New patterns- cockatoo and Maltese

New patterns- sphynx cat, vizsla, and hummingbird

In memory..

I raised Griffon- the first kitty I ever owned- from a tiny sickly runt kitten. He was my buddy, and I have always regretted that he stayed with my ex when we split up (I thought it was better for the other cat in the household to keep a cat friend around, but I still missed my fuzzy guy). About a year ago I ran into my ex and found out that Griffon-kitty had passed away a while before.

I was going through old photos a couple of weeks ago and found the perfect (purrfect?) picture of Griffon as an adorable gangly kitten, and I decided it was time to do a papercutting inspired by him. So after all this time, here is the Griffie pattern..

First cut- new Cockapoo, Barred Owl, and Cat patterns

Cypress knee carving

I had ordered a batch of cypress tips (small cypress knees, around 4-6 inches tall) from ebay and they arrived yesterday, so I took some time off the mirror frame to carve a little cypress guy. Very happy with how he turned out!!

Flower mirror frame

I started working on a new mirror frame. This one is all in one piece and will hold an oval mirror. It has three flowers on each side with leaves surrounding them and a curled piece holding the flower sections together. I will post pics as soon as it looks semi-recognizable.. :)

Pearwood flowers- pin and pendant

I have been working two pearwood pieces that I would like to make into jewelry- a flower with 2 leaves for a pendant and a flower with 4 leaves for a pin. Pearwood is ideal for small detailed pieces like these since it is a neat pinky-brown color, a bit harder than the basswood or butternut that I usually use, and has minimal visible grain. I am working with some old pearwood pen blanks that I have had for years- I can't seem to find this species of pearwood for carving any more, so once these are gone that will be it.

Here are pics of the two pieces in progress. The pendant is almost done- just needs some sanding and for me to figure out how to attach the ring.. :) The pin needs a bit more carving on the leaves, and sanding on the whole.