One more Christmas pattern. I told myself that I was finished designing Christmas patterns for this year. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to dinner. My family decided we would take in some of the Christmas lights around town. That put me back in the spirit so I had to do at least one more Christmas pattern.
One house we stopped at is called the white Christmas house. They have been decorating for 25 years and they draw large crowds. It does not have the most lights I have ever seen but it is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Pictures don't do justice to just how beautiful this house is.
Tip: Don't do what I did.
If you look closely you will see that I messed up this cut pretty bad. I have changed the pattern now but I originally had a flat bottom on the tree. It now has a tab.
I was in a hurry and placed the pattern on the board as in the first example below. With this poor pattern placement, I had to cut the bottom of the tree with the scroll saw. Cutting with the scroll saw almost always creates a poor surface to glue to the base. The cut just won't be flat.
After I made the cut I knew it was not a good flat surface to glue to the base so I took it to my disk sander and tried to make it flat. I again was in a hurry and sanded the bottom at an angle. Look at the picture above and you will see that the tree is leaning right. If I had noticed this in time I could have kept sanding until I evened it out. Moral of the story is don't be in a hurry. :)
A better pattern placement would have prevented this problem completely. In the second example below you will see that I cut the pattern at the bottom of the tree and placed that edge at the factory cut edge of the board. As long as the factory cut is straight then the bottom of the tree will be flat and a good glue surface. If the board is not square and flat on one edge cut it on your table saw before you apply the pattern.
I keep a straight edge and Exacto knife on my workbench to cut down patterns. I normally use those tools to cut along the edge of an object on the pattern when I want it to be straight.
Click image to enlarge.
There is still time to cut Personalized Christmas ornaments. All the ornament patterns can be cut without the year. If you make them this way you can give them as stocking stuffers and they can be used in years to come. They do make nice thoughtful gifts.
My orders have slowed way down so I am getting the patterns emailed out pretty quick. You still have the rest of this week to get them cut.
If your time is limited then I suggest ordering the Basic ornament. You can knock these out quicker than the Bells or the Nativity patterns.
Remember that I retire the ornaments at the end of every holiday season. These will no longer be available after I stop order taking.
One request. Please do not order the ornaments with no name. These ornaments are one way I make money to keep the blog going. I want to be paid for the ornament patterns and if I let you take the template and make as many as you like I don't get paid. I know I give away most of my patterns for free but this is not one of those. Thanks for understanding.
$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping
Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.
The perfect way to sign your work.
Email Newsletter Readers: Remember that the Newsletter is just a copy of the daily blog post. To see the post in it's proper formatting click this link. If you ever misplace a pattern or any item you see here you can always find it on the blog. Everything stays on the blog forever.
Products for your consideration:
Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.
The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial
Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2017 in DVD
Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.
This DVD has 2,300 patterns published from 2007 thru 2017.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.
The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing.
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
My two "Wooden Vases on the Scroll Saw" books make it easy.
The books are $12 each and available for instant download after purchase. Click for Video Demonstration.
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