How to Make the Perfect Valentine's Day Country Chic Peg People Decoration

I'm never without holiday decoration since they are so easy and fun to make with Proxxon MICROMOT tools. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, these Country Chic Valentine Peg People are just right for the day.

Here are the supplies and equipment I used:

• 1" x ¾" x 12" blank (I used scraps that I had on hand, but you can easily scale this project.)
• 2" length of  1" dowel rod
• 3" length of 1/8" dowel rod
• 2" x 2" x 1/8" blank
• Liquid wood glue
• Acrylic paints
• Twine
• Proxxon Bandsaw MBS/E or Proxxon Table Saw FET
• Proxxon Scroll Saw DS 460
• Proxxon Delta Sander OZI/E
• Proxxon Professional Rotary Tool IBS/E
• Proxxon Flexishaft 110/P

Let's make the Valentine Peg People:

1. Cut the body blanks to length using the bandsaw or table saw. Mine are 6" and 5¼" long.
   
   
   
2. Cut two ¾" lengths of 1" dowel for heads. These need to be as long as the body blank is thick.
3. Mark the center of the end of the body blanks.
   
   
   
4. Mark the center of the height of the dowel heads. Use the rotary tool with the flexishaft to drill ~½" hole in the bodies and heads.
   
   
   
5. Cut the heart from the 2" x 2" x 1/8" blank using the scroll saw. Cover one side of the blank with painter's tape. Mist the back side of the pattern with spray adhesive, and mount on the taped blank. The painter's tape makes removal of the pattern easy without leaving any sticky residue. 
   
   
   
6. Sand the edges of all pieces using the Delta sander. I use the Delta sander mounted in the Precision Vice FMZ so both hands are free to manipulate the piece I'm sanding.
   
   
   
7. Apply the finish of your choice and let dry thoroughly. I painted mine with acrylic paints.
   
   
   
8. Cut 1" pegs from the 1/8" dowel for attaching the heads to the bodies with liquid wood glue.
   
   
   
9. Tie the peg couple together with twine and glue the heart on top of the twine.
10. Enjoy your Country Chic Valentine Peg People!!
    
    
    

Other Country Chic projects include:

• Country Chic Sheep
• Country Chic Pig
• Country Chic Bird
• Country Chic Chick
• Country Chic Three Cats
• Country Chic Cuts of Pork
• Country Chic Hen
• Country Chic Holiday Reindeer

Carole

Valentine's Day Treat Baskets

Hi everyone Steph Ackerman here today  as a member of the Proxxon Tiny Tool Design Team. 

With Valentine's Day approaching, it's time to create goodie bags for friends and family.

 

Supplies:

 

 

Proxxon Detail Sander
Wood Baskets
ColorBox Crafter's Ink for Ann Butler - Canyon
Clearsnap Art Screen
Gesso

 

 

These wood baskets were just the right size for Valentine's Day treats and I knew with paints and inks they'd turn out cute! 

Using the Detail Sander, I quickly and easily sanded the baskets.

Once I painted them with Gesso, I resanded them to get a nice smooth surface.

Using a Clearsnap Art Screen, I created the hearts with ColorBox Crafter's Ink in Canyon.  Crafter's Inks work well on all surfaces including wood.

Tie some ribbons to the handles and add tissue paper inside.  Fill with goodies for the kids for a fun Valentine's Day treat.

 

What will you create for Valentine's Day treats?

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

 

Steph

 

~Hello Valentine~ NEW DT Project for Proxxon by Sherri Welser

~Hello Valentine~

What fun this sweet paper doll Valentine Girl was to create! Wood is a beautiful base for so many fun and unique projects and incorporating it with these beautiful vintage paper dolls by ArtChix Studio was a blast! Proxxon  tools has made working with wood so much easier~ the tools are so well made and easy to operate! For this project I used a scrap piece of wood that I sanded using the  Delta Sander OZI/E. I love the sander and use it often for my woodworking projects!

~Supplies~

Proxxon Delta Sander

ArtChix  Paper Images

Rectangle piece of scrap wood ( Mine is about 2 1/2 x 9")

Acrylic Paint in red

Inspirational stamp saying and  LOVE stamp

 Archival Ink pad-black and Sepia

Metal key

Weldbond glue

Mod Podge

Piece of lace ( about 5 " long)

Canvas  oval tag

Misc charms to hand off of the lace tie

White Sharpie Marker

1)Cut, sand and paint your rectangle  wooden block and let dry.

2) Cut out the paper doll parts and glue on the wood with the mod podge. Adding different hats , crowns, wings etc is also fun! 

3)Using the Sepia Ink pad, create a distressed look on the wood and edges of paper. 

4)Stamp the inspirational phrase  at the bottom with the black ink .

5) Attach the charms and the canvas tag to the lace.

6) Stamp the word LOVE on the tag.

7) Add Lace through the key and  use the Weldbond glue to attach to the wooden rectangle at the top.

8) Using the white Sharpie Marker add dots all around the edges of the girl.

I hope you have enjoyed this easy but very creative project using some Valentine Inspiration!

~In Love & Light~

Sherri

I Heart You Canvas

Hi everyone Steph Ackerman here today  as a member of the Proxxon Tiny Tool Design Team. 

Now that the holidays have passed, it's time to start thinking of Valentine's Day. 

Supplies:

Proxxon Tools:  Hotwire Cutter
Smoothfoam

Art Anthology Paints

Clearsnap Art Screens
Clearsnap Ink
Indigoblu Stamps

I first drew an assortment of hearts on a panel of Smoothfoam.

 

Next, I easily cut the hearts apart with the Hotwire Cutter.

 

Since I had a small piece of Smoothfoam left, I also cut 1/2 a heart.



 

Using an 8" x 10" canvas, I created a background using assorted stencils, paints, inks and stamps. 

 

 

I used molding paste on one Smoothfoam heart with a heart art screen.   I put the other hearts aside for another project or two.  Once the molding paste dried,  I added more color to the heart. 

 

 

I inked chipboard letters then added them to the canvas. Stamps were randomly added about the canvas.

 

I added a butterfly to the heart "just because".

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

 

Engraved Valentine Tea Light

With Christmas and New Year's behind us, and all those decorations stored away for another year, the house seems so barren. So, I'm going to bring some of that same decorative festivity to Valentine's Day. I'm starting with this engraved tea light.

I found the plain candle holder at the thrift shop, loved the color, and guessed that the red coloring was just a coating. I guess right!! When I got home, I tested a small spot on the base of the holder, and sure enough—under the shiny, red coating was a white interior. Perfect for engraving!!

First, I created and sized the heart shape in Make-the-Cut. I used my Zing electronic cutter to cut it out of vinyl. (Of course, you could draw the heart freehand and cut with scissors or a craft knife.) I adhered the heart to the candle holder. I wasn't worried about the wrinkles—I just needed a rough outline. 

I etched the outline of the heart using the Proxxon Engraver GG 12 and 1 mm diamond grinding bit. Next, with the same grinding bit, I just doodled with the engraver to add the interior swirls and curls.

Last step was to cover the base with a piece of handmade paper where I'd done the scratch test.

Now I'm all ready for a romantic Valentine's dinner. 

Carole