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+-- Thread: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) (/showthread.php?tid=7139059)
Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - czarcastic - 11-09-2015
Since we have a fairly large family and there is always a lot of expensive travel involved to get everyone together for the Holidays, our tradition for the last 10 years or so has been "Stocking stuffers only." Sure, we bend the rules a little - like SWMBO says, "...diamonds fit in a stocking just fine!"
But for the most part, it's the inexpensive, smaller stuff that always seems to be more thoughtful, more appreciated, and more likely to be remembered years from now. I can't tell you how many times we have heard "You know I still use the xxxxx all the time that you gave me, and every time I use it I think of you."
So, since November kind of snuck up on me this year , I had to find some time this past weekend to get a jump on the Holidays.
Nothing really overwhelming. Mostly "kit" stuff for the cousins, nieces, nephews, etc.
The Bottle caps were a lot of fun. The mechanism is from Rockler. The wood is cherry. I thought it would be clever to make the openers into bottle caps. They're about 3-1/3" in diameter and fit perfectly in your hand...
The pizza cutters and vegetable peelers are also kits from Rockler. The coffee scoop and one-hand peppermill kits are from Woodcraft.
The Pizza cutters are maple, the peppermill is cherry.
The jewelry is either Corian scraps or home-poured dyed epoxy resin. The findings are from Michael's.
When it comes to this kind of stuff, it's pretty much more about usability and function to me. I learned long ago that if you make it "too beautiful", with exotic woods and impeccable gloss finishes, the recipient is afraid to use them and they end up sitting in a drawer or in a cabinet somewhere and never get used. Personally, I'd rather see the gifts used every day. There are times when simpler is better, and "handmade" is more meaningful than a "work of art."
Like SWMBO says, Sometimes, it's more about the thought and the perception. Your turning projects don't always have to be masterpieces to be appreciated. Sometimes the simplest gifts - to the right person, for the right reasons - are more valuable than anything else you could give them.
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - Dusty Workshop - 11-09-2015
Nice work! very creative
What process did you use to make the flutes on the bottle caps?
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - SteveS - 11-09-2015
I am in the process of making pendants from my african blackwood burl stock. I have not been very satisfied with the pendant bails I've found so far. Where did you end up getting yours at?
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - czarcastic - 11-09-2015
Dusty Workshop said:
Nice work! very creative
What process did you use to make the flutes on the bottle caps?
Thanks. The flutes were made using the 48 pos. indexer on my lathe (every other), and a pneumatic die grinder with a Kutzall Coarse Grit Carving Burr set at center height on a platform in my tool rest banjo.
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - czarcastic - 11-09-2015
SteveS said:
I am in the process of making pendants from my african blackwood burl stock. I have not been very satisfied with the pendant bails I've found so far. Where did you end up getting yours at?
All of the findings - including the pendant bails - were at my local Michael's craft store.
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - Grandpa Dave - 11-09-2015
Very nice Steven! Especially like the peelers & bottle cap openers. Great idea on the openers.
Once I get my stocking emptied of the coal dust, there should be room for those items!.
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - Steve K - 11-09-2015
Nice stuff, I really like those openers!
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - Arlin Eastman - 11-09-2015
I like all of it and also how you made the necklace's too.
Someday I will get enough funds to make all the kitchen things for my wife and both of my daughters.
Arlin
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - chips ahoy - 11-09-2015
Steven
Great to see you turning again. I love those bottle cap openers, unfortunately not available around here. Great stuff as usual. Stick around.
Mel
Re: Getting Started with Stocking Stuffers (Pic heavy) - Dusty Workshop - 11-10-2015
czarcastic said:
[blockquote]Dusty Workshop said:
Nice work! very creative
What process did you use to make the flutes on the bottle caps?
Thanks. The flutes were made using the 48 pos. indexer on my lathe (every other), and a pneumatic die grinder with a Kutzall Coarse Grit Carving Burr set at center height on a platform in my tool rest banjo.
[/blockquote]
Was the platform set with an upward angle?
It looks like the caps are tapered and wider at the bottom, like a real bottle cap.