As rememberances for Ann's cousins on the occasion of the White Salmon reunion, we decided to make pens. They were received so well that we made another batch for the England trip and Jym's cousins.

The first step is to cut the blanks of various woods in half.

Then each half gets drilled to accept the brass barrels which are glued in.

Then they are mounted on the lathe and made round.

A tenon has to be cut in one end, then the pieces are sanded and polished.

All of the pieces are then pressed together.

After all the work (most of which is fun), you end up with a selection of unique pens for the cousins to choose from.

She also cut and painted an 'action' toy for Eric. It has five gears, two spinners, and a handle.

It took a bit of work to get it together, but when the handle is turned, all the gears work, and the spinners counter-rotate.

Eric is probably trying to figure out how to make it more efficient (or take it apart).

A few of the finished ones. More are on the way (even though it's a bit late). All are unique and the wood is from the farm.

Ann scrollsawed an ornate 'Cinderella' carriage for Alina.

And personalized notepads for the kids and grandkids.

Since we had a lot of oak branches, this year we decided to make nutcrackers as presents.

After shaping and drilling the body, it's time to cut the threads.

Pieces, parts, and tools. The walnut (dark) nutcracker, which we brought back from New Zealand, was the conceptual model.

The trick is to design and cut the pattern so that no pieces fall out when you're finished getting rid of the shadow areas.

If you look closely, you'll see that Alina's face is only attached at four points (compared to Eric's 12).

And the finished, framed results. Clicking on either of the two pictures to the left will also show the original photo that the patterns were made from. Ann has been asked to submit them for display in the California State Fair!

To start Ann's next project, every cutout in the plywood needs to have a pilot hole for the saw blade to go through.

The project was to make wooden 'portraits' of the grandkids. They are cut out of 1/8 inch birch plywood and then backed with a piece of black paper. Jym made the cutting patterns from photographs using both computer and light box and pencil. The idea was inspired by a conversation at a scrollsaw special interest group meeting of the Sacramento Area Woodworkers.

Eric's went easily, but the second attempt at Alina just fought her for control. The first attempt made Alina look 13 (she's 6!), so we started over with a different picture.

Even in the winter in the unheated 'long barn', Ann works to improve her skills.

A Christmas ornament sawn from a slice of lacewood. It finishes nicely with a thin coat of tung oil.

Jym's first try at reproducing a nutcracker we saw in New Zealand, made from cedar, oak and walnut.

Ann made these animal puzzles for Alina's third birthday.

Trying her hand at more detailed scroll saw projects.

This keyholder was a combination of scroll sawing and carving.

Then it was making a sign out of a split oak branch.

The finished sign hanging on the door of 'the long barn' - our workshop and equipment storage shed.

Ann's first try at intarsia was for her boss depicting their russian wolf hounds.

Jym's first try at whittling started with an oak branch (not the easiest or softest wood for a first try).

This was the result (after innumerable blade resharpenings).

He also found this dogwood blossom in a pine board.