I have no idea what to call this… It’s a helping table – a side table for grooming, a tool table. Whatever it is, it’s a handy little benchlike structure I made to sit next to my grooming table to hold my tools handy and safe while I groom.

I had a general idea of what I wanted in my head and pile of scrap wood on the patio here at home. So, without any real plan, I just began cutting random bits of wood and screwing them together.

I don’t recommend this way of working, but it’s how I roll… flying by the seat of my pants!

You can see various bits of pine, odd corner bits of some kind of wood, thicker bits, thinner bits, wider bits, narrower bits. All different.

Eh. They all tie in when painted… sort of. After all, it’s not a beauty contest.

One thing I knew for sure when ‘thinking about designing’ this little table, was that I needed a safe place for my shears (scissors to non-groomers!) so they wouldn’t fall off the table. Actually, that’s also why there are sides on the top, to stop anything at all from falling off. But shears are especially delicate… drop those and they’re useless till you get them fixed.

So, besides the corner side bits of odd wood I found on the rubbish pile, I drilled holes into the top to put the shears in.

Here it is finished. Or 99.9% finished. I still need to decide how I’ll orient it when I’m working, then add some hooks to it for hanging clippers, Dremel or anything else that I might need to get out of the way of scrabbling little feet.

The lower shelf will hold my dryer and maybe even my extension cord to keep them off the ground. The bad thing about grooming outdoors in this place is that if one of the neighbours further up decides it’s a good time to hose down their yard, my yard is second last and I quickly find myself ankle deep in water.

Generally speaking, it’s not recommended you stand in water while performing activities requiring electricity.

The lower shelf is made from a skinny pallet I picked up along the side of the road and pulled apart with only minor damage to myself. I cut, sanded and varnished the pieces before pre-drilling them in order to prevent splintering when screwing them to the side pieces. It was a frustrating endeavour, but I got it done with minimal swearing.

So now its ready.

I’m ready to use it.

Unlike the dog bath while still awaits the plumber to plumb it in… He said this week.

We live in hope.

z

I’m not a sign writer, but this year I made two signs that I’m not sure I shared on here.

Given they turned out reasonable, I figured I’d share them with you now, just for something to do.

This is the one I made for my place, to put outside when I was running art studio open days or sculpture workshops. For now it’s just sitting in a corner of the living room.

The other one I made was a little fancier – This was for one of my cousins for her air bnb.

Both signs are small, no more than about a ruler’s length across. Both are made from bits of recycled wood I collected from somewhere. I did them by printing the writing in the size I wanted onto A4 paper, rubbing the back with charcoal and tracing the letters onto the wood.

Then it was a case of painting the letters on with a brush and acrylic paint. And as steady hands as possible.

It’s not the most efficient way to make signs.

Please don’t ask me to make a sign for you. It’s art, not professional!

z

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