A slew of birdhouse ornaments and my first sale!

[Doug W Swanson]

Here are about 30 birdhouse ornaments that I just finished. There made from a variety of woods including Cocobolo, East Indian Rosewood, Cherry, Walnut, Mulberry, Buckthorn, Box Elder, Curly Maple, Birds Eye Maple, Mahogany, Spalted Maple, Wormy Butternut and American Elm. I'm probably forgetting some but there is quite the variety. I also used a variety of finishes including Lacquer, Satin Poly, Behlen's, etc.

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Everything I've made over the last 4 years has either stayed in my house, been donated to auctions or been given as gifts. Some of these will be given as gifts but I've been wanting to get into selling. One of the reasons I made 30 of these is to put some at a boutique in the spring.

I did, however, sell 4 of these to a friend so that's a good start. It's a nice feeling to get that first sale!

[Greg Just]

Doug:

You have been busy. I like the variety of the bird houses and hopefully they will sell well for you.

[Roger Chandler]

Very nice Doug! Congrats on your first sale also! Where are you getting your birds? I really like the variety of shapes and styles you have here........lots of creativity!

[Baxter Smith]

Congrats on the sale. You must have the process down after 30 of them!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the sales. Really nice variety of houses. They are one of my best sellers.

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice job Doug! That's a great bunch of birdhouses and nice variety of woods! Congrats on the sales and good luck with the boutique in spring! Hope they sell out quick!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Nice stuff Doug, it sure is nice to be able to use all the small cutoffs of pretty wood, I like making them also :)

[Michelle Rich]

It does feel good to have others like our stuff enuf to pay out cash! congrats

[Steve Schlumpf]

Looking good! Really like the variety! Congrats on your first sale - hope it leads to many many more! Did the kids help with any of the turning?

[Doug W Swanson]

Thanks for all the replies. Since I was making so many I did have to come up with a system. I also made a template for drilling the holes so there's less measuring on my part. Now I can crank just a few out if needed.

Roger, a couple of the birds are from Craft Supplies (they don't carry them anymore) and the rest are from Micheal's. The red ones come in a 2 pack and the other colors come in a 4 pack.

Steve, I made these while the kids were in school so the kids did not help :(. I do need to get them in the shop more but their schedules can get hectic at times!

I'm pretty excited about selling them. Heck, my wife is even on board with it so that means more shop time for me! Hopefully the profits can fund a new mustard colored lathe for me!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Doug - is there a Hobby Lobby in your area? I ask because I stopped in one a few years back when I went to Alabama - found those same birds in a 10 pack for the same price as a Michaels 2 pack! Bought all they had.... all 3 packages. Just saying to check around or maybe order from Hobby Lobby. Course, this was a few years ago, so things may have changed.

[charlie knighton]

looking good Doug, enjoy your sales

[Doug W Swanson]

Steve, no Hobby Lobby's around here. Closest one is 60 miles from here....

[Steve Schlumpf]

Well, that's too bad... but you can still order the birds online. Check these out:
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/miniature-birds-746487/
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/miniature-mushroom-birds-741132/

[Greg Just]

Doug - get on Hobby Lobby's e-mail system. They run specials all the time and some are free shipping.

[Doug W Swanson]

Thanks for the info guys. I checked out the links and Hobby Lobby has free shipping on $25 orders. Might have to stock up since Micheal's was out!

[Rob Price]

These are on my short list of things to try, maybe I can knock out one or two before Christmas, they look great.

[John Terefenko]

They all look great and I too do sell alot of these. They are great sellers. I found that the cardinals sell the best. Does anyone know a good source for small cardinal birds that look real. Thanks for showing.