ANRI Mouse

ANRI Mouse

Mar 18

Here’s another great piece from Arlene and the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. This ANRI Mouse came in with its bottom jaw missing . This is usually caused by people’s misconception that the nut gets cracked in the mouth rather than in the back in the space provided under the lever. I see a lot of pieces with this type of damage. He also had a chip out of its right ear and the pin needed replaced.

I have never seen an ANRI Mouse before so I was happy to have this one in the shop. I enjoyed fixing him up so he can be put back out on display at the museum.

Here are a few before and after pictures. Click on the images to see a larger version of them.

 

 

ANRI Mouse

 

 

ANRI Mouse

More great pieces to come soon.

—– Brandon

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This is a 19th century walnut nutcracker originally made in Switzerland.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

 

MAN WITH MUSTACHE
BEFORE
MAN WITH MUSTACHE

AFTER

 

MAN WITH MUSTACHE

FRONT

 

More great pieces to come soon.

—– Brandon

Squirrel gets a nut

Squirrel gets a nut

Jan 13

Arlene Wagner from the Nutcracker Museum brought a few pieces to the 2013 Nutcracker Collector Club Convention to be repaired.

This nice little Squirrel Nutcracker features an adjustable lever and finely detailed markings all over. It was missing its head and the pin was varnished solid in place removing the ability to adjust it. I restored the piece’s functionality, gave this little guy a new head, and took the liberty to add a nut to the design. It’s the least I could do for this little guy after all he’s been through.

As always, be sure to click on the images for a larger view.

 

Squirrel Nutcracker (before)

Squirrel Nutcracker missing his little head

 

Squirrel Nutcracker (after)

Squirrel Nutcracker gets a nut

 

Squirrel details

Beautiful markings

 

Stay tuned for more great pieces from Arlene.

—– Brandon

2014 is here!

2014 is here!

Jan 01
Etto Brewing Co.

Etto Brewing Co. Pint Glass

Happy New Year everyone!

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

I’m looking forward to 2014 being a busy and productive new year. I’ve got lots of ideas and things in the works out in the shop.

Be sure to raise a pint with me and bid 2013 a well deserved farewell.

—– Brandon

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Dec 25

Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this blog post finds you well.

As promised here are some pictures of this year’s decorations.

Missy loves Christmas and does a fantastic job of getting the house ready for our families to come by, feast on all kinds of goodies, open gifts, and enjoy Christmas as much as we do.

As always, click on the images for a larger view.

 

Upper Foyer Decorations

Upper Foyer Decorations

 

Lower Foyer Decorations

Lower Foyer Decorations

 

Basement Tree

Basement Tree

 

Dining Room Tree

Dining Room Tree

 

Decorated Mantle

Mantle all decorated

 

Animated Mirror

Animated mirror themed for Christmas

 

Nutcrackers

Our nutcrackers on display

 

Snail Nutcracker

Sneak peek at the Snail Nutcracker that will be for sale soon

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and enjoyed a small glimpse into our holiday home.

 

—– Brandon