Patti is designing with the help of our light board.

Scanning the hand drawn design. She will then continue the design process on the computer.

Ron is using a non-permanent spray glue on the finished pattern. Notice his respirator; we always try to stay healthy in every thing we do.

Affixing the pattern to the wood.

Drawing sawing guidelines.

Cutting out the rough shape with the sabre saw.

Drilling entry holes for each cutout with our homemade drilling jig.

The glamorous part of the operation - sawing with the scrollsaw.

Sanding both faces with a fine sanding block.

Cleaning up the cuts with a needle file.

Dipping the finished creations in our solution of linseed oil and citrus thinner.

Our workshop - sabre saw in foreground, drilling jig in left background, and 2 scrollsaws.

Product Information and Ingredients

We are very conscious of the health of the people who live with our creations and of our own health. We are also concerned about depletion of the world's forests. We choose our ingredients with this in mind.

Bookmarks: Our bookmarks are made with 1/32" thick Finnish birch plywood. It is made of 3 plies of wood with each ply having a grain that is perpendicular to the adjoining plies. This wood is extremely durable. These should last for many years in normal use. After sawing we hand sand each bookmark and dip in linseed oil.

Ornaments: These are made from 1/8" thick plywood made in Quebec to our specifications. Both outer faces are made from white birch that is sanded twice at the factory. The inner ply is made from aspen. After sawing we hand sand each article and then clean up the cuts with a needle file. We then dip each piece in the linseed oil solution. We use this special plywood because it is strong and durable. The ornaments are best hung with ornament hooks or fishing line. Suncatchers look the nicest in a window on fishing line.

Suncatchers and Wall Plaques: Depending on the article, we use either the 1/8" birch plywood on 1/4" stained and varnished (stains and varnishes are water-based and nontoxic) birch plywood or 1/4" Ontario-made hardwood plywood alone. We use the linseed oil solution for the finish on the overlay.

Trivets: We use 3/4" solid hardwood and finish with linseed oil.