Monday, July 6, 2015

Shakers

There is a first time for everything.  I haven’t  carved a set of Salt and Pepper Shakers before.  A gift for a friend has been weighing heavy on my mind for a year.  He asked me to carve him a set of Salt and Pepper Shakers for his “lady friend.”

Well after much thought…I designed a pair of loons.

 

Loons July 2015

Here they are rough cut.  The wood is Yellow Popple (Aspen) and I sure like it for carving.

Salt and pepper shakers

I spent most of Saturday with Far Guys help carving out the innards where a bit of salt and pepper could go.  Then I painted and sealed them.  The corks on the bottom came from a garage sale set of shakers. That hole for the cork was a bit scary…but our method worked real good.

Pair of Loons complete

The pair is finished, sealed and packaged in a box all ready and waiting for our friend from Oklahoma to arrive.  He is retired Air Force and a local boy…full of fun.  Divorced but still talks about his wife kindly.  I hope he still has the same “lady friend” who collects salt and pepper shakers!  He was still taking her to dinner and a movie and whatever follows back in April. 

I will never carve another set of Salt and Pepper Shakers…I probably have 12 hours in the pair…way too fussy of a carving project for me.

Update:  Christmas Ornaments: 27 are completely finished, 5 are in process.  I need at least 73 this year.

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25 comments:

  1. The shakers turned out beautifully. Hope you and FG have a good week.

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  2. The loon shakers are beautiful. Perfect for a local boy! I hope he still has the same lady friend, too.

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  3. The "Loons" are stunning. You did a super job on the salt and pepper shakers. Hoping he and his lady friend appreciate all the work you put into them.

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  4. I couldn't even imagine how you were going to turn those rough wooden beginnings into salt and peppers.
    Too bad they were so much work - they're a novel idea.

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  5. You and FG are an amazingly creative team! You both are highly motivated, too. I am so glad we get to see and read about the stuff you do.

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  6. What a gift! And one of a kind, an original by Far Side. You simply amaze me with your talent. I hope she appreciates them as much as I do. :-)

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  7. Those are incredible!!!

    I hope you carve some more loons even if they aren't salt shakers!

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  8. Very cute!! I agree with Intense Guy, just carve more loons, they don't have to be shakers.

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  9. They're really quite wonderful, hope his lady friend appreciates them.

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  10. I like the shakers. I had a great uncle pass a decade ago and he had over 5000, so collecting them can become compulsive. I had started finding a few unusual ones, but passed them to my youngest. I hope Far Guy does well with his treatments. I let a student try on me when I had my knee fixed and she murdered me, but I didn't say anything. Her instructor came in and called a nurse who slipped it right in.

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  11. Beautiful (and so creative) - Oklahoma Guy is going to love them!

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  12. I can see why he asked you to carve salt and pepper shakers. They're awesome. Loons are also one of my favorite birds.

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  13. Just amazing! They are beautiful.

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  14. Beautiful work! The salt and pepper shakers turned out great. I'm sure your friend will love them.

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  15. Your Loons are gorgeous, you're very clever, your friend's lady friend is very lucky. Best wishes to Mr Far Guy.

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  16. Wow - you are very talented!

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  17. They are gorgeous! If his lady friend doesn't want them I'm sure he'll keep them for himself. You are truly talented!! Good luck with the Christmas ornaments.

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  18. They are beautiful! Something you needed to try, and once was enough! You are a great carver.

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  19. Those are just perfect!! I can see where that is just too many hours to repeat, but wow! Gorgeous!
    You are so ahead of the Christmas game! I only make cards and this year with the move...who knows? Will have to be something super simple again if they get done at all. I can hardly wait to see what you came up with for this year's ornaments. :)

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  20. They look really good but they did need a lot of shaving and sanding to be smooth. You have a great paint job on them. I always wanted to paint loons in the wilderness but I don't paint anymore.

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  21. Those are AMAZING!!!!! Who cares about the lady friend - he better love those shakers.

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  22. Wow! You are REALLY talented. I wouldn't know where to begin and I'd probably stab myself during the process. Those are beautiful!

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