Earth Day!

As a 1% for the Planet member, Wilderness Creations, LLC donates at least one percent of annual revenues to environmental causes. This Earth Day, we want to thank you for your support with the gift of free music. Download and enjoy 1% for the Planet: The Music, Vol. 1, a benefit compilation featuring 41 rare and exclusive tracks from artists like Jackson Browne, Josh Ritter, Grace Potter, and Jack Johnson—simply visit http://music.onepercentfortheplanet.org/redeem/ and enter code EARTHDAY11.

Once you’ve had a chance to enjoy the music, join us in giving back. Last year we contributed to The Coral Reef Alliance http://www.coral.org/ and The Sea Turtle Conservancy http://www.conserveturtles.org/ , please consider supporting these deserving causes this Earth Day!

Here is the link to get your free music: http://music.onepercentfortheplanet.org/redeem on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2011. This offer is only available for this one day.

Enjoy and have a great Earth Day!

www.RusticFurnitureGallery.com

Repairing Light Scratches on Rustic Furniture

No matter how hard we try our furniture is going to get scratched. Many times it is when we are moving items into the house for the first time, just to make it extra frustrating. After investing in high quality furniture you want to keep it looking great, so a little bit of time doing some repairs is well worth the effort. In this piece I am just going to look at very light scratches. Scratches can come from something rough sliding over the top, dragging something by that bumps in, maybe you scrape the legs with the vacuum, it can happen easily in a million different ways. And it is not only in the soft woods, the hard woods will scratch through the finish and still look scuffed up. For light scratches, try taking some wood finish oil on a rag and rubbing it over the spot. I have got some light colored, danish oil around the shop that I often use. When you rub it over it will fall into the scratch and soak into the spot that has lost it's finish, but it will wipe off easily from the other parts. Sometimes this is enough to make the scratch less visible and not catch any one's eye. A tung oil works well too, and there is a dark and a lighter color so that you can best match to your original finish. For other shades or colors you can try using a matching stain and just do the same thing, a little bit of wiping with a rag over the spot. Of course you always want to be careful and dispose of your oily rags properly, so that they do not catch fire. Another thing you can try is a furniture repair pen or similar product that is made for hiding scratches. Look in you hardware store for these, in the area where you would find wood glue and filler. I have a set that was very inexpensive and has three different shades, so I can best match the finish on the damaged item. It is basically a magic marker that you draw over the scratch. I like to immediately follow with a towel so that I can wipe off the excess around the scratch before it dries. Because of the depth of the scrape you should be able to wipe without taking it out of the repair line. That is just a couple of ideas for repairing light scratches on your rustic and Adirondack furniture pieces. Later I will cover deeper scratches and cracks. www.RusticFurnitureGallery.com

Cedar Outdoor Furniture

Spring is rapidly approaching! I know it doesn't seem like it to alot of us, but it will come. Now is the time to start thinking about your outdoor spaces and outdoor furniture, so that you can enjoy the outdoors for the entire season. Cedar furniture is a great choice because it looks great and lasts a very long time. You can leave it to weather gray or you can paint or stain your items to match your tastes, but either way the Cedar will be sturdy and enjoyable for many years to come. Stop in to see the full catalog of Cedar furniture options, and get your orders in early so that you can start enjoying it right away. We are located at 1327 Main St. Rt 101, in Dublin, NH. 03444. Visit www.RusticFurnitureGallery.com to view our beautiful line of White Cedar furnishings. 603-563-7010

Rustic Travel

We were fortunate to be able to travel to Belize recently, and we loved it! If you love the rustic style and living simply then this might be a good destination for you as well. Many of the resorts there are different than other Caribbean destinations. There are many small resorts that offer a private cabanas, but also have there own activities, restaurants, and bars. When I say small I am talking like 8 cabins. Of course there are some larger resorts and there are starting to be more that have taller condo style accommodations. I hope that not too many of these developments take place because it will change the flavor of this special country. The jungle lodges of the San Ignacio and Pine Mountain area are mostly all this type of resort with small cabanas for a couple or for a family. The owners and staff that we came into contact with were very friendly and truly cared about your experience and the service that they provided. There are wonderful activities such as visiting Mayan ruins, hiking, canoeing, cave tubing, swimming, cave exploration, and so on. The photo above was taken in this area at a resort called the Mariposa, and it only had about 7 of these stick sided thatched roof huts. They look primitive from the outside but they are very comfortable and clean. Because there isn't much near by these jungle destinations we would eat right at their dining rooms, which really is nice. Meet other travelers and have a great Belizian meal, just steps from your room. The top photo was taken at a rental house in San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye. The interior was done in all custom rustic furniture that made me feel right at home.

Other places we stayed were the Crooked Tree Lodge, the Mystic River Lodge, the Maya Mountain Lodge, Tradewinds Cruise Club, and in the village of Placencia. We visited many other lodges and restaurants so let me know if you are looking for other suggestions of places to visit in Belize. It is a great country to visit but do your homework and speak with others that have been there before. You'll want to have a good plan so that you can enjoy the country to the fullest.

Happy Travels!