The Ornies!

Today is the first day of the big craft fair where Mike's ornaments will be sold.  I'm not sure if I have posted all the details of this little adventure so I'm going to give you the whole story now!

Last fall Mike made some intarsia magnets for Halloween.  There was a black spider, a mummy, a black cat, & a couple of other little figures.  We all thought they were adorable so he started on some Christmas ornaments.  He made a few last year & gave them as gifts & some family members bought a couple.  Mike's sister Gwen has been really enthusiastic about the ornaments & bought several for their Christmas tree.  Over the holidays some of her husband's family were visiting & two of his aunts were quite interested in the ornaments.  These two ladies make some primitive wood art & furniture that they sell at craft shows & markets throughout the year.  They are always looking for something that would complement their products that they could sell in their booth.  Several conversations later, Mike decided he would make them some ornaments for the Metamora Canal Days Festival this weekend.

Mike has made about fifty ornaments (aka, ornies) to sell.  We are excited to see how things go!  And although we have had fun making the ornies, I think we will be glad to have just a smidgen of our free time back *grin*  We are headed out tomorrow to visit the festival & I'm almost giddy at the thought of a road trip.  It's been a long time since we've been on one & I'm ready!

I thought I would post some pics & general information about how Mike makes the ornies.  I'm sure some of you might be curious about the process & if you're anything like me, you may have not ever heard the term 'intarsia' before. 

in·tar·si·a 

noun

an art or technique of decorating a surface with inlaid patterns, especially of wood mosaic, developed during the Renaissance

And here's how he does it:

First of all I put a solid layer of blue painter's tape
on a narrow board.  This is a step that I can actually do for him!

Then we use an aerosol adhesive to adhere the patterns to the wood.
Mike gets the patterns online or draws them himself.

Then he uses the scroll saw to cut each pattern out.
He follows the basic lines of the picture.

This little guy has been cut out. 
Do you see the individual pieces?

Then Mike uses this dremel tool to contour & shape the pieces.
Try not to notice the sawdust that is 1/2" deep on our basement workshop floor!

Now he has been shaped. 
Isn't he cute?

And then we paint or stain the pieces & glue them together.
*For ornies like the teddy bear & the angel Mike drills holes
& then inserts dowel plugs for eyes & noses.
Sorry I don't have a pic of that...

And that's the basic overview.  I think he's extremely talented & handsome, but I suppose I'm biased *grin*

I hope you all have a great weekend!  I'll let you know how the selling goes...here's hoping we get sold out!