Craft a Prairie Schooner Mail Box

      Can lids for wheels, and four cut-outs of horses hitched to one end give this rural mailbox the novel appearance of a prairie schooner. The box is mounted on two wood blocks, which are supported by a 1 by 6-in. board nailed to the top of a post, the wheels being pivoted on nails driven into the bottom of the box. Horses, tongue and doubletrees are 1/4-inch wood, while the harness is strips of leather. The assembly is painted in appropriate color's.

• Design colorful, artistic mailboxes!
• Mission styled mailboxes
• Sherwood creative mailbox toppers

6 Different Decorative Doorbell Plates to Craft

Click to see a much larger image.

      If you have a flush- type doorbell push button which guests find hard to locate, especially in the dark, an ornamental cutout placed around it will overcome the trouble and add a novel touch to the doorway. Several designs of cutouts for this purpose are shown here as suggestions, or you can make one to suit your own fancy. You can use just one piece of metal, or you can obtain contrast by mounting the cut-out on a plate of different metal, as for instance aluminum or brass over copper or iron painted black. Simple silhouettes in hammered iron, painted black, are very effective against , light-colored surfaces. The work can be done with a hand coping saw or on a power scroll saw. All edges and corners of the plate are carefully rounded with a file before starting on the paint job, or in the case of brass or copper, you polish the metal first and then apply a coat of clear lacquer. 

• Doorbell cover from NikkiDanielDesigns - love it.
• Miss Molly's Mosaic Doorbell Covers

Craft a Mexican Powder Box

       Concealing a supply of face powder in his rotund body and a lipstick in his sombrero, the colorful gentleman shown in the picture will prove a favorite on any dressing table. The lid and box are turned separately on the faceplate, turning out the inside of each and rabbeting the edges to fit together snugly. Then the two pieces are placed together and mounted between lathe centers to shape the outside.

      The lipstick forming the crown of the hat should fit loosely in a hole at the top so that it may be removed easily. Allow it to project about 1/2 inch above the top. The base is notched at the front and back to simulate feet. The inside should be sanded smoothly and shellacked. 

• Crochet a lipstick or lip balm cozy
• Pop Art chapstick holder

Craft a Toy Animal Box With Moving Facial Features

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      Wagged from side to side by a pendulum, the head of this toy has interchangeable eyes, mouth, nose and ears, which can be used in various combinations to produce unusual facial expressions. Variations of these facial parts are shown in the squared detail. All parts have dowels attached for anchoring them in place, and they all fit in holes in the face except the ears, which slip into staples on the back of the head. The base for the head is a box with the front side painted to resemble the bars of a cage. As shown in the lower; left-hand detail, the head is attached off center to a dowel, which turns in a hole through the side of the box. Washers are used as spacers between the head, box and pendulum, which is fastened rigidly to the end of the dowel inside the box. The box of the original was painted yellow, bars black and face white with black features.

More Small Wooden Box Crafts:

• 19 Free Jewelry Box Plans
• Free puzzle box patterns
• 31 Free 3D Puzzle Plans

Turn a Swedish Top, It Sings While It Spins!

This unique Christmas gift for a small child is designed for those of you who have experience using a lathe.

      Patterned from an original made in Sweden more than a century ago, this unusual, wooden top, which is turned on a lathe, produces a pleasing hum as it spins swiftly over the floor. The hollow, ball part of the top is turned from two maple blocks on a faceplate, each half first being glued to a scrap, pine block, after which the latter is attached to the faceplate. Then the center of each half of the ball is turned concave and the edges rabbeted to fit together snugly. Stock for the spinner is glued at the base of one block and the two halves are glued and clamped together between the lathe centers. The outside diameter is turned to the dimensions given above, checking the work frequently with a cardboard template to obtain a perfect sphere. The square opening made in one side of the ball is filed to shape after first drilling a starting hole. Variation in sounds can be obtained by varying the size of the opening, this being accomplished by providing snug-fitting inserts of various sizes which can be pressed into the opening.
      The handle, in which the top is held to spin it, is turned from a 2 3/8-in. square piece and is planed or sanded flat on two sides to measure 1 in. thick. A hole to take the spinner is bored through the center of the flat portion and an opening is made through the side through which a string is pulled to spin the top. To do this, the string is wound around the spinner, as shown in the upper photo, after which the end of the string is passed through the hole in the side of the handle. Holding the top upright as shown in the lower photo, give the string a quick pull and with a slight upward motion, throw the top clear of the handle to alight on the floor.

More Toy You Can Make With a Lathe:

• Woodturning pill toy
• Woodturning Kendama Toy
• Woodturning a toy top

Craft a Corner Whatnot Shelf in a Maple-Leaf Design

      Just the thing to dress up a corner in your living room, this whatnot shelf has duplicate plywood sides that can be cut together. However, one must be 1/4 in. wider than the other at the back edge. After sanding thoroughly, the sides are assembled with glue and small brads, and the shelves are spaced as indicated on the squared drawing. Finishing the original shelf to carry out the maple effect consisted of applying maple oil stain, followed by a coat of white shellac. When the shellac was dry, the surface was sanded, dusted clean and given a coat of clear varnish.

This project is perfect for those of you who know how to use a scroll saw. Click directly on the image to see a larger blue print here.

Similar Scroll Saw Projects:

• Scroll saw and fretwork vector patterns
• Scrollsaw Workhop
• Woodworkers Workshop

How to Craft a Memo Cabinet for The Kitchen

Click to see finer details. Above you can see the tree dimensional blueprint showing how to put the memo cabinet together.

       This tiny kitchen cabinet with a mirror set in its front, encloses a small blackboard and has pockets for note and cook books as well as chalk and pencils. Front and back are made of 1/4-in. plywood. Two coats of blackboard slating paint are applied to the back to provide a writing surface for chalk. The front has a window which is rabbeted to take the mirror from the inside. For a novel effect, round the front corners and score the wood with a wire brush. Then finish in ivory or white and rub some burnt umber or other pigment into the scored scratches, wiping the whole surface clean. Jigsaw the letters and paint the sides, then brad them in place and paint the top surfaces. Nail and glue wooden strips to the back of the lid to form the pockets, sides and bottoms. Mortise narrow brass strips into the side pieces to hold articles in the pockets. The hinges must be mortised to their full depth when folded, with the pins standing well out so that the front can swing out more than at right angles. Two holes at the top of the blackboard fit over screwhooks in the wall to hold the memo.

Similar Projects:

• Kitchen Chalkboard Made From Clipboard
• Make a Framed Chalkboard For Less Then $25
• Playing Hooky