Last Minute Gift Ideas

 Well, it's official: my craft sale season is over for 2014. No more formal shows or events until 2015.

Of course, that doesn't mean that you've finished all of your Christmas shopping!
Here are a few ideas for gifts. This is not an extensive list and I've not shown any puzzles or toys since I've posted lots about them in the past.

Please keep in mind that if you're not local to the Madoc area, shipping will take some time, so please order promptly so we can get it to you in time for Christmas.

I will not be writing much about any of these things, just showing a price. For more information on a specific product, or for shipping information or special orders, please contact me at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com.

Outdoor Cedar Bench $115

Classic bench (price based on size)

Spiral Candle Holders $15/pair

Guitar Wall Clock $35

Walnut Mantle Clock $45

Spalted Birch Bowl (sold)

Maple 3 Candle Holder (sold)

Maple Bowl (sold)

Stepped Candle Holder $15

Mahogany Broken Heart Candle Holder $15

 Butterfly Book Ends $25

Fish Bowl $15

Word Art Coat Hook $30

Hummingbirds $15

Horseshoes $15 each

Hummingbird Pedestal $20

Dachshund Bookend $15

Men Book Ends $15

Horse Napkin holder $15

Wolf Mini Clock $45

Rearing Stallion $30

Most items are available in custom colours and finishes. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, but it might give some ideas. 

I am not doing regular production until after Christmas, but I will work on custom orders. I cannot guarantee shipping arrival times for any items, but I can arrange priority shipping which should make North American deliveries (in most places) before Christmas. 

Wild Horses

I posted one of these a long time ago, but I think it's time for a revisit. 

People, as a rule, like horses. Not everyone is an aficionado or zealot (though I can think of a few people I know), but there is something about the strength, grace and beauty of a horse, as well as the sense of freedom they exude (and impart) that we tend to gravitate towards them naturally. Even if someone doesn't like to ride them, almost everyone likes to look at them. Speaking of which...

Wild Horse $30 each (discounts or orders of 3 or more)

Isn't that better? Now that you've had a look? 

These ornamental horses (no, you can't ride them) stand just under a foot tall. Made of high quality baltic birch plywood, they are stained and available in a wide selection of colours with a matching solid pine base. 

How many colours? Too many to have in stock at once. Multiple shades of brown, black, reds and lighter wood tones. Made to order, with discounts on bulk purchases (beginning at 3 or more). Inquire to get more specific pricing info. 

A quick heads up for this coming weekend. I will be in Oshawa at the Shriners Club at 1626 Simcoe St. North, Oshawa, from 10am to 4pm. I'll be there a lot longer than that, but those are the hours of the bazaar. The event is hosted by Milestones Christian Center. 

I'd also like to give my thanks to Maggie and the staff and volunteers of Dawn House in Kingston for their show this past weekend at the Kingston airport. My apologies for not getting the show advertised on the blog, but thanks ladies, for a great event. Dawn house if South Eastern Ontario's only homeless women's shelter and it was great to be a part of their annual fundraising efforts. 

Custom Bathroom Stool

A couple weeks ago I was asked if I could make a bathroom stool. I assured the inquirer that  I had in fact, made many stools of various sizes and for various purposes and that since I had children of my own, a child's bathroom stool wouldn't pose a problem. 

She then asked if I would be able to burn a name in the top. Again, I answered in the affirmative. Within a little while we had the whole thing straightened out. 

These pictures were taken prior to finish being added in order to avoid glare. 

The customer was very happy with the results. 

Available in a wide variety of colours, either with a name burned in or without. They are also available as blank stools, which would be great for the application of folk art or other custom decoration.

Custom Name Puzzles

Custom puzzles have been popular lately. I've already shared a couple of customized dog puzzles, but custom staining is only one way of customizing a puzzle.

I've had several orders for puzzles with children's names burned on them and below I've attached images for two of those.

While most puzzles I do can be made to have between 3 and 15 pieces, typically a name puzzle will have fewer, depending on how many letters are in the child's name and the shape of the puzzle. Generally these end up as more of a keepsake toy than a regular play toy. 

All of the animal shape puzzles in my regular inventory are available for custom lettering. If there is an animal (or other shape) you think would suit better then please feel free to ask, and if possible, I'll make that shape. The honeybee, hippo and a few others have come about as requests from customers. 

With Christmas coming up fast, it's not too early to order something special for the children in your life. You won't find these on the shelves at Wal-Mart!

Nativity Scenes

So apparently, it's December. I'm sure that means the other eleven months of the year have already gone by, but I'm sure there's been an abridgement somewhere. 

The bafflement of my sense of season notwithstanding, December usually gets us thinking about Christmas and all the various things related thereto. Someday I might decide to carve a turkey out of wood, but until then I'll leave Christmas dinner to the professionals. However, there are some areas I might be able to help out with. 

For most of us, the thought of Christmas conjures images of Christmas decorations, and of course one of the most traditional (and for some, essential) decorations is the nativity scene. 

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of all of my nativity scenes available, but hopefully I can remedy that shortly. I also have a set with 17 pieces which can be arranged however you like. I should also mention that the scenes shown here have been photographed before finish was applied to reduce glare in the pictures.

The top scene is of shepherds kneeling in worship. The text below reads "Good will to men". There is an accompanying scene featuring wise men approaching from the left which reads "Peace on earth". Both can be displayed independently or with others are part of a set.

The middle scene shows Mary and Joseph kneeling over the infant Christ in a manger. There is another Mary and Joseph scene showing the three of them travelling with Mary holding Jesus while riding a donkey.

All told I've done five different scenes as well as the larger moveable set. As pictures become available of the others I will try to update, but I wanted to show some of the scenes I've done before we got too far into the festive season.

All are available for order in a variety of colours. Prices shown are for individual scenes. Bundled scenes will receive discounts. For more info contact me at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com. You can also see some of my work on the St. John's Anglican Church Facebook page here. I thought about donating but since one of my customers told me he was going to, I opted not to.

Dapple Daschund and Cooper Craft Sale

First things first...

Tomorrow and Sunday will see the Cooper and Rimington Women's Institute's Annual Christmas Craft Show.

How to get there:
From Hwy 62 and Hwy 7 in Madoc, head East to Cooper road and turn North (left). After roughly 10 minutes you'll enter the hamlet of Cooper. At the 4 way stop the Women's Institute is on the North East corner (in front of you on the other side of Bannockburn road).

For more info see the ad here http://www.kijiji.ca/v-events/belleville/cooper-craft-sale/1028516964?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true.

Not long ago I posted an article about a stained basset hound puzzle that I made for a customer. If you missed it you can check it out over here Custom Stained Basset Hound Puzzle.

One of the people who saw that post was Liz. Liz, it turns out, wanted a daschund puzzle made for a gift. But not just any daschund, mind you, but a dapple daschund. I'll be honest, at the time I had no idea such a thing existed.

A few google searches, some consultation about the colour and we were off. Below is the dog image just prior to being cut into puzzle pieces.

I didn't take pictures after I cut it so you'll just have to imagine what it looks like as a puzzle. 

Liz should get this soon and hopefully it will be enjoyed by whoever receives it. In the event that they read this blog...try to act surprised anyway...

For those interested, I will be taking custom orders right up until the week before Christmas, so custom puzzles, ride on toys and all sorts of other gift ideas will be available, made to order.

By the end of the weekend I hope to post some nativity scenes, just in time for Christmas decorating.

Freestanding Moose

Looking for a little bit of Canadiana to spruce up the house? It may not be on a coin, but it's hard to get more Canadian than a moose. 

This started out as a custom order for someone who liked a wood duck I have made in the past, but thought that a moose or deer might look good. 

Freestanding Moose $20 unstained, $25 stained

I tried the moose first and since it turned out well I thought I'd post it tonight. The customer was pleased with the results. 

Freestanding Wood Duck $12 unstained, $15 stained

The wood duck that started it all. 

The moose image, unstained and without a base. This can be stained almost any colour or painted. 

If you have an image that you would like to have in your home, whether animal, person or other, contact me at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com for an online consultation and pricing details. 

A Few New Clocks

There's a lot of variation available in making clocks. I have every confidence that I will never run out of ideas for new ones, only time to make them. 

Here's a few of the newest ones:

Hard Maple Clock $55

This is solid hard maple, showing off the rings as well as the bark and features a 2 3/4" clock insert.

Eagle Mini Clock $45

Eagle mini clock made from pine, stained Minwax cherry with a 1 7/16" insert.

Wolf Mini Clock $45

Wolf mini clock made from pine stained Minwax mahogany.

As always, any ideas for your own personalized clock are welcome. Contact me at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com for consultations and pricing. 

Custom Puzzle: Stained Bassett Hound

So a little while ago I was at a show and I was approached by Rob. Really, this is Rob's story...but it could just as easily be yours.

Rob was interested in a puzzle, specifically my puppy puzzle. However, Rob was hoping for a bit more than that. He wanted to know if could maybe stain some colour spots on the puppy to make it look like his basset hound. Seemed like a nice idea, but I told him we could do better...

Rob gave me some specifics on the colours of his basset hound: black on the back with brown head and feet. 

After looking at some images of basset hounds, we moved to create a silhouette pattern and then did the custom stain job. Once the stain was dry I cut the image into puzzle pieces. 

Custom Basset Hound Puzzle $15

Personally I think it came out pretty well. There are no facial features (most notably eyes), but then I don't consider myself that sort of an artist and Rob hadn't expected any.

So how can Rob's story be your story?

If you have (or had) a dog that you would like to have become the basis of a puzzle, let me know. If you send me a picture that's even better. Almost any breed of dog can be done, capturing the particular characteristics that set that breed aside and colouring the puzzle to make it look like your particular dog.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Anchor of Hope and Zella's Christmas Craft Sale

Just a quick note tonight to let everyone know about 2 local sales in Madoc this weekend.

First off, I should mention Zella's Christmas Craft sale. This is a sales venue open Thursday, Friday and Saturday every weekend through the month of November. The sale features a number of local artisans selling Christmas decor, toys, baked goods and lots of one of a kind items that make great ideas for gifts.

The sale is located between Robin's Diner (at the lights in Madoc) and the laundromat and runs from 9am to 2pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For those who are curious, Zella is the woman who has organised the Friday Farmer's market in Madoc for the last few years. She's (I think) 91 years young.

The big sale of the weekend (at least  for the Madoc area) is the Boutique of Hope. This is a massive (read: over 100 vendors) sale to be held at Centre hastings Secondary School (CHSS aka the high school) in madoc this Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Proceeds go to the Anchor of Hope Pregnancy and Family Care Centre. See their facebook page here.

As for new things this week: yup. Working on nativity scenes, some special boxes and more. I might get a post up tomorrow with some pics but if I don't you'll have to catch me at a show or send me an email at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com to get your hands on it.

Hope to see you on the weekend.

The Joy of Finishing

It's been a long day in the shop and I'm not done yet, but i thought I'd take a short break for a quick post. 

Just for a bit of fun I thought I'd talk, just for a moment, about finishing. Specifically, why finishing is important. 

All of the pics posted here are of a small freeform carving I did from a piece of ash root a short time ago. Above and below are front and bottom shots after sanding was done but before finish was applied.

At this point it's not a bad looking piece (IMHO) but it's also not particularly eye catching either.

Here (above and below) are shots of the same piece after a couple coats of finish (clear shellac in this case). 

A little bit of finish can really make the grain pop and bring out the colour of the wood. 

I could talk for a long time about selecting finishes, what to use when, etc. etc. but for tonight I just wanted to show off the difference a little finish can make to a piece. 

I will be setting up at Zella's Christmas Craft show tomorrow (located between Robin's Backwoods Cafe and the laundromat in Madoc) and getting ready for the Boutique of Hope sale at CHSS on Saturday. Hope to see you there!

The Rest of November...

I've been behind in announcing my pre-Christmas sales this year, but here at least is the rest of the month:

November 15: The Anchor of Hope in Madoc will be hosting the first annual Boutique of Hope. The event will be held at Centre Hastings Secondary School in Madoc from 9 until 4. Over 100 vendors are expected to be in attendance. As this is a fundraiser there will be a $2 admission cost with proceeds going to the Anchor of Hope. See their facebook page here.

The 15-16 also marks the date for The Holiday Mama Market in Belleville. The event will be hosted at Momstown Belleville located at 100 Station Street in Belleville. Many local crafters and vendors will have their goods on display, so if you're in the Belleville area, stop in.
*Update: Due to a change of plans on my part, I will not be participating in the Mama Market this time. Go ahead and stop in anyway!

November 21-22 I will be at the Quinte Christian High School Fall Vendors Market. This was a huge sale last year with great products all around. QCHS is located at 138 Wallbridge Loyalist Road on the West end of Belleville, just North of Hwy 2. See their facebook page here for more info.

November 29-30 I can be found at the Cooper Craft Sale. Located just a few minutes off the beaten path North of Madoc at the Cooper Women's Institute. Not a big sale, but there's no admission, and there are some great finds to be had. Homestyle cooked food will be available as well and it's not too late to order something custom and handmade from some of the area's best craftspeople. See their ad for the event here.

I should also mention that through the entire month I will have a table at Zella's Craft Show, located next to Robin's Cafe in Madoc. The store is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through to the end of the month, from 9am to 2pm. Several vendors are represented there, so especially if you're a local, check it out.

I'm still making plans for December. Hoping to visit Amazing Coffee again this year, but we haven't set a date yet. If you know of a sale or event in December, or would like to have me in your area, send me an email at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com.

QCHS Looking for Vendors

Just a quick note to any local artisans or crafters.

I received an email from the folks running the QCHS Fall Vendors Market saying that they still have some space at their sale this year.

Anyone interested should call  613-827-2343 or email Anita at qchsvendorsmarket@gmail.com.

I was there last year and had a great time and I will be returning this year.

See the poster for more information.

Direct Ordering through the Blog

Up until now, I have not sold items directly through the blog (this website), only showcased some of what I have made. I have sold through a number of other venues (such as etsy, ebay, farmer's markets, etc.) but since all of these venues have limitations to them and even craft sales generally limit the amount of things I can showcase, I have decided to begin selling directly though the blog (hoping to get a proper website up sometime.

"Jesus is the Reason for the Season" Custom word art for client: $40

What I will be doing is going through all of my previous posts (or at least the ones featuring products) and posting prices to them. These will either be in a prominent spot in the article or under a photo of the products. Along with this will be a contact link to allow easy communication between the customer (you) and the vendor (me).

Batman and Superman logos $10 each. Other logos available.

If you see something that interests you, simply click the contact link, put the item name in the title (or make a list if there's multiple items), put your address in the email and I will respond with a total price (including shipping) and a paypal request for the total amount due.

32" tall giraffe puzzles $65 stained; $50 unstained

If the request is for a custom order, or if there are any questions, I will clarify those through either email or phone (your choice) before proceeding to the paypal request.

Custom woodburned bookmark for client: $5 each, pricing based on details of order

Is PayPal secure?
Yes. Very. These guys practically invented internet financial transactions and they continue to provide very secure transaction services. It is more dangerous to order pizza with your credit card than it is to pay online using PayPal.

Rearing stallion accent piece: $30 each; 5 or more $25 each

How will this affect shipping costs?
Shipping will be calculated at cost, which means that my customers will get the best shipping prices I can find. With most online venues (such as etsy or ebay) shipping is typically estimated, which means that vendors estimate high so that they don't lose money when shipping. Since I will be calculating your actual shipping based on your postal code, the weight and size of total order, as well as price shopping among different shipping companies to see who provides the best service for the best price for your order.
Local customers will have the option to make arrangements to pick up their order to save shipping.

Assorted key fobs: $5 each; 5 or more $4.50 each; 10 or more $4.00 each

What about bulk discounts?
Where applicable I will post price break point for items. For example, if an item is $10 each for 1, it might be $8.50 each for 3, and $7.50 each for 10 or more. This way you will know what bulk discounts you will receive before you place your order. Shipping discounts will not apply since you'll already be getting the best price on your total order.

Walnut mantle clock $55 each

What about international orders?
I can ship to your country but I am not responsible for any possible taxes, duty, tariffs, etc. which may arise. It is up to you to be aware of import regulations in your country or district. Canadian orders are, of course, no problem. USA orders have never been a problem. If you are unsure, let me know and I'll do a bit of research and get back to you.

Precut inspirational words $10 each; 5 or more $8.50 each; custom words please inquire

What about oversize items or unique pieces?
Large items (such as furniture) will have shipping calculated based on the best shipping provider. A final price will be sent to the customer to confirm they want the item and are willing to pay the shipping price before the PayPal request is sent.
One of a kind items like carved bowls and abstract carvings, will be marked as "Sold" as soon as a transaction is finalized. If a customer is interested in a piece after someone else has begun the purchase but before the item has been paid for, they will be notified of this and given a "runner up" status. If the first customer fails to remit payment or if they decline based on shipping fees, the "runner up" will be given priority.

Triceratops riding toy $125 each

What if I have questions?
Please feel free to email any questions or inquiries at mapleridgecreations@gmail.com. I will do my best to answer them promptly and clearly.

 I have posted a selection of products throughout this posting as a sample of what I plan to do with other posts. If you are interested in anything shown or have any inquiries regarding custom orders, please click this link and I will be happy to respond ASAP.