Archive for May 2016
I’ve got a tiger by the tail with these. They are selling as fast as I can make them. Faster, really.
I made 30 that were finished last Saturday morning at our event. Today, 5 days later, 20 of them are sold. Now, that’s a really good problem to have. No complaints! But I see that I will be making a lot of these in the near future just to complete our Spring Fling!
Magic Bottle Openers are all at least 5″ x 10″ x 3/4″, though some are longer or a bit wider if that’s what the wood gives me. All will magically catch the bottle cap after you open your bottle. The Double Magic versions will also stick to your receptive refrigerator; the others are simply wall mount. Long wood screws are included with the wall mount version (or the Double Magic ones upon request) for mounting; all boards are pre-drilled. You simply remove the 2 short screws holding on the opener, and replace those screws with the longer ones of the right length for your mount.
My apologies that these photographs are not better … the shots were taken at the Rotary Art Fair last weekend, on a table in our booth before the crowds arrived. I simply ran out of gas on Friday night, and couldn’t take better shots at home with our new product photo cube. Next time.
I hope.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 020. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Padauk, Yellowheart & Canarywood.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 038. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Teak.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 028. Cherry.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 021. Cherry, Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Teak & Goncalo Alves.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 029. Hard Maple & Padauk.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 024. Chaos Board. Purpleheart, Cherry, Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Bloodwood & Honey Locust.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 025. Hard Maple, Padauk & Cherry.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 023. Black Walnut, Goncalo Alves & Red Oak.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 030. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Bloodwood.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 027. Cherry, Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Yellowheart & Goncalo Alves.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 031. Chaos Board. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry, Padauk & Jatoba.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 033. Cherry, Black Walnut & Jatoba.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 057. Bloodwood & Black Walnut. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 036. Hard Maple, Padauk & Jarrah.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 022. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Padauk, Yellowheart & Canarywood.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 034. Chaos Board. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Honey Locust, Bloodwood, Cherry & Purpleheart.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 035. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Yellowheart.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 037. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Teak.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 032. Black Walnut, Quilted Hard Maple, Cherry & Padauk.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 051. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 052. Cherry, Hard Maple & Padauk. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 054. Black Walnut, Cherry & Jatoba. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 055. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry & Bloodwood.. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 056. Black Walnut & Red Oak. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 061. Teak, Black Walnut, & Yellowheart. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 059. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Jarrah. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 058. Cherry & Jatoba. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 053. Hard Maple, Jarrah & Padauk. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 060. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Bloodwood. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 026. Black Walnut, Goncalo Alves & Red Oak.
I like cheese & crackers. I am on a quest to make the perfect serving pieces for one of my favorite edibles.
I started, of course, making very basic cheese boards, which are still rather OK for their intended purpose, IMHO. Nothing wrong with cheese boards like these for small presentations:
Cheese Board 16 – 001. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Jarrah, Jatoba, Cherry & Hard Maple. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
And I know those are OK, as I had a lady that wanted to buy 2 of them on Sunday … but, unfortunately, the 2nd was already gone. So, she special ordered a similar piece.
But that’s just one approach.
Way back when, I made a rather unique set of Cheese & Cracker servers … made 5, and their like has not been seen since. There’s a clue there that I didn’t love making the pieces, though I thought they were very nice in the end.
Cherry server, Black Walnut end grain cutting board insert.
I also took another approach, making small routed bowls to hold the crackers, olives & such as companion pieces for my cheese & cracker servers. I made one batch of these bowls, and to my knowledge, not one was purchased with a cracker intent. Haven’t made one since. I am a spiteful maker of bowls, apparently.
Finally, I’ve made several of the pieces that I call Cheese & Cracker servers, but the world insists on calling them surfboards. I call them large surfboards (since I also make true surfboard shapes that are called small & medium), and they are rather fabulous for cheese & cracker eating, if I may say so myself.
Surfboard # 15 – 37. Yellowheart, Canarywood, Cherry, Hard Maple & Black Walnut. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/4″.
All of which brings me to the latest attempt to make a perfect cheese & cracker server. Two of these were made, and one sold at its first event. Perhaps there’s a lesson there … should I make more?
Cheese & Cracker Server 16 – 01. Maple, Walnut & Cherry. Side reservoirs are 1-1/2″ wide, and the top is 2-1/2″ wide. Piece is 11″ x 15″ x 1-1/2″.
Cheese & Cracker Server 16 – 02. Maple, Walnut & Cherry. Side reservoirs are 1-1/2″ wide, and the top is 2-1/2″ wide. Piece is 11″ x 15″ x 1-1/2″.
The Milky Way over the Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park. Photo by Thomas Piekunka. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 3/10/16.
There’s something special about stargazing in Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park. Photo by Adam McKibben. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 4/19/16.
Bathed in starlight from the Milky Way, the unique rock formations of Badlands National Park in South Dakota glow in the darkness. The ancient landscape and fascinating fossil beds make this place seem timeless. This stunning photo was the winner in the night sky category of the Share the Experience photo contest, which gives amateur photographers the chance to showcase their skills by capturing the beauty of the nation’s public lands. Photo by Erik Fremstad. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/30/16.
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama supports 64 rare and imperiled plant and animal species – 13 of which are found nowhere else in the world. It’s home to the largest known stand of Cahaba lilies, a beautiful plant that begins to bloom around Mother’s Day. It’s always a magnificent display. Photo by Keith Bozeman. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/6/16.
When sunrises are this beautiful, it’s easy to get up early. Photo of California’s Yosemite National Park by Tiffany Nguyen. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/24/16.
Some moments are worth waiting up all night for in Yosemite National Park: rare double moonbows. Photo by Nick Steinberg. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 5/6/16.
Star trails above the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah almost look like a tunnel into hyperspace. These salt flats are made of approximately 90 percent common table salt, weighing millions of tons. The crust is up to 5 feet thick near the center of this unbelievable landscape that stretches over 46 square miles – just slightly smaller than the size of San Francisco. Photo by Joseph Gruber. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/4/16.
Running along the Minnesota River, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a natural escape from the nearby Twin Cities. The refuge provides valuable habitat for a diversity of waterfowl and other migratory birds, fish and resident wildlife. Sometimes it’s so beautiful, even the deer have to stop and admire the scenery. Photo by Erik Fremstad. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/3/16.
Thor’s Hammer in Bryce Canyon National Park. Photo by Ed Cooper. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 3/14/16.
The massive sandstone monoliths along Park Avenue Trail at Arches National Park in Utah have imaginative and descriptive names. You won’t regret this easy one-mile hike. Where else can you walk in the shadows of the Tower of Babel, the Organ, the Three Gossips and Sheep Rock? Photo by Bud Walley. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/5/16.
Sunrise, seen through Mesa Arch in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 5/3/16.
Sunset at Washington’s Olympic National Park. Photo by Andy Porter. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 4/7/16.
More
Olympic National Park
Hoh Rainforest
Ruby Beach
Second Beach Sunrise
I’ve got a tiger by the tail with these. They are selling as fast as I can make them. Faster, really.
