Project ideas for Valentine's Day

We all know it's a silly holiday, but the women in your lives will still expect a present. Am I right? Yup...

Well I'm here to make your life easier with 10 gift ideas that are inexpensive and quick.

1) Make them a Jewelry Box - as simple as 5 walls and a lid. If you are more skilled, add some extra touches with designer knobs from Lee Valley or some drawers with individual components for their overpriced jewelry. Want to win extra points with your spouse? Include a new necklace inside... that's got to give you at least a few months worth of no cleaning duties!

The very talented Jack Belletrutti built this stunning jewellery box.

2) Turn a pen in their favourite colour and engrave their name, easy! We also have red velvet bags to put the pen in so it can get lost in their purse slightly less often...

3) Make some candle sticks! So many different options... turn, carve, drill... whatever. Set the mood with a few tea lights, cook her a lovely meal and you have survived another Valentine's Day!

Courtesy of Derek Banke

4) Make a cutting board or a serving tray...  present it with a bottle of wine and a single long stemmed rose.

Courtesy of Don Rideout

5) Build a custom picture frame... size, shape and colours combinations are endless!

Courtesy of Brandon's post from Lumber Jocks

6) What woman doesn't like jewelry.. turn a bracelet

Courtesy of Lance Besharah

7) Get a nice tasting wine and pair it with a wine stopper

Courtesy of  Alain Bélanger

8) Make a wine rack. There are so many designs in varying difficulty levels. Select their favourite colour and find a wood that matches. Chop, chop, nail, nail, polish, polish and voila! Make sure to drink the wine after the rack is completed...

Courtesy of Ryan Shillington

9) Make a jewelry holder!

Courtesy of Larry Katz

10) And last but not least.. planning to propose? Make a custom ring box. Extra tears assured...

Courtesy of Jason Trudel

Hope you enjoyed the post! If you are still looking for inspiration, have you seen our newly revamped "Inspiration" page? Check it out... we think it's pretty terrific as we have some seriously talented customers!!

Inspiration... check!

It's cold...
It's only Tuesday...
Needing some inspiration for your next project... Check!

Our website is growing and now you can get inspired by your choice of wood.

For example:
Wondering what Walnut looks like in a project? Click here
Curious what Cocobolo looks like when finished? Click here
Pondering what Padauk looks like as a possible accent wood? Click here

Ok, I'll stop - you get the idea!

Also......

We've now included "previous" and "next" buttons on our Inspiration page and our "Domestic" and "Exotic" pages so you can sit and relax, and click away.

Like what you see? We are also connected to Pinterest so you can "pin" away.

It's time to get organized

The holidays are over and the guilt has sunk in. The extra belly fat and the 'being nicer' is already on your 2014 to-do list, but what about a clean shop?

A clean shop is a safe shop! Here are some great organizational projects that will help keep your shop organized and maximize space. Your spouse will no longer be able to say, "hunny you have no room for that". In comes the new bandsaw....

1) You can take down the 2013 Maxim calendar and replace the empty space with this. Space effective and smart. Instructions and materials needed can be found on The Family Handyman's website here.

Photo courtesy of The Family Handyman

2) Tray for holding your blades. Rockler has already done a great post on how to build one. Click here for the direct link.

Photo courtesy of Rockler

3) Don't want to ruin your nice work bench? This is a great idea to prevent glue/paint/finish spills.. here is a direct link to an article on Wood Magazine for how to make it.

Photo courtesy of Wood Magazine

4) Tired of tripping on wires? Take a few minutes and build this.... great idea!

Tip found on Wood Magazine

If you’re tired of tripping over extension cords and accidentally kicking them loose from the outlet, hang ’em high using the simple suspension cable shown. When you’re done for the day, the whole cord system slides back against the wall.

Begin by driving two screw eyes into a ceiling joist to hold the clothesline. Fasten the clothesline to one screw eye, slip the metal shower curtain rings over it, and attach the other end to the other screw eye. Space the rings along the clothesline as shown, slip the extension cord through the rings, and secure the cord to them with wire ties.

—Buck Nall, Alma, Ga.

Photo courtesy of Wood Magazine

5) Penturners - organize your bushings in a dollar store plastic tray. A $1.00 investment is well worth the headaches of losing/misplacing bushings.

6) Do you constantly trip over wood you forgot you already own? Keep it organized with a multiple compartment, rolling cart. I found this genius idea at Shop Notes, here's the link.

7) It's simple, but it's smart. Picture says it all.

8) Ever lose a sock? Perfect. You have just built a "safety glasses organizer". Now the only way it will work, is if you actually use it.... you'll be surprised what you can actually see when your glasses aren't covered in sawdust.

9) A quick trip to Walmart and you are all set to keep your sandpaper organized. And when you have outgrown that method, the 2nd option will ensure you stay organized. Here is the link to Lumberjocks website for the instructions and materials needed.

Photo courtesy of Lumberjocks

10) Does your spouse enjoy cooking?

Last tip: Print out all your favourite *complicated* recipes and put them in a binder. Keep it unlabelled, but in a safe and memorable spot. When your spouse enters your workshop and gives you a "honey-do" project, remove a recipe from your binder and make a deal. Win/win for everyone!

Hope you enjoyed todays post!

FREE Upcoming Event - Woodturning Workshop at our store

When: Saturday, March 1st
Where: KJP Select Hardwoods 

Details:
There will be multiple workshops running throughout the day led by Bart Poulter. These workshops are meant for beginners and intermediate turners. There will also be mentors available to answer questions as well.

Topics may include:
- Introduction to woodturning
- Safety in woodturning
- Pen Making
- Finishing
- Turning Bowls
- Sharpening
- Wood preparation
- Making pepper mills

Any requests? We will be finalizing the schedule in the next few weeks. Make sure to mark this day in the calendar. It's an event not to be missed!