Getting Christmas Done, with (Almost) Two Whole Hours to Spare!

Ever since I started woodworking, I have tried to make my girls something every year for Christmas.  This would be an easy feat if I were an Elf, with nimble fingers and a quick mind that would make me a natural at making toys (even though I have yet to make any toys).  But having recently started a new job, and barely surviving the time demands created by parenting multiple teenage girls, I did what I could.

My initial plans were grandiose, and as the weeks to Christmas flew by, and I was staring at piles of rough cut lumber, I altered those plans and ended up with a reasonable lot.  The last coat of shellac was dry and all projects done at 10:25pm on December 24th.  Here is what I came up with, listed from youngest to oldest: 

For Tave, my 4 year old, I made here a music box that plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  It is patterned after the 10-year anniversary box I made for Cass a few years ago.  Just in case there is anyone who actually reads this blog, you will recall that I made music boxes for my other girls two years ago, but Tave's was eaten by the table saw.  This is making up for that.  It's Maple and Purpleheart.  

Next is Emry, my 10 year old.  She is my fellow woodworker, so I went a different route.  I want to make here a tool cabinet, and a cabinet for the cups and plates she collects, but I figured those would be great projects for her to help with.  So I decided to make her a tool instead.  I used a chuck of Hard Maple and a Lie-Nielsen iron I got on clearance at Woodcraft a few years ago and I made her a single iron smoothing plane.  The wedge is Mahogany.  

For Quinn, my 15 year old, I made her a nightstand.  Quinn (and all of the other girls, too) is an avid reader.  So my wife suggested that I make here a 'reader's nightstand'.  I got an idea of how to take that concept to new and interesting levels.  This project was one of the most complex glue-ups I have ever done, but it came out great.  Quinn will be painting it to match her favorite books, so it is yet unfinished.  

Dash is my 17 year old.  I wanted to make her a desk organizer and I started making it out of solid Maple.  but while I was cutting the stop datos by hand, I realized that there was no possible way with the design I had made to keep the base flat 

So I changed the plan (with only one week until Christmas) and just made a small drawer.  I will in the coming weeks turn this into a bookend, and making a complimentary other half to it.  The drawer has purpleheart veneer over the pine substrate, so I had to get creative to get it clamped down.

Here is the finished drawer.  I finished it with Watco Wipe on Poly, applied with a rag, and let it sit for 4 hours between coats, then sanded with 320 grit and added another coat.  There are three coats.  

And that is Christmas 2013.  I learned a few things to do differently, a few things that work well, and had some interesting experiences.  Gluing up the nightstand was an adventure, and I have now made my first ever handplane.   The girls all seem to like it and I had fun.  I am excited to get back into the shop now without a pressing deadline.