I agreed to make a set of seven small bowls for my sister to give to her board members as Christmas gifts. I have made gifts for these folks in the past and they were well received. I hope that the trend holds true this time as well. I think it is a real treat to be able to help a family member with something they need to do all the while doing something that I greatly enjoy. If that isn’t a “win-win” then I just don’t know what is.
Seven Christmas Bowls
I was able to use some wood that was sold to me as a “grab box” at a very advantageous price by Craft Supply USA. There was nothing wrong with the wood at all, rather it just didn’t fit into the specific size categories that they sell bowl blanks under, so they were essentially given away. Included in the box were these seven pieces, consisting of:
Box Elder (some with flame pattern)
Box Elder Number One
Box Elder Number Two
Box Elder Number 3
Box Elder Number Four
Ambrosia Maple
Two Ambrosia Maple – Front View
Hickory
Hickory
I had never worked with Box Elder at all before and Hickory I was only familiar with from a pen blank or two. I have written about Ambrosia Maple in the past and I will be adding new entries that go into my usual gory detail about both the Box Elder and the Hickory. As a preview hint, turns out that despite the name, Box Elder is actually an Acer, or Maple, species and Hickory is one of the hardest of the native North American woods, rivalled only by Black Locust and Osage Orange. Stay tuned.