Better late than never, as this happened almost a year ago, but my wooden turtle deserves a blog post of his own.
This wooden turtle used to live on the hearth in my late Granny & Granda’s house and as a child I used to say it was my favourite thing in their house. During a visit back when I was in art school she gave him to me and I’ve loved having him around. Since I moved to Helensburgh, I’ve even had a fireplace to keep him in the same spot.
He was looking very old and grubby though so after many episodes of The Repair Shop, I was inspired to ask my very handy dad to have a go at fixing him up as a birthday present last year.
I got the full Repair Shop experience next time I was in Lossie and look how beautiful he was under all that old varnish! It now just has some wax to protect the wood for a more matte finish that suits him much better.
I was totally shocked to discover he has eyes and a mouth that I never even knew about. It’s like I didn’t even know him at all. It must be a surprise to be able to see again after decades.
It’s been so nice to have him back where he belongs and looking so good. You can see I’ve kept the wax nearby too so I can top him up.
We know from a stamp underneath that he came all the way from Pitcairn Island but we’re still not sure who in the family brought it back. Hopefully we’ll figure it out some day.
Another amazing job by my dad, who you may know from previous projects here including my window seat and the ghost shed protector – both still going strong!
