Mustache Repair

Mustache Repair

Jan 25

Here’s another great piece Arlene Wagner brought from the Nutcracker Museum to the 2013 Nutcracker Collector Club Convention to be repaired.

This is a 19th century walnut nutcracker originally made in Switzerland.

It came in missing part of the mustache and had a wood grain crack back by the hinge. The repairs are seamless and the piece came out great.

I was very impressed with this piece. It is a high quality well carved piece with a lot of great details. You can see this piece in person along with many others at the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum located in Leavenworth Washington.

 

Snail Nutcracker – Concept to reality

Snail Nutcracker – Concept to reality

Jun 29

A few posts back I posted pictures of an idea I had for a Snail Nutcracker that I sculpted in clay. I carved him out of Black Walnut and it came out great!

This piece was a huge hit at the 2013 Nutcracker Collector’s Convention. I’m proud to report that the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum curator, Arlene Wagner, bought it at the convention’s auction to be put on display at the museum and enjoyed by all who visit the museum.

I will be posting more on the 2013 Nutcracker Collector’s Convention soon. Stay tuned!

 

The New Seahorse is Done

The New Seahorse is Done

Jun 03

The Modern Masters Metal Effects paint line is nothing short of incredible. It’s simple. You lay down one coat, let it dry, lay on another coat, spritz it with the patina solution while it’s still wet, grab a beer, and let the patina do its thing. I let my pieces sit overnight to make sure the patina is done doing its thing and the piece is fully dry. That’s it. No top coat needed unless you are using the rust effect. The rust one needs sealed to stop the rust and keep it from discoloring surrounding parts-n-pieces.

The copper with green patina effect was perfect for this test piece. I have a ton of ideas now for the Modern Masters paints. Keep coming back to see what I come up with next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working on a new seahorse

Working on a new seahorse

May 30

I carved this seahorse to test out the Modern Masters Metal paint line. This is their copper paint with the green patina solution applied. This paint actually contains copper that is aged by the patina solution within minutes. Their metal line also includes bronze that can be blue or green aged and steel that can be rusted. It takes a lot for me to get excited about paint. Modern Masters is just plain hands down awesome and opens up a lot of possibilities.

The seahorse is going to be a decorative piece with a carved shell base that will be painted and aged to match. Tons of detail on this one. Keep posted to see this one done soon.

Skull Nutcracker Listed On Etsy

Skull Nutcracker Listed On Etsy

Nov 19

I just listed a Skull Nutcracker on Etsy.  It is the second of Brandon’s new Skull design and it is numbered and signed by Brandon.    The Skull Nutcracker turned out beautifully.  Here are a couple pictures of it…

If you want to see a few more pictures check out the Etsy listing.

We are building our Etsy Store and will be listing our original items on Etsy as much as possible.  The fees are much lower on Etsy (3.9%)  than Ebay (9%).   Ebay’s fees are almost laughable anymore.  My least favorite is the “Final Value Fee on Shipping”.  I haven’t yet figured out why they are putting a fee on my shipping costs when they are not providing me with any real shipping services.  I have read  they began adding this fee because buyers love the Free Shipping option and this way more sellers would offer free shipping.  However, free shipping isn’t really a feasible option when shipping overseas and you charge actual shipping to the winning bidder.  Shipping is already a big enough expense and I just think it is greedy and wrong for Ebay to be adding to the millions they make by adding this ridiculous fee.

If you are not familiar with the Etsy check it out.

The New Skull Nutcracker Design

The New Skull Nutcracker Design

Oct 28

Brandon has redesigned his Skull Nutcracker.   When he first discovered figural nutcrackers on the internet and in books he set out and made his first designs without seeing an example in person.   After we acquired a few vintage nutcrackers and after seeing other peoples collections,  Brandon decided to recreate the Skull Nutcracker to be more delicate and more in scale with the vintage figural nutcrackers.   The new version is approximately 7 inches tall .  The old version was quite a bit larger at 8 inches tall.

Here is a picture of the old version and the new version for comparison.

Here are some pictures showing the detail of the new Skull Nutcracker……

Brandon also created the coffin shaped stand for this nutcracker.  The Skull Nutcracker is the first of the new design and is signed and numbered #1.  It is currently listed on Ebay.   This would make a nice Halloween addition to any collection!