What's New
Here I will try to keep you updated with current stuff that is going on at Wood, Glass & More and Frosty Acorn Acres™.
New Or Exciting Stuff
12/17/2022
Well, what can I say, 2022 has not gone anything like what I had
invisioned. It's been a rough year. I am not going to church it up, 2022
has been crappy and sucks ass for many reasons, at least in my world.
In late January I lost a nephew, he was only a teenager. This has been
very hard on me to say the least. RIP little buddy. To my sister and her
family, there are better days just over the horizon. I digress.
For those of you that visit my site to follow along with current
happenings already know that the WG&M show booth did not make it back
out on the road this year. Due to a
variety of circumstances I was not able to hold up my end of the
bargain. I make no excuses and apologize for any disappointment I may
have caused all of you. At this time I am not sure if I will be able to
do any shows in 2023, although I really want to. I will let you know how
things start to unfold along the way.
If you had said to me that business was going to be slow and spotty in
2022 I probably would have disagreed, but you would have been correct. I
have had only a few small commissioned projects so far. Back in May I
was commissioned to design and make an outdoor sign for a veterinarian
in Hinckley, MN. Nothing fancy, just a simple v-carved signed. I did
make a short video of the machining process which can be viewed on the
VLOG page.
With things being slow I chose to seek employment to supplement cash
flow. I took a part-time production position at a cidery that makes hard
cider. It has been very interesting and educational. The extra cash was
welcomed but it takes a lot of time away from getting stuff handled with
my business.
A few weeks ago I was able to get away for a much overdue long weekend.
I visited Duluth, MN and had an absolutely wonderful time. There was a
lot going on to see and do. While touring all the great activities and
sights, I met some fun and interesting people. The highlight for me was
this beautiful young woman which had the loveliest smile. We chit
chatted a bit and I really enjoyed her company, then I had to leave
wanting more. She gave me new found inspiration and has
changed my life for ever. It was like taking in a deep breath of fresh
air while watching a spectacular sunrise.
A few years ago I had some projects I was making to take to a road show,
they were completed except for the laquer top coat. I was about done
with the second coat
when I ran out of laquer and had to get more. The new laquer turned out
to be defective some how and all five projects were ruined, so I had
thought at the time. I felt many emotions and set them aside under the
bench until now. I decided to have a look and figure out a way to
salvage them, which I was able to do. I stripped them back down to bare
wood and started the finishing process all over from scratch. They
turned out really well considering. The projects mentioned are two
versions each of "Dad's Garage" and "Today's Special" (menu sign) and
one "Santa's List" v-2.0. You can see them on either the
Premade Projects or
Portfolio pages.
So, about the redesigned overhauled website coming next year. I am
pretty excited about this. It has taken much longer than I had expected
to get to this point. I have had to teach myself some new coding to
implement a few of the upgrades. Javascript and PHP has been an extreme
learning curve, at least for me. As of current I don't have an exact
date for the relaunch but it will be done in multiple stages. The first
stage will include a total layout change to a single column design. This
will provide an overall much better UX (user experience) on small mobile
devices. No more distorted images and improved location of navigational
links on smaller screen sizes.
Other stage one improvements include, thumbnailed image links will open
in a slideshow type viewer and Premade Project listings will have
detailed descriptions available. Another significant change has to do
with the content. Anyone who has actually taken the time to read through
my entire site (my best guess is nobody) has probably been bored out of
their skull. There is a lot of stuff that doesn't need to be posted, so
I am cutting out most if not all of what I call "fluff".
A few stage two upgrades will be, a Secure Registration, Log In,
Shopping Cart and Payment Processing pages. Stage two upgrades are bit
in the future yet because I have several options available. Once I make
an official decision on these options I will share that information and
provide you with a timeline of the events.
Well folks, that all for now.
Have A Very Merry Christmas!!!
1/23/2022
For those who are regulars to my website, you may have already
noticed a few subtle changes. Since the last update I was able to make a
couple of small improvements on the Portfolio and
Sample Images pages. I am still working
on the slideshow viewer part of it, which is coming along, just
slower than I expected.
I was also able to finish work on three new clipart designs, a single
hop bud and two versions of a beer stein. Visit the
Sample Images page to check them out!
1/10/2022
Wow, there is so much to talk about. Where do I start? It feels like 2021
has just blown right by at the speed of light. I want to let everyone
know that I plan on going back out on the road this year with the Wood,
Glass & More show booth, attending a few events. Visit the
Upcoming Events page for dates and
details.
For several months now I have been exploring the world of Airbrush
Painting. After much research and contemplation I purchased some
airbrush equipment. I am filled with excitement, ready to begin
practicing the art and hone my skills. If I am able to use this tool the
way I have invisioned, it will become a new service available to all my
clients and customers. This tool will also provide capabilities of which
I have only begun to imagine. I personally think it has great potential
that will add an entirely new dimension to many projects.
I have been so busy the past eight months with a wide variety
of projects and activities, both personal and business related. I
have yet to fully accomplish two important tasks and goals that
got moved to the back burner. They are, adding insulation and heat to
areas of the Frosty Acorn Acres™ work shop and upgrading the
Wood, Glass & More website with some sort of
slideshow viewer for images. Quite frankly with the way 2022 is already
starting out I am not sure how things will play out, but I am working on
a plan. I need to finish some clipart and design layouts as well. Also,
if possible, I would somehow like to carve out a little time to make
some videos for the VLOG page. Wish me luck, I
might need it.
I
could go on and on but I won't. I wish everyone a safe, healthy and bountiful 2022!
6/22/2021
I have been busy the past few months. I did manage to find some time to design a few pieces of new clipart and a camping sign. They can be viewed on the Sample Images page. Earlier this year I completed a sign for a local bowling alley. I have an image of it on the Portfolio page under the signage heading. Last April I was commissioned by a well known and established sign shop down the road about 35 miles or so to machine a large sign in a 4' x 8' x 3" sheet of HDU. It turned out great. I have two photos of it on the Portfolio page, under "signage".
4/13/2021
Hey folks, sorry it has been soooo long since I have updated my
website. What a screwed up year 2020 was. I hope 2021 is better, and so
far, at least for me, it has been a little bit.
Well over the past year or so I have educated myself on a variety of
subjects, in particular is website design and development. In my spare
time, which by the way I never seem to have any, I have been attempting
to apply this new knowledge by working on a new website that will
replace this one. The new site will have better features for mobile
friendlyness and devices that have smaller screens than the average
laptop or PC. I will be making improvements so images can be viewed via
some sort of slideshow window and hopefully I will be able to add
ecommerce at some point. No promises as of yet on when these changes
will be implemented as I still have much work to do.
1/17/2020
Even though it is slightly late let me start by saying Happy New
Year!! to one and all. I hope that 2020 brings good things to everyone.
It has been a while since I checked in with my people, sorry for that.
Good news, I am officially caught up with the back log that resulted
from the CNC Router issues that took place last year, YEA!!!!!
I am currently working on two large commissioned projects and have a
potential third one brewing that is still in the very early stages of
discussion. If it gets approval I will be busy with these well into
spring.
I also want to mention that I am taking some time off this season from
doing craft/vendor fairs and shows with my Wood, Glass & More show
booth. This is only temporary though. My current plan is for just the
2020 season. I will inform everyone of any changes to this, so please
check back with me occasionally. Part of the reason for the break from
doing road shows is that I am working on some designs and building several
projects for my house.
10/3/2019
I have some good news, after a long painful summer the CNC Router
issues have been resolved, as of mid September the machine is fully
operational. Production has resumed and projects are being machined and
completed. Please note, there is a back log of projects that I am
working through. I had been taking new orders through the down time and
will continue to take new orders going forward, however, be advised that
all orders received after September 20, 2019 have been placed on a wait
list.
Your continued support, patience and understanding is greatly
appreciated. Thank you for believing in and sticking with me through
these trying times. I will keep everyone informed and updated as things
move forward.
8/2/2019
It has been a long time since I posted any updates, new projects or
images and there is a good reason for that. Over the past several months
I have been very busy with all sorts of different tasks and activities.
One of which has been challenging, and at certain moments somewhat
frustrating to say the least. I have fallen victim to shop equipment
troubles in the form of hardware and software issues related to the CNC
Router. It kind of just happened unexpectedly and is taking a lot more
time to resolve than originally anticipated. So naturally I now have a
back log of projects in limbo. The good news is I am very close to
getting the machine back to a "fully operational" status. Currently the
machine is functional, however there are still a few bugs to get worked
out.
I want to thank all the folks waiting on projects for being so
understanding and patient during this process. Believe me, simular as to
you, I don't much like this situation either but progress is being made.
4/29/2019
Today I am adding a few images to the Sample Images page of some new clipart designs that I have just completed, along with a sign layout "Dad's Garage". The new clipart includes a spark plug, rachet, socket, combination wrench and a piston and rod assembly. Four of the new clipart designs are utilized as part of the overall layout for the "Dad's Garage" sign. This sign is a great example of how you could use the Template Based option to create a custom or personalized sign for your family or friend.
4/11/2019
The other day I put together a short introduction video for this
website, it is located on my VLOG page.
Over the past few weeks I have been able to complete several new clipart
designs, which are, a holly sprig, a straw, an umbrella, a pineapple
glass and a skeleton style key to my heart. The "key to my heart" is the
first version in a series of variations I am doing for this design. I
put together a design layout creating a "Pineapple-Umbrella Drink",
using, you guessed it, the straw, umbrella and pineapple glass clipart.
I have made some changes to "Santa's Naughty/Nice List" creating a
couple of new versions that are now available to choose from. Some
changes I made are, removing the lower scroll and adding the holly sprig
clipart and including an option for changing the text "naughty/nice" to
"present/coal". With these design updates it gives you a few more
options to choose from when using the "Template Based Projects" option.
The previously mentioned clipart and designs can be viewed on the
Sample Images page.
3/14/2019
Well this website is brand new and very exciting for me. I almost can't believe it, I actually did it, this website is up and running. I put in many hours and late nights. It has been quite the journey for me. When I took on this task I was truly clueless as to what I had got myself into. My ship most definitely sailed some rough and scary, uncharted waters with this project. Wow! What a learning experience this has been and it's not over yet by a long shot. I hope you find my website to be informative and helpful.