I’ve been wanting to do this Hchom sale for a long, long time, but it was difficult to plan, reliant on several weeks’ access to the appropriate power tools and sawdust-friendly work space. This year I’ve finally made it happen: carved wooden daggers with the full fantasy trappings. In my attendant fiction, these daggers were forged by the Immortal Goblin Smith Öσ (I’m pronouncing it “Od”, but do as you will) who sold his sight in exchange for mastery of his craft. They were presented as gifts to five kings who were cursed to wield no metal as punishment for their endless warring. (Unfortunately I’m not actually a master smith, but maybe we can all pretend together).
I’ve made a temporary page with all the details – you can click here (or on the new icon to the right) to visit it.
As well as the big dagger packs, I’ve put together some illustration packs in the $50-70 range. Since I was already making block prints to include in the dagger booklets, I re-printed a couple copies of an old sleeping mouse linoblock, and you can find those in the options as well. As always, everyone gets a sketch with their package – just let me know what you’d like to see. Email me (marianchurchland@gmail.com) to purchase packs, or ask questions.
Here’s an example of one of the booklets that comes with the daggers:
For anybody interested in how I made these, I got my dad to help me saw down pieces of douglas fir (I’m terrified of table saws) and together we cut the rough outlines with an ancient jig saw. Then I used a combination of my angle grinder, a belt sander, wood planes, chisels and files to carve their shapes. All the daggers have a stone cabochon embedded in the pommel (and a couple have them in the cross guards as well). The hilts are wrapped with leather, secured with little nails. The wood is finished with Danish Oil, so don’t let infants or adults put these in their mouths.
marianchurchland.com 
So very cool!
I don’t know if I’d mentioned this before when I first discovered your blog (and I can’t even remember how that happened), but I am completely in love with your artwork! Every time I see it I get a mental kick in the pants (and a kick of longing in the heart, if that makes sense) to sit down and make some illustrations myself. You seem to take such delicate care in your linework; it reminds me to allow myself to slow down and focus when I do such things, myself. I don’t know how you actually do it, but when I look at your work – especially on the non-character, inanimate object stuff – it feels as though you’d sat down, closed out all external pressures, and just let yourself enjoy drawing that stuff. I know that’s a little fantasy I just composed in my head, but it seems like you devote just as much attention and care to the little bits and things as you do to your fantastic characters. The overall effect is enchanting, really.
I must assume you’re quite used to getting praise like this, so I’ll just add mine to the pile. Thanks for sharing your artwork like this!
Thanks so much for this. I don’t think anybody gets so used to praise that they aren’t surprised and happy to hear it (or at least I’m far from being in any danger). And since I always worry that I’m too impatient and easily distracted, this is particularly nice to hear.
Beautiful work. Your talent never ceases to surprise and delight. Pen, ink, words, wood…you craft amazing things.
I’ve been following your work for years now, and it’s never faltered in absolutely turning my black dogs around. Would it be okay with you if I got one of the daggers as a tattoo?
I’m so, so late to this. So you still do this?