Tuesday 15 March 2022

New direction blog

 I have started a new blog.  Is it about scrollsawing?  No!

For a while now I have been home educating and I have just started a blog all about home education or home school. 

Why not pop over and have a look and say hello at Stray Mum 

Tuesday 1 December 2015

Scroll Saw Design - You are the Stars

Hello again, been another cold and wet day here.  Not sure if anybody reading this blog actually uses the scroll saw or not but I just thought that it would be nice to share one of my patterns with you.  I make a lot of different scroll saw patterns both for my own use and for other scroller's.  This particular pattern was made to share with some fellow scroller's in a group on Facebook.

Feel free to use it, but I do have a stipulation that my patterns are not cut using either a laser cutter or CNC cutter.  Happy cutting.





Thursday 26 November 2015

New Design Finished

Good morning, woke up at silly o'clock today, 4.20am, but on the plus side got a fair amount of the boring things done - ironing which is not one of my favourite jobs.   I am pleased to say that yesterday was a very productive day in that I completed a design and got some cutting done using
some of the new wood. One of the main new designs that I cut was some Wine Butlers. They make a great gift for anyone who drinks wine and are a beautiful addition to any bar, table, dining room, or kitchen! It will hold one bottle and 2 glasses.

Today I have some sanding and finishing of a couple of other projects that I have been working on.  Have a few new ideas rattling around for projects but need to get some ideas down on paper.  Yes I usually put my designs down on paper first before transferring the idea to the computer. I also have to go to the Post Office, hoping there isn't a mile long queue like on Monday.  Have a good day everyone.

Pop over and have a look at my Facebook page if you get a chance ATScrollin

Monday 23 November 2015

Harrogate Woodworking Show 2015

This last weekend I was lucky enough to take a trip to the Harrogate Woodworking Shop with Hubby.  The North of England Woodworking & Power Tool Show is the largest and longest established woodworking and power tool show in the Country.  The show was an excellent day out with over 30 demonstrators taking part, plus a woodworking clinic, and more than 70 companies exhibiting.



The range and diversity of demonstrations was fantastic as was the range of tools to buy.  Personally I was very excited to visit the stands selling wood and I was not disappointed.  There was a wide selection of different species, though a little thin on the ground if looking for thin wood, i.e. 6mm though I did pick up a few good lengths of different types in this thickness.  It was interesting to see the vast range of tools and accessories that were on offer.

I am very excited because I was able to pick up some lovely wood at the show.  Walnut, Holly, Elm and French Cherry - did I mention that I am excited!!!  Lots of different ideas about what to make with this gorgeous wood.

To see some more photos pop over to my Facebook page:ATScrollin on Facebook



Thursday 22 January 2015

Finished Design

Last week I wrote a post about a new design and then me being me forgot to write another post once I had finished it until now.  This design is slightly different because I have used a few different ideas for it.  I cut the heart from 6mm Obeche wood using the scroll saw, sanded it and danish oiled the piece.  Around the sides of the heart are some 'bling' red circles.  I had thought about cutting circles into the heart but decided I would try this way and I like the result.  For the backer I have used three different coloured cards and finally I mounted it all into a box frame.


I called the piece Valentine Rose and it can also be found on my Facebook page ATScrollin  I like to cut new designs all the time and add different finishes and embellishments to pieces.  I seem to have so many ideas but sadly not enough hours in the day.  Today again I have started something I don't often do which is painting a piece so please do check back soon to see it.

Tuesday 13 January 2015

New Design

Good Morning everyone and welcome to some more ramblings.  Today is all about planning which wood to use for a new design I want to cut.  I have been trying to decide whether to use a light wood or a dark wood for a couple of days for this new piece and still unsure.  May just have to cut the design out in both and then decide.

Have sourced everything that I need for this new design and now it is just a matter of making a start as I would love to have it finished by the end of the week to be able to share with you all.  In the meantime I have lots of new Valentine's Day and Easter MDF craft blank shapes ready over at ATScrollin


Hope you all have a good and productive day. 


Monday 5 January 2015

Monday's - love them or hate them?

I know it is Monday and that a lot of people seem to grumble about them but to me I have always looked at Mondays as a fresh start. A new week. A new beginning.  I have a long list of things to accomplish today and it will be amazing if I make it to the end.   I always think  that if I did every accomplish everything on my every growing list and achieve all my goals then I must be setting them too low.

Up to now I have done the boring things like paper work, tidying the house and sanding some cut items.  Jobs for this afternoon include setting up some valentine craft shapes ready to be cut.  For cutting MDF craft shapes on a scroll saw this means taking a large sheet of MDF and cutting it on the table saw to the size of the pattern for each item that will be cut.  Then I tape each with masking tape, print out all the patterns that I will need, glue on the pattern before finally starting to cut the shape on my scroll saw.  If I am working with hardwoods then I will also have to plane the piece of wood to the thickness required and sand it smooth before beginning.  To see some of the new Valentine's craft shape blanks pop over to my facebook page ATScrollin, and here is a little peek.

ATScrollin Valentine's craft shape blanks
small selection of Valentine craft shape blanks

So that’s whats on the agenda for me today, (besides the other stuff that I didn’t do yesterday!) I guess I have a full plate! I also have to leave some time to look around here, Facebook and other social networking sites so I can see what all my friends are up to. Pleased that I can type fast!
All in all it is shaping up to be a good day.

Saturday 3 January 2015

First Blog Post: Painting MDF

I decided that for the New Year I would start to write a blog.  Now I haven't made any New Years resolutions to write every day as to me that would be a waste of time as I generally never stick to them past the first week.  I run ATScrollin which makes wooden gifts and crafts as well as supplying MDF craft shapes and letters for others to decorate.  I make everything by hand using a scroll saw. I wanted my first post to be a tutorial or some useful information to kick start the blog. 


I am often asked the question: 'What is the best way to paint MDF?'   Here is my reply:

** PAINTING MDF **
The best way to get a really smooth finish is to spray MDF otherwise use a foam roller.
Sand edges, if very rough you can paint them with a dilute Polyfilla mix. (All my product come ready sanded)
I only very lightly sand the face of the board

1. coat with MDF primer,  although a standard PVA glue mixed 2 parts PVA to 1 part water does the same job.

2. coat quick drying primer/undercoat

3 coat same as above  if required

THE IMPORTANT BIT IS TO Sand using wet wet and dry paper 250 grit down to 400 grit between each coat.
Top coat of choice
This is the best way I have found to paint MDF products to get the best finish. Hope this is of some help and let me know how you go about painting MDF and hopefully help some people out.

I hope you will all enjoy reading my blog and may even gain some inspiration.

Angela x