Angel of Hope Whirligig

Shortly after I finished my Whac-A-Woodworker whirligig for this year's Whirligig Wars contest, my daughter asked if she could make one too.  So we walked away from the computer, TV, video games, and phone for a while and made this Angel of Hope whirligig.

I explained to her how every contest entry would benefit Make-A-Wish, and that there were children who needed help making their wishes come true a little sooner than the rest of us.  One of the prizes was for a whirligig that represented hope and inspiration, so we did some brainstorming and she came up with the idea to make a whirligig version of mom's Angel of Hope figurine.

So we drew up some outlines and cut it out, then we painted and assembled the whirligig together.  During the project, she used the drill, drill press, scroll saw, sander, wire cutters, spray adhesive, and spray paint.  She also learned how to record a video and edit it together, so we could submit it for the contest.

This is what I love about woodworking.  I got to spend some quality time with my daughter.  She got to learn some new skills.  We got to help make a child's wish come true.  And we created a whirligig that might inspire others to make one.  That's what I call a Win Win Win Win!  Thanks to Laney Shaughnessy, Steve Ramsey, and all of the sponsors who made this contest possible!

Click here to download the free PDF outlines that we used to create this whirligig!
Click here to see all of the contest entries and the results!

Share the Gift of Woodworking this Holiday Season!

When was the last time you showed somebody how to do their first woodworking project?  The holidays are a great time to share the gift of woodworking with a relative, friend, child or neighbor.  For a lot of us, woodworking is a solitary thing and we spend most of our shop time alone.  Try inviting someone into your shop over the holidays and help them make their first project.

This evening I taught my 11 year old daughter how to use the scroll saw to make a simple Christmas ornament.  Of all my tools, I feel most comfortable starting a child out on the scroll saw.  We searched Google Images and she picked out this Christmas Tree.  This was a great choice because she got to drill a hole and learn to cut curves, plus there were no interior cuts to complicate matters.  She was able to cut out the whole project and sand it herself in about 30 minutes.

So take the time this holiday season to share your love of woodworking with someone.  As always, use good judgement and make sure to teach good safety practices, especially when working with children and newbies.  Happy Holidays and Happy Woodworking!