tiramisu cupcakes:

chef made these tiramisu cupcakes for a party this evening. 

i got to plate them. 

if i weren't off gluten and sugar, i totally would have taken a bite out of one. 

they smelled incredible and am sure tasted divine.

bucher block oil:

people are always asking me how to take care of their cutting boards and butcher blocks and other wooden kitchen utensils. 

therefore i have now made my own concoction you can purchase at shows etc made out of food safe mineral oil for conditioning and cosmetic grade beeswax for protection.

simply rub your boards, salad hands, spreaders etc down with this conditioner. 

the mineral oil will penetrate and hydrate the wood and the beeswax will harden on the surface and make it a wee bit more water-resistant. 

polish it a little to get excess wax off and give that wood some gorgeous shine.

sunset:

and while i'm posting things - here some pictures of a sunset we had the other night that was just incredible. i took these with the phone on the way home from the studio:

these pictures don't do it any justice what so ever - but they are still purty.

i really do love living here.

smooth operator:

earlier this year i purchased myself a new jointer. 

my old jointer was not really doing its job anymore and i had a great holiday season.

so i sold the old one on craigslist last sunday to make room for the new one.

-with great anticipation it finally arrived yesterday- 

the so called arrival between 1-4PM turned into more of a 4.30PM.

but all was good, the truck did not get stuck in the mud, as the grumpy delivery guys feared.

a tractor saved the day and brought it right into my shop through the double doors:

but it was so very heavy. 

i could not assemble it all by myself.

big, big muscle was needed for sure

this morning robert and some elves heaved the 300lbs monster up in its base for me.

when i got in this morning, i got to bolt it down, install the belt and other parts.

i went to MWP to got a longer power-cord 

(they are never ever long enough on these machines) 

and a different plug to fit my high voltage outlet.

- my dear father in law helped me assemble that -

finally it was ready to be turned on and taken for a test drive:

it hummed such a beautiful sound.

- and - it - cuts-

- so - perfectly -

- so - so - smooth -

the wood feels like a baby's bottom

it is the most beautiful thing in my shop!!!

a huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this either by purchasing things from me this year, or contributing to it in other ways. it is pure joy to be able to do what i love, with machines that work so well. thank you for making this possible!

chicken or quail?

i think my chicken got a little confused today

i heart you:

started making these sweet lil' hearts that will be small favors 

for the baby shower of my future niece/nephew:

 am very excited to be a real tante tina soon.

new:

working out some new ideas:

excited to see where this will be going....

delivered:

today I finally delivered the copper barn I had been working on this fall:

it proudly displays this beautiful glass piece "Gilded Horse" by Shelley Muzylowski Allen.

i am extremely happy with the results and how they compliment each other - 

i especially love the way the copper is being reflected at the bottom of the vessel 

and helps to highlight the copper in the horse. 

church-pew to stool 2:

did the initial sanding and finished glueing up the seats. 

the last two are in the clamps awaiting the process.

i love playing with the shapes!

and always wish i had more clamps....

church pew to stool:

about a year ago i designed these stools that i made from 3 pieces of salvaged heart of pine church pews robert got for me when the animal vet in madison he was doing work for was cleaning out his storage after retiring.

the 3 legs were made from fence-board ends my father in law gave me. 

the result: stool 33 - a limited edition of 33 stools. 

now its time to make stools 5-14 for an upcoming show in Richmond of February 8th

-big ol' church-pew cut in half-

-and cut down some more-

-planed-

-cut into seats-

-glued up with tenons between boards-

-seats!-

stay tuned for updates on this project and other things i am making for this show. thanks for looking

brrrrrrrrrrr:

in these subfreezing temperatures its important to stay warm. Trying hard to keep those toes from freezing off during a short tea break at the wood stove in Robert's shop next door:

its time....

today I finally got around to work on a few clock orders that were piling up. 'bout time they got done....

Now they are just in need of some hands and the clockwork.

happy new year!!!

happy 2014 to you all!!

thanks to all of you who have encouraged me this past year to keep on posting. 

it has been a fun journey thus far.

looking forward to sharing life in pictures and stories with you this year.

- first sunrise in 2014, on the way into working New Year's Day brunch -