It's been amazing, watching a board of wood be transformed into a beautiful box. Here's my version of the process (warning: I am sure I'm not using proper furniture-making terminology here so if you're a carpenter, forgive me!):
It started with this giant board of Royal Cedar, 22" wide by 10' long
After cutting and planing the boards much of it was reduced to these shavings on his workshop floor (the kids love playing with those thin curls of wood, and so do I. A craft project just waiting to happen!).
cutting the dovetails
the separate pieces ready to be assembled
And here's a shot of the box with the finish applied. I love how the dovetails pop in contrast. "A" is working on the lid now, and once the whole things is complete I'll share some pics of that, too.
If you'd like to browse some more of A's work, here's his portfolio.
I was glad to recreate what she described. I made them unique by giving the charms a rustic feel. They were blackened just a tad and I (happily!) skipped the polishing. She was thrilled with the finished product, and I just might make a few more as gifts.
...and, has anyone ever attempted a photo shoot with a playful kitten in the house? The shiny dangling chains proved to be too tempting for 
The blue, white, and green ones are 
It's perfect for the tiny space by the front door. Hats in the top drawer, mittens in the bottom drawer. It's easy, organized, and uncluttered. Best of all, means not sifting through that old bottomless pit of head and hand wear.
This year, I am thankful for farmers markets. I'm grateful for the fact that our survival doesn't completely rely on what we produce in our back yard because, looking at this handful of miniature veggies, we would surely go hungry.
Things are starting to happen on the wholesale side again (yay!) so for the next few days, I'll be spending lots of time creating in the workshop. Hat, scarf, cuppa tea, NPR—check!
More fodder for the freezer—this time pumpkin puree
I made this remembery capsule for some friends of mine as a wedding gift and finally gave it to them last night. I say finally because, well, they got married in 2006. I know, it is so far beyond the wedding gift etiquette, I should be ashamed of myself. 
It was only fitting that their wedding gift reflect their many adventures together. I chose topo maps for the notable locations where they have spent their time and put each one in a token, with the corresponding date.
Each token fits neatly into the capsule.
The apple peeler/corer/slicer. Seriously, what did we do before this?
I thought a few crocheted apples would help celebrate our abundance. (As you may already know, I'm crazy for these crochet patterns—this one is by 
And some more of 
We don't really have one dedicated spot in our home to showcase all our finds from the world outside. Instead, we have bits of nature scattered about the house—artful arrangements here, haphazard piles there. Some are permanent works in our collection, like our shells and sea glass, others come and go, are used to create art, or eventually get tossed back outside to make room for current finds. 
We really love our cache of nature's prizes and seasonal artwork, so we're excited to participate in the 
I knit this little fishie for him and it quickly became his favorite. The simple pattern, from 
Instructions called for tying the fish to a thread and dangling it from a stick but, as you can see, Pepper prefers it no strings attached. More fish are in the works, as this one is already thoroughly abused.
He's so fun, but no matter how wild he gets (clawing up the back of the chair, stalking unsuspecting toes), it's never long before he's fast asleep again.
