Happy Canada Day!

To celebrate Canada Day and Independence Day on the 4th

I decided it was time to have a

So what can you win??

Well, how about a custom wood burned sign!  The approximate value is $35 and I will create something one of a kind just for you!  To see some examples of signs I have done, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

The giveaway will run from today, July 1st, 2014 until Tuesday, July 8th, 2014.  I will select one lucky winner from all the entries from now until then.  There may also be some other prizes awarded for those who participate the most.  And I may even giveaway another custom sign if I reach 1000 Facebook fans before the giveaway ends!!

How do you enter? 

That's the easy part.  There is only one required entry and that is to like and comment on the pinned post at the top of my Facebook page.  You can then earn extra entries by sharing that post on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or any other social media.  You can earn even more entries by completing the following on rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner(s) will be announced on Facebook and my blog on Tuesday, July 8th, 2014.

Good Luck and Happy Canada and Independence Days!!

Back to Pyrography

Last week I was working on a wine box for a wedding.  Unfinished wine boxes are very difficult to find unless you want to purchase a HUGE amount.  So, I thought I’d give making one a try.  I’m not a carpenter or woodworker.  I just burn the wood.  I have a few tools that get me by so I thought I could make it happen.  

This is my first attempt.  Not too bad and I learned a lot from it.  The hardest part was the door.

Once I figured out the door I made another, better version and I am so proud of it!

And here is the finished box with the design and wood finish. 

I have more exciting new things to share with you

so make sure you check back again soon!

Christmas Shipping Dates!

Christmas is fast approaching and it's that time of year when we all (most of us anyway) panic about getting our parcels and cards out on time.

Here is Canada Post's guide to make sure your Christmas packages reach their destination before the big day...

Please remember to keep these in mind if you are planning on placing a custom order.  Please allow for production time and shipping.  Thank you!

Catching up...

Well, today is supposed to be a Foodie Friday.  But lately I haven't been creating anything share worthy in the kitchen so there's sadly nothing to post at the moment.  

I did, however, just purchase this tasty looking recipe today and plan to try it out very soon.  Doesn't it look yummy?  I will share the results with you next week if all goes well.

Anyway, instead of sharing culinary adventures I thought I'd share some of the custom work I did before the holidays.  I couldn't show it to you when I created them, as they were gifts, but since they should all have been received and opened by now I think it's safe to share away.  

I have another one of these for my shop but I NEED to take better pictures of it first.

This was for a little girl whose mother love penguins and father is a HUGE Glasgow Celtic fan.  It was a very fun frame to make!

This was for a little girl who was moving to a new home and a new room.

This box was given to a gentleman, from his wife, who was just finishing up his studies with the church.

This was also part of the churchman's gift.  And it was my first attempt at using a scroll saw to cut a shape with the wood.

And a set of bookmarks to go with the box and pendant.

A lazy susan for an Italian Mother-in-law.

Another fun project.   A flowery pencil box.

The other two sides.

I sold several of these to one customer.

This set of four coasters have a wonderful rich stain on them.

This wasn't a custom order.  It was a prize from one of the trade shows I did before Christmas.

 I am always excited to work on custom orders.  And I will try just about anything!  Send me an email and lets get something unique started for someone special in your life! bki[@]hotmail.ca

Tuscan Lazy Susan

Last week I had a special request for a lazy susan with a tuscan design.  I enjoyed putting the design together and this is the final piece.

To see more custom orders I've done please take a look at the "my work" tab at the top of my blog.

Laramie

Take a look at this cute shop!  Last week I sent Madalaine her new shop sign "Laramie" and she sent me these wonderful pictures...

I think the sign fits in very nicely, don't you?

If you're in Colorado and near Fort Collins, check out her shop! 

LARAMIE

Vines Vintage Market

1125 W Drake Rd Ste B4

Fort Collins, CO 80526

Thank you for sharing these pictures Madalaine!!

Some custom orders and other projects...

Here's a sampling of some of the custom orders and other projects I've been working on that haven't made it to my Etsy shop.

Aaaaaannnnddddd, I'm back! I hope.

It's been a frustrating couple of weeks!  Mostly due to our computer.  It just wasn't working right and we finally decided it was time to take it to someone who knows computers, instead of us trying to muddle our way through and making things worse.  We gave our beloved computer over on a Friday, knowing we'd be too busy that weekend and wouldn't miss it.  We were hoping that it would be returned to us on the Monday.  But it wasn't until Wednesday that we got a call about it.  The tech asked if there was anything important on it as he recommended that it was best to clear the entire computer and start again. 

I said I didn't think there was anything too important on it that I'd miss but when is said that I was only thinking of files and pictures that have either been saved somewhere or are so old they're irrelevant.  What I didn't think of was the software that would be deleted.  And the crazy amounts of fonts I'd collected over the years.  It never occurred to me that those would be affected.

So even though we finally received our computer the following Friday, a whole week later, it was still not of much use to me since so much had to be reinstalled and recovered.  And one piece of software that I was using to edit pictures has been lost forever.  I gave the disk away at a garage sale we had a couple of years ago.  Oh well, guess that means I'll have to start saving for better photo editing software, Photoshop.  Or, if I've been good, maybe Santa will bring it for me for Christmas. *wink, wink*  Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to fiddle with my pictures to make them worthy of being posted on Etsy.  Photos are one of the biggest elements of a listing.  It's just so frustrating and time consuming!

Even with the computer not at 100% life has just generally been busy and there hasn't seemed to be much time to get a lot of burning done.  I did manage to finish some custom orders (3 of them are Christmas gifts so you'll have to wait to see pictures), like the one I did for my very good friend (see below), B's box is finally done and I completed two more sets of cards.  It doesn't end there though, I have more custom orders to do and still a ton of ideas that I'd like to work on.

A gift from a daughter to her Mother on her birthday.  I was honoured to be a part of this wonderful gift.



B is pretty happy with is box.  He loves the superheroes, Pokemon and Scooby Doo images I put on it.
The heart shaped box has hinges on the back and stays closed with little magnets on the lid and base.



Complete with Captain Canuck!

Currently for sale in my Etsy shop.

These will be listed in my shop tomorrow or Thursday.

Take a look at my Etsy shop to see more items available for purchase and join me on Facebook!

Another order finished!

I am finally done B's box!  He has been a very understanding and patient customer.  It was originally requested to be done by his birthday, August 14th.  I've had a lot of other things on the go so his box had to be put further down my list.  It's finally done and I will try to take pictures soon.  I realy like it and most importantly, so does he!

Time to get back to work

Well, I think I've had enough of a break and now it's time I was getting some work done.  We had a great two weeks though.  Our first week was spent away from the house visiting family and camping in a fabulous cabin and the second week was spent entertaining family during some beautiful weather.  I have no complaints.  Especially, since I return with two new amazing books, a couple of custom orders and a project I'm working on that involves other members of Etsy.  I just wish there were more hours in the day.

The project I'm working on involves a team, in Etsy, that shares an interest in celtic knots and art.  One of the team members suggested we each do a piece with the same design in our own mediums.  The knot itself isn't very elaborate so I had a bit of a time trying to decide what I was going to do.  I came up with a turtle design and am currently burning it onto a piece of bamboo.  It's a work in progress right now but I think it's going to look really good when it's finished.

The knot in the centre is the one we're all doing.  It was simper than that, I added the inner line.  I plan to do more knotwork on either side, in the lighter areas, too.

Meanwhile, I have listed another set of celtic cards in my Etsy shop.  These cards have an elk design on them.  I love the antlers!!

And poor B's box has been pushed on the back burner for a bit.  His birthday has passed and I'm afraid to say I'm not very close to finishing it.  He seems to be ok with waiting.  I think he'll be very happy with the result so it will be worth it.  When I get to the burning stage I'll share a picture so you can see what I'm doing.  I'm excited about it since he's into all the super heroes that we knew when we were kids.  It's a fun blast from the past. 

Gotta love kids!

I've been working hard lately.  I've finished another custom order (really wish I could share it with you but you'll have to wait) and I just finished another cute little box.  This one is in a flower shape and has an adorable image of a princess and and knight about to share a kiss.  Perfect for a young imaginative girl and her treasures.

I'm also working on a pile of more cards.  I've found some wonderful vintage/antique images and I'm doing more Christmas images too.  I'm hoping to approach a local store to see if they will carry the cards there.  It's very exciting since I've never done anything like this before.  It's all so new to me.  : )

Finished with a gloss finish.

Cute little coloured flowers around the sides.

My next project, and custom order, is for my oldest son, B.  His birthday is coming up.  He's been very interested in my work and has requested a heart box.  It's really cute.  He's been very formal about the whole thing acting just like a customer would.  Our biggest problem is that he can't decide on what he'd like to have burned on to the box.   At the moment he wants an M and a D with hearts, for Mom and Dad.  I'm flattered, but I think over time he may not be so happy with that decision.  I think a B with images of his favourite things (super heroes) would be much more fun.  I'll share pictures when we finally sort it out. : )