Hand carved bottle stoppers from old wooden spools

I grab up old wooden spools whenever I can. They're a nice way to do a simple little carving, then I attached a dowel and a tapered cork. Thse stoppers were given a coat of salad bowl finish, some light acrylic paints, and finished with clear shellac.

Shamrock bottle stoppers and other St. Patrick's Day gifts

It' s nearly time for our St. Patrick's day party! For many Americans, St. Patrick's day is Irish Mardi Gras. With their green beads, cat-in-the-hat hats, and the dreaded green beer. Not around here.

I prefer to think of it as Irish Thanksgiving. Our home will be filled with good friends, great music, and traditional Irish and Irish/American food, just like Grandma used to make. We'll serve colcannon, corned beef, ham, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, spicy potato soup, and enough soda bread to feed an army. There'll be vegan options for our vegan friends, and beer and whiskey for our drinking friends. Maybe even some whiskey punch.

I'm especially looking forward to playing my Grandpa's old records. From John MacCormack to the Clancy Bros & Tommy Makem, The Dubliners, the Irish Balladeers, and more, his music always reminds me of him. As the son of an Irish immigrant, St. Patrick's day was always my grandpa's favorite holiday.

Of course I'll add in my own music as well, adding the likes of Christy Moore, Planxty, and Pat Kane into the mix.

I've carved over twenty little giveaways, including harp-shaped pins, shamrocks, fridge magnets, and the pins and bottle stoppers seen here. I'm making some green spike trolls for the kids to find. I might have another idea or two, and would love to carve more gifts for our guests, but we'll have to see how the chips fly.

More Spool Carvings

More spool carvings! These four spools are destined to become bottle stoppers. All they need now is some dowels and corks. I'm pretty sure these are pine, but I'll admit my wood ID skills need honing. They carve well though, with no splitting or unexpected chipping. The wood responds well to linseed oil, giving it a waxy look and nice warm glow.

Also, my CaseXX Texas Jack knife is working out well. I favor the smaller of it's two blades for whittlin'. It's easy to control and plenty sharp.

A slideshow of past whittlins

Here's a slideshow of some of my carvings. There's all sorts of stuff in here, from the rustic little spike trolls to the painted and finished toy soldiers. I'm proud of the variety and feel like I've made progress toward a higher level of detail and control. Let me know what you think!

New Items on Etsy

Sunday's show was great, but there's a few items that didn't sell. I've posted some on Etsy and will post more tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully these will help round out someone's last minute Christmas list!

Hearts & Crafts Winter show

Today's craft show was a success! From 11am to 5pm at Java's, Rochester NY, myself and about 15 other vendors (correction: 24 vendors!) showed our wares. I'd like to thank everyone involved in the show, especially Lisa and Marisa, the ladies responsible for organizing the event. It was a good time, and many of my carvings are on their way to new homes.



Table space was limited due to this being an indoor show in the cozy confines of a coffeehouse. To capitalize on this, I threw together a vertical display rack from a telescoping wreath hanger and some 8-gauge wire. Tan duct tape did the holding. The contraption worked like a charm.

Turning old spools into new bottle stoppers

I've found old wooden spools to be a good medium for carving faces. The spools here are carved then soaked in BLO. I've attached these to pre-shaped corks with dowels and glue. It turns out these guys are just the right size for bottle stoppers, and will wait patiently upside-down while you top off your glass.