Something Completely Different: My Woodworking Projects Plus a Review of Unicorn Spit

Over the years, I've mentioned a few different times on the blog that I like to dabble in woodworking.  My "shop" resides in the back of my garage so my woodworking days are limited to warm weather (when our cars can be parked outside).  Thus, my prime time for shop work is during the summer months and this year, for once, I made good use of that time.

For starters, I completed a rather quick shelf for some of my board games.  I also completed a hanging shelf for above my TV in the man cave and another hanging shelf for more of my LEGO minifigure collection (I may show off that shelf on my LEGO blog at some point in the future).  For today though, I wanted to show off another type of project that I've begun to get into:  scrollsawing.

I acquired a new scroll saw a couple of years ago but last summer was the first time I actually was able to use it (I used it to help make a toy box / bookshelf combo for my son).  This summer, I decided to try and learn how to better use the saw and what better way to practice than to make wooden puzzles?  

For starters, I decided to make my son a wooden Stegosaurus puzzle.  

My son is only a bit over 2 years old so I figured this would be a nice challenge for him but I was wrong!  He quickly figured out how to solve the puzzle and then decided it was more fun to solve it upside down (or solve it "tricky way" as he calls it).  The good news is that for a good solid couple of weeks he'd spend quite a bit of time putting the puzzle together, taking it back apart, reassembling it, etc.  I'm sure that by now he's played with it for much, much longer than it took me to cut (and paint) it.  That's a win in my book!

Speaking of winning, I feel compelled to point out that the nice paint that I used was something called Unicorn Spit.  

Besides having a funny, yet memorable, name, Unicorn Spit is kind of an all-purpose paint and stain (you can dilute the paint with water to use it as a stain instead).  I haven't tried staining anything with it yet but I can say that I love the paint!  The only thing worth mentioning with regards to Unicorn Spit is that you definitely need to put some sort of protective covering over the paint - I used polyurethane.  The colors are super bright and vibrant and the paint is easy to clean up since you can simply use water.  The only downside to the paint is the cost - bottles will run you close to $10 each for the big ones but it should be noted that a little bit of the paint goes a long, long way!

With the success of my first puzzle behind me, I decided to try and up my game even more by making a puzzle for my nephew who turned three last weekend.  We were invited to a party for him so I knew I wanted to try and make something that he'd be into...and there was really only one option:  Big Construction Equipment.

I decided to go ahead and create an excavator for him, and if I do say so myself, I think it turned out quite well.  I probably shouldn't have painted the little top piece white but I wanted to have a bit more color variation to help him with solving the puzzle (I felt like there were too many yellow pieces).  That's a minor nitpick though, overall I'm pleased with how this one turned out.

I'll probably never be confused with a professional woodworker but it's still a fun hobby for me.  It's definitely fun to make handmade gifts that I know recipients will love - and you better believe that I'm already planning a more difficult dinosaur themed puzzle for my son.  He's super into doing puzzles now (and he was bummed that I gave away the construction truck to his cousin)!  

Who knows, perhaps before the year is out (or at least before cold weather gets here) I'll have some more woodworking projects to show off!