Rustical

Category: Projects

  • Fresh wreath making has started!

    The first lorry load of Spruce has arrived from Scotland and production of our orders is underway. The first 2016 order is now complete; 30 spruce wreaths and 250 grave pots for a customer in Bolton. One down…. many more to go. We only start Holly wreaths 1st December so at least we have a…

  • Painting Baby Pumpkins

    I don’t suppose many people will actually need a tutorial in how to paint a pumpkin for Halloween but it might be of interest to see the finish achieved using Annie Sloan Chalk paint. The little pumpkins are available from our pumpkin farm shop www.BigPumpkins.co.uk I selected the Annie Sloan ‘Graphite’ chalk paint as I wanted…

  • Growing our own firewood – 2016

    Many years ago we abandoned the idea of being able to own our own woodland as there is so little of it in West Lancashire in the first place and, of that, it is very rare that it comes up for sale. But, rather than admit defeat, we bought some arable land and field by…

  • Outdoor Wood Fired Pizza Oven

    Having made it all the way from Portugal to Hesketh Bank without damage, it was quite exciting to unpack our new brick built outdoor pizza oven. As it weighs about 600kg, the forktruck was definitely needed to carefully lift it out of its packing crate and onto a pallet. I have been reading up on…

  • Valentines 2016

    Just as we have nearly finished restocking after the Christmas rush on wreath supplies it is all systems go getting all the orders for wire heart frames and heart shaped padded wreath bases on their way. The Berisford ‘Hearts and Kisses’ and the cross stitch ‘Love’ design will no doubt again prove to be a…

  • Frying Pan Flue Fix

    The storms at the end of 2015 left our little ‘woodcutters hut’ wood burning stove chimney cowl blown off. Made from an old twin walled gas flue, the lightweight aluminium had ripped in the wind and was beyond repair. The stove would probably work very well without any chimney cowl being fitted but I really didn’t…

  • Harvesting Basket Making Willow

    Having packed away the fresh wreath making ‘production line’ for another year our next job is to get our home grown willow rods cut and into storage for processing as willow whip tips for floristry, straight sticks for crafts and little log bundles for picks to decorate next year’s wreaths. These items are sold all…

  • Making a Rustic Oak Bed

    Making a rustic oak bed – May ‘14 It started, as is so often the case, with a picture clipped from some designer home magazine or other. Accompanied with, of course, the inevitable ponderous question: “Couldn’t you make one of those?” This time it was a bed, with big slabs of sawn log for the headboard,…

  • Brown Jute String

    Just arrived and unpacked this afternoon… 500g bundles of four ply natural jute twine. Ideal for crafts and around the house and garden, these big brown balls of string have been much requested but we have struggled to find a quality we are happy with. Worth the wait we hope! We will get them loaded onto…

  • It’s Rustic Santa Time

    Our Rustic Santas are once again being packed ready for the Christmas markets. Every Santa is made from our own home grown timber (mainly Silver Birch) which has been fully seasoned so they will not leave a mark on the table cloth. Each one is individually made so no two Santa’s are the same. Due to…