Grizzly Balms and Lotion Bars!

Our "Paw-Chew-Lee" solid perfume and our solid moisturizing lotion bars are always popular items at our art and craft shows. I just made up a new batch of each and just listed them in our Etsy shop.

Both our solid perfume and solid moisturizing lotion bar contain only all natural ingredients and NO alcohol. If you travel, you know what a hassle it is to have to put all of your liquid items in that little quart size bag to get through security. Our gender neutral products come in a handy little tin that you can drop in your pocket or purse.

Rare Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle

Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. Blue mammoth ivory gets its color from elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips. It is 2 3/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

This blue mammoth ivory nalbinding needle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Carved Antler with Silver Inlay Nalbinding Needle

Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of deer antler and inlayed it with sterling silver. It is 3 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire artists!

We use shed antlers which naturally fall off the animal each year after the breeding season. They grow back during spring and summer and are fully developed again by the fall breeding season. After that, they are shed and the process repeated again for the next years growth.

This item contains a part of a native wildlife species and would require a special export license and shipping through a designated customs port. It is not cost effective to sell and ship this item outside the US.

This nalbinding needle is currently up for auction on Ebay!

Adorn Your Frig!

I don't know what your frig looks like, but mine is covered with family photos and works of art done by my niece. I've always loved refrigerator magnets even before I had "objets d art" to display.

Earthenware Frig magnets are a new item for our Etsy shop, so if you love to adorn your refrigerator, go check ours out!

I Wonder Why They Call It.....

.......Tombstone pass? I certainly wouldn't want to be crossing the Cascade Mountains in a covered wagon in May! We traveled over this pass today on our way home from Yachats, Oregon which is on the coast. As you can see, the warm spring weather has yet to reach the higher elevations. The clouds were hanging low among the pines and the smell was divine.

David Stanbrough, Viet Nam War Veteran

David Stanbrough, United States Navy 1964-1968

In honor of his service to our country, I wanted all of our blog readers to know of Dave's significant contribution in chronicling one of the worst disasters in US Naval history.

Dave served on board the U.S.S Forrestal from 1966 to 1968. On July 29, 1967 his GQ station was on the flight deck as motion picture cameraman when tragedy struck. A missile was accidentally fired from a nearby plane striking the fuel tanks of Lt. Commander John McCain's A-4 Skyhawk. A series of horrendous explosions ensued causing a raging inferno that lasted 24 hours. 134 men lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. This accident on board the USS Forrestal was the worst non-combat related accident in the history of the US Navy.

Dave was featured in an episode of the "Caught on Film" series on the History Channel, where he shared his memories of having captured such a historic event on film. Many of his still photographs can be found on our website devoted to the USS Forrestal tragedy.

To all the veterans of wars past and present, we thank you for the sacrifice you and your families have made for our country.

Bisque Hitty Doll Head for Soft Body Doll or Pin Cushion

This earthenware clay Hitty doll head has been sitting on Dave's work table looking at him (and me!) for too long now and it’s time she found another home!

We like to play around with our little kiln so Dave made this glaze fired Hitty head with the best intention of making a Hitty pin cushion or soft body doll, but it seems we never have the time. I think that someone else with more talent and time could make good use of her. The head size is scaled for a 6 1/4 inch doll.

Hitty's head is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please help her find a body! :)

Handmade Rosewood Lucet with Fine Silver Inlay

Dave hand crafted this cord making lucet out of East Indian Rosewood and inlayed it with a filigree disk of fine silver. This lucet measures 2 inches wide by 4 inches long. JoAnna makes the fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave carved a round recess into the lucet and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. It is initialed and dated by Dave.

Dating back to the Viking era, this little hand tool was used for braiding cord used in a variety of fabrics and garments. Our lucet is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction and additional photos of this rosewood lucet.

Ivory and Fine Silver Tatting Shuttle

Collect and enjoy the elegance of ivory and fine silver! Dave carved this 3 inch drop tatting shuttle from 10,000 year old mammoth ivory, like the chunk pictured in the photo (the large chunk is not for sale).

This piece of ancient ivory is cream colored on one side and darker brown color on the reverse. Dave inlayed it with a filigree disk of fine silver. JoAnna makes these fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave then carved a round recess into the shuttle and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. This shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave.

This beautiful one-of-a-kind tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction and more photos of this shuttle.

Ancient Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needles

Dave hand carved this set of nalbinding needles out of ancient woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. The longer rounded needle is 3 7/8 inches long and the flat needle is 3 ½ inches long and they come with a velour pouch. Each is initialed by Dave. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire! This set comes with a copy of the Affidavit of Ivory Origin.

These nalbinding needles are currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction.

Handmade Pyro-Art Tatting Shuttle

Dave handmade this 3 inch shuttle from Maple wood and freehand burn etched the floral design using a razor tip pyro tool. Each of Dave's shuttles are one-of-a-kind and have been initialed and dated.

This tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Ancient Ivory Medieval Norse Nalbinding Needles

Dave was recently contacted by a fiber artist who asked if he had ever made any medieval Norse nalbinding needles. He hadn't, but immediately began researching this tool as he loves adding new fiber art tools to his repertoire. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and can be viewed in the Fiber Art Tools section of our online Etsy shop.

If you are like us and have never heard of "Nalbinding", which can be spelled several different ways, the excerpt below is from Wikipedia and gives an explanation of this ancient art form:

"Nålebinding (Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding", also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting," "knotless knitting," [1]or "single needle knitting," the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end.

More information on this medieval art can be found here.

Crafts on the Coast Annual Spring Arts and Crafts Fair - Yachats

It's that time of year again! Time to go to Yachats! This quaint seaside village is one of our most favorite places in Oregon. If you happen to be going to the coast for Memorial Day weekend, be sure and stop by and say "Hi!".

We will be taking most of our items in our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop to this show. If you have a favorite item in our shop, you may want to buy it soon or it may get sold at the show.
Saturday 10 a.m. -5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. -3 p.m.

Crafts on the Coast Annual Spring Arts and Crafts Fair - Yachats
Information: (541)547-4664, (541)547-4738. Held inside the Yachats Commons, Hwy. 101 and W 4th St.

Rosewood and Fine Silver Tatting Shuttle

Dave hand carved this 3 inch shuttle from Honduras Rosewood. JoAnna makes the fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave then carved a round recess into the shuttle and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. It is initialed and dated by Dave. This tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay, with a starting bid of 99 cents!

Oregon Cascades Myrtlewood Tatting Shuttle Number 10

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

Number 10 of our signature Oregon Myrtlewood tatting shuttles is completed! This 2 5/8 inch post style tatting shuttle was handcrafted from Oregon Myrtlewood and has been burn etched with our Oregon Cascade Logo. This shuttle has been signed and numbered by Dave, and is for sale in our Etsy.com shop.

You may notice that new items are not showing up regularly in both of our Etsy.com shops and on Ebay. Both of us are currently fighting the flu and spending more couch time than creative time. We hope to be back up to speed soon, so please keep checking in to see if we've added new items!

Back in Oregon!

After a whirlwind of a trip to visit family in southwestern and northern Oklahoma, we are back in Oregon safe and sound. We had really hoped to see some exciting weather while we were there, but it waited and chased us out of Oklahoma City this morning. It was in the 90's in Oklahoma, but as you can see in the above photo taken at our local airport, it's still a little chilly here.

As much as we love visiting our family, to quote Dorthy Gale of Kansas, "There's no place like home" :)

Oklahoma Here We Come!

Technically, our plane doesn't leave until Wednesday morning, but as of today, Grizzly Mountain Arts/Grizzly Mountain Cache is on vacation!

Both of us are from "tornado alley", so living in the high desert makes us miss the excitement that spring brings to Oklahoma. We decided to make our annual trek to visit family during the peak tornado season, so keep your fingers crossed that we don't get to visit OZ while we're there :) Update--For the record, Jo is from Texas--that should have been mentioned when this was originally posted. If you are from Texas, you understand what a faux paux it was on my part to omit this fact :)

Being the geeks that we are, we will have our laptop and will be able to answer email and convos (that's an Etsy thing), but we will not be able to mail any items that are purchased through either of our Etsy.com shops until we return. Our replies may not be a quick as usual, but we will answer them ASAP. We will be back home on May 7, so any items purchased while we are away will not be mailed until at least May 8th.

Before we leave, Dave will be listing a few things on Ebay that will be up for auction for 10 days.

Tornado photo courtesy of the NOAA Photo Library

Oregon Cascades Myrtlewood Tatting Shuttle Number 9

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

Number 9 of our line of signature tatting shuttles is here! Dave designed this line EXCLUSIVELY for our Etsy shop! Dave doesn't know how many of these sequentially numbered tatting shuttles he will make, but this line will end at some point.

This 2 3/4 inch post style tatting shuttle was handcrafted from Oregon myrtlewood and has been burn etched with our Oregon Cascades Logo. This shuttle has been signed and numbered by Dave.

New Vintage Inspired Cameo Needle Minders

We've just added some more of the vintage inspired resin cameo needle minders to our Etsy.com shop! The past needle minders were very popular, so we've been keeping our eye out for other unusual cameos.

These three latest additions all have the same inlayed rare earth magnet in both the cameo and turned wood "minder", with the woods selections being Walnut, Black Box Elder and Purpleheart. You can find these three little beauties in the Fiber Art Tools section of our Etsy shop.

Holly and Celluloid Lace Bobbin

Dave turned this 4 inch lace bobbin from white Holly wood with a "Aqua Blue Swirl" celluloid insert. It is drilled for a spangle.

This bobbin is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Bone and Horn Picot Crochet Hook

Dave turned this 4 ½ inch picot hook from bone and horn. The horn upper is not solid black and has streaks of gray running through it. The hook is about 2mm in size.

This picot hook is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Ebony and Fine Silver Drop Tatting Shuttle

Dave carved this 3 inch drop shuttle from exotic African Ebony wood. Jo makes the fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave carved a round recess into the shuttle and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. It is initialed and dated by Dave.

This shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.com.

Handmade Earthenware Pin Cushions

We hand make these little 1 ½ inch diameter pin wheel cushions out of white earthenware clay with a felt disc sandwiched between. This one, which is currently up for auction on Ebay, has been relief carved, on one side, and glaze fired with brilliant cobalt blue.

Cobalt Blue Earthenware Pin Cushion Auction








We also have another ceramic pin cushion for sale in our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy.com shop. This one has a Celtic fish motif carved on one side and has been glazed to give it an old, distressed look.

Earthenware Celtic Fish Pin Cushion on Etsy.com

The Overflowing Cup

Jo created "The Overflowing Cup" from earthenware clay. It measures about 1 3/4" in length and 1" in width. It has been accented with a brass bead. The cord is a wonderful faux suede material that doesn't "shed" on your clothes like real suede does and is very easy to tie so your pendant can compliment any neckline. If faux suede is not your favorite material and you prefer to wear your pendant on a chain, you can easily remove it.

This earthenware pendant is one of six new pendants added today to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy.com shop.

Copy THIS, Grasshopper!

Dave hand made and carved this large bone knotting shuttle. It is 4 5/8 inches long and 1 ¼ inches wide. It has been initialed and dated by Dave.














This knotting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.com.

American Bison Double Crochet Hook G-H

A great novelty hook and piece of history for your collection! Dave hand made this 5 ¾ inch double (G 4.00mm – H 5.00mm) crochet hook from American Bison bone he acquired from the Cascade Buffalo Ranch here in Oregon. Dave cleaned, dried, degreased and cured this bone over a 2 year period.









This hook has a thumb rest for each end. It is carved and inlayed it with turquoise and silver. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

This double crochet hook is currently up for auction on Ebay.com.

"Girl with Bird" Cameo Needle Minder

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

We've just added this graceful "Girl with Bird" cameo needle minder, made from a gorgeous vintage inspired resin cameo, to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop. The background is dark brown on this cameo, and a rare earth magnet has been inlayed in the back. Dave inlayed another rare earth magnet into a beautiful piece of walnut that he turned on the lathe. Together, these beauties will "mind" your needle conveniently on your project!

The two pieces of this needle minder could also be separated to use as refrigerator magnets!

Midland Bobbin with Mammoth Ivory Accents

Dave turned this 4 inch Midland bobbin out of East Indian Rosewood, maple burl and ancient woolly mammoth ivory. The rosewood looks almost black but is actually a very deep deep deep purple the color of black plum. It has been drilled for a spangle.

This Midland bobbin is currently up for auction on Ebay.com. Please click here if you would like to view this auction.

New Earthenware Pendants

Jo finally got around to listing some more of her Earthenware Pendants in the Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop.

These new pendants are Celtic, Mayan and nature inspired, and are accented with a variety of Tibetan yak bone, African "vaseline glass" and Tibetan inlayed Bodhi seed beads.

As always, these were made with love on Grizzly Mountain!