Spoon Shop

Just letting you know 

the little beauts below are in the shop today

Enjoy! 

Click on the picture to the right of screen to go to shop OWN THIS

Two hearts get the scoop!

Not one to rest and sit around just because it is 39 degrees today - That equates to stinking hot - I challenged myself to a spoon making fest. Admittedly once I had done the basic cutting outside I moved inside and sat under the air conditioner and let the cool air blow over me as I worked up a sweat sanding. I have no idea where all the dust blew to (probably between the floor boards) what I swept up seemed inadequate for the mess I was making.

 I just have to let you know that I typed a whole paragraph...I pushed a button to enlarge the print but some how deleted it and cant fetch it back... how sad is that? The saddest part of it all is that it must have been absolute drivel because I only remember half of what I wrote.

Back to retelling the tale....blah blah..I really do need to get a drink, my general water consumption has been way too low today. Back in a jiffy.

Yep here I am. Just shifting around, back with a water and a wine. Good huh. That will really help the hydration.
My pages just disappeared again. What is happening? Crazy computer

Oh yeah.. repeating myself. I was lending some information to anyone interested in  making their own spoons. Two things I've learnt is: 
One, dont use a texta or felt tip marker to mark out your spoon, unless you love sanding, then by all means mark away.
I unfortunately used texta colour  and found out the hard way how deep in penetrates the wood and requires extra sanding to remove.
Secondly also to save time in the sanding department try not to gouge out the wood, remove small amounts/ shavings to save yourself the hassle later. Sometimes the wood isn't always cooperative or you try to remove a bit of wood in the wrong direction and you'll end up having to do extra sanding anyway.

Softer wood is way easier to carve = dont ask me which, cause half the time I have no idea what wood I have been carving. That's what you get when you pinch wood from your dad = no idea.

If you are handy with a jig saw and are accurate your life will also become infinitely easier in the sanding department. But dont worry after a few spoons you become more accurate and better controlled.

You may be wondering what equipment I have bought to make my spoons.

Most important are your carving tools. If you think that this is the type of thing you might like to do it is worthwhile investing in a decent set of tools. I made my decision based on what I saw on a few blogs of peoples work that I liked and also the fact that they were on special when I went to buy them. i wont mention the brand name because generally I dont think that I am here as a portal for advertisement but if you particularly want to know I think I photographed the tools in a blog post of one of the earliest spoon posts this month. (or you can ask in the comments and I will be pleased to reply) Also buy a sharpening tool

Also required sandpaper rough (really course under finger) medium , about 240 and fine about 320.

I bought a cheap jigsaw for $39 which has a 3 year gaurantee - cant beat that~even if it breaks down its likely to be under warranty. I also bought some smaller blades for the jigsaw so that cutting finer shapes would be easier.

A couple of slide clamps are necessary to hold your wood in place. 

Other than that a bit of wood would be useful. Green or old doesn't matter . get out there and give it a go.

All up under $300 easy. If you think this is not something you want to do more than once go do a course and invest the rest in wine.  (hee hee) If you want some advice on good Aussie wines then I'm your girl. (Brigitte this is particularly a reference to you, wine club starting in Australia as well/ cocktails optional)

Inspiration can be found on instagram, just type in woodwork or hand carved and you will get a multitude of sites and #hashtags to look at,.

Farmer bren on Foxslane (blog) shows you how to do it from a raw bit of wood all man made. lovely stuff

Just a by and by ...the bread board was made by my daughter at school - nice job eh!

Sweet Love

 Happy Valentines Day 

Wishing all of you a day filled with joy and kindness, isn't that what love is all about! It doesn't just have to be with your nearest and dearest but just those that you interact with everyday, so share the love!

I got up this morning and had the urge to make this little bit of love on a blank that I had made yesterday. My hand was just too sore to continue carving on the beach.  Yes, I was down on the beach with my tools and sandpaper enjoying the ever so slightly cooler conditions...it is so muggy here, the humidity is dreadful and today is expected to be stifling hot. 

Anyhoo I sat outside this morning before the heat got hold of the day and carved this little beauty just for you (In my PJs may I add- I definitely will need to wash them as they are now covered in dust and shavings)

So now I have shown you the love, go out and have a great day!
PS as an after thought I will be selling some of these spoons next week Friday if you are interested please pop back, I have to make sure my shop is still open! Check the side bar on Friday. Toodles!

The Spoon Addition

If you are sick of spoons then sorry you are going to be bored to tears ....but really they are so aesthetically pleasing and I have tried to showcase them in a more unusual manner. I think my favorite of this photoshoot is the rotting fence shot. Oh how I will miss this rotting wood when the fence is repaired, especially in winter when the moss starts to grow on it as well

My family of spoons has grown considerably today. 

I pinched a bit of wood from dad *so these spoons are hot* 
It was a bit of red wood - I have no idea what type, but I might go ask dad if he knows what type of wood it is ,..... although he may have difficulty discerning the wood because of his poor eyesight

One of the pieces of wood had a burr in it, which didn't show up until later. If you look at the middle spoon on the upper right hand corner you can see a tiny hole which reared its ugly head as I was sanding. It communicates from the back of the spoon and I am considering making a hole in the center of spoon (like a salad server). The two larger spoons are nearly identical in size and shape - feeling pretty chuffed with myself = a matching set

decided to make a couple  of sugar spoons - this one is a wee bit wonky , but it feels nice

The family as it is today.
The new members still need to be oiled or waxed but that can wait for another day 

That's all folks!

Wonderwalls, Port Adelaide 2015

It is Fringe time in Adelaide and a festive and cultural boon occurs. The creative types get out and about and entertain in so many ways. Anybody can join in even those with a limited budget.
The Port of Adelaide had a three day wonderwall festival where entertainment, artists and foodies got together whilst these murals were being formed.
The lingering artworks are there for your visual pleasure for the rest of the year, some of them you really do have to hunt down as they can be found in the most obscure laneways.
The girl in the bottle is one such case, tucked away on a pedestrian street. I love the line work and detail in this although I find her being trapped in a bottle a little disturbing. This work is by Kyle Hughes-Odgers and is called "Message in a bottle"

On the side of the fisheries building on St Vincents Street, Etam Cru (combined artists Betz and Sainer) have created Until The Quiet Comes. They utilised cranes access the walls of the buildings. makes me think of the game peek a boo!

 Adelaide artist Kab101 painted the side of the old flour mill building , part of the Hart Mills Buildings
A similar style of work is found at the Edge Cafe on Jetty Rd Brighton. Troy the owner informs us that the work is part of a poem so I assume that this would be similar.(now I have to find out what poem)

I just looked at his instagram account and he did do the walls in the Edge cafe

From  http://wonderwallsfestival.com/project/kab101/

Street-writing since the early eighties, KAB101 has developed a marking style reflective of his personality. His work is based on calligraphic signature markings and mechanical type styles. His studio paintings consist of these same styles.

They tell stories of identity, his emotions and experiences related to his past and present affinity with writing his name and taking space.

Utilizing spray paint, inks, markers and brushes he constantly finds himself exploring new mediums to produce works that reflect the beauty and sadness of life.

For more examples of KAB101′s work visit his website www.kab101.com, or follow him on Instagram.

  I am assuming this work is done by SMUG the style seems to match up with other works by this artist. (below)
When looking at the festival site on the internet the artist weren't necessarily matched up to their works of art, so it is all a bit of a guessing game. This photo was taken in a rear alley of Commercial street near Murryatt street, tucked away around a corner and around another. Only those on a mission will find this beauty and what a waste not to see it.

 The map titles it as MUG ONE

and lastly Order55 -  Seb Humphreys

There are other artist which have produced for the wonderwalls but being 38 degrees when I was out and about and my water bottle emptied I decided it was time to move off home and not suffer from heat stroke...another day!

Spoon to spoon

It is 37 C today. I have a sore throat and a bit of an earache. Take two paracetamol and go sit in the shade and whittle. Well that's what I've done this morning anyway. If you are going to sweat it out, you might as well seek pleasurable slow pursuits such as carving.

David must have watered the lawn last night as the grass was damp. So at least my derriere was on the cools side.

I had a pre cut blank from the last spoon making which cut down some of the time spent today making the spoon. Dad informed me a couple of days ago that my cutting was too skewed to turn on the lathe.
Secretly I dont mind this as this spoon becomes entirely me made. So it just takes a little more work to shape the handle and more time spent sanding. (Loving my new tools)

This spoon has more of an elongated shape which is partially due to the wood shape and secondly due to the hack jigsawing job that I did.

Any ho....chip, chip, whittle, whittle, sand, sand, admire, chip, chip whittle....you get the picture. You end up with two blonde beauties vying for attention

This spoon thankfully has no burrs in it, so I dont need to wood fill it and could give it a light waxing to bring out the subtleties of the wood grain. I will give it a good rub later when dry to bring out the shine.

As you see  this spoon is more rectangular in the handle..I was considering drilling a hole in the end and putting a strap of leather through it to hang...what do you think?