The Tagua Nut



Tagua Nut Necklace

While browsing at Wood Craft Don saw a package of Tagua Nuts and thought he would like to see how he could use them on his lathe. In experimenting on how best to mount one of the nuts for turning he glued the nut to a piece of wood.  Next, he decided he would cut off the outer layer to see what the nut looked like on the inside.  Well, he made several thin cuts working his way down to a piece he felt could be turned. 

Not wanting to waste the tagua nut slices Don asked me if I could think up a creative use for them.  As I looked at the slices my mind saw a "pear shaped" piece and immediately I knew I was going to make a card with it. 

Mom's June Card-Tagua Nut Pear





It wasn't until we were browsing in the craft store that the idea came to us to make a necklace with the tagua nut.  So we purchased the jewelry findings and Don drilled a very tiny hole at the top of the nut to attach the necklace holder and the final step was to add the sterling silver chain.  The fun part about the tagua nut necklace is that no two necklaces can be the same due to the shape of the nut.


Mom's July Card using tagua nut and wood shavings

So far Don hasn't turned the tagua nut on his lathe but I'm sure one of these days it will make it there.  In the meantime I continue to use the slices in my cards and Don has a list of family members to make necklaces for.

P.S. I love how the lambs head turned out.  All it took was a black Sharpie marker to draw the eyes, nose and mouth. The  body of the lamb is made with wood shavings and I used felt for the hooves.