I Love Wood...

                                                                                                VintageEmbellishment

I love wood, at least items created from wood.  Wood improves with age and use (unlike some other things in life!) so new items or vintage items, if they are made from wood they grab my heart and I find my hands reaching to touch them.

I found some beautiful wood items that I need to share with you...

Just look at this button, hand crafted from eucalyptus cut from the burl of the tree.  TanglewoodStudio explains it this way, 

"My buttons are cut to expose the beautiful face grain of the exotic woods that I use. They are then sanded, and continue through a 3 step buffing process; natural finish is applied and then finished with a final wax buffing. There is a copper shank on the back for sewing to your garments or choice of art."

                              tanglewoodStudio


 Or how about a cherry and walnut Sushi Board, described by DP customs as...

"This individually sized sushi board features an interesting piece of cherry and is accented by peruvian walnut angled feet and accent inlays. I took great care in preserving the grain varigation in the cherry, sometimes nature provides the best highlights."

                                   DPcustoms

I found a wonderful little vintage pin in the shape of a horse at EverSoDear who explains that..
 
"This is from the 1940's when metal was scare & used in the war effort"

                               EverSoDear

holzfurhaus creates stunning works of art like the Ash Sunrise Cup described here and pictured below....

"Ash Sunrise Cup" is made of ash. It is colored with analin dye, red and yellow on the outside. The inside is left the natural color. This bowl features a natual edge without the bark. This is an ornamental piece not intended for food or liquid. It is finished in French Polish (shellac). And make note this bowl has a crack in one side"

                                holzfurhaus

VE

ort

Ort

What is it?

(yes I meant Ort, with an O…)

If you go by the dictionary it states that an ort 

is leftover morsels of food. I always heard it used 

in sewing circles as leftover threads, scraps or the 

container to put them in.

I like this definition best;

Ort \¨òrt\: noun; a snippet or leftover bit of 

thread, usually resulting from a voracious 

addiction to handcrafted needlework

http://www.needleorts.com/

I started collaging a small wooden box and as 

I was working on it, it came to me that I would 

turn it into an Ort box.

So here it is;

justjanesthings

I found a few other handmade orts for sale 
and will share them with you…

BarbSWoodworks

These are made from glass, wood and paper. 

So there is quite a variety in materials for

the few I found.

sherriberkman

TemariKai

All of these are beautiful and would serve 

the purpose they are intended for very well

or they would look nice just displayed.

JRCrafter

One could also start an Ort collection…

(Just a thought)

have a wonderful day

(jj)

The XYZ of Industrial Decor

                             VintageEmbellishment

 One of the newest decorating trends is "Industrial Decor"...but what is it?????

Industrial Decor uses items from factories and schools, medical facilities, churches, farms and shops to create a decorating theme using functional vintage items.  The well worn stools, tables, office furniture, wastebaskets, lighting, storage units and miscellaneous items from industry fit the criteria perfectly.

Their chief characteristic is that they were designed to do a job -- sturdiness, function and durability were the hallmarks of these items, and  therein lies their charm. A little bit of rust??? Just makes the item better!

I went looking on the internet for items that would be perfect  for adding a touch of  Industrial flavor to the decor of a home....I found so many wonderful items on Etsy that I created a treasury about them :) Click on the name below the treasury to visit the treasury..

        INDUSTRIAL DECOR FOR YOUR HOME

I also looked around Zibbet and was pleased to find some interesting things there too...Including Industrial prints for your walls.

                                curiouskitty

                                   PetitPoulailler

                                   SurrenderDorothy

Whether you would like a home which is completely Industrial Decor, or just want a few unique items to set your home apart from others, I hope these suggestions give you some ideas!

Have fun with this :)

VE

All from a block of wood

    My dad started wood carving back in 1976 when he broke his leg in three places and was rather laid up. His first carving was a relief of an eagle done in mahogany.  This first carving came out pretty good and he enjoyed it so much he continued to carve. He did a few more reliefs and then decided to try some figures. One of my favorites (and one that he carved especially for me) was from the book of “Gnomes”.

He traveled around the country working at trade shows and would take a block or two of wood with him and his knives. He would sit on the plane (yes, on the plane!) carving away during his flight.  He most likely would have been locked away if he tried that these days!

He met a lot of people that were curious as to what he was doing, and always came home with fun stories. Sometimes he would even have people wanting him to carve something for them and he would. He would usually barter with them for payment.

           A little before Christmas he carved his first Santa, which he presented to my mother. After that he started carving a different Santa for my mom each year. Once they were carved he would  paint them with oil paints and then top them with a light finish. 

So many of my mom’s friends loved his Santas and asked him to make them one. He always obliged, but my mom would get the very first one. He would pick a Santa from a different country, style or color and adapt it to his carving. Sometimes he would just make his own (like the barefoot sleeping Santa) He also had fun making small ones and could whip them out pretty quickly. He almost always added some little toys to the bags if they were holding one.

His trademark was carving the feet on his Santas. I think he enjoyed when people would look at them and see the soles of their boots, with little stitches and all. He would sign and date them there also.

 

              One of the last Santas he made was a Russian Santa all in white. 

Over the years my mom has given me and my sister some of his Santas for Christmas. This is something that we both treasure.   

I hope you enjoy seeing a few of his carvings, and for anyone that knew him if you notice a slight resemblance to him in his Santas, well, that may have been intentional…

(jj)