things to make it look and perform better. So I was still pretty calm and asked her to upgrade me. She said I have to write them and send in a consent and back up my whole site and transfer it over. And I thought . . . . WOW! It was like being hit in the face with a pie like you see in the old TV shows.

Now as I said, I am pretty big on technology. I have Windows7 64 bit, and keep everything up to date. I certainly would have taken the opportunity to upgrade my software if I was told I needed to. My partner has been at me since we started really working on the site this year to change to a new host and get off the template. I know he is right, but I have over 400 products and things that have to be moved, changed and reuploaded along with the pictures and all that building a site entails. My site has been doing well this year and shows the care and attention we have been offering it. I had more in sales the first three months of this year than in 2008 and 2009 combined. It has become a integral part of my sales and I have been really proud of the work we have done on it. The thought of scrapping it and starting over just seems like looking up at Mt. Fugi to me.

So I left the conversation with the help line politely, not knowing when I will be able to send my email out. I put in a request for the upgrade on the software, but I cringe at the thought of what that will entail. I am almost ready to jump on my partner's wagon and scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. I still have the unpleasant task of breaking the news to him, too. I am sure since he will be doing most of the gut work, it won't make his day either.

So with that said, my rant is over. It is funny how you think when you are going to do woodworking full time you think you are going to do just that - woodworking full time. Unfortunately, there are other things like book work, purchasing, marketing, and the other things that go with running a business that get in the way - not to mention cooking, laundry, cleaning and well . . . . life! I haven't been able to draw in over a week and I haven't worked on the saw since Tuesday or so when I cut the frame out. It isn't because I have been goofing off, either. I read the blog by kolwdwrkr called "Get Away Sometime" and I was really glad he posted it. It reminded me that as with anything in life, if you have too much of a good thing, it sometimes isn't that good. Sometimes we need to change gears and do something unrelated so we can refresh our mind and soul. It was a great post.

I have some family stuff to do today and as I look out the sun is shining and it is beautiful. Besides my quest for turn buttons and a couple of trips for groceries, I haven't been out in a couple of weeks except for a funeral of a friends grandma. I can't really call that recreational time off. I live 2 km from the ocean and haven't had a nice walk on the beach this year yet. I think the time to plan a short road trip is in order. I probably won't be able to go until next weekend, with today's responsibility, but I think it is time to take the top down on the 'ole Mustang and crank the music and let her stretch her wheels and go for a ride. I need a day where the only wood I will be looking at is still living and growing.

Life is too short.

that walk on the beach sounds pretty good .

maybe some driftwood .
for a new project .

at 2 miles ,
go .

i'm 1,000 from it !

 

[tyskkvinna]

Some Days are Just Frustrating

Did you ever get out of bed and before you were done with your first cup of coffee wish you could start the day over again? I guess it happens to all of us from time to time. I guess this blog isn't going to be too much about woodworking today, but it does have to do with running a woodworking business and all that entails, so I forewarn you if you are looking for a tip or to see a project, this may not be the place - at least for today.

I promise this won't turn into too much a rant. (maybe a little whining though!) However, I may vent a little frustration. After all, if I were Mary Sunshine every day it would probably make everyone sick and want to slap me. I guess those of you who also run a business can relate to much of what I am going to say - we have our good days and we have our not so good days. It is only 7:30 here on a Saturday morning and I have only been up for a little over an hour and already my stress bucket is pretty full. I wonder how I will be by tonight?

Over the years, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. Life has taken me on a winding path so far and after seeing and experiencing some not so nice things, I learn that getting upset about little things can be classified as over reacting. I try generally to be a positive person. What's a little rain? Or even a storm now and then? As long as you are able to keep reasonably dry you should be ok. I wait for the big ones to run for cover. I try not to worry about what may be and think more about what is. I think that is a healthier way to do things.

So anyway, I spent most of yesterday writing articles and working on my web site. Having a web site can be a full time job in itself. As I said earlier, I have been pretty productive this year. I have had many new designs both for the magazine and also for my personal sales and wholesalers and with that comes the job of managing everything. My partner is great with computers, and blissfully he has taken over much of the web site work and maintenance. We make a good team because he does a lot of the higher technical stuff (I am a lower level tech than he is!) and I do most of the PR (I am the 'yakkity' one who likes to socialize and write the introductions, updates and correspondence with others - I bet you couldn't tell!) So it balances out pretty well.

In any case, I spent yesterday updating my part of the site. I had eleven new products to upload, including writing enticing descriptions for them as well as adding some pictures and stuff into the Customer's Gallery and writing a new News page and composing a bulk email to go out to customers who signed up for updates (this is voluntary and I don't send stuff to people who don't ask for it). I also polished and uploaded two new free articles for them to download. We had just updated the site about 2-3 weeks ago, but this one was a much better one with lots more new stuff. I was really excited about it.

So after working on the computer until almost 11pm last night, everything was ready to go. Everything on the site was up and running and the test email was ready to send (I always send one to myself first to make sure that everything looks good and works properly). So I send the email and thought when it was OK, I would send it to the 800+ customers on the list and go to bed. I hit the send button and usually it pops right up in my email box within seconds. So I waited. And I went for a glass of milk. And I waited. And I went to brush my teeth. And I waited. The screen was stuck on 'Sending messages - please wait' for over half an hour and no email arrived. I tried rebooting and resending, but it was stuck on that screen. I copied and pasted the email into a new one and tried to resend and the same thing happened. This time it was past midnight and I thought, OK, it will go in the morning.

So I get up this morning and still no email. I get online with customer support chat from my host and they said that I was running old software (which was THEIR software) and they had problems with the bulk emails there. They were working on it. So NOW I am getting frustrated. I asked why I wasn't asked to upgrade when the new software was available and she said she didn't know. I have been working with that host for over seven years now and the site is on a kind of template. It is OK for someone new, but quite restrictive and we have been overriding many of the HTML things to make it look and perform better. So I was still pretty calm and asked her to upgrade me. She said I have to write them and send in a consent and back up my whole site and transfer it over. And I thought . . . . WOW! It was like being hit in the face with a pie like you see in the old TV shows.

Now as I said, I am pretty big on technology. I have Windows7 64 bit, and keep everything up to date. I certainly would have taken the opportunity to upgrade my software if I was told I needed to. My partner has been at me since we started really working on the site this year to change to a new host and get off the template. I know he is right, but I have over 400 products and things that have to be moved, changed and reuploaded along with the pictures and all that building a site entails. My site has been doing well this year and shows the care and attention we have been offering it. I had more in sales the first three months of this year than in 2008 and 2009 combined. It has become a integral part of my sales and I have been really proud of the work we have done on it. The thought of scrapping it and starting over just seems like looking up at Mt. Fugi to me.

So I left the conversation with the help line politely, not knowing when I will be able to send my email out. I put in a request for the upgrade on the software, but I cringe at the thought of what that will entail. I am almost ready to jump on my partner's wagon and scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. I still have the unpleasant task of breaking the news to him, too. I am sure since he will be doing most of the gut work, it won't make his day either.

So with that said, my rant is over. It is funny how you think when you are going to do woodworking full time you think you are going to do just that - woodworking full time. Unfortunately, there are other things like book work, purchasing, marketing, and the other things that go with running a business that get in the way - not to mention cooking, laundry, cleaning and well . . . . life! I haven't been able to draw in over a week and I haven't worked on the saw since Tuesday or so when I cut the frame out. It isn't because I have been goofing off, either. I read the blog by kolwdwrkr called "Get Away Sometime" and I was really glad he posted it. It reminded me that as with anything in life, if you have too much of a good thing, it sometimes isn't that good. Sometimes we need to change gears and do something unrelated so we can refresh our mind and soul. It was a great post.

I have some family stuff to do today and as I look out the sun is shining and it is beautiful. Besides my quest for turn buttons and a couple of trips for groceries, I haven't been out in a couple of weeks except for a funeral of a friends grandma. I can't really call that recreational time off. I live 2 km from the ocean and haven't had a nice walk on the beach this year yet. I think the time to plan a short road trip is in order. I probably won't be able to go until next weekend, with today's responsibility, but I think it is time to take the top down on the 'ole Mustang and crank the music and let her stretch her wheels and go for a ride. I need a day where the only wood I will be looking at is still living and growing.

Life is too short.

I feel your pain Sheila. I recently decided it was time to change things over for my photography business. When I am done I will have a shiny slick way to sell prints, and let people purchase more than one, in multiple sizes, in a single order - and make it easy for me to automate letting them know it's been shipped, with a tracking #!

In the meantime, I have 500+ images to integrate into the shopping cart system. $

#

!#@

This sort of pain is usually worth it

 

[scrollgirl]

New Days Bring New Ideas

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. - Eleanor Roosevelt. I read this quote and thought about it for a couple of minutes. It is short and to the point, but full of hope and a sense of adventure. The words are few, but very powerful.

My day yesterday didn't turn out so badly after all. I think it could have easily gone south, but all in all it was a good day. I learned a lot, got to reflect on some things, and also had an inspiration for another project. So how can that be bad?

Learning to deal with adversity is a very under rated trait, I believe. Let's face it, we all experience bumps in our road of life nearly every day. Some are little pebbles and some are downright craters. It isn't the number of bumps we come across that is important, I believe. It's how we react to and deal with them.

Now yesterday started off very bumpy for me with the internet things going on. As of today, my emails still have not gone out from my site. However, I am far calmer today regarding the issue because yesterday I did something about it. I am not the type to sweep my life's problems under the rug or hand them over to someone else and let them fix it. It just isn't my style. Call it impatience or control or whatever you like, but I don't think it is a bad thing. Many times I have people ask me 'How do you know how to do so many things?' and I usually reply 'Because I learned to do them for myself'. I realize that we can't do everything ourselves, but my somewhat impatient nature taught me at a young age that by the time you wait for someone else to fix something for you, you can usually fix it yourself. Not only does that alleviate the anxiety of waiting for something, but it also gives a sense of pride and accomplishment in learning a new skill. Thus began my career of being 'creative'.

My impatience of waiting for my site host to send my emails out caused me to look into the other alternatives I have regarding my site. I probably would have let it go if I were given a reasonable time frame, but with them not being able to give me any promise whatsoever as to when it would be fixed was unacceptable and for me the catalyst which forced me to take things into my own hands.

With the help of my partner, (who I must say took the 'no mail' news far better than I did!) we obtained a bulk email program, exported the list of contacts and sent the messages ourselves. We realize that it is a band-aid for now and doesn't ultimately solve the problem, but it worked for us for now and got things up and going in a good direction for now.

There was however a slight bump in that road too. As we were sending the list of 800 emails, we noticed that after the first hundred or so, the addresses started to show up as being unsent. At first there were a couple of spotty red 'x's' next to the names, but as you went down the list, it soon turned into ALL red 'x's', meaning the emails weren't sent. What the heck?

So we researched and found that GMail (my mail server) and most other mail accounts limit you to the number of emails you can send at a time and in a day so they can cut down with SPAM. Well, now what? Apparently if you send over 500 emails in a 24 hour period, they can and DO shut down your email account for 24 -72 hours. YIKES! It made sense to me, but I never knew that. So now what? This wasn't SPAM, as it was 800 people that actively ASKED me to notify them with sales and specials. Do I have to break down my list further and email in batches over several days? What a pain that would be!

So I read some more and I came across what they call Google APPS which was geared more for businesses and I think I am going to have to go that way. Apparently you can get a different type of account that will allow you up to 2000 emails sent per day. The kicker is that is cost I think $50 per year. I am not a cheap person, but like lots of people, money is tight so I am taking this under careful consideration. I even wrote the company for more information - a practice I rarely do because I, myself hate to get all the SPAM crap that comes with asking a mere question, but I felt it was important enough to warrant an email from me and give them my email address and (egad!) my phone number.

I am telling you this story because I realize that there are many small business people here on this list and I try to keep myself informed about these type of things but I must say I was thoroughly shocked when I heard of this limit. The thought of no email account for 24 hours is probably one of the worst punishments that Google could implement on someone like me and certainly got my immediate and full attention. I was pretty proud to see my mailing list growing to over 800. In fact, I want it to grow to 8000 one day (or 80,000 - why aim low?). As a business person growth is a very understandable goal. Little did I know that as that number climbed, I was heading closer and closer to the abyss in the Google SPAM department's eyes! So take heed fellow businesses! Look at your business and mail server and READ and LEARN its limitations. (Remember - Knowledge IS Power!) I will keep you posted on the issue and let you know what my ultimate action will be when I make that decision, so stayed tuned.

The rest of the day went pretty well. I got out of here for a couple of hours and had some things that needed attending to and the change of scenery did wonders. I had some work to do in a house that was located overlooking the ocean and although I wasn't quite on the beach, I was close enough to bask in its serenity and beauty. (I am planning a get away for next weekend. A road trip, if you will. The first of the year and one that I feel I have earned. It will just be for a day, and I don't know where I am going yet, but it is something to work toward the entire week and look forward to. I am excited just thinking about it!)

After returning home, I had some maintenance on my mailing list again and did some computer work. This time, though, there was no anxiety and it actually felt great to 'clean house' on my computer. When that was done, I began researching the next project that I will be creating. My next several projects will be geared toward Christmas again, as the catalog cutoff dates are usually sometime in July. The magazine cutoffs for the Christmas projects were late April so it just seems that I finished Christmas things. But as I told you earlier, they took four of my projects for publication so my Christmas projects are few. I did put a few new ornament sets up on the site with the new renovation of it and they are already selling well, so I had better get moving in that direction and do some more. I do feel excited and rejuvenated and raring to go. The projects will be nothing like Martyn's wonderful "Impossible Challenge", but they will be fun to do all the same.

So with that, I will get to it. Thanks for all the support you all have given me. My new favorite past time is to browse through the site and see what everyone is up to and what they are saying. I find the scope of the work absolutely incredible, from the beautiful duck inlay head board in the project section yesterday to the awesome photography that "tyskkvinna" has on her site to everything in between. I have been on other sites before, but never have I seen the wonderful scope of talent, as well as the personal friendship and caring for each other that I see here. It really is a great place.

 

[BritBoxmaker]

New Days Bring New Ideas

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. - Eleanor Roosevelt. I read this quote and thought about it for a couple of minutes. It is short and to the point, but full of hope and a sense of adventure. The words are few, but very powerful.

My day yesterday didn't turn out so badly after all. I think it could have easily gone south, but all in all it was a good day. I learned a lot, got to reflect on some things, and also had an inspiration for another project. So how can that be bad?

Learning to deal with adversity is a very under rated trait, I believe. Let's face it, we all experience bumps in our road of life nearly every day. Some are little pebbles and some are downright craters. It isn't the number of bumps we come across that is important, I believe. It's how we react to and deal with them.

Now yesterday started off very bumpy for me with the internet things going on. As of today, my emails still have not gone out from my site. However, I am far calmer today regarding the issue because yesterday I did something about it. I am not the type to sweep my life's problems under the rug or hand them over to someone else and let them fix it. It just isn't my style. Call it impatience or control or whatever you like, but I don't think it is a bad thing. Many times I have people ask me 'How do you know how to do so many things?' and I usually reply 'Because I learned to do them for myself'. I realize that we can't do everything ourselves, but my somewhat impatient nature taught me at a young age that by the time you wait for someone else to fix something for you, you can usually fix it yourself. Not only does that alleviate the anxiety of waiting for something, but it also gives a sense of pride and accomplishment in learning a new skill. Thus began my career of being 'creative'.

My impatience of waiting for my site host to send my emails out caused me to look into the other alternatives I have regarding my site. I probably would have let it go if I were given a reasonable time frame, but with them not being able to give me any promise whatsoever as to when it would be fixed was unacceptable and for me the catalyst which forced me to take things into my own hands.

With the help of my partner, (who I must say took the 'no mail' news far better than I did!) we obtained a bulk email program, exported the list of contacts and sent the messages ourselves. We realize that it is a band-aid for now and doesn't ultimately solve the problem, but it worked for us for now and got things up and going in a good direction for now.

There was however a slight bump in that road too. As we were sending the list of 800 emails, we noticed that after the first hundred or so, the addresses started to show up as being unsent. At first there were a couple of spotty red 'x's' next to the names, but as you went down the list, it soon turned into ALL red 'x's', meaning the emails weren't sent. What the heck?

So we researched and found that GMail (my mail server) and most other mail accounts limit you to the number of emails you can send at a time and in a day so they can cut down with SPAM. Well, now what? Apparently if you send over 500 emails in a 24 hour period, they can and DO shut down your email account for 24 -72 hours. YIKES! It made sense to me, but I never knew that. So now what? This wasn't SPAM, as it was 800 people that actively ASKED me to notify them with sales and specials. Do I have to break down my list further and email in batches over several days? What a pain that would be!

So I read some more and I came across what they call Google APPS which was geared more for businesses and I think I am going to have to go that way. Apparently you can get a different type of account that will allow you up to 2000 emails sent per day. The kicker is that is cost I think $50 per year. I am not a cheap person, but like lots of people, money is tight so I am taking this under careful consideration. I even wrote the company for more information - a practice I rarely do because I, myself hate to get all the SPAM crap that comes with asking a mere question, but I felt it was important enough to warrant an email from me and give them my email address and (egad!) my phone number.

I am telling you this story because I realize that there are many small business people here on this list and I try to keep myself informed about these type of things but I must say I was thoroughly shocked when I heard of this limit. The thought of no email account for 24 hours is probably one of the worst punishments that Google could implement on someone like me and certainly got my immediate and full attention. I was pretty proud to see my mailing list growing to over 800. In fact, I want it to grow to 8000 one day (or 80,000 - why aim low?). As a business person growth is a very understandable goal. Little did I know that as that number climbed, I was heading closer and closer to the abyss in the Google SPAM department's eyes! So take heed fellow businesses! Look at your business and mail server and READ and LEARN its limitations. (Remember - Knowledge IS Power!) I will keep you posted on the issue and let you know what my ultimate action will be when I make that decision, so stayed tuned.

The rest of the day went pretty well. I got out of here for a couple of hours and had some things that needed attending to and the change of scenery did wonders. I had some work to do in a house that was located overlooking the ocean and although I wasn't quite on the beach, I was close enough to bask in its serenity and beauty. (I am planning a get away for next weekend. A road trip, if you will. The first of the year and one that I feel I have earned. It will just be for a day, and I don't know where I am going yet, but it is something to work toward the entire week and look forward to. I am excited just thinking about it!)

After returning home, I had some maintenance on my mailing list again and did some computer work. This time, though, there was no anxiety and it actually felt great to 'clean house' on my computer. When that was done, I began researching the next project that I will be creating. My next several projects will be geared toward Christmas again, as the catalog cutoff dates are usually sometime in July. The magazine cutoffs for the Christmas projects were late April so it just seems that I finished Christmas things. But as I told you earlier, they took four of my projects for publication so my Christmas projects are few. I did put a few new ornament sets up on the site with the new renovation of it and they are already selling well, so I had better get moving in that direction and do some more. I do feel excited and rejuvenated and raring to go. The projects will be nothing like Martyn's wonderful "Impossible Challenge", but they will be fun to do all the same.

So with that, I will get to it. Thanks for all the support you all have given me. My new favorite past time is to browse through the site and see what everyone is up to and what they are saying. I find the scope of the work absolutely incredible, from the beautiful duck inlay head board in the project section yesterday to the awesome photography that "tyskkvinna" has on her site to everything in between. I have been on other sites before, but never have I seen the wonderful scope of talent, as well as the personal friendship and caring for each other that I see here. It really is a great place.

Sheila, I'm flattered but you really should think better of your own work. We all have out stregths and weeknesses.
I suppose the other thing is about learning. I find that a big part of this is learning how not to do things. So I wouldn't feel to bad about the mail problems. Now you have a better idea of how to tackle IT (pun intended).

 

[tyskkvinna]

New Days Bring New Ideas

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. - Eleanor Roosevelt. I read this quote and thought about it for a couple of minutes. It is short and to the point, but full of hope and a sense of adventure. The words are few, but very powerful.

My day yesterday didn't turn out so badly after all. I think it could have easily gone south, but all in all it was a good day. I learned a lot, got to reflect on some things, and also had an inspiration for another project. So how can that be bad?

Learning to deal with adversity is a very under rated trait, I believe. Let's face it, we all experience bumps in our road of life nearly every day. Some are little pebbles and some are downright craters. It isn't the number of bumps we come across that is important, I believe. It's how we react to and deal with them.

Now yesterday started off very bumpy for me with the internet things going on. As of today, my emails still have not gone out from my site. However, I am far calmer today regarding the issue because yesterday I did something about it. I am not the type to sweep my life's problems under the rug or hand them over to someone else and let them fix it. It just isn't my style. Call it impatience or control or whatever you like, but I don't think it is a bad thing. Many times I have people ask me 'How do you know how to do so many things?' and I usually reply 'Because I learned to do them for myself'. I realize that we can't do everything ourselves, but my somewhat impatient nature taught me at a young age that by the time you wait for someone else to fix something for you, you can usually fix it yourself. Not only does that alleviate the anxiety of waiting for something, but it also gives a sense of pride and accomplishment in learning a new skill. Thus began my career of being 'creative'.

My impatience of waiting for my site host to send my emails out caused me to look into the other alternatives I have regarding my site. I probably would have let it go if I were given a reasonable time frame, but with them not being able to give me any promise whatsoever as to when it would be fixed was unacceptable and for me the catalyst which forced me to take things into my own hands.

With the help of my partner, (who I must say took the 'no mail' news far better than I did!) we obtained a bulk email program, exported the list of contacts and sent the messages ourselves. We realize that it is a band-aid for now and doesn't ultimately solve the problem, but it worked for us for now and got things up and going in a good direction for now.

There was however a slight bump in that road too. As we were sending the list of 800 emails, we noticed that after the first hundred or so, the addresses started to show up as being unsent. At first there were a couple of spotty red 'x's' next to the names, but as you went down the list, it soon turned into ALL red 'x's', meaning the emails weren't sent. What the heck?

So we researched and found that GMail (my mail server) and most other mail accounts limit you to the number of emails you can send at a time and in a day so they can cut down with SPAM. Well, now what? Apparently if you send over 500 emails in a 24 hour period, they can and DO shut down your email account for 24 -72 hours. YIKES! It made sense to me, but I never knew that. So now what? This wasn't SPAM, as it was 800 people that actively ASKED me to notify them with sales and specials. Do I have to break down my list further and email in batches over several days? What a pain that would be!

So I read some more and I came across what they call Google APPS which was geared more for businesses and I think I am going to have to go that way. Apparently you can get a different type of account that will allow you up to 2000 emails sent per day. The kicker is that is cost I think $50 per year. I am not a cheap person, but like lots of people, money is tight so I am taking this under careful consideration. I even wrote the company for more information - a practice I rarely do because I, myself hate to get all the SPAM crap that comes with asking a mere question, but I felt it was important enough to warrant an email from me and give them my email address and (egad!) my phone number.

I am telling you this story because I realize that there are many small business people here on this list and I try to keep myself informed about these type of things but I must say I was thoroughly shocked when I heard of this limit. The thought of no email account for 24 hours is probably one of the worst punishments that Google could implement on someone like me and certainly got my immediate and full attention. I was pretty proud to see my mailing list growing to over 800. In fact, I want it to grow to 8000 one day (or 80,000 - why aim low?). As a business person growth is a very understandable goal. Little did I know that as that number climbed, I was heading closer and closer to the abyss in the Google SPAM department's eyes! So take heed fellow businesses! Look at your business and mail server and READ and LEARN its limitations. (Remember - Knowledge IS Power!) I will keep you posted on the issue and let you know what my ultimate action will be when I make that decision, so stayed tuned.

The rest of the day went pretty well. I got out of here for a couple of hours and had some things that needed attending to and the change of scenery did wonders. I had some work to do in a house that was located overlooking the ocean and although I wasn't quite on the beach, I was close enough to bask in its serenity and beauty. (I am planning a get away for next weekend. A road trip, if you will. The first of the year and one that I feel I have earned. It will just be for a day, and I don't know where I am going yet, but it is something to work toward the entire week and look forward to. I am excited just thinking about it!)

After returning home, I had some maintenance on my mailing list again and did some computer work. This time, though, there was no anxiety and it actually felt great to 'clean house' on my computer. When that was done, I began researching the next project that I will be creating. My next several projects will be geared toward Christmas again, as the catalog cutoff dates are usually sometime in July. The magazine cutoffs for the Christmas projects were late April so it just seems that I finished Christmas things. But as I told you earlier, they took four of my projects for publication so my Christmas projects are few. I did put a few new ornament sets up on the site with the new renovation of it and they are already selling well, so I had better get moving in that direction and do some more. I do feel excited and rejuvenated and raring to go. The projects will be nothing like Martyn's wonderful "Impossible Challenge", but they will be fun to do all the same.

So with that, I will get to it. Thanks for all the support you all have given me. My new favorite past time is to browse through the site and see what everyone is up to and what they are saying. I find the scope of the work absolutely incredible, from the beautiful duck inlay head board in the project section yesterday to the awesome photography that "tyskkvinna" has on her site to everything in between. I have been on other sites before, but never have I seen the wonderful scope of talent, as well as the personal friendship and caring for each other that I see here. It really is a great place.

google apps are the way to go

and thank you - I have to agree, I find all of the talent here so inspirational!

 

[scrollgirl]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

 

[BritBoxmaker]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

Really intricate work, Sheila. I'm impressed. I feel sure the magazine will be.

 

[BarbS]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

Sheila- Very nice ornaments. Do they flex to do the insertion at both joints? I laughed to read your 'AliceInWonderland' lifestyle writing seasonal articles. I tried that, and always seemed to be far too late (six months submission time) for the editors' needs. My faulty planning. These are nice, though. And if you can keep this design for yourself, you must have fabulous designs to sell to the editors! Nice job.

 

[scrollgirl]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

Thanks Barb. They are two pieces with interlocking slots. They just slide together (no flexing required!) and you then need to glue them where they meet. The thin wood wouldn't really tolerate much bending. I have a picture of the pattern pieces below. Thanks so much for the nice comments. I really appreciate it! !

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

(Ornament pattern)!

Sheila

 

[Dennisgrosen]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

realy beautyfull Chrismas nips
you have created there Sheila

thank´s for sharing
Dennis

 

[MrsN]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

I laughed at the fact you have a christmas tree year round. Many years ago my in-laws were thinking about planting a few pine trees on their property. Since my mother in law can be very indecisive they used a spare artifical christmas tree to aid in placement. It could sit for a day and she could move it around to a "better" spot. She found a spot she liked and the tree stayed for 5 years. If the wind really picked up it would make the tree spin, but if you were not looking close the average person wouldn't notice the fake tree.

I love your ornamant patterns!! They are all so awesome!!

 

[LateNightOwl]

Tying Up Loose Ends

As I sit down to write this morning, I feel as if I have little of interest to talk about. I pretty much am finishing up the things that have to go out to the magazine. I can proudly say that in the box I am sending three projects and two articles. The box won't go out until tomorrow, but it will ensure my presence in another couple of issues of the magazine. How many? I don't know. I guess that is up to the editors and the amount of space they need to fill. I can usually count on a couple of things per issue lately, and have seen as many as three. He likes to have a stockpile of things to choose from sitting in his office. My inventory of projects with him was getting rather low, as I was refocusing on my own business and getting new stuff both to my suppliers and my website.

I often feel as if I live in an Alice In Wonderland time-warped environment: Christmas in summer, Spring in October, Summer in December. Well . . . you get the picture. I guess working with wholesalers and the magazine is as good as falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as far as designers are concerned. I have given in to leaving a little skinny 5-foot artificial pine tree up in my living room all year round. When my daughter was small, we used to decorate it for every season and holiday. Hearts for Valentine's day in February, bird houses for summer, Halloweeniee stuff for Halloween, etc. I keep white lights on it so that it goes with any season.

I still keep that tree up all year, not only because it reminds me of Danielle, but because I am making and photographing ornaments and things all year round. I call it an 'all-season tree' and when visitors inquire as to why my Christmas tree is up in June, I am able to decidedly reply that it is an 'all-season tree', NOT a Christmas tree as if it is the most natural thing in the world. (I'M not the crazy one, you know!) I think some people just chalk it up to me being an eccentric, artist/designer- type. Others may just figure it is because I am blond.

So with that said, I will keep this post short and sweet today and "get on with it" as the saying goes. (Hey! I hear that cheering in the background! No need to be rude!)

I am going to post a new project in my gallery. This is one I choose to keep for myself and not offer to the magazine. It is a set of two-dimensional, fretwork ornaments which are slotted together and each have a beautiful Swarovski crystal ball hanging in the center. The crystal gives the ornament a little bit of 'bling' (I love bling!) and sparkle. The cutting is rather delicate, and blissfully I didn't break anything when cutting them out. I made mine out of maple again because of it's incredible ability to hold these small pieces without breaking. For those of you who are beginning scroll sawing, maple is one of the best choices as far as strength.

Below are two pictures of the ornaments:

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

From SLD302 Dimensional Fretwork Ornaments

I hope you like them! I wrote a small tutorial on adding the beads and hanging them so they look good from the centers. You wouldn't think so, but it is a bit tricky to get them to look nice. If you are interested in me presenting it here, let me know and I will. Otherwise you can download it as a free article on my site. It could come in handy for other projects you may do.

Hopefully after I finish the final writing and paperwork and packing, I will be able to finish drawing my next project so I can get back to cutting by tomorrow or so. I am working on several holiday projects and need to have them finished by the next catalog cutoffs in the next month or so. (Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!) Time to kick it up a notch!

I hope everyone has a productive and fun day. Happy Holidays! (Er . . . I mean Happy Monday!)

I really like these ornaments. They look like a good project for a non-scrollsaw person to try as a way to see if scrolling is something to pursue. Maybe? How much time, on average, would you say it takes to make one of these? I'm sure your generosity in offering free plans and tutorials pays off in the long run with loyal customers. No doubt folks would enjoy seeing your tutorial as a blog here.

I've been reading your blogs, but it takes me a while to know what to say. (Oddball, I know.) Anyway, here's a late welcome to LJs and a thanks for sharing.