My Smokies Blog

Well, in the last few weeks, I have managed to use up all those bases.  Each one now has a unique corn shuck flower afixed.  And, since I haven't managed to fill all my orders yet, it's back outside sanding and grinding.

I have discovered that working from sun up to sun down everyday for the past 5 weeks is wearing on me.  I miss seeing everything - friends - family - nature.  But, the end of the orders is near.  I have 3 more to fill.  So, I'm sneaking off for a road trip to a place I've never been before.  When was the last time you did something for the first time?

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Well, since I'm quickly running out of wood bases for my wildflowers, it's time to head out to the back yard. 

As I collect interesting pieces of fallen wood and drift wood, I put them in a storage area out behind the shed.  When it's time to make more bases, I head out there and dig through the pile.  After selecting a bunch of interesting pieces, the hard part begins.

I clean each piece of wood with a small wire brush, then sand it down to clean it down to the wood.  After getting a batch done, I then place them in the oven to heat cure and kill any bugs that may be making their home inside.  After an hour or so, the soon-to-be-bases are moved back outside for staining and finishing.  By the end of the day the bases may look wonderful, but I'm a mess!  I'm always covered in wood dust, and have wood stain spots and shellac all over my work clothes.  Messy work, but the results are worth it.

Today's weather was nice when I headed out there, but in short time it became cloudy and really windy.  So, after spending a good 5 hours out there freezing, I decided to leave some base work for another day.  A day when it's warmer than 39 degrees!

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Today was a nice day to get out and about.  Although the temps were chilly, it looked more like a spring day.  Bright and sunny, light breeze, and the birds and squirrels foraging in the yard. 

Even though the calendar reads January, I spent the day yesterday sculpting (I should say attemping to sculpt) beautiful Mountain Laurels.  The corn shucks were not co-operative.  It seemed each attempt I made, I couldn't coax the shucks to comply.  So, today was a welcomed vacation from frustration!

Don't worry, I'll be back at it tomorrow!

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