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Woodcrafting for Beginners!

You don't have to look very far before you'll find a craft made from wood. In homes, gardens, and retail outlets, everything from furniture to wall decor to toys. Also with the technology of the Internet it's now that much easier to find the woodcraft of your choice. Whether it's intarsia, carving, scrolling or any of the many variations of woodcrafting you can find them on the Net. Through search engines such as Googles or directories like Yahoo, the list is endless.

Of course, not all woodcrafter's are alike. Those who scrollsaw may never create a piece by carving it and those who build small knickknack shelves don't always end up building a set of kitchen cupboards. It's also true that not all woodcrafters are professionals. There are those who have worked with wood for years, creating some beautiful pieces but still consider themselves to be amateur woodworkers. Then there's the weekend do-it-yourself woodcrafters who proudly display their work for their family and friends to admire. But no matter what you are or aspire to be, woodcrafting is fun.

Have you ever seen a wooden motorcycle? How about a wooden bow tie? It's truly amazing what creative people can do. Both of those are made using different species of wood. No painting needed. Catering to the smallest of detail, they can be called a piece of art.

Fortunately, it doesn't take that much experience and skill to create a wood craft. Tracing a sketch of a shamrock onto a piece of board and using a jigsaw or scrollsaw to cut it out, you've made a wooden craft. Of course, don't expect to get any oohs or awes over one little shamrock.

By adding a few more cutouts, you can make a garden decor. For example: cut a picket fence, add some flowers, rake and shovel. To finish the project tole-paint each item, glue them to the fence and hang on your wall.

At some point you may prefer to make something a little more advanced. Clocks, magazine racks and shelves are popular items. By purchasing a set of full-sized plans and following the directions you can easily make those in a day or two. Many of those plans require only a few basic tools to make the project.

As a beginner, don't worry too much about making mistakes. Even professionals make mistakes and when you're working with wood there are bound to be many. Some mistakes are easily corrected. Cutting a piece of board longer than it should be or scrollsawing outside of the line are easily fixed. Others may be possible to hide. For example: a board cut slightly shorter than desired but if your project requires a decorative edge this may cover your error. Although mistakes that can't be corrected or hidden often leads to discouragement, this is not the time to quit. Start again..

Making crafts from wood really is easy and it's fun. You don't even need a large selection of tools nor do you need the most expensive. Sometimes just a simple coping saw can do the trick.

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