What was once only blocks of wood have been transformed into six-pointed wood creations via a router tip as small as the point of a sharpened pencil lead. The rows of tiny towers — all under a foot in length — stacked beside each other in a utility cart are just one slice away from becoming wooden snowflakes.

Roosevelt craftsman Stacy Sandberg cuts the intricate details of his snowflake creations one small plank at a time. He then sands them and finishes them off with a coat of clear lacquer.

“I take a board, varying in thicknesses,” Sandberg said. “I cut six pieces off of it at a 30-degree angle. Then I take a couple of different router bits and I run the blank piece over the router, either using a little core box or a little point. The snowflakes are all six points and there's as many as 11 cuts on each piece.”

Unlike when a blustering snowstorm blows unique flakes in by the billions, Sandberg makes his 30 at a time. He got the snowflake-making idea in 1989 from a woodworking magazine and since then he's made thousands of them. At the time he started creating them, he lived in Florida and would give them away. However, now that he's moved to where the snow flies, customers have wanted to purchase them. He's been having a lot of fun using his imagination to come up with the unique patterns.

“On average I get about five an hour,” Sandberg said. “I could scroll some out one at a time, but that would take too long.

“I have people all over that have my snowflakes,” Sandberg continued. “Some hang them on trees, other tile them into their back splash in their kitchen. It’s a real compliment to me that they use them.”

Sandberg and his wife Kim have often felt compelled to make nature-inspired creations and it was while they were on a trip from the East Coast to Roosevelt that the couple had an epiphany. They had dreamed of doing their art full time and they'd been searching for a name for their business.

As the Sandbergs traveled they kept seeing the amazing rock formations carved in the earth, some of which are called grottos. Since the Sandbergs are Christians and believe that their artistic talents are a gift from God, they wanted to be able to pay homage to their Lord for that gift and to His creations. They decided that they were grateful (grah) all the way down to their toes (toe) and decided to name their business Grah-Toe Studio. Since grah-toe sounds like grotto — caverns carved from the earth — and having seen so many of those on their trip, the artistic couple felt confirmation that they'd found the perfect name for their inspired creations business.

Kim Sandberg does the bead work on jewelry and purses. She also uses woodburning, stones, metal and Swarovski crystals to adorn the polished hair forks with their own unique patterns.

“She decorates them, but sometimes she leaves them plain,” Sandberg said about his wife's designs. “The wood is just beautiful by itself too. Some of the woods we use are walnut, maple, mahogany and cardinal. They're really beautiful.”

Sandberg has been busy making flakes and forks for the Christmas season, but as the snow starts to melt, he'll whittle wood chains, create boxes and make bowls from the trunk of cottonwood trees.

“I try to always use the 'y' of the trunk because the 'y' makes a unique pattern in the wood,” Sandberg said. “The bowl is perfect for displaying potpourri or pine cones. People that like my stuff say it's very organic.”

What may appear to be just stacks of wood to a non-craft making person are future pieces of art using materials such as wood, stone, clay, metal and antlers to make hair forks, snowflakes, bowls, furniture, beaded creations and other handcrafted items. The Sandbergs have sold their earthly works all over the world and are grateful that many people get to enjoy their products that come through them.

“We’ve sold our creations in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, France, Canada, Alaska, Finland, Belguim, England and all over the world,” Sandberg said. “I couldn’t reach all those people without the Internet.”

The Sandbergs often set up their smaller creations at craft fairs, but they enjoy making custom pieces of furniture as well.

“I do a lot of stuff for Black Eyed Susan's,” Sandberg said. “I make beds for them and shelves, all kinds of stuff. I do custom cabinets, entertainment centers, chest of drawers and I do a real nice hope chest, one that will be in your family from now on.

“My Lord and savior was a carpenter, what a noble profession,” Sandberg continued. “I love being able to create a beautiful product that will last. God gave me the spiritual gift of craftsmanship and this is how I praise him for it. This is what I love doing.”

For more information about the Sandbergs' items and for custom requests, visit Grah-Toe Studio online at www.grahtoestudio.etsy.com.