motorhomeless

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words. I am a bit proud of this one and it wasn't really that difficult. The ocean is just a thick piece of fabric that naturally was able to be folded to fit through the neck of the bottle and manipulated with a long stick, actually a chopstick, until it lay flat. Prior to dropping it in I dabbed a few random drops of slow drying epoxy to hold it in place. The island with the rocks is a small piece of plywood that is cut lengthwise so that it folds in half and is hinged with a thin piece of fabric. Folding it in half allowed it to be slipped through the neck and then opened like a book once it was inside. The small house was made in two pieces that fit through the neck and were keyed together for alignment with a small dowel pin. They were slipped through the neck separately and glued together in place inside the bottle. Similarly, the lighthouse cap and lenses fits atop the tower like a bottle cap and is just small enough in diameter to slip through the neck. The tower itself had to be cut lengthwise into four segments and each one slipped through independently. The base of the tower incorporated a square tenon which fit into a matching mortise in the plywood island to help hold the four pieces together at the base just as the "bottle cap" aspect of the cap and lenses held the four pieces together at the top. It really was a fun project. Regards to all, Stan

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and warm welcome. I do believe that I am going to enjoy this Community. Cheers, Stan.

I would like to thank Lead Bottle Washer for his excellent series of videos on using GIMP. I have been using it for years and I probably learned more about using the program by watching him create a portrait pattern of William Shatner than any of the multitude of tutorials that I have watched over the years. Fine job, sir. Stan

I was really proud when I completed this little lighthouse . . . I was excited when I found this uniquely shaped bottle at a junk shop . . . But I was REALLY PROUD when I got the lighthouse into the bottle . . . And now for a ship !

Greetings, My name is Stan and I am 65 years young. I am a retired carpenter and millworker (custom doors). Scrolling has always intrigued me but somehow I never took it up. (I bought my very first scrollsaw just last week). I look forward to interaction with the Scrollsaw Village Community as I believe I will be able to learn quite a bit from the more experienced members. My hobby for the last 5 years has been modifying vintage and antique Banjo Clock cases into what I call "Memory Clocks". If you are not familiar with The American Banjo Clock I have no doubt that you will recognize its distinctive shape. Basically, a Memory Clock is a working, functioning clock whose original mechanical movement has been replaced with a battery-powered Quartz movement. The resulting space enables the clock case to become a display case (sometimes lighted). In the two display areas a person can showcase emblems of some of his, or her favorite things. Pins, badges, insignia, stickers and so forth that might represent the owner's career are a good example. Club memberships, Military affiliation, religious depictions are also some topics for a Memory Clock. The first one I built was for my Wife's Dad, George Harbison. He spent fifty years working on the Great Northern Railway, the Northern Pacific, and ultimately the Burlington Northern (presently the BN Santa Fe). He began as a laborer whose job was to clean the fireboxes of steam locomotives at the Livingston, MT repair facility and worked his way up to being a "Hog-Head" (locomotive engineer). He was also a fifty-year (Past Master) Mason and Shriner, a US Navy veteran of WWII, and a volunteer Deputy Sheriff. If ever a man needed a place to display some pins and badges, I thought at the time, it's George. So this became Memory Clock Number 1 (MC-001) or the "Hog-Head". Since discretion is the better part of valor I felt it wise to make a Memory Clock for his wife of 60 years,and my own, dear Mother-in-Law, as well. And this became Memory Clock Number 2 (MC-002) or the "Carousel" Since then I have built Memory Clocks for my three children, and one for my Son-in-Law. If you would like to see some more, please visit the photo pages on my Facebook page, Memory Clocks by Stan In building these clocks I often came upon situations where a scrollsaw would have been quite handy, but somehow I just cut or carved my way through and vowed to buy myself one, "someday". "Someday" arrived last week and I bought my first scrollsaw. I may soon be making a total pest of myself asking about the best blades, saw speeds, woods, patterns, etc. But for the moment I am excited to join the Village and look forward to a long, enjoyable learning curve. Best Regards to Everyone, Stan