calvin in his comfort zone

winter in oct 2011 #2 at the farm fall leaves and snow

just outside with my sister ann

winter in oct

yes a snowstorm in oct here in pa,, lol not what i expected,, i had plan to mow and rake leaves on friday when i return from a short trip,, well its been a very busy weekend,,, now its time to take out the tractor and chainsaw tomorrow, hopefully the snow will be gone but i dont think so,, well isnt life interesting sometimes, :) a good day to stay in and carve a bit,, and get ready for the william rush show next weekend,, ok folks take care bye

MORNING SANTA #22 (end)

my last release of all my projects enjoy, arleen

new releases the past few days, are the following...

the past week i released the following projects, leprechaun, baby peapod,pine apple ,hobo graduate, i hope you enjoy them,, arleen

NEXT SHOW is the william rush show nov 5 and 6th

hi folks , i know i have not carve a lot the past few days,, many things going on here and i am getting ready to go to the next show which is the william rush woocarving show in lima pa,, i was there last year and plan to be there again,, i missed the frankenmuth show in mich and the ont canada wood carving shows,, but i will be at william rush,, family commitments and business has kept me from leaving to far from home these days,,,, but i look forward to going and hope to see many of you that are near by,, it will be at the penn state brandywine campus in lima pa. keep carving , arleen

BRANCH GUY SANTA #7 ( END )

just release more projects , here is the santa guy branch ornament , enjoy

CHIPMUNK #14 (END)

this project CHIPMUNK was just just release , i won first place in the lancaster show in its division in 2010 it was a fun project,, this project will teach you how to carve eyes, enjoy arleen

DUCKYS FIRST PLUNGE #18 (END)

hi folks i just released this project on my youtube channel, look for it by name, thanks , arleen

MANGER SCENE ORNAMENT ( MARY AND JESUS) #1

four videos in all , the painting is yet to come ,, enjoy all are on my youtube channel,

MY SOLAR FURNACE self standing solar AIR HEATER

update 11-2-2011 i put in a heavier fan,, wow what a difference

today it was up to 60 outside and i put it on all day,, during sunlight of course,, and the house got up to 77 degrees,, it will be enough to keep it warm all night,, it was 60 degrees this morning in the house,, so its working much better then the duct fan, so its moving 1000cfm instead of 110 cfm i wasnt sure if it would cool it off to quickly,, so its been great so far,,the heat remain the same for hours coming out of the vent ,, i will keep you posted for this winter but for fall use its great,,, the temps went down to 42 overnight,, so anything helps to keep the gas prices down,,, nothing like free heat,, and no work to it either,, super,,, i am a happy camper about it
hi folks most of you have seen this but i did this video over a year ago and its about my solar heater i built,, it was done with alot of work and not giving up,, i had to tear it apart three times to get it right,, its over 24 feet long and 8 feet high,, but i notice the old fan wasnt kicking out the amount of heat i wanted, well i got a dust blower motor and wow what a difference, i should have done this long ago, but it was really great cause the heat after i left it on for a while and the house got very warm but its 60 outside now and got up to 81 in my home , i will see if the blower works as well went its cooler, it should work about the same,, i was very happy with the way it heated so quickly,, this is my 4th year with my heater,, i design it and made it myself,, lol i never fell so many times doing a project like this one, lol ,,, i once had the ladder take a slow fall, you know the kind that you have enough time to know what is happening, and i really thought oh well , i hope the neighbors did see this, lol that is how much time i had to think as it started to go ,, lol all the falls i was just fine,, and i also live on a hill, so i was tired and decided to sit on the small wagon , and it decided to go down the hill, it picked up some speed i couldnt stop it so i rollled off of it,, and again, hoping the neighbors didnt see it ,,, lol i was fine, had to go down the rest of the way to get the wagon now at the bottom of the hill, so i have some fun memories of building it, lol but it does work that is all that counts,, and maybe if we all built solar heaters we can keep our money in the usa, instead of having imported oil, just a thought, i did have this all on video on my computer as i was building it and lost it cause my laptop died,, so it was a big lost to me but i then did this video to at least show how it works,, would i build it again? of course i would,, was it worth the trouble? you bet it was,, so if you have an idea go with it , and work on it , and you never know who might learn from your project, take care arleen

just release the amish guy and amish gal projects on youtube

if you wanted to do amish folks simple here ya go, have fun,, these are posted on my youtube channel , enjoy, arleen

jogging is like carving LOL well not really

hi folks, i been busy , i got nothing done carving wise today, to busy on the puter,, but today i did something i didn't do for a long time, i took a jog today,, way out of shape compared to the full time farming days,, back in 1992 i went into the police academy which took about 16 weeks full time,, in that time i was to run a course in 12 mins, and also do a certain amount of lifting, ( wasnt a problem i got that from lifting 50 lbs feed bag at the farm) but i started to run long before i went in the academy and pass,and ran for another 10 + years cause i enjoyed, it,,, now i wasnt the fastest or the best at it,, but i did enjoy it,, the benefit was great but as time went along i lost interest and stop, now i like to start again,, badly needed lol so today was a day,, tomorrow i know i will not be a happy camper,, i will be sore, but i also know that it will slowly get better and easier and more enjoyable too,
but today it was just perfect weather, a bit windy, and warm, perfect to take a jog, and to think of it its alot like carving,, carving takes time to get good at it,, and and even if you never compete, ( i never did in running, ) you can still enjoy it along the way,, carving is something that you learn along the way, no one and i mean no one ever learn it from only doing one carving, just like running, you keep at it , and you keep getting better at it,, so keep carving, learn what you can today and most important enjoy it along the way,, arleen

how to find the new releases of my old projects on youtube

black lab puppy and hobo snowman with a tree ornament released today

just release a few more on my youtube channel,, the black lab puppy was a popular one at the shows,, go to my youtube channel, there you will find a search bar and in it put BLACK LAB PUPPY and all the videos will pop up , also the hobo santa with the tree was release today too more to come, http://www.youtube.com/carverswoodshop


have fun folks, arleen

what other carvings would you like to see taught on youtube ??

good morning carving buddies,,,, some of you are aware of the wci form, i posted a question ....what other carvings would you like to see taught on youtube?? ,, it had over 5000 views and many request, so today i going to see what new projects i can do for youtube, i am still releasing videos, got about 150 out of 400+ done so far, a slow process, ok so you can also post your requests here in the comments section, hope you all have a great sunday, off to church i go,, bye

just having fun, folks, new things,

hi folks, i found this neat way to do a quick video with animals,, it was much fun, and if it makes some folks, smile,, then it was worth it,, so many cool things on the internet, and sometimes when you think there is nothing new,, behold you find something new again, and sometimes it the same with carving, i know i mention this in the past, but its true, there will always be new things to try or to start,, dont be afraid to try it, even if you think you can't, just try,, you never know how much fun you would have missed, keep carving arleen

where is your carving glove?:)

NEW prices on the dvds 10.00 each free shipping i

starting to post my chickadee project videos ob youtube ,,,,, my most detailed project

hi folks, i started to post my project of the chickadee, its the first time you will see it complete online,, i only have 1-11 on youtube now,, tomorrow i plan to get the rest of it up,, this project took me two weeks to video it, you will learn everything you need to make and paint a chickadee, i feel it was one of my most detail carvings that i video tape, this is still available on dvd if your interested, hope you enjoy it, arleen

the following projects now availabe on youtube

hi folks,the following projects have been open on my youtube channel, pumpkin, mini pinecone holstien the cat, front santa, hobo snowman ornament, pilgrim, standing branch santa, praying santa, and more to come in the days ahead, enjoy, them,, just in time for the holidays, these were done some time ago, please go to my youtube home page and put these titles in the search bar, and you will find them, keep carving arleen en the following projects, http://www.youtube.com/user/carverswoodshop?feature=mhee

some BIG changes coming to my youtube channel, :)

hi folks, i going to start to release all my videos, of course they are still copyright on them, so your welcome to watch them from the youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/carverswoodshop ..and also you can purchase most of them on dvd, also if you like one on dvd form to purchase it,, new prices cost is 10.00 per dvd free shipping to the usa and canada only, it will come with a pattern if it is not from a block only, ......., thanks to all that have watch my videos,, keep carving, i have over 900 videos , half of them are on youtube already so , please it will take me weeks to get them all posted so that you can enjoy them,, also i will be removing all the patterns from my youtube site, , so if you want to do a project with the pattern, you will have to purchase a dvd, keep carving, arleen

you might inspire someone to carve....... you never know

hi folks, this past weekend at the apple festival, i was amazed how many folks were interested in woodcarving,, or wanting to learn, i had a sign up sheet for those that might like to take a class in the future, most of these folks , either always wanted to learn, or were just starting but didnt know where to go,,,, and many enjoy just asking questions about woodcarving,, but then a thought came to me,, i do both wood carving shows and also festivals,, and found that maybe some of these folks may never come to a wood carving show,, or even have one near them to attend,, so its important to do both if you want to promote woodcarving,, you might insprire someone that may want to learn the art of woodcarving,, so i suggest that if your a woodcarver and enjoy chatting with folks, and you will be answering a lot of questions,, then going to a craft fair or festival in your town? it so much fun, it really is,, and folks are so amazed when you tell them ,, yes i carved this out of wood,,,,, and the kids and adults both enjoy watching you carve,, i was carving most of the day and if you sit there and carve you will draw a crowd around you,, so give it a try,, and see how it goes,, you might inspire someone that always wanted to learn to carve :) keep carving

apple festival at haycreek 2011 #1

this was the apple festival at hay creek , it was a great time,, there are three short videos,, enjoy, arleen

winter pine tree #1

hi folks, you can get videos #2 and #3 on my youtube channel, thanks for watching and enjoy,, arleen

new project ... winter pine tree coming soon on youtube

i have three videos to load for this easy project, fun to do for you carving club,, i had a lot of fun making these, ,, enjoy, arleen

carving mistakes ? what do you do ??

carving mistakes,, lol never lol yeah right,, well we all did one time or another, and most likely will again,, its more what do you do when you do make a mistake,, do you quit? start over? or fix what you can? and do you learn from it?

well i did a few , and to explain three exsamples of my carving mistakes,

1 , one was a santa , after finishing it up , i was so into the carving and enjoying it, i notice after it was done that his feet were facing the wrong direction, lol ,, this was the first and only time this ever happen,, i was carving it from a block and did the feet and legs first,, and i always did the head and body first,, i finished it and sold it anyway as a one of a kind,, and yes it sold, , lesson ,, someone will want it,

2 , a chipmunk,, i used the spraying method, to soften the wood,, it was a bit hard, and i used solution of 50-50 water and and rubbing alcohol , and you have to be careful not to wet the wood to much otherwise it will check( hairline cracks ) and yup it did ,, about 11 of them,, i was so upset, cause the carving was turning out soo well,,,, ok i decided to fix it with saw dust and glue,, and even decided to show this on my chipmunk dvd, so others would know what to do,, and i finished it and it won first place at the lancaster wood carving show, , lesson,, it can win, and be a great piece even with its faults, (alot like people )

3 the last one was the same as number two,, did the same thing to clifford the dog,, over wet the wood cause it was a bit hard as well,, i was disappointed but i waited to see how many checks ( cracks ) and there were many but some how they disappeared,, so i decided will go ahead and see how it will finish it out,, and it was fine, some very small ckecks, but it was hard to find them,, and the lesson,, sometimes waiting pays off,

so here is what i learn from most of my mistakes,

1 its ok to be upset,, you spent alot of time on it but there is always a way to fix it,

2, learn from it,, what you did wrong? and try not to repeat it,,

2 keep carving, its like anything else in life, there are going to be mistakes , it is what you do when you make the mistake that counts, fix it if you can, and if all else fails,, well firewood isnt bad either on a cold day,, keep carving, arleen

milestones ? 100,000 wow ..... and new ideas a must

we all have milestones, in life, and also in carving,, tomorrow or the next day, my youtube channel will have 100,000 hits, on the channel carverswoodshop,, the views of all my videos is well over 566,000 views,, wow,, it just amazes me,, how something like woodcarving had so much interest,, so this was a milestone for me,, has it changed anything for me?,, well a few things,, i havent been so driven to put new videos online,, not that i dont want to ,, just stepping back for a bit,, i have some new ideas and nothing in life grows unless you have new ideas,, weather your in busniess, or in your life... new ideas are necessary to keep thing going, to keep interest and people to keep coming to your site,, this blog and facebook, helps me keep you informed of things to come,, ,,so as i look around for new and interesting ideas for carving,, i will keep you posted,, thanks to all that took the time to view my blog , youtube and facebook, without you folks, it means nothing,, as long as your learning, and growing in your knowledge of carving it makes it all worth while,, keep carving, and i will be sure to keep you going hopefully with new ideas, and interesting topics related to woodcarving,, arleen

carving realistic santas?? :) its fun to do

hi again,, today i finished painting two more of the wooden light bulb santa ornaments, the one on the right shows more realistic features than the simple carving on the left,, thought it would be fun to do ,, yes it take much more time to do more detail be the results can sure be worth it,, and really i learn a lot by trying to add more details,, more depth. its amazing how much you can add to a carving even doing a simple few cuts, to make it look different i enjoyed making both,,ohh the santa on the right his beard is blowing in the windy, lol i guess i call him windy santa LOL

driven and disappointments??

strange topic isnt it,, are you a person that is driven, to finish , or to complete things,, if you are that can be a wonderful thing , and maybe not so wonderful thing if your to driven ,, cause i find folks that are driven all the time are never really happy with what they have,,, always going for something bigger and better,, never really enjoying where or what they have accomplished ...
at one point in my life i was called driven by a friend of mine,, funny,, i had to think about it , and yea i was to a point,, i was driven to run a farm, driven to own my home, and driven to get what i wanted in life,, but lately i am not,, it came to point that if i get to a project well that is ok, and if not thats ok too,,,
so i thought the same came to my carving,, personally i enjoy the style of carving that i do,,, i enjoy the results, and often times just enjoy the moment when your done painting it,, and to look at it for a bit,, and being proud of what i made,, is there room for being driven to do better? , sure there is,, but at the same time,, i am not wasting my time trying to be like carve A or B ,,, i have my way of carving and enjoying it along the way,, so many times i hear carvers saying i like to be carving like this carver or that carver,, you will get your own style of carving,, and learn to enjoy what you can do today,, and look forward to what you might be able to do in the future,
if your drvien in carving that isnt a bad thing, it makes you want to do a better carving,, just one big word here,, you will always improve,, weather you think you never will,, ,, but you will cause,, believe me when i say this,,, what you carve today will be not what you will carve in the future, your carving will get better as you continue to carve,, and true you only get out of if what you put into it,, TIME lots of time carving,, so do not be discourage cause your carvings dont look at carver A OR B just enjoy the ride along the way,, learn what you can from other carvers ,, and dont worry if yours in not as good,, in time it will be,, keep carving , arleen

dad's 85th birthday today

hi folks,, this is another milestone for my dad,, today he turned 85.... wow its hard to believe ... but my dad well just a word about him,,,, one of the first thing i think about is how both my dad and mom had the courage to come to america,,, so glad they both did soooo many years ago,,, i use to be the one that found it easy to get a present for dad, weather birthday, christmas, or fathers day,, cause we worked together on the farm,, so i always found something that he could use,,, now its a bit different,, at 85 he doesnt do much,, due to health issues etc,, but likes beer,, so a case of beer will be sure to make him smile, plus i got the molson canadian beer,, ( sorry folks i think canada has one of the best tasting beers) so i think he will be happy with the choice,, i hope today is a good one for him,, he deserves a special day today,,, we got some folks coming later today,,, but i will carve again tomorrow or i will take it along ,, i be with him most of the day ,,, keep carving, :)

SIMPLE THINGS, why sometimes it cant be?

hi folks,, i went to my club meeting of the lancaster county woodcarvers meeting,, it was a different meeting,, we had to vote on some of the by laws of the group, this is not an easy nor simple task, meaning the folks that come every month have no idea the amount of work that the folks in charge have to do,, or to get ready for a meeting like this,, but a few things had to change, and to change it had to be voted to be changed,

i know meetings like this is not my cup of tea, i rather sit there and carve and just enjoy the meeting, seeing folks and plus what they been carving for the last month or so,,, but i also realize that these meetings are a must.

when it was explained to me that when you have a non-profit organization , there are rules that must be followed, and that in our happy lawsuit country it needs to protect itself, liability is a big deal,, so please if your group or club ask you to come to a meeting a vote, please take the time to go, and vote, and if you dont agree with something that is fine, just remember what is the best decision for the whole group,,

there were a lot of things i didnt agree with some of the different groups i have been a part of in the past, but i still support it, and enjoyed it, and knowing it was there for everyone, not just for me, and ok so i dont agree with some of it ,, BUT BUT BUT but i do agree with most of it. so you have choices, you can chose to be part of the problem or part of the solution, i just chose to stay even if things dont go the way that i expected,,

the meeting was fine last night,, some discussion on some topics that is good too, it bring to light some of the stuff that is new to many members,, just remember , its to be a fun club, and fun learning about carving, learning new things, and most of all just to be fun to belong to a group of great folks,, keep carving, arleen

oouccch a cut???

howdy again, this was posted on fb i know some of you are not into facebook, thought you might enjoy reading this,, arleen

hi folks,, as many of you know the hobby of wood carving can be dangerous , i along with many other carvers have cut themselfs at one time or another,, and yes we all had cut ourselves, if your a beginner i always highly recommend that you wear a carving glove and a thumb guard,, its a must for beginners and really we all should wear a glove,, but here is one statment that i will make,, its a personal choice,, for those that KNOW HOW TO HANDLE A KNIFE, knife control is one of the most important thing along with the glove and the thumb guard,, i feel if your new to woodcaving you should wear a glove,, like a seat belts, you can have them in the car but its a choice weather you will wear it,,

i know this issue came up so many times on some of the forums,, the nice thing about fb i can voice without being rip apart for my veiws,,

here i go,,

1....many season carvers that teach do not wear a glove ,, i dont either, 30 years ago they didnt have glove that i knew of at the time , but back then i did wear a thumb guard ,,, so we learn to control the knfie to avoid cuts) , but we all agree that if your a beginner you should ( all my students wears one) wear a glove and a thumb guard,

2.. this is my belief,, and mine only is that knife control and sharp knives is a must, once you control your knife then you will be less likely to cut yourself ,,,,, and this is only done with many hours of carving,, and once you learn this it will become second nature to you,, i dont even think how to do the push and pull method,, just like driving a car,, you get in start the car and go,, remember the first time you were behind the wheel? well same applies for carving, you only learn this by carving, and learning the right way to control your knife

3..... THE GLOVE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU FROM ALL CUTS !!!!!! i have seen it,, and i believe the cut can be worst without one,, but it will protect you from most of the cuts,, depends how your handling your knife and what, the amount of pressure behind the cut,, ( that is why its safer to have a sharp knife then a dull one) GLOVE WILL NOT PROTECT AGAINST KNIFE OR GOUGE STABS...

4 just a personal word,, i just look in one of the carving magazines, which half of the projects the teacher had a glove and thumb guard, and the other half did not.... i am one of the ones that dont,, but like i said earlier many teachers ( seasoned carvers do not) there are times i will wear them when i have a project that is round or hard to hold or very small,, but that isnt often, but a thumb guard if i doing alot of carving but i choose not to wear one, 30 years ago,, when i started i ALWAYS ALWAYS HAD A BOX OF BANDAIDS ON MY WORK BENCH, OR ALONG WITH ME , cause the choice of wearing a glove was not there,, not even made,, to my knowledge,,, so we had to learn to control the knife , so as all carvers agree its highly encourage that beginners and every carver wear a glove and thumb guard ,, and if you take class or at one of my carverswoodshop luncheon, then its required to wear both a glove and a thumb guard,, i also had this discussion at one of the carving clubs i was asked to give a presentation of my work and youtube stuff, and some of them agreed with me ,, , what i believe and its only my opinion is that sometimes i think the wearing the glove give you a false sense of security that you will not get cut and my belief is that its more important to learn how to control you knife, ( i not much into gouges so i not discussing gouges only knives) also important that beginners use a stationary knife, not a pocket knife, unless its a lock blade,,

so its i boils down to a personal choice, and because its a personal choice, you are the one responsible for the results, as always i will recommend that everyone wear one, but weather you do or not, its up to you,, thanks to all that took the time to read this,, now go carve, something great, arleen

some of my wooden light bulb ornaments, i had fun today

here are some of my wooden light ornaments i carved this week, and we will be doing the bigger santa ornament in class monday,, i had fun tonight, :) yes even painting them LOL i will take these also to hay creek apple festival oct the 8 th and 9th

NEW CLASS NEXT MONDAY,, WOODEN LIGHT BULB SANTA ORNAMENT

hi folks, i will be holding a one day class on sept 19th ( monday) 9am to 5pm,,, two cutouts, and 3 dollar coupon to the c and r barn in the food court, free coffee, and donuts in the morning,, please if you decide you want to join email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com this class will be in the food court, at the home furnishing mall , 6180 morgantown rd, morgantown pa,

or you can contact me at 484-364-0471 plus i need to know how many are coming so that i have enough cutouts,, ok thanks ,, keep carving, arleen

sharpening your knife?

hi folks , this is one topic that is like carving , everyone might do it differently then the next person, hey folks i will be honest here, i have learn so many different ways to sharpen over the past 30 years,, and everytime i think i have it , well something new and better comes out to make it easier to sharpen,,    so if your one of those folks that have to learn, i just want you to know that it takes time, to develope your skills , and not to be discouraged if you your not good at it YET!  

i said yet , cause it takes some time to learn,, and you will,, now i know not everyone will get the hang of it  at first, just like carving you develope your style and what works for you,, and the same is true when you sharpen,, what works for one person may not work for you,, some choose power carving over knife carving, doesnt mean its wrong,, its just what works for you,, so if you can here are some things, i thought of that might help you,,  

1....youtube videos,, on sharpening,, i have a total of 5 , and there are many more on youtube, try them  out and see how it will work for you.  

2 ... sit with someone , an other woodcarver and see how they sharpen their knife,,,  hands on is the best way to learn

3.... dont go out buying alot of machines until you know how and what your doing,, there are many products out there,, but once you get the basics well then look for a machine,, i like the tomz knife massager,  ( no i dont get money to endorse his product) his machine is well i think one of the best if your just doing light sharpening,, not reshaping the blade,,, so i also like the fact that its sooo quite that you hardly can hear it running,,  unlike many other machines that i owned ,, so take your time in choosing one,, 

4... try to enjoy sharpening , like you do carving itself,, i always enjoyed it,, i know some of you might not,, thats ok,, just like i not much into power carving,,  but if you learn and enjoy it,, ityou will enjoy woodcarving much more,, nothing to be is better in life than a nice sharp knife and good block of wood to carve,,  keep carving, arleen 

one day class on sept 19, 2011 9-5 wooden light bulb santa ornament

hi folks i have a class planned,  i know this is short notice, but the mall will be closing and since i can still do some teaching there, i plan to do a one day on sept 19 ,,,  9am to 5 pm  we will carve and paint if we have time, and you will get 2 cutouts and a coupon for the c and r barn in the food court , free coffee and free donuts in the morning,,  please either call me or email me at 484 364 0471 or email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com    thanks arleen

wooden light bulb santa ornament #6

wooden light bulb santa ornament #1

WOODEN LIGHT BULB SANTA ORNAMENT coming soon

WOODEN LIGHT BULB SANTA ORNAMENT 

hi folks first i want to say that this project was in the carvers magazine, and earlier issue, i did my own design  with it,, i carved the face and hair all away around it,, thought it turn out ok,, i will have videos coming how you can make them, there are many things you could make from this pattern,, i will post it soon,, lol computer is running slow very slow today,, ok hope you enjoy the series, it should be done by sunday morning, i will do my best  enjoy and keep carving,  also i will do a class on this if your interested please email me , at the carverswoodshop@yahoo.com  i am planning a one day to carve it and paint it,, also planning to do morning santa,, in the future ,  since i can use the mall food court for a while before they close the mall,, ok take care, bye