I gave bowl making a wee go. It's only 6" long by 3" wide, approx.
It's made from a 25' - 30' branch I cut from my sisters apple tree a few weeks back.
The wood was split with a meat cleaver, the bowl roughed with a spoon knife and the over all shape roughed out with an axe. The bowl was then cleaned up to the best of my ability with the spoon knife (I'm getting better but I'm not so great with them yet) and the rest cleaned up with a Sloyd knife.
I sanded it with 40 grit to remove all the tool marks and finish off the shaping/symmetry. Then with 80 and 100 grit. Then I coated it in dark tan shoe polish, let it dry and rubbed most of it off with mineral oil, leaving the grain enhanced with the polish. I then worked it with 100 and 240 grit before soaking it in tea for half an hour, this gave me more colour and raised the grain. After drying it was back to the 100 and 240 grit to remove most of the colour before finally being finished off with 400 then 2000 grit and a final coat of mineral oil.
I really need to get some 60, 800(ish) and 1200(ish) grit paper.