Letters & Numbers

By Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow

 

 

 

 

A few Blogs ago I talked about some products we have at Walnut Hollow and the differences and similarities. I thought I would do that again – this time with our Letters & Numbers.  Because people have always liked to personalize craft projects and individual letters and numbers are so popular – they are all over Pinterest – it might be a good idea to show you what is available. We have 3 different sizes.

Let’s begin with the smallest. They are 1 ½” and are laser cut. They are thin (.15”), made from plywood and come 2 in a package with edges that are brownish because of the way they are cut.  We have the alphabet, numbers 0-9, an ampersand and a punctuation package with bars, commas, period and asterisks.

I like that they are on the small size and fit perfectly on our Rustic Pallet items. Here, I used them for a quote by the fictional character in The Help, Aibileen Clark.

These are our 5” letters. They are made from pine and are ¾” thick – so they will stand on a flat surface.  We have the alphabet and ampersand in this size. They are perfect for painting, staining, decoupage, glitter, buttons, wood burning, stamping and adding other embellishments.

This is a great project made with the 5” letter and a Wood Panel (we used the reversed side that is like a frame) for Ethan’s Room – you can tell that he loves cars!

The third set of letters are 18”. They are made from Baltic Birch and are ½” thick. Each letter includes one or two keyholes so they can hang flush on a wall. We have the alphabet and ampersand in this size also – perfect for personalized home décor, wedding décor and fun mixed media projects.

I sprayed these 18” letters with Krylon® Chalkboard Spray and decorated them with the Marvy/Uchida® Bistro Chalk Markers. They were fun and easy to make and Sara and Kenny loved them in their home.

Hope that helps to clarify any questions about our Letters & Numbers – they are all great to use for your crafting and Pinterest projects!

 

 

 

 

Basswood Canvas vs. Wood Panels

Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow

Thinking that we should talk about specific Walnut Hollow products now and again, I decided it would be a good idea to discuss the differences between 2 products we manufacture – Basswood Canvas and Wood Panels.

They look quite similar if you see them in a photo or even on a shelf in a craft store.

However, they are actually very different. I don’t really have a favorite, I just choose one over the other depending on what I am creating.

 

Let’s start with the Wood Panels. They are made from top-quality Baltic Birch and are cradled with a ¾” pine wood frame. They are sanded smooth and the Panels won’t flex, stretch or warp.

I enjoy creating on the front side. They can be treated just like any wood plaque – here are a few samples:

Ellaweese (that’s the birds name!) was perfect for the Panel and since the Panel is smooth it was so easy to paint on. I used acrylics, but oils, encaustics, mists or any type of paints work very well on the Panel surface. You can also decoupage, stamp, create mixed media pieces, etc. The other Wood Panel was created like a scrapbook page. I always think that scrapbook pages inside of an album won’t be seen often. It’s fun to put something that you would secure in a closed album up on the wall instead.

The reverse side of the Wood Panel is also great to use. The way that the cradle pieces are positioned to support the Balitic Birch, meitered corners are created and look like a frame. The recessed area allows for lots of creativity. The Friends Forever project made a perfect frame for photos of young girlfriends. The “Life is too short” project was created with ICE Resin and the inside area was perfect to hold the liquid ICE Resin until it dried to a beautiful finish.

As for the Basswood Canvas pieces, the high-quality surfaces are ideal for fine art, encaustic art, fiber & paper collage, wood burning, wood carving and much more. Each Canvas is made from ¼” premium Basswood, cradled by a 1 ½” pine wood frame. The smooth surface is archival quality with no pitch or grain to interfere with techniques and will not flex, stretch or warp.

Whether you are creating a project with Elizabeth Crafts Peel-Offs (Cherries) or wood burning as in the Zentangle-inspired piece, the surface is wonderful for many techniques: oil painting, paper crafting, wood burning, wood carving, encaustic art – or drill a hole in the center and make a clock!

Marie Browning, a wonderful friend and designer, created this project by using the reversed side of a Basswood Canvas. It became a shadow box ready to hold a photo and many beautiful embellishments.

There are a couple of similarities with the products. Both the Basswood Canvas and Wood Panels are reversible and can be used with or without a frame. Both styles come in rectangle and square shapes. Another great feature is that they are easy to hang flush to the wall. And finally, they are Made in America – just like all of our fine wood products.

So, what would you like to use – a Basswood Canvas or a Wood Panel? Do you have a favorite?

 

 

 

 

 

Memory Album Ideas

Just last weekend I was wondering what I was going to do with some old photos I have. I would like to keep them together by year or event so decided that I would create some Memory Albums to keep the photos organized and available for future generations!

I like that the Album comes with the hardware inside the packaging. You get the hinges, screws, posts and even a couple of extensions for the posts to use as your Album grows in size. It’s easier to paint, stain or add paper before the hinges are attached.

I was thinking about ways to decorate the Album covers and was reminded of the various pieces I have created over the past several years with different themes.

Here’s an idea of a very simple cover that is just stained. I added 1 ½” wood letters to spell a family name and adhered the letters to the cover.

This cover is stained, but I used a cute BasicGrey paper and I “fussy cut” the dogs. The spine of the album cover is rubber stamped with a dog paw image. I made this for a friend who has a dog named Jackson. I think everyone takes photos of their pets and the Album makes a great place to keep them all together!

I love Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and that’s what I used for this cover. It’s so easy to mist directly onto the cover – just let it dry and you’re ready to add the embellishments. These embellishments were from a BasicGrey sticker sheet. Fun, fast and easy, right?

One of our co-workers made this Album for her granddaughter. After basecoating the cover with an acrylic paint to match the papers she planned to use inside, she added a cute photo of her granddaughter right on the cover.  More cuts of paper were added to create the theme for what was come inside.

A friend was going on a well-deserved and well-planned vacation to various European countries. I thought this BasicGrey paper filled with folk art style flowers was perfect for the cover and pages inside for her trip.

Since I’m a quilter, I thought it would be fun to cut scrapbook papers into the same type of cut shapes that are used for fabrics to make quilt blocks.  A 12” x 12”paper pad from Pink Paislee® was just right because all the papers coordinate.  Instead of sewing, I just glued the papers down in a traditional quilt block design and used a black pen to “hand stitch” around each section. Just the right look to keep photos of quilts that I make.

So, now it’s time to design new covers for all the photos I have! And maybe I’ve inspired you to think about a Memory Album gift you can make for your friend or for yourself.  It’s nice that they are so easy to make.