Gladiola Marquetry Blanket Chest

Very nice Craig and definitely not too flowery!

Very cool, I've never heard of Tineo or M'Futu before. I guess I need to get out more. Love the white flowers.
George

George, you can get both veneers from Certainly Wood, they have a good selection. I just finished another piece with the Tineo veneer and realized it's pretty soft wood that sands very quickly (one sand through and a bit of re-veneering).

Craig,

Great work. Beautiful design.

Thanks for sharing.

Craig, this is probably my favorite piece of yours that you've shared here on WOODWEB. Very inspiring work.

Thanks for the comments. Kol, I agree this one turned out better in a number of ways than many of my other pieces.
Craig

Wow, what detail! Can you share your technique on how to add the dark contrast in the flowers? Are the stamens marquetry or stain? Did you stain the light and dark leaves before cutting? Are you da Vinci???

Cliffe, thanks for the comments. The dark contrast you refer to is probably the hot sand shading that is done on most of the pieces. Nothing Da Vinci like, just a hot plate with some fine sand heated until hot enough to scorch the edge of veneer pieces dipped into it. The stamens are also just small pieces of veneer cut with the rest of the flower in the marquetry packet. I admit they are hard to keep track of as they are being cut but smaller parts are possible with care. The light and dark green leaves are dyed veneer in two colors of green, my only addition is the sand shading to enhance the realism of the parts. I don't dye my own veneer though, I purchase it from either Herzog veneer or Anita Marquetry in the UK. They have many colors in many different woods. Once you break it all down it's not overly difficult, just a matter of following certain steps in the proper order. Craig