Vase entry for the State Fair of Virginia

Soon we will be delivering our craft entries to the State Fair of Virginia. This year Don entered his miniature dried flower vase in the Turnings classification.  The vase is turned from a banksia pod which is the fruit of the banksia tree in Australia. The pods vary in size with seed pockets running out from a solid center and are very hard and solid.

After turning the pod inlay material was added to some of the seed pockets for added color to the vase. The pods can be purchased from Woodcraft, Rockler and other wood working stores.

Paper and Pen

Alex's Birthday Card

Musical Note Pen

The month of July had us trying new techniques.  With Don retired he has the time to be creative again, and with the computer and a photo of his son surfing he created a very personalized birthday card. He also turned and pieced together a musical note pen.  It takes a steady hand to get the musical note to come out right. 


The reward for Don was to see the expression of "you made this for me?" when his son realized not only had his dad made him the pen but that he had created the card as well.

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.



Getting Back to Woodturning

Wood Turned Goblet - May 2013

My dilemma this morning was do I try to get a better photo of the goblet Don turned or do I get on with continuing to catch up with my posting.  I chose to catch up with the posting but the photo does not do justice to the goblet. Now that Don is retired he is having fun branching out and turning more than just pens.  Since May he has experimented with Tagua nuts, Banksia pods, finishing techniques and new styles of pens which I will be posting about in the very near future.

Stay tuned for more of "As the Wood Turns". . . .

Turning Hands

Sharing the love of turning

We were so caught up in showing our grandson how to turn a pen that we forgot to take a picture of the final product.  Although I can tell you it turned out really nice.  The snakewood piece that our grandson picked out came out beautiful and he was thrilled with it.

Mammoth Kauri Pens

The wood in these pens have a unique history. The history was written on a label that was placed on the wood. Here is what the label says . . . The Kauri forests originated in the northern island of New Zealand.  It has been scientifically proven that they were around before the Ice Age. According to one theory, they were knocked down by a giant Tsunami and buried in peat bogs where they were perfectly preserved from the elements that would otherwise have rotted them away. Through careful extraction, these logs are pulled out of the peat bogs using heavy equipment with minimal impact on the environment. Then they are sawn up and used in a variety of decorative application.

The piece we purchased and used for this pen is carbon dated to be 30,000 to 50,000 years old.  For more information about this wood visit www.cormarkint.com/mammothkauri.html. 

Don noticed as he started turning the pen that the mammoth Kauri wood is a soft wood and did not require as heavy a hand or as much pressure as some of the hard woods do.

For the pen on the left Don used the Wall Street II 24K gold pen kit and the pen on the right is made with the Wall Street II Elegant titanium and platinum pen kit.

I get to choose which pen I want for my collection and as they are both so beautiful to date I have still not made up my mind!

Pen Turning Class

Don's Pen

Deanna's First Pen

Last weekend Don and I took a pen turning class together. For me it was a new experience as I have always gravitated towards the soft crafts using fabric or paper. During the class I was a little at a loss with some of the terms that the men grasped right away. Our instructor was really good though and with his help and the help of my husband I was able to turn out my first pen. Even Don, who has been turning pens for a while now, picked up some new tips to make his pens even better. He even added the little "bump" or flare at the end of his pen.  Everyone in the class was given the same pen kit and we each  turned an American Slim Pen made out of cherry wood  and we all received a certificate of completion. Everyone got to use their new pen filling out a little survey which was passed out at the end of the day.  I would definitely like to try this craft again.  What's next?  Possibly a class to learn how to turn bowls on the lathe.

Pink Ribbon Pens

Each year Don's work hosts a Pink Ribbons of Hope Tennis Tournament to benefit breast cancer. Since 2007 when Don started wood turning and making pens he has donated a pen for the Silent Auction.

2010 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

This year's pen is a Wall Street Rose Inlay pen which turned out beautiful

2009 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

In 2009 Don turned an American Slim Pen with Tennis Racket Clip. Finding the tennis racket clip was a bonus.

2008 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

We had a busy year in 2008 but Don still managed to get this pen made.  Again, it is another American Slim Pen.

2007 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

Here is Don's first pen he donated in 2007 for the silent auction. It is made with a pink/red colored wood (type unknown).



No matter how busy Don's schedule is he enjoys being able to contribute to charity by doing something he loves.



Saturday Excursion to Woodcraft

It's hard to go into Woodcraft and not buy something.  This Saturday was no different.  While I went to Michael's to add to my paper stash Don headed into Woodcraft and came out with a new wood project.  He is going to try his hand at cutting and carving a cocobolo wood handle to fit the 4" ceramic knife blade he saw and bought (pictured).  It may be a while before I can add the picture of the finished project.  You'll just have to be patient.

Most Current Woodturning Project

To get down to Don's shop and be able to work is one of Don's great pleaures. This El Grande Rollerball pen is one he has been wanting to make for a long-time. It really turned out sharp looking. Being a left-hander Don has trouble with regular pens skipping when he writes with them. The rollerball style eliminates the frustration of having to rewrite over the skipped parts.  If you are left-handed you should try seeing if changing the pen type helps you too.

Wall Street Pen

This is one of about four Wall Street pens Don made using a laminated pen blank.