Project: Hand Carved Spoon and Andrew’s Towel Rack

I long for us to have our own wood shop, or at least a garage with a few tools.  I was feeling particularly bummed about our situation when I realized it was completely outside of my control.  So I gave it up and started looking a tiny bit into hand carving.  As in I watched one five minute youtube video.

I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind so I dug my old pocket knife out of the bottom of a storage bin.  While the kids played at the playground I grabbed a stick and started whittling.  It was pretty small but I figured my knife was sharp enough for an actual project.

Two weeks ago on a beautiful Saturday morning we biked to the Celery Bog as a family.  I went on the hunt for some thick, dry, sturdy branches. Emily and I took off on a mother daughter run while Andrew and Nathan stayed back to play in the dirt.  When Emily and I found a branch that was taller than myself we carried it back to the boys and Andrew helped me break it down to fit into the bike trailer.

I spent five days on the playground carving my spoon and made the finishing touches on my date with Andrew last week. Saturday I spent an hour sanding and Emily helped me apply the wood polish.  It is beautiful.  It was going to be a toy for the kids to play with, but I have to make some more before I can let this thing off the shelf.  I just love looking at it.  And feeling how smooth it is.

I’m hooked on carving.  I’m excited for warm weather and more days for the kids to play outside!

I mentioned to Andrew a little while ago that I was trying to figure out a inexpensive way to make a towel rack for our bathroom.  It took him all of 30 seconds to draw up some beautiful plans based on a recent video he had seen.  He grabbed some scrap wood and quickly made this ingenious option on campus.

Each hook rests at an angle on the board and comes in and out for lots of rearrangeable options.  This morning Andrew had the kids help him install it on the wall.  We are thrilled to have an official place for the kids towels!