I read, somewhere, to rest your wrists on the table. Kinda forces you to relax the arms. I will stop to drop my shoulders when I notice them creeping up. To me, it means I am holding the wood to tight!
It looks great.
I didn't read all the comments about "how long" because it doesn't matter. I stopped trying to compare my times with others. I was getting very stressed when I wasn't cutting as fast as other were saying they could get something done. A fine example is the book "20 minute puzzles". I still haven't cut one in 20 minutes and I have cut at least 20 of those puzzles.
That is a lovely cutting you have shown.
While it seems like a great idea, but why wait? I would be gifting them now so they can appreciate it with you.
Thanks @Foxfold for the pattern! I reduced it, which meant there was a "design" choice made while cutting. This was done as a quick cut instead of working on my tulips project because I received my Pegas blade chuck in the mail. This is about 7/8 thick walnut. Cut with #5 precision skip. One coat if shellac. There are some other issues but hubby didn't see them and they can't be seen from the front.