Proxxon Tools help make the best Valentine Decorations!

Well it occurred to me the other day that it's really not that far until Valentine's Day. I thought I would just put something together for the occasion. 

Supplies Needed for this Project:

Plaid Paints : Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint, White Adirondack

Plaid Paint : Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint, Imperial

Proxxon Delta Sander

Proxxon Table Saw

Sandpaper

Paint brushes

Birch Plywood

Red Twine

Black Brush Tip Marker

Vinyl 

Cardstock

Pencil

To begin with you need to cut your wood down to size. I used my Proxxon Table Saw to accomplish the task. Just like cutting butter! This wood was a piece that I had left over from doing the chalkboard on the last post. The piece was 12 3/4" H x 13 1/2" W and I cut it down to 12" H x 10" W.

The Proxxon Delta Sander has got to be the handiest sander that I have.

I used it to sand all of the edges of the board that I was using. It made all of the edges very smooth and I also used it to take off any marks that were on the wood, such as pencil marks, and scuff marks. Once that was completed I took the time to draw three hearts onto the cardstock and cut them out. I used them for patterns and traced them onto some vinyl that I had and then cut them out of the vinyl. Next step was to paint the board both front and back with the Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint - White Adirondack next was to take the backing off of the vinyl hearts and eyeball where you want to place them on the board. After that was finished you need to paint the board with the Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint - Imperial. I used a piece of sandpaper and distressed the board by hand and then pulled off the vinyl hearts, which left white hearts showing through the red. Take your twine and wrap it around the board a few times and then tie a bow in the ends. Use your brush tip marker to write the word Love very small in the bottom heart. 

There you have it! A very shabby chic piece of Valentine's Day decor. Now I placed mine in this holder but you could easily put a hanger on the back and hang it on the wall. This piece was fairly easy to make and I would recommend anyone with the proper Proxxon Tools!

If you got any money for Christmas you might want to invest in some Proxxon Tools!

Barbara

How to Make a Rustic Snowman Decoration

The holidays may be over, but for us, it's still winter. And for me that means winter-themed decorations. Here's a sweet rustic snowman decoration that is sure to melt your heart. This is the perfect beginner project for getting to know to know your Proxxon tools.

Supplies and Equipment for Making the Rustic Snowman

• Scrap wood or MDF
• 1/8" dowel
• Buttons
• Ribbon
• Strong liquid adhesive
• Grey and white acrylic paints
• Artist's cement (optional)
• Proxxon Bandsaw MBS/E
• Proxxon Disc Sander TSG 250
• Proxxon Drill Press TBM 115
• Proxxon Delta Sander OZI/E

Instructions for Making the Rustic Snowman

1. Dimensions for this snowman can vary, depending on what scraps you have available. You're only limited by the working tolerances of your machines. My snowman's overall measurements are 4¼" tall x 1" wide x ¾" deep, made with three smaller blocks.
2. Begin by marking your cutting lines on the scrap lumber.
   
    
3. Cut pieces for head, middle body, and bottom body on the bandsaw. Don't be worried about exactness; a few wonky cuts adds character to the finished piece. In fact, you can plan wonky cuts :) The goal is to get comfortable using your tools.
   
4. Sand the pieces on the disc sander.
   
5. Drill holes on the bottom of the head piece, top and bottom of the middle body piece, and top of the bottom body pieces to accommodate the dowels. These holes don't need to be exactly positioned, but should come close to the center of the piece.
   
6. Paint the pieces with a coat of gray acrylic paints, and let dry thoroughly. Next, paint one of two coats of white acrylic, depending on the coverage you get and the look you want. Some of the grey paint shadowing through the white give an even more rustic look. Let paint dry.
   
7. Option: Coat the pieces with artists' cement to create texture. Let the cement cry thoroughly.
   
8. Sand each piece using the Delta sander. How much you sand and expose the grey paint and the base substrate will determine how rustic your snowman will be. Remember: you can also sand more.
   
9. Use a strong liquid adhesive to secure the dowels in place. The dowels give added support to keep the pieces together.
   
10. Decorate your snowman with a ribbon scarf and buttons. If desired, add facial features with a Sharpie or paint.
    

How to make Hedgehogs and Lions to Celebrate Valentine's Day

Hope you are all off to a good start in 2019.   Holidays are over.   Now it's time for some winter respite.   I have a really easy project for you today.  This will help you celebrate Valentine's day!  
 The story behind the story is...…. I was walking in the park, nosing around and found these neat acorns.   (I was going to say "little acorns" but truthfully these are really big acorns! about the size of a golf ball.)   Look at it...,. doesn't it just look like a little hedgehog?  Little nose, prickly back...?   I can already picture it, so let us begin.  ❤ 

Tools and Equipment:
acorn or acorns  
small piece of scrap wood or piece of a branch cut off
Proxxon mini scroll saw
Proxxon professional rotary tool
Proxxon cone shaped rasp cutter No 29 062
Proxxon OZI/E delta sander
paintbrush
small drill bit
glue

Paint brush
Plaid paints:  I used Martha Stewart Black satin;  Cinnamon 2558E; Nutmeg brown 20521E,; Bright Magenta 20591E; Bright yellow 20513E; and Cardinal red 414E.

The first thing I did was to paint my little hedgehog's face.  (I couldn't wait) flesh colored, (cinnamon), face, little black eyes and nose, and a dab of bright magenta on the cheeks.




I think hedgehogs have the cutest little feet and this little guy needs something to help him stand on so he won't keep rolling over.  We can take care of that using our handy proxxon tools.  I  love these tools, especially for the smaller projects.   
I started by hollowing out a "sitting place" on a scrap piece of wood using the rasp cutter on the Proxxon professional rotary tool. Then the  Proxxon mini scroll saw made cutting out the little feet easy.

It looks a little rough, but that is because it was really soft wood.   No worries, the next step will smooth everything out.  

This is the Proxxon OZI/E delta sander.   It is the finest sander for any detail work.  It will get into all the small spaces and smooth things out.

Sanded and painted.     Oh I cut out and painted a little heart also. Then I glued it all together to finish it off.   I think he is cute.   

With a little yellow paint and a few whiskers.   ( I used the Proxxon rotary tool and small drill to make some tiny holes where I inserted some wood slivers)  I made him a Lion.  🦁

Now that was fun and easy!

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  Thanks Proxxon and Plaid and Mother earth for suppling the tools, paint, and acorns.

See ya next time.   Play safe !!    Carol 

Need A New Project for the New Year?

I don't know about you but I tend to collapse right after the New Year, when all of the holidays are over, the gifts are done, and the food's been eaten. I had three get together's at my house this year. It's been awhile since that's happened. But this thought came to me the other day and I jumped on it.

Supplies Needed For This Project:

Proxxon Table Saw

Proxxon Delta Sander

Wood piece

Chalkboard Paint

Paint Brush

Stencil

Plaid Folk Art Paint

Stencil brush

Holder for Chalkboard or hanger

I started by marking my piece of board and cutting it to the length that I wanted with my Proxxon Table Saw. I didn't have to cut any off on the sides.

I used my Delta Sander to smooth and round the edges and the corners. I like the softer look that it gave to the piece of wood.

Things then got busy as I painted my board with several coats of chalkboard paint. I let the paint dry overnight to cure. I made sure all of the little pieces of excess stencil material was out of the stencil, laid the outside part of the stencil down and pounced the stencil with Plaid Folk Art Antique White paint. You peel the stencil off while the paint is still wet and then I used my workshop blow dryer to dry the paint. I cleaned up the paint from the stencil and placed the remaining part of the stencil on the top of the board. I stenciled the Bee and also the flowers with Plaid Folk Art Moon Yellow paint and the stems and leaves with Plaid Folk Art Soft Apple paint. I peeled off the stencil and voila' here it is!

I haven't written on it yet because I wanted to let it cure some more before prepping and writing on it. To prep it you rub the side of a piece of chalk all over it and then wipe it off. Then you can write on it.

I hope you enjoyed this project and that you take the time to check out www.proxxon.com and also www.plaidonline.com to see the wonderful tools and paints that they have. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Barbara

How to Make a Hardwood Cheese Spreader

Two of the things that I love—beautiful hardwoods and cheese—brought together. This cheese spreader/butter knife is a great project to get to know your machines.

Supplies and Equipment for Making the Hardwood Cheese Spreader

• 1/8" thick hardwood (I used curly maple); length and width will depend on the size of the spreader you design
• Food safe wood oil
• Proxxon MICRO Bandsaw MBS/E or Proxxon Scroll Saw DS 460
• Proxxon Disc Sander TSG 250/E
• Professional Rotary Tool IBS/E
• Drill Stand MB 200
• Sanding bands
• Polishing tips

Instructions for Making the Hardwood Cheese Spreader

1. Decide on the size for your cheese spread. Mine is small—just 4" long x ½" at its widest. Design the shape you want using a computer design program, or sketch your design with paper and pencil. You could also trace the outline of a butter knife or cheese spreader that you already have, and make adjustment as desired. When you're happy with your design, print it.
2. Prepare your hardwood blank by covering with painter's tape. This makes removing the pattern easy.
   
3. Lightly cover the reverse side of the pattern with adhesive spray, and mount on your prepared wood blank. It is important that length of the spreader is parallel with the grain.
   
4. Use either the bandsaw or scroll saw to cut out the basic shape.
   
5. You'll have a rough shaped spreader.
   
6. Use the disc sander for initial shaping.
   
7. Change the orientation of the drill stand from vertical to horizontal. Insert a sanding band in the rotary tool, and mount in the drill stand.
   
8. Continue sanding the cheese spreader, refining the shape, and tapering the cutting edge using the drill stand and rotary tool fitting with a sanding band. If necessary, hand sand with fine grit sandpaper until the cheese spreader is as smooth as possible.
   
9. Change the sanding band to a buffing/polishing tip.
   
10. Liberally coat the cheese spreader with food safe wood oil. I used butcher black oil. Buff and polish the cheese spreader.
    

Carole

How to make a perpetual calendar

Good-bye 2018!!---- Hello 2019 !!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a fantastic new year!

What does everyone need right about now?      besides a million dollars to pay off holiday bills?

How bout...………………………...a new calendar for a new year.   💡

better yet, let's make one that we can use year after year.

It's easy and fun to make using Proxxon tools, Plaid paints and craft accessories, and

Kapro measuring tools.   Get the kids to help decorate and you have a really neat family project.

Tools and equipment 

Proxxon mini table saw

Proxxon mini bandsaw   (optional)

Proxxon OZI/E delta sander

Plaid pallet plaque

Kapro measure mate 313

¼" birch or other plywood

½" pine or poplar scrap wood

wood glue

wood clamps or weights

2 small nails

11 long shaft hooks small

Plaid paints

Let's get started.   To begin with, let me thank plaid paints for sending me  a Pallet Plaque.  Its a wonderful surface to decorate or paint.

Plaid's pallet plaque

Kapro measure mate 313

I am going to make 5 slots for sliding numbers that will be my days for each month, so the first thing  to do is to measure using the measure mate 313 tool and make lines where I will attach my rows. These centering lines will be about 2" apart.    I left a little extra space at the top so that I can label the days and month.  I use this the Kapro measure mate 313 for all my measuring.  It is so handy. I mark all my measurements lightly on the plaque piece. 

  I  decided to make my numbers 1 ½ '" square.  This will give me an adequate edge to slide.   (you will understand this better a little later)  for now, trust me...(famous last words!)

Using the Proxxon mini table saw with the fence I cut my 31  1½" tiles out of the ¼" birch plywood sanded them,and set them aside for later.  (these are for the days of the month)  In this picture I am cutting the lengths.   

Proxxon bandsaw

  I then cut the tiles to width using the Proxxon mini bandsaw so that I could cut several at one time.  You could also use the table saw or scroll saw if you wish.  Now we have 31   1 1/2" squares.

Next cut 12 pieces of the birch plywood into 1" x 4" pieces.  (these are for the months).  set them aside for now also.

To make the ledges where the numbers will slide I used ½" x 1½" by 14" poplar slats.  I removed the blade cover and splitter from the proxxon table saw and set my blade height to ¼".  I adjusted my fence to just smaller than the 1½" to take just the edge off, Moving it closer and closer making a pass  each time on each side to form two channels on each ledge approximately ¼" deep and ¼" wide.  Be sure to sand the channels well so the tiles will slide nice.  I always use the Proxxon OZI/E delta sander for jobs like this.  

  

I split one of the ledges in half to use for the top and bottom pieces.  This is done easily and accurately on the proxxon band saw.  I clamped a straight edge to ensure my cut would be centered and straight.  Caution:   watch your fingers!!

I used gorilla wood glue to glue the ledges onto the Plaid pallet plaque and used weights and clamps to hold it firmly.  I left it overnight to dry well.

Next I used the proxxon mini drill press to drill 2 small holes in each of the month tiles.   

These need to be in the same place on each tile as they will alternately hang on 2 nails at the top of the plaque announcing the month.  

PAINT- PAINT-PAINT and DECORATE

to your hearts ❤desire.

Plaid paints come in so many colors and textures,  Let your kids help or let the kid in you go crazy!   Make it your own. 🖌

  

Here's mine.   OH yeah..  I added some hooks at the bottom to hold the coming months.  If I put them somewhere else, likely I would forget where I put them. This will keep them handy.  For short months just turn 31, and/or 30 and 29 around.  gosh darn February.    Also I put 2 small nails in the top board to hold the months.   Plaid pallet plaque already has a picture hanger on the back so all I need is a screw or nail in the wall.   Calendar forever!!

Everybody have a HAPPY HAPPY and healthy New Year!

Thank you Proxxon,  Plaid,  Kapro, and Terri S. 👍

till next time you all should have some fun!   Carol