On my online workbook this week: A Very Merry… All Elf gliding along pass all the way from Santa’s workshop!

Dear

This week's inspiration is a perfect Christmas memory. Ice skating!

My tip for you this week is about manipulating the bark. First things first: you are working with real tree bark so the boot will be rustic looking and there will absolutely be rips in the curves and inconsistencies.

Instead of trying to get it perfect try to aim for working slowly to build up the curves.

Choose bark sheets with as few as possible hard pieces and knots to cut the boot pieces from. And thoroughly soak the bark in boiling water. I found the grain of the wood is less important than what is in the wood pieces because you will curve most of the pieces both with and against the grain. But test a strip of each specific sheet of bark for yourself before cutting the pieces to see how your sheet of bark bends. They do differ considerably even from one sheet to another in the same pack. You want a thin and smooth bark sheet.

Then while manipulating the bark strip into the boot shape I found it easier to work on a damp paper towel (you can also use a cloth) to keep the bark from drying out. Wet the paper towel and microwave it for a few seconds so that it is warm. Place the bark on the towel so that it remains as pliable as possible. It is a slow process that needs to be built up as you go along. Then when you have the curve you want, allow the bark to dry before gluing it. The glue will simply peel off if the bark is still wet.

Curve the bark wet… but glue it dry.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine

ps: there are two Tutorials for this week's design.