Paper rockets

On Friday evening we travelled to the cabin.  It wasn’t easy driving the snowmobile, because in some places there was no now, and in others there was deep snow, which the snowmobile sunk into.  I had to make two trips in to the cabin; one with Emma on the back of the snowmobile and then with Teres.

By the time we had made fire, got the cabin warm inside and cooked food, it was getting late so we went to bed.

Saturday was cold, with heavy showers of rain, sleet, hale and snow.

I spent the early part of the morning cutting up two Birch that had come down over winter.  When I started, the snow was hard enough to walk on and I used the snowmobile to drag large lengths of timber, but then both I and the snowmobile began sinking into the snow.  So I resorted to cutting smaller pieces and transporting them by dragging with the pulka.

Emma was bored in the cabin, so we made some paper rockets (many tutorials on YouTube)

which were made to fit over a piece of plastic tube.  When you blow hard into the tube

the rockets fly across the room (the yellow streak you see in the picture below)

we made different designs to see which flew the best.  Teres even made some paper birds for Emma to shoot down with the rockets

In between snow showers

we tested them outside and they flew surprisingly high.

I was a bit concerned as to how we would get back to the car, because the snow was now wet and soft.  Fortunately the sky cleared during the evening and at 4am when the temperature was -5 degrees and the snow nice and hard, I woke Teres and Emma, and we packed to leave.  I was reluctant to make two trips again so we put Emma in the pulka and drove out without any problems!

I have a tattoo

I have just returned from a visit to England to see my family.

While I was there I had a tattoo done, which is an early birthday present from Teres.

This is my design that I put into leather when I make knife sheaths and stuff. The star represents the night sky, the ring the sun, the four lines; north, south, east and west, the small lines coming off represent the forest and it’s importance to us for food and shelter, and the four sections represent the four seasons and the elements; fire, air water and earth.

I am planning to add more to the tattoo in the future.

More fish and a new knife

I was out fishing again last weekend with our neighours

On Saturday I caught a Rainbow trout using my “Pocket fishing kit” and on Sunday I caught an Arctic Char.

I have also completed another knife.

The knife handle is made from Reindeer and Moose horn, Sallow root bur and leather.  The sheath is made from leather and Sallow root bur.

Reindeer horn ice fishing rod

This will be my last post for a week or so as I am heading off to England for a few days (weather in England permitting).

I had the idea to make an ice fishing rod out of Reindeer horn, and after searching through my pile of horn, I found the ideal piece.  Having cut off the two ends of the horn, this is what I was left with

After a couple of hours work, this is how it looks now

I have started doing some basic engraving on the handle

I will be testing it when I return from England!

Homemade ice fishing rod

I decided to try making an ice fishing rod.  This is just a prototype and if it works well, I will improve the design.

The rod itself is a piece of Willow (Salix).

The handle I have made by glueing together pieces of Birch bark onto the Willow rod.

The eyelet at the end of the rod I have made from a piece of reindeer horn, which I have then lashed to the rod.

For the “reel” I have made two pins from reindeer horn and drilled the rod and inserted the pins in.  The fishing line then wraps around between the two pins.

I have not had the chance to try out yet, but will let you know how it goes!

A large knife

Here is a larger knife that I have made to order.

The blade is 15cms long.  The knife handle is made from pieces Moose antler, Birch bur and Sallow root bur, with sheath leather between each piece.

The sheath is made from Sallow root bur, half-tanned reindeer leather and I have used pieces of Moose antler (glued on both the front and back) to secure the leather to the root bur.

Nattavaara Christmas Market & Lunch 2012

This weekend we have held a market and Christmas lunch here in Nattavaara.

Father Christmas and his elves were there

At the market we sold home-made foods and crafts

There were also Christmas plant decorations to buy

Over 80 people also enjoyed a Christmas lunch

Birch bark container tutorial

I was hoping to get out and about this weekend and do some stuff for the blog, but Teres was taken into hospital on Thursday and now I have bronchitis.  So I have made a tutorial for making Birch bark containers.

I begin by cutting out two identical wooden disks to use as the top and bottom of the container and then role the bark around and mark and cut out a piece of bark.  This particular piece measured 30cm x 9cm.  On the outside of one end of the bark I thin the bark down to a wedge shape and I do the same on the inside of the bark at the other end.

Then I make to lines of holes in each end, about 5mm between each hole.

Form a tube with the bark, making sure the end thinned down on e inside sits over the end thinned down on the outside.  I use a clip to hold the two ends together and then use sinew, false sinew or dental floss to begin sewing the bark together.

Now draw a line around the side of each wooden disk (use your finger as a depth gauge)

Then draw a line around the underside of each disk

Use a knife or sandpaper to remove the wood between these two lines to give an angled edge.   This makes it much easier to insert the top and bottom disks into the bark tube.

You may find that one of the disks is a little too small and does not fit tightly into the bark tube.  In this case you can take a thin layer of Birch bark and glue around the edge of the disk (use an elastic band to hold the bark in place while the glue dries).

Use a knife or sandpaper to remove excess bark and it should look like this when completed

Put some glue around the edge of the bottom disk and push into the bark tube and then push in the top.  To help strengthen the top and bottom, cut two strips of bark (I use a pair of serrated scissors that I bought from a Dollar Store to give a decorative edge, but I have also done this using a knife) and glue around the top and bottom.

Drill two holes in the top and thread a piece of leather through and tie a knot on the inside of the lid.

Now the container is completed.

Nattavaara crafts

Here is a picture of some of the things I make to sell here in Nattavaara.

On the far left are firesteels, then Birch bark containers, at the front is a Birch wood container, a Birch spoon and finally a Birch cup.

Reindeer skin camera bag

I have made this bag for my camera and telescope adaptor.

The leather is Birch tanned reindeer hide and I have sewn it together using false sinew.  The strap is a half metre “mystery braid” that I made.

The button on the front I made from Moose horn.