I'm a very novice woodworker so keep that in mind looking at these projects. This is the first year I was able to give hand made items for Christmas.

The first project is a "Cowboy Cooler" I made for my sister and brother-in-law. I made it out of pallet lumber. The spigot ties in to the drain on the cooler. No serious woodworking skills required for this one.







The second Christmas project is one I'm really proud of. It's the finest thing I've made so far. It is a shadow box to display my dad's medals and other items from his time in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. Again, the source wood was pallets! I used the rails instead of the slats as they were thicker. I don't have a planer, so I dimensioned them with my jointer and table saw. I went with a Greene & Greene style and hand made the pegs out of oak and stained them ebony (I can't afford real ebony!). A couple coats of Watco Danish Oil for the finish.