Eandhl, that sounds a little bit like a christmas ornament? Am I visualizing it correctly? Bumblebeeze, Deee, Yes, if you don't have kids youve probably never heard of it but duct tape is big! Thanks for the link. Deee -- all the traditional stuff I can think of, I don't think they will find too exciting. ANd without language skills to give in context, not sure ... Bumblebeez --- beads, great idea!!m ooh and glitter! Maire -- yes, i thought I should do that too. Patty -- I see your point, but perhaps they already do enough of that. ANd frankly it takes more skill to pull that off! At this point, I am thinking I will give my school contact a choice of four from: Origami (my son is really good at this so I think we will def do this) Duct tape pencil flowers (my one daughter has done these and they are cute and functional) Beading Marbleized paper, maybe for bookmarks Snowflakes with glitter Baseball hat painting Thumbprint painting Thanks all!

I went to the wordles site when the OP posted in Sept. and had fun playing with it. If I recall correctly, I did a save as just as with any document.And I printed it. I hadnt done a "good" one, I was experimenting. I recommend you try it out first. Have fun. I am planning on making gifts for my DD and DH for Christmas.

Can you get contact info for the woodworker and talk to him directly? If he's done this before, he surely has photos and samples of his work---it may just be that the contractor doesn't have any of that info. You can probably tell pretty quickly from talking with him whether he's built butcher block before. (We priced ours with our cabinetmaker, and he could give us a detailed breakdown of different prices and finished results for edge v. end v. side grain, various types of woods, etc. and could describe the pros and cons of each construction style.) If Wood Guy can't talk wood species or grain with you, he definitely should not be doing the work---but I would absolutely believe a scenario where Wood Guy might be great if you talk to him directly, but the contractor might have no clue how to talk wood talk. We just finished finishing a butcher block slab, and I will say that if you use a good quality finish, you will spend more than $100 between the product and your time to do the finishing on an island-sized counter. It's not hard, but it's time consuming. So if you are really comparing apples to apples (same wood, same board style, etc.) then it may be worth it to have the local guy do it, especially since there's a good chance that if he's an experienced carpenter/butcher block guy, he'll come install it too. (Also not hard to do, but I always feel more comfortable letting people who built things drill into them!) The Craft Art stuff is beautiful if you have any concerns about the local guy, though, so it's a good option to have. Good luck!

If you truly want something elegant and multi-functional you may just have to have one made. Here is a wrought iron chandy and ceiling fan in the link below. Scroll down to where it says: NEW! Fleur de Lis Six Light Wrought Iron Chandelier with Built-In Ceiling Fan. Yeah, I know, it looks like something that belongs in a Mediterranean decor BUT, use the *contact us* button to see if they have others in other styles coming up. It is hard to really recommend one for you space without any photos. Google around and be sure to check Esty. Here is a link that might be useful: Wrought Iron