Life imitating art, or vice versa

Ideas come from many sources, some of them quite unexpected.  The pattern for the box top was based on an actual photo of a braided bread, and that same pattern was "tweaked" to make a segmented bread board.  To demonstrate the authenticity of the design, I braided an actual bread, using the wooden version as a model, and was struck by how similar they were.

Vietnamese Temple Window Box

The new issue of Creative Woodworks & Crafts has just come out.  As promised, it contains the pattern and instructions for the Asian style pivot lid box that I mentioned in a blog post last April.  It's a fun project to do, and just demanding enough to be interesting.

Here's a picture of a slightly different box, whose lid was modeled after a Vietnamese Temple Window.  It's made exactly like the other project, and if you'd like a copy of this pattern, just email me and I'll be happy to send it out to you.

Working with fabric paint

A while ago, I shared some of the problems I had while trying to use fabric paint to decorate my bed box project (see blog post of 5/13/12).  Since my paint dots have definitely gotten better, I thought I'd pass along some tips that should be helpful, passed along to me by Kim Braa, a woodworker who does amazing things with paint.

1. Buy only bottles with squeeze tips.  They are small and easy to handle, and pipe a nice sized dot.
2. Shake the bottle well to mix the paint thoroughly.
3. Do some test drops on scrap wood to determine the pressure you'll need.
4. If you get any air bubbles, pop them with a pin.
5. If you need to redo a dot, you can remove it while wet with a damp paintbrush, followed by a damp cotton swab.  Or, you can wait until it is dry and use a craft knife to scrape it off.