Otter Lake Creations

Otter Lake Creations We make custom signs, toys, embroidery and more. Everything is crafted to bring joy.

03/04/2024

My pricing philosophy:
Charge enough that you can afford to do your very best work.
Then do your very best work.

I need to be the very first person who is wow'd by what I create. Then my goal is to wow my customer. Without both, there is no lasting joy in creation.

For my wife's birthday, I decided to remind everyone in her life that she's mine, so I made a plaque for her desk at sch...
03/04/2024

For my wife's birthday, I decided to remind everyone in her life that she's mine, so I made a plaque for her desk at school.

It's 9x4 and made of cherry.

I’ve been trying out photo carving on the CNC. The machine cuts hundreds of diagonal lines at varying depths. Then I pai...
01/26/2024

I’ve been trying out photo carving on the CNC. The machine cuts hundreds of diagonal lines at varying depths. Then I paint it. When it dries, I sand off the top layer and the photo emerges. Still playing with the settings and finishing techniques. What do you think?

This is a simple one, but sometimes those are the best. I gave one of these to each of the kids in our primary class whe...
01/13/2024

This is a simple one, but sometimes those are the best. I gave one of these to each of the kids in our primary class when Amanda and I were teaching a couple years ago. I like the idea of a child seeing this important reminder on their nightstand or dresser every morning and night.

We always tease Addie about her big feet, so for Christmas, Kayla wanted to find a Bigfoot footprint that Addie can hang...
01/11/2024

We always tease Addie about her big feet, so for Christmas, Kayla wanted to find a Bigfoot footprint that Addie can hang on her wall. We carved and painted it, and then added silicone in the bottom of the impression, which made it look like it was filled with rain water. Looks pretty cool. We sized the footprint down to about 8 inches wide by 14.5 inches long. We certainly could have made it bigger, but at some point you start wondering where you are going to store these things!

We finished two versions of it. One with the silicone, and then without. Which do you like better?

Addie and her friend always give thoughtful gifts to each other on their birthdays. This year, Addie made her a name tra...
01/09/2024

Addie and her friend always give thoughtful gifts to each other on their birthdays. This year, Addie made her a name train. She's a talented girl. She designed the font with pencil and paper, and then cut them out with the bandsaw. I got involved and designed the train cars. The letters and cars attach with magnets.

In the end we looked at what we had made and were very pleased!

My daughter, Addie, has taken a real liking to woodworking. She spends as much time in the shop as I do. One difference ...
01/09/2024

My daughter, Addie, has taken a real liking to woodworking. She spends as much time in the shop as I do. One difference between the two of us, though, is that when she gets an idea, she just goes for it. I, on the other hand, will over-engineer a solution.

Here are a few of her projects, all done by hand.

My daughter is a major Harry Potter fan, so I made her a 9-3/4 sign to hang up on her wall.
01/08/2024

My daughter is a major Harry Potter fan, so I made her a 9-3/4 sign to hang up on her wall.

Here's a topographical map of a friend's favorite camping area in the White Clouds Wilderness Area near Boise Idaho. It...
01/08/2024

Here's a topographical map of a friend's favorite camping area in the White Clouds Wilderness Area near Boise Idaho. It was cut from a beautiful piece of mahogany and finished with Fiddes Hard Wax Oil.

I made this sign for my wife for Christmas, but she had to wait until I got around to painting it. :D My daughter, Kayla...
01/08/2024

I made this sign for my wife for Christmas, but she had to wait until I got around to painting it. :D My daughter, Kayla, helped with the detail work. She has a steady hand. I was impressed.

I found this 3d model of a swimming crocodile, and I just had to carve it on the CNC. I began with a 20x4x2 inch piece o...
01/08/2024

I found this 3d model of a swimming crocodile, and I just had to carve it on the CNC. I began with a 20x4x2 inch piece of black walnut and then finished it with Fiddes Hard Wax Oil.

Here's a sign I made for our neighbor and friend, the Collins family. The background color is dark chocolate, and I mixe...
01/08/2024

Here's a sign I made for our neighbor and friend, the Collins family. The background color is dark chocolate, and I mixed a couple colors of metallic paint from Modern Masters to get just the right gold for the letters. I think it turned out fantastic! Thanks for letting me share this, Garland Collins!

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Hanson, KY

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