Around The Web

Good News For Handmade Toys

January 21, 2009

Awhile back, I wrote a couple articles (No More Handmade Toys, Save Hand Made Toys) about how handcrafted toys and products for children will be a thing of the past due to the new law that takes effect on Feb. 10, 2009. Well, I’m happy to report a little good news. The Handmade Toy Alliance [...]

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WP Clipart

January 20, 2009

Finding free clip art for our patterns can be tricky at best. Most clipart sites require monthly memberships or expensive bundled downloads. Even then, the clipart may not be royalty free. Thanks to a reader’s suggestion, I became aware of WP Clipart, a website that specializes in public domain clipart. Their entire collection is available [...]

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Arabic Calligraphy Patterns

January 12, 2009

One of the first forms of word art was calligraphy. The beautiful swooping lines are certainly an eye pleaser. Its no wonder why calligraphy is so well received and certainly offers a great scrolling opportunity. RealfEZ creates beautiful wordart in Arabic calligraphy on his website Arabic Calligraphy For You. He’ll turn your name into a [...]

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Home Made Sanding Mop

January 9, 2009

The price of tools and supplies can add up pretty quick. Especially time saving tools such as sanding mops. Steve from Scroll Saw Workshop has a great tutorial provided by one of his readers, Rick. He provides step-by-step instructions on how to create your own sanding mop. It looks Rick’s version of the sanding mop [...]

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Save Hand Made Toys

January 8, 2009

Last month, I wrote an article about how hand-made toys will soon become a thing of the past. Why? Because selling or donating handcrafted toys will be illegal without expensive certification. Thousands of small businesses will be closing their doors as of Feb. 10, 2009 simply because they cannot afford the 3rd party certification the [...]

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Automata Dog

December 16, 2008

Here’s a fun little automata project that’s perfect for the scroll saw! This project is provided by Lee Valley Tools. They include detailed instructions with plenty of photos. They also provide the pattern in PDF format for easy printing. The project is easy enough for an afternoon in the shop. Check it out! And while [...]

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Color & Shapes Puzzle

December 11, 2008

Here’s a fun project that would make a perfect gift for the little ones in your life. This Color and Shapes puzzle was designed by relfEZ of Tangible Art Projects. The pattern is provided in JPG format for easy scaling. This quick project can be easily cut from plywood or MDF. Paint the shapes with [...]

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No More Handmade Toys

December 10, 2008

We all remember the massive toy recalls back in 2007. Toys made in developing countries, namely China, contained dangerous amounts of lead and other chemicals. This brought a lot of fear and concern about regulations regarding toy manufacturing. As a result, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed in August 2008. This act [...]

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Easy Book Ends

December 9, 2008

Here’s a fun project for that little reader in your life. This bookend project is provided by Sabrina of Seeds of the Heart blog. This is a great afternoon project that turns out really neat. The instructions are pretty straight forward. For the letters, choose your favorite font in a graphics program or word processor. [...]

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Taking Lath Art To The Next Level

December 5, 2008

Dave Lampman has been doing lath art since 1979. He describes his work as “Casual art with a touch of understated elegance.” Whatever it is, it certainly is beautiful. Check out his online gallery of some of his work. Perhaps it will inspire you to give lath art a try. When you’re ready, head over [...]

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