Women's Woodworking Wrap-Up

Wow, what amazing women we have been woodworking with this past month! We co-hosted two women’s woodworking series this fall with Jack Perrin of Gorge MakerSpace in White Salmon, WA and Bekah Rottenberg at Wy’East Middle School in Odell, OR through Hood River Community Ed. Each class started with a beginner box project and then progressed onto individual projects that some women even designed themselves! It was so awesome to coach skill building and confidence building through woodworking. We are so excited for more to come in 2019!

October Bat Box Workshops @ Tum-A-Lum Lumber

Our last workshops of 2018 at Tum-A-Lum Lumber in Hood River and Pendleton were super fun! With the help of adults, over 50 kids built bat boxes out of cedar to take home to provide homes for new bat friends. If you were unable to attend the workshop you can download the plans here and build it at home. We served over 400 kids this year and are excited to plan our 2019 workshops so stay tuned!

Ladies Night @ Marson and Marson in Cle Elum, WA

We were so excited to be a part of the first ladies night at Marson and Marson in Cle Elum, WA! Over 100 ladies came to socialize, eat, drink, do a scavenger hunt and make tea light candle holders from wood. Ladies learned about drill settings and the difference between spade bits and Forstner bits. They sanded and then finished their projects with chalk paint which can be scuffed up when dry to create a rustic finish. Check out the photos below!

September Step Stool Workshops @ Tum-A-Lum Lumber

We had a blast this weekend at Tum-A-Lum Lumber in Hood River and Pendleton building step stools with 46 kids! Parents joked that they were having more fun than their kids. Perhaps, but I saw smiles all around with kids so proud of what they made. They took home skills of measuring, marking, predrilling, screwing, gluing, hammering, painting and staining. If you were unable to attend the workshop you can download the plans here and build it at home. Excited for next month’s bat house workshop!

August Tool Box Workshops @ Tum-A-Lum Lumber

We had another couple of awesome kids DIY workshops building tool boxes at Tum-A-Lum Lumber in Hood River & Pendleton! The came, they built, they painted, they personalized with their names. It's been so rewarding to work with youth especially those who are "workshop regulars." Pendleton's workshops are even spreading to the schools as 8th grade woodshop students will be preparing materials for the next workshops this fall! If you were unable to attend the workshop you can download the plans here and build it at home.

Women & Girls Woodworking Workshops

We are so excited to offer not one but two women and girls woodworking workshop series this fall (and another this winter!) through Hood River Community Ed! Women and girls will learn how to safely use hand and power tools in a supportive environment, building confidence to tackle projects on their own. You can learn more and sign up here for the series in Odell at the Wy'East Middle School and here for the series in White Salmon at Gorge MakerSpace. These workshop series are limited to 12 each so sign up ASAP to reserve your spot!

Kids DIY @ The Dalles Farmers' Market

This weekend we offered a free kids DIY project at The Dalles Farmers' Market! 17 kids chose to build either a mason bee house or a bird house that they could take home and learned more about native bees and birds. Thanks to Tum-A-Lum Lumber for providing all of the materials for these projects. We are also available for private DIY parties and events at your location so please contact us for scheduling!

Kids DIY Peace Boxes @ Columbia Gorge Peace Village Camp

This was our first year at Columbia Gorge Peace Village camp and we had a blast! So much amazing energy, talented facilitators and creative youth embodying peace within, peace among and peace around. We decided on a simple carpentry project, a 5 sided peace box, that kids could assemble with hammer and nails and then personalize with paint. Tum-A-Lum Lumber generously donated all of the materials and we were able to serve 75 kids in 4 days!

Solar Energy Workshops @ Girls Build Camp

This was our 3rd year volunteering with Powerpnw at Girls Build summer camp teaching girls ages 8-14 about solar energy! They practiced wire stripping, wire pulling, rail leveling and solar panel install. It was great to see them problem solve and experience accomplishment in their work. We are hoping to bring a Girls Build camp to the Gorge and/or Pendleton next year so stay tuned for updates!

July Birdhouse Workshops @ Tum-A-Lum Lumber

This month we built birdhouses with kids during our workshops at Tum-A-Lum Lumber in Pendleton and Hood River. All together 40 kids built, stained and took home their own cedar birdhouse! It was our most complex project this year with skill building including layout, measuring, marking, hammering, attaching hooks and chain, and staining with rags. If you were unable to attend the workshop you can download the plans here and build it at home.

Next month we are building toolboxes! You can sign up for the Hood River workshop here and the Pendleton workshop here. Hope to see you soon!