via Soulemama
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
My restoration project. A labor of love.
It was supposed to be an elephant, but while trying to shape the back, it turned more into a mammoth. Ergo the name mammophant:
Mammophant
Instead of using an acrylic sealant I decided on a beeswax finish. It’s so smooth to the touch without the artificial feeling you get from acrylic sealants, and unlike finishing with linseed oil, it really maintained its color. Plus it smells good.
I keep calling it a camel, but really, it’s a dromedary. Or more specifically, two dromedaries. (Is that the correct plural form?) Once two wooden animals. If I keep this up, I’ll have a zoo.
My friend Razili is expecting her first baby right around the time that my sister’s baby number two is due. I’ve been knitting up lots of baby clothes for my sister, but I haven’t yet knit anything for Razili. Not because I don’t want to, it’s just that her mother knits, and she’ll be knitting up lots of baby clothes. And I don’t want to take away from that. Plus, I think her Mom is planning to knit a Shaun the sheep mobile for her.
not the best picture, but still very cute and colorful
Instead I figured I’d make something for her in the wood workshop. One of the people there had a design for this pretty wood mobile, so instead of knitting up a mobile (as I’d done in the past), I decided to craft one for her out of wood. The design is pretty easy – the wood pieces are shaped in waves.
The tricky part is to balance the pieces correctly, otherwise the pieces will be out of alignment. It’s something that can be fixed through the careful placing of wood beads and/or attaching a weight to the lowest piece, but fortunately the holes in the template were pretty much on target. I sanded the pieces and painted them with parquet floor paint – that way they can easily be wiped off, and the color glows nicely.
My sister saw the finished project, and now she wants one for her second baby. I already made her a sheep mobile, but that one is hanging over the changing table, and the new mobile is supposed to hang over the baby’s bed. Back to the wood shop!
It’s not knitting, but I’ve been doing some woodwork, and made this giraffe out of multiple layers of MDF. Lots of fun!
wooden giraffe
