beware,, when buying basswood

BEWARE, if you are purchasing bass wood, please make sure you know the true price of the wood you're buying. Ask for the total price and shipping, if they are shipping it to you, height x width,x length will give you total board foot. Take that and divide into 144, then multiply by price, that should be the price of your wood.
if they quote you a price per board foot make sure it adds up, arleen

looking towards the next carving show

hi folks we just finished the pine cone class with 4 people, and it was a great class, we had fun and they all did a super job on their projects, i will be getting ready for then mid atlantic show hope to see some of you there,, keep carving , arleen

GOOD FRIDAY CROSS #8 ( END)

good friday cross completed

GOOD FRIDAY CROSS #7 .... ONE MORE VIDEO AFTER I PAINT IT COMING SOON

GOOD FRIDAY CROSS #1

hi folks, been busy this week , with family , and finding time to carve can be hard to do,, but i did get some videos of my next series of the GOOD FRIDAY CROSS, this cross reminds me of my church years ago as a kid,, we had a cross had a IHS in the middle , and it stands for JESUS, GOD, SAVIOR hope you enjoy this project , and i will try to get the rest of the 7 videos up tonight,, thanks and enjoy, , arleen

NEW dove carving class to come , april 25, 2011

hi folks another one day new carving class DOVE, this is will be held on april monday 25, 2011 at home furnishing outlet mall in morgantown, in the food court,

cost is 35.00 one cutout, free coffee and donuts and a coupon to the c and r grill, 3.00 limit is 8,

this carving is done out of one piece,

TIME, WHERE DOES IT GO,, ??

hi folks, i never seem to have enough time to do anything, weather its working at the farm, or getting ready for my classes, or videos, work, and carving,, time gets away from me often,, and sometimes i wonder how i ever got so much done in the past when i had the farm full time ,and work off the farm part-time and finding time to a few things that i did enjoy,, somehow we were all able to put alot into a day,,

well today,, is here,, and i have the carverswoodshop luncheon, and the end of the auction for the cat at noon,, thanks to all the bid,, i will announce a winner later this afternoon after the luncheon thanks again,, find some time for yourselves , sit a enjoy carving for a while,, take care folks, arleen

PENNSLYVANIA DELAWARE VALLEY WOOD SHOW APRIL 9TH AND 10TH 2011

hi folks, i just sign up to go to the show which is from the pa delaware valley wood carving show,

its called the 35th annual mid atlantic " ARTISTRY IN WOOD " show and competition

sat and sun, april 9, 10th 2011

sat 10am- 5pm

sunday 10am - 4pm

at the bucks country technical high school , 610 wistar rd , fairless hills, pa,

hope to see many of you there, stop by and say howdy, lol , this is my first time at this show,, take care and happy carving, arleen

for more information

http://www.delvalwoodcarvers.com/contact.html

new silent auction,, hand carved cat by carverswoodshop

bid is up to 25.00

HOLSTIEN THE CAT #7 (END)

ok something new a silent auction

hi folks the silent auction will be on the red / cat in the middle only ,, all you got to do is send an email to the carverswoodshop@yahoo.com and on the subject line put in CAT BID ....... and the amount,

the auction will close on monday march 21 at 12pm the highest bidder will win,, this is open to the usa and canada only ,, sorry folks,, happy bidding,, i will post a video soon,, email will only be used to contact yoy if your the highest bidder after the auction, the emails will be deleted, arleen , no phone bids, email bids only thanks, arleen cat is 2 1/2 high and 1 inch round

HOLSTIEN THE CAT #1

there are 6 videos clips for this carving project,, there is one more that i will post after he is painted enjoy, arleen

new project coming on youtube , HOLSTEIN THE CAT

in honor of my cat,, holstein :)

beginners list ?? what is should be?

hi again,, i was just thinking about this , and when i do my wood carving classes,, i guess i came up with a list of what beginners should have,, and must have to begin wood carving,,

so here is the must have list if your a beginner

a good knife

carvers glove

strop and compound

and thumb guard,,

small tool box ( to carry your stuff) it kinda hard to carry it without a box or bag might come in handy, lol

now what you can add to your wish list,

and this list is in an order of what a beginner should plan to buy in the future

bandsaw,,

what size,, well that depends if your going to carve full size duck or just small things

a table top is very handy, and can cut thickness up to 3 1/2

a self standing for bigger stuff, and thickness depends on the machine you get ,, 6 to 12 inches

gouges and v tools,

i would buy only what you needed,, not in sets, unless your sure you will use it in the future,

i have palm gouges that are great for small work,, but longer handle gouges come in handy too, depends what you want to carve,,

sharpening machine,,

now this is a want but i believe its a need, you need to have your knifes etc sharp to carve, but you also have to learn how to sharpen,, which many carvers its a learning process, there are all kinds of things on the market,,, do your homework, and what you need to sharpen , do you want to make your own knives, or just sharpen the ones you got,,?? this will determine what you will need, all can be done by hand with stones, or wet and dry sandpaper,, so learn the art of sharpening,, plus if you learn most of it by hand then going to a machine makes it very easy,,

carving room

shed, or shop

where are you going to do most of your carving,, in the home, basement, then its table, chairs, and work room stuff, shelves etc,, so much to add here,,

because of the farm i have one bandsaw in the barn, and the other in my basement, ( smaller one)

so think where are you going to let the chips fly,

i mostly carve in my home, or where ever, but if you power carve thats a bit different,, so plan,

here are some things to think about ,, if your a beginner, and folks one step at a time, and add what you need when you need it,, take care and happy carving arleen

Tomz Knife Massager - Sharpening Knives got mine this week

hi folks, i posted this video on my facebook,, ( THIS IS TOMS VIDEO, NOT MINE) i got this machine this past week, and love it,, it is a great machine for sharpening knifes gouges , and v tool,, yeeesssss i got all my v tools sharpen, and that is a tough one to do , but if you follow toms instructions,, then you will be able to do this also,, i now used that v tool on a couple of my carvings this week,, and boy did i enjoy it,, lol

and to those that wonder if i am getting commissions on posting this the answer is no,,, i am just letting you folks know when i find something that you might enjoy or easy to use, and its both enjoy sharpening and its easy to use,, i will be taking this machine to my carving classes, and will sharpen knives when needed,, its sooooo quite,, you cant hear the motor, just a few words, if your looking for a machine to make knives, i dont think this is the one for you ,, cause it would take alot to reshape a whole blade, this is great for the final stages of sharpening, then doing it on a stone,, , so its a slow motor but to me it a safer one because of the speed, plus you wont burn your tool,, and you can hold the blade down with your finger and it never heats up to a point where you have to remove it ,, so put it on your christmas list, birthday or just want it list, save your money and get one,, now i know tom is a one man operation there, and its limited, you may have to put in an order but the wait would be worth it,, it was a fair price,, i just wish i had it years ago,, happy carving,, , arleen

you can email tom ellis at
tandlellis@msn.com for more information

another presentation tomorrow,, wow ,,

hi folks,, i have yet another presentation tomorrow, for a local group,, and i guess i getting use to my new comfort level, lol well i will pack some of the stuff tonight,, and get the rest in the morning,, so here i go again,, so i hope things go well,, and working again on another project trying out a couple of things and once i have it worked out i will post photos of it,, keep carving, arleen

you never know?? some neat things coming

wow folks things are moving along great,, i have the carvers coming together for the luncheon and able to do some carving on the projects that they are working on,, i guess its a great sign when all your students come back,, and wanted yet more classes in the future,, some missed one project or another, and so i trying to have a class or two a month,, i am also planning some different project for future classes , the dove would be one,, getting a bit larger wood for that project that i ordered this morning, and more of the blocks that i use in my carving classes,, so i try to keep you all posted of the different events , and projects,, it been a nice set up at the mall, thursday, i have my other presentation to do,, so its been a full week,, carving yet another cute little project that i will share with you later you never know what may be next but some neat things coming, ,, so keep carving

new pine cone day class monday march 28th 20011

hi folks,, its been a busy couple of weeks,, it seems i have something going carving wise every week, either the carverswoodshop luncheon,, or a class, so here i go again,, planning isnt the easiest thing for me,, but i know i have to plan these events ahead,, i am a person that doesnt enjoy planning things, but i know it has to be done to have the classes, and luncheons,, so here we go again,, on march 28th,, some of my students asked when i plan to do the pine cone class again,, and well monday march 28th seemed like a good time,, so i will have a one day class,, 4 folks so far are coming up to 8 people will fill the class, so if your interested please email me ,, at the carverswoodshop, or call 484-364-0471 ,, thanks so much for stopping by today,, take care and keep carving,, arleen

carverswoodshop luncheon was great

hi folks just got back from the carverswoodshop luncheon,, we had a total of 8 people , all my students were there plus a couple of others,, we enjoy some lunch and then carved for a couple of hours,, it was nice time ,, carving and chatting together,, my next carverswoodshop luncheon will be monday march 21, 2011 12pm to 3 pm all are welcome to come,, happy carving everyone , arleen

DVD'S BY CARVERSWODSHOP, ARLEEN ZOMER (34 dvd's over 55 projects )

next carverswoodshop luncheon,, monday march 7, 12-3 pm

howdy folks,, lol ,, the next meeting for the carverswoodshop luncheon is monday march 7th 2011 12pm to 3 pm, at the home furnishing outlet mall , morgantown pa, i am looking forward to it,, also i just purchased a new sharpening system and once i get it in the mail and give it a try i will give an update,, so things are moving forward,, hope all is well and everyone has a carving project they are enjoying,, keep carving arleen if you need directions,, email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com

dvd and magazine giveaway

dvd and magazine giveaway,, drawing april 1 2011

DVD (standing branch santa ) AND CARVING MAGAZINE GIVEAWAY,,( holiday issue 2011) to enter just send me an email to carverswoodshop@yahoo.com or send a message by facebook, and put in the subject line dvd and magazine giveaway,, drawing is on april 1, 2010 ,

new dvd standing branch santa,

hi folks i have posted on my other blog that my standing branch santa dvd is ready, please go to

http://arleenscarverswoodshop.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-dvd-standing-branch-santa-34.html

thanks , happy carving folks , take care , arleen

standing branch santa class, they did a great job

just a few thought for new carvers,,,, keep at it and what one person did right?

hi folks, still working on my big morning santa,, i didnt have time to do anything today,, but i plan to get to it next week, carving can be the most relaxing or the most frustrating thing,, it can be the most relaxing when things are going well and the knife is sharp,, but can be frustrating when the knife is dull and mistakes are made,, one carver that is just learning, made a mistake, i explained that mistakes most of the time can be corrected, he asked for help today what to do,, so i suggested a couple of ways to fix it,, i said that his carving isn't lost,, i think new carvers get discourage when things go wrong which can happen to all of us,, but learning from those mistakes is a big part of the learning process, he did a lot of things right,

1.. he tried something on his own,, a different project than what we worked on,

2 .. he change a few things from the pattern he was working on, great trying something new

3... he ask for help when he didnt know what to do,, super, cause he wasnt afraid to ask for the help, which most of us dont ask,

4... he plans to finish it,,

so it was so encouraging to me, that he was willing to ask for the help,, so please if your just starting ask questions, most carvers are willing to help ya out,,and keep at it,, happy carving , arleen

HOW TO MAKE DIFFERENT SIZES OF BLOCK SANTAS

carving a big morning santa,,,( white pine),,, and getting ready for the next class

this is an update, the smallest one is 3 inches done on the dvd, the second is little over 5 inches and the big one will be about 9 1/2 inches high they are fun to do

hi folks, i am working on a larger morning santa,, its about 8-9 inches tall about 2 inches wide,, its out of white pine,, i got some and wanted to try a different wood then basswood,, its cuts like butter,, just a few words about the wood ,, its softer and your knife will have be very sharp so that you dont tear it up, plus it can chip if your not careful, also it has alot of grain in it,, which is fine but,, i think i prefer the basswood yet,, i feel you can get more details carved easier in basswood than pine,,, so i will be sure to take a few photos of it when i am done
along with carving something i wanted to for a while, i am getting ready for my standing branch santa woodcarving class next monday,,, feb 28,, its a one day class, so life stays busy,, and its was a good day,, keep carving,, arleen

the speaker LOL ( way out of my comfort zone) but it went well

i was asked to speak to a seniors group at my church, hopewell christian fellowship, in elverson pa,

it went well, about 45 folks there, and yes i was a bit concerned how it would go,, i got some great feedback,, i had one table and a mic,, lol......t i cant stand reading from a paper, so i just did it off the cuff,, to my surprised it went well,,, well i have one more to do march 7, so this was good to do this one to know what i will have to take along,, i took my birds, goose, and flying cardinal, and eagle along,, and then the stuff i am teaching on youtube, and on dvds,, a lot of interest in the birds,, lol but all was good, a nice bunch of folks,,

warm day,, and one more presentation !!

hi folks, i know its been a few days, its been warm enough to do some outside painting around the farm that needed it, since i fix the some of the doors , it got to cold out early this winter that i could not get the painting done, so with temps close to 60 degrees it was time to try to get it done which i was able to do ,, also i got a call to do another presentation to do about woodcarving this coming sunday,, so it will be interesting, its not really my thing but i guess it will be LOL it amazes me how things come about,, and the people you will come in contact with,, you never know where things will go and what will be next,, i didnt see myself of doing presentations, but i guess this will be something i might have to get use to,, it seems that i going out of my comfort zone,, and i believe once your out of the comfort zones, that is where you learn the most. ok folks keep carving, my carverswoodshop luncheon is this coming monday, and then the following monday feb 28 is the standing branch santa class,, one day,, so far things are moving forward, hopw all is well, take care arleen

always interesting, inspiring , new ideas

at our meeting last night one of the things i enjoy the most is seeing what others have carved,, its a time when folks bring in their finished pieces and tell about it at our bring and brag ,,,, there is often a story behind the carvings, either its a project or a gift to another,, or what inspires one to make it in the first place,,, one was inspired by the super bowl, one as a gift, another represented a past job they held , and one was a new great grandson,, so inspiration comes from everywhere ,, and its reflection for our own lives, so you see it doesnt matter who you are ,, just look around and you will find ideas for new carving projects keep carving, arleen

lancaster county woodcarving club meeting is feb 15 at 6pm

hi folks,, i looking forward toward tomorrow night,, our monthly meeting starts at 6pm, most all of my students will be there tomorrow,,which i think they will enjoy,, some folks from the club will take along carving to the bring and brag time ,, like a show and tell , the adult version of it, lol, we missed last month do to the weather, and it was 58 degrees today,, wow a heatwave,, lol anyway, i hope all of you are happy and carving to your heart content today,, enjoy the weather if you happen to be were its a bit warmer, and keep carving, i will update you on the meeting soon,, take care , arleen

new features on my dvds, and about portable players

next wood carving class feb 28, monday one day class STANDING BRANCH SANTA last video

this is the next class coming up, feb 28, 2011monday its a one day class if your interested please email me,, we will meet at the home furnishing outlet mall, cost is 35.00 and a dvd will be available on this project , thanks for dropping bye

SOME DATES TO REMEMBER, IF YOUR COMING TO LANCASTER

hi everyone, first thanks for dropping by,, and hope your day is going well one weekend you might want to remember is our wood carving show,, the lancaster woodcarving show, will be sat and sun june 4 and 5th 2011 , please mark these dates if you like to come to our show,,it starts 10am , also i am planning wood carving classes at the home furnishing mall again,, hobo santa, a few days before the show will be the two day class, wed june 1 and friday june 4, 9am to 5 pm and then our show over the weekend, and then another one class of the pine cone project that following monday from 9am to 5pm ,, the limit is 6 for the santa class and 8 for the pinecone,, please email me to reserve a seat,,at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com hope to see many of you at the show,, thanks again for taking the time to visit this blog and my youtube videos,, hope you enjoy and learn a few new things about wood carving,, keep carving, arleen

simple snowman #5

SIMPLE SNOWMAN #1

new project SIMPLE SANTA

hi folks, i was in the process of videoing this project when i got the call about the cat,, so anyway i came home to finish it,, its one i will leave on youtube for you all the enjoy,, its a great beginner project your welcome to do this project at any carving club you got my blessings on this one to do ,, i will try to get all the videos up and running by later tonight,, my connection is slow for some reason,, ok enjoy and keep carving, arleen

We will miss our gentle giant ( holstein)

to those of you that have pets, weather its a dog, cat or some other animal, you know how they add joy to your life,, well i got a call today that our gentle giant holstein got hit by a car,, and he was so special to us,, and he will be missed,, animals do add something special to us,, i know there are folk that deal with so much bigger problems,, you think being a farmer would make it easier ,, it doesnt,, :) take care oh this is the cat i found stuck in a wall that i rescued a few weeks ago,, i guess he didnt have nine lives ,,