Thanks all for the warm welcome.
I've attached snapshot of my current work in progress, some Christmas decorations based on a design found all over the net. My small artistic addition is to use nicely figured Zebrawood. However, the offcut I obtained was essentially a 6"x4" which I then had to hand saw lengthways to create 1/2" "blanks" and then sand them flat.
This particular example is finished with Boiled Linseed oil but on reflection, it's too dark so am currently making a new batch which will just be lacquered.
All the best and happy cutting,