Gettin’ all Crafty….

Terri, over at My4Kids, is asking everyone to show off their “crafty” side. Anything that you have made with your own two hands is fair game. So, here’s my stuff……

Often times it is difficult to decide what to do when it comes to gift giving. So, rather than spend money on something that someone may not want or may already have, I figured I could give them something no one else has. Something hand-crafted from the mind of Alpha Dude.

Each one of the following pieces is hand made by me. Each piece is made from Red Oak and was crafted by hand using a jig saw, a router, a wood burning iron, some walnut stain (inside the routed letters), some sand paper and some lacquer. Each piece of wood is hand picked by me for its wood grain, which gives the piece its own personality. I personally like the way the lacquer-only finish brings out the beauty of each piece.



I’ve made a few of these and given them to family members. Being as our family are major fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, the bite missing out of the sign fits in like a puzzle piece and spells “Bengals”. One of these days I need to make one for myself.

In May of 2006, my 10 year old little girl won the competition and became a Rodeo Princess. So, for her 11th birthday……..

I had some wood left over from making my daughter’s plaque, and I needed a place to hang the spare keys, so…………



















Some close friends of mine has a daughter who is married to a guy with the last name of Looney. Seriously. Well, I couldn’t just let something like that pass me by…..















I saw a rather crude version of this one somewhere and decided to make use of some extra Red Oak board I had left over from another project…….
Authentic Rope Barometer
If Rope is Wet
……..it is Raining
If Rope is Frozen
………...it is Cold
If Rope is Swinging
…………it is Windy











I have also restored a 1964 Steinway Piano and there is an antique dining room table in my garage which I will begin to restore this weekend.

If you have any cool ideas for signs, plaques or other fun wood projects, feel free to share them with me. You never know, I just might make one.

Blessings.