turned cherry wood bowl

Flame Grain Cherry Barrettes

These barrettes are made of crotch pieces of wild cherry that gives the flame grain appearance which is valued by many. The clips are approximately 3 inches long and the wood extends beyond the clip as shown.

The wood was selected for its warmth and unusual grain pattern. It is ever so much nicer than plastic or metal, in my opinion. My daughter says it is like wearing jewelry in your hair. Indeed, it is nature's jewelry.

I have been making and showing similar woods for shawl clasps and was at a wine festival this September in Great Meadows, Virginia. A very nice woman saw my work and said I should make barrettes. She returned the next day with an example. It was very kind of her to take the time and interest and was the inspiration I needed to get started.

There was some trial and error. I found that super glue does not hold to metal well and it took a bit of searching to find well made #2 screws in 1/4 inch lengths. In case you don't know, these are very small and a little difficult for my stubby fingers to manipulate. I found them on the net from a company that sells marine building supplies. They are bronze.

My niece in Virginia suggested that I look at other adhesives and suggested I try Michael's. There a very helpful clerk directed me to a glue that adheres better to metal.

With both wood screws and glue, I feel that the backs are very secure and should give many years of holding power. To finish them I sealed the grain with shellac and then sanded this down and applied two coats of clear lacquer and buffed them to a light luster.

 

wooden barrettes