i never knew how much work it was... lol did i think of measuring the table NO

hi folks, i know that i am bringing up the show a lot, since its my first show, really folks, i never knew how much work it was to be part of a show like this, hopefully once i get past this lancaster show to the next one, it will be easier, i had no idea how to display my table, so i got one from the farm, and worked on it all day, lol i thought i better figure this out now before i go,,, thinking i have jury duty tomorrow i better know what and how its going to look, so i took out all 26 videos, along with all the carvings to match the videos, and started,, well i knew it wasnt going to fit on an eight foot table, unless i did some shelving ,,,, well i worked on cutting blocks for the shelves and planks, because i wanted to be able to break it down,, by the time i was done it look good, decent in fact i was please with the layout and got my three portable dvds going , and match up with the carving that was playing, i left for a while, and came back and looked at it , thinking , this isnt an 8 foot table its 6 foot LOL LOL stupid me, well one thing for sure its going to fit , and its going to be fine, well like i said its my first show i think there will be alot to learn, happy carving to you all

thanks to all that serve

hi folks, this weekend we remember those that gave their life so that we could be free, and those that are serving us today, to the fine men and women that serve , i give a heart felt thank you, my folks lived in holland during WWII, came here to pursue the american dream, but before that in wwII my folks knew what war was and living under those conditions , they have always been grateful those that freed them in holland,,, freedom came with a price, and we will always honor those that provided that freedom and to all that serve, hold your head high, you deserve it, happy and safe holiday to all, and find some time to sit outside with friends and family, and dont forget to take along something to carve while your chatting, God bless america, arleen

antiquing a woodcarving, a simple way

hi folks, thought you might like to see this , i found a simple way to do this , hope this helps you , enjoy, arleen

how simple way to make a sign

hi folks , as you know i had a baby shower that i made baby in a pea pod and also had to make a sign to tell folks where the parking was available. i refill inkjets as a part-time business so using a printer is not a problem, i printed out the sign but my problem is how to you hang it to a post, well i found a neat way to do so, hope this helps some of you that need an easy way to make a sign and how you can reuse it over and over again, and save some money, happy carving folks

the visitor on the deck , lol

well, hi folks, after mowing the two yards and the farm yard, i just wanted to relax on the deck , to do some woodcarving, i am working on three branch santas, that will be donating to use at the show for their hourly drawing, my mom was already sitting outside for the evening, and i decided to join her,,, i was carving and chatting, which i like to do both when ever i can, lol as we are chatting , a raccoon came up the deck steps to the platform, we yelled at it and it went away, i know he was looking for some cat food we put out from time to time, lol my mom was more than ready to go inside, i wasnt to far behind her, lol well lets say i didnt get a much carving done as i wanted, lol ,, well the door prizes will have to wait till tomorrow, lol happy carving folks

timing is everything, most of the time, and some thoughts about the show

hi folks i know most of us find it hard to find time to do the thing we love to do, i been blessed this past year to be able to do so, its been a wonderful time, and year, its been over a year ago i started the youtube videos, and wow, if you would have told me back then what this would be like this year i would not believe you,,,, the amount of work, really isnt work if you love what you do, and i love to carve, most of you do, do we ever get paid what its really worth, sadly no, if you make enough to cover your tools and some little added things then your doing well,

i believe timing is everything, and most of the time, you have to decide it right or not, i have no idea what or how the show will go, cause it the first and only show i ever had a table ... i am planning other shows around the area, did some phone calls to get needed information. so it will depend how this show goes, i know the economy is terrible in the states yet, and i really dont believe we will get out of this mess for a while, the media wants us to believe its getting better, yeah for who, the average person i know is not out of this downturn, but i cant complain, if it goes well or not, i will be happy, happy that its been a wonderful year, and happy to at least to give it a try,

nothing venture nothing gain, is a motto i kinda live by,,, as many of you know i ran a farm with my folks for 23 years, i know all to well what its like to work your hardest and not get any money in return,,and paid to stay in it for another year, its was just part of farming i accepted it, but also we had good years to carry us, but then i had to decide, and i decide it was enough, farming days are to a crawl now,some things are still going on but nothing big as before, again timing was everything, and when the worse of times came , there was always something better, i didnt always see it, but i know the one that did see it, and to him i am always grateful

so i wait to see what it will be like, and if it is good i keep going if it is bad , i will learn from it ,,, then there is something better around the corner , happy carving , arleen

new things we learn using a toothpick, and making signs and carving something new

hi folks the baby shower went very well, below is a picture of how the baby in a pea pod was used on the cake, i put a small hole on the bottom and used a toothpick, then put it right above the icing , it worked well,

plus i had to make the signs for outside to direct folks where to park, i thought of a neat way to do so which i will make a video on it so you folks can use it if you need to in the future, i was very pleased with the way the baby pea pod worked out , i really didnt have any idea how it was going to look, making baby faces is something new to me, i never did one until this one,,,,, see even after 30 years of carving i didnt carve everything, thanks for for taking the time to visit my blog and videos, how i enjoy brining these to you,,, take care and have a wonderful day carving, :) arleen

here is the photo of the one i did for the baby shower

BABY IN A PEA POD # 1 video is up on youtube, more coming later today

i have a surprise , it will go up sunday night, , its a gift lol

hi folks i was ask to make a carving for a gift, i am starting the videos today , because i still have the original with me and so i am trying my best to finish it soon, thanks for your patience,
plus i have family in from canada again , for the weekend, its always good to have them come to see us, one of the 11 year old wants to learn to carve, i said we will wait a year , so i will send along the beginners video for her to watch and learn, she was fine with that, they all have their orders what auntie can carve for them, when auntie has time lol ,,,,,as you can imagine its a busy time, summer is always with alot of visits from the canadians, lol , i still working on some things for the show, it should be a good one, take care folks , and keep carving, arleen

dont you wish you could carve like him, , sure that he had fun creating it

i love the old hymns

MAY 20TH WINNER, PAUL CONGRATS

hi the winner to the dvd giveaway is paul , congrats, next drawing will be june 20th, just email me to enter, for the rest of the year, at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com and put in the subject line dvd giveaway, thanks

folks the sitting duck project is coming , i promise

lol , wow i never seem to have enough time, but folks i promise its coming up later this week, you all know what its like when life gets in the way of our carving,,, ok take care , arleen

tomorrow is our drawing for the dvd giveaway

tomorrow is our next dvd giveaway drawing, if you have not enter, you can do so by emailing me at the carverswoodshop@yahoo.com and put on the subject line DVD GIVEAWAY you will be entered for the rest of the year, good luck, arleen

a request, copyright, you need permission, posted on fb and wci forum

hi folks, i posted this today on the woodcarving illustrated forum and on face book, and will make a video on it, here is what i posted

hi follks, i know we touched on this subject before, and i didnt say anything, but i feel a need to do so today, its a request that you first get my permission to post any patterns that i sell, today i found a woodcarving club that posted a pattern that was purchase from me, i called them today and asked them to please remove it, i ask them to remove it cause it was not fair to those that paid for it, and they understood, i am making the statement here that any pattern that i have for sale not be used on any website, or newletter ,etc, and the youtube videos are free to to watch on youtube, if you download them i am not giving you permission to download them cause its not fair to those that pay for them, i have no problem of you want to embed a video on your site, i allowed for that when i first set up my youtube account, i also know the person that did this for the woodcarving club did not mean any harm, thank you for your understanding on the matter, many hours have gone into making the patterns, projects and videos , and dvds, i want people to continue to enjoy the projects on youtube, i know for certain that many new people want to learn, no doubt i love what i do its been a wonderful year folks and i have you to thank for that, thank you again , arleen

the duck shelf sitter project coming next, and working on some flyers and other things for the show.... always takes time

hi folks, i know i dont have anything up yet as a new project will be a duck shelf sitter project, so i have a pattern ready and just need to cut it out, but i been busy making flyers for the show, making flyers and brochures , and business cards all takes time, and the photo you see is one of the flyers will all 26 dvd covers on it, good thing i love the computer stuff ( most of the time) the one thing it does do it takes a lot of time and paper and ink,,, good thing i am an inkjet refiller, its been very cost effective for me... well i better keep going ,, so many things to get done, just remember when you go to a show , no matter which carving show you go to , people put hours into it, i lost count, i really did, its been about 8 months for me to make all the dvds, and stuff, any show has a huge amount of work into it , i have the easy part, its the planners and the other people doing their part that we have the show at all, take care , arleen

good things take time, santas and snowman posted on my other blog ,

hi folks, i know its been a while since i posted some of my carving for sale on my other blog, which is www.carverswoodshop-creations.blogspot.com i have some santas and a snowman posted , these will be with me at the carving show too, but please email me if you are interested please email me first before paying it, to make sure its available thanks so much , you can email me at the carverswoodshop.yahoo.com thanks, arleen

i did something i dont normally do, email abc, cbs and nbc

hi folks, have you ever done anything that was not normally you? that put yourself out of your comfort zone? that made you a bit on edge? carving can keep you on edge , you always have to me mindful of the knife, so for some yes carving can be. but last night i email all three local (philadelphia ) tv news, told them about my story of an old art of wood carving by a new way of teaching which is youtube, and that 200,000 views in one year? and that we have a carving show in lancaster in june. well this morning i got up, not more than 6 hours after i email it, and there was an email from one of the tv stations, she asked what town i was from, then later email me again that she will forward it to the team,,, i guess that means they are interested, now i getting a little bit on edge, out of my comfort zone, lol i have no idea if they will, but it sounded promising, lol yes folks its different to do your own taping, you can do your own thing, but when a tv program does it or a paper well your not always in control, well i know one thing for sure we arent always in controll but i know the one that is , and thats enough for me, happy carving,,, arleen, ps i will keep you folks posted what happens maybe, maybe not, :)

lol a new project is coming, what may it be?? i be sure to let you know soon

Hi folks, it didn't take me long to find a new project. I will have a new project coming up in the next couple of days. I just came in from cutting the yard. It was an all day event but now that I'm done and ready to start a new project. Hope you will enjoy what we will do next. I know summer is a very busy time of the year. But I'm finding that any time of the year is busy. Finding the time to carve is not always easy. But somehow we always find time to do the things we like. It's funny i got this idea from someone that had a request, you never know where your ideas will come from. Once I start carving the new project I'll be sure to put on this blog. I think you'll find this new project just a fun creative carving project. Happy carving all you all, Arlene.

READY FOR THE LANCASTER SHOW june 5&6 2010

two new videos made today, the branch guys, and graduate

hi folks i am getting ready for the lancaster show coming up in june, i now have 26 different dvds available, a list can be found on my other blog www.arleenscarverswoodshop.blogspot.com also listed are cutouts and patterns, will do another project soon, have to think about it, i had some requests that i going to look into, we will see, have fun carving folks. i know this time a year most of us are getting our gardens and working outside, lots to do before the show comes around, hope to see some of you at the show, take care , arleen

finish branch guy santa photo, and the tree butcher

hi folks, i enjoyed doing both branch guys, and it was fun, i found some more at the same location as before, so i will have plenty , plus i like to try the black walnut and the mulberry branches soon, and see how the detail holds up, its been a fun learning about the trees, it makes me want to learn more about how to identify them, my late uncle john, from canada , could name every tree around the farm, i didnt get to see him to often, but i do remember him coming for a visit here in pa, ( my uncle john was a diary farmer and they couldnt see us to often) when he came i remember him walking around the farm and naming all the trees, he could have told me what it was, he loved trees, and my mom also does, i love trees too, but to carve LOL i guess i am the tree butcher , lol happy and safe carving to ya, arleen , ps i will have another project up soon

i believe a got an answer for both leaves, and learning something new

the first one is a mulberry tree, the other a black walnut here is what i posted on facebook,
i just went for a walk at a state park , found the same tree and went to the forestry office and ask, he believed it to be black walnut, i ask why would it be white, inside, he said , it has to be three inch wide to see the center cord will be dark or black so i believe all those trees to be black walnut,

thanks to all that tried to help with an answer, i will try to carve the black walnut and see how it will carve, see you always can learn something new

BRANCH GUY SANTA #7 ( END )

can you help me, what tree are these ?, lol and i thought i knew everything ( not)

hi folks today i went looking around the farm for some more branches that i could carve, i only have a couple of pieces left, and i need more to add to my branch guys series,,, well it was a nice sunny crisp day, and low and behold i found some , i have think the one is poplar tree, and the other i dont know so i thought i will post them here and maybe someone could be so kind to tell me what they are,,,, these two trees were right next to my barn at the farm, and there is alot of it, i was going to cut all of them down, cause they are growing along the building, not that it would hurt any to leave them up, but i was ready to take the chainsaw out and start chopping, lol yes i know how to use a chainsaw, but sad to say i dont know that much about what types of trees, i know some like , maple , oak, and some different pine trees, i been a farmer for a long time but i wasnt a tree farmer, i dealt with calves, steers, etc, so i dont know much about trees, now you would think if i am a woodcarver i would know this but , here i thought i knew everything , LOL i guess not,,, any guesses out there what both might be, thanks for your help, and i have this posted on face book too, so i should have an answer soon, happy carving, arleen

branch guy ( santa) video 1 and 2 are up on youtube

if your new to my blog ,chickadee dvd video clip sample,

if your new to my blog i have three blogs , below is a sample of my chickadee video clip , this dvd is for sale , and more dvds can be found on my other blog called www.arleenscarverswoodshop.blogspot.com thanks arleen

starting the new branch guy (santa) and happy mothers day

here i go again folks, i dont know how i get all the different ideas, when i think i cant come up with something new , it just happens, some of us find it hard to find what to do next as a project,, but the branch guy can be a number of things, as i said before finding the branches is my hardest part, lol well happy mothers day to all of you that are moms, your very special, i know my mom is a special lady, she loves to cook, and take care of her family, she deserves the best and no less, sorry i might be a bit old fashion, but both mom and dad are to be respected in highest regard, when i hear folks that dont get along with their folks it saddens me, and sometimes i know its not always the child's fault,,, i know i been blessed to have both a mom and dad in my life, and we often take them for granted, and those of you that have lost a parent know all to well that you cant go back and change things, so i tried to always put my folks care before my own, and help them with what ever they need, cause i dont want to look back and regret any of it, and now i can honestly say i have no regrets,,, imagine, to be able to say that, to me that it better that having gold and silver, i was a blessed kid, and still am, lol happy mothers day , arleen

branch guy santa is coming soon, and having fun

wow folks the response i had on my branch guy amazed me, i was eager to get my next branch guy started today, which will be a santa, so i guess you could say that this will be a series on the branch guy,,, two for now the mountain man and the santa, i have one more that i have in mind but i really need to to look for the branches, lol , i really only found these two pieces at a state park near by, and havent found more,, strange, but i going to look in the woods at the farm in the next couple of days if the weather is good, well look at this way its a free hobby if you can find the wood lol, so see this hobby can be cheap, some of the time,,, think i prefer to use the good old basswood blocks, but i can see where doing these can be alot of fun, and hopefully i will find more branches soon,, ahhh just came up with another idea to add to the branch guy ... never knew this would be soo much fun, i hope your enjoying whatever carving your working on , really is there anything better that a good fun carving project?,,,, nope i dont think so, happy carving to ya, arleen

my youtube video of my finished branch guy

branch guy ( mountain man) is done,

hi folks this was a fun project, and i will start another one in this series called the branch guy, the next one will be a santa, so i will start it soon, so get your knives sharp and ready, hope you folks enjoyed it, i sure did,, the top photo is the two ways you can finish it, i decided to paint it which i thought looked good and i was happy with it , can't wait to do the santa, take care folks and enjoy your weekend , arleen

new project called the branch guy ,

hi folks i am at it again, as i told you in the past few blogs about wood spirits i was going to change the name which is called the branch guy,,, i know not that great of a name but i am ok with it, plus i am planning to do a few different ones ,, you will see as we go along,, this one is the mountain man, branch guy, so here is where i begin, enjoy , and happy and safe carving to ya, arleen

hobo graduate on youtube

finished the hobo graduate

hi folks i know this took longer than i thought it would but i am happy with him, will start another project soon, thanks arleen

another dvd chipmunk and the pansy flower pin

hi folks, well dvd #24 is done , the two projects on this is the chipmunk and the pansy flower pin. i try to get as much on on dvd as i can,, this one i was able to do two projects, please if your interested please go to www.arleenscarverswoodshop.blogspot.com to order, or just email me at the carverswoodshop@yahoo.com thanks, happy and safe carving to you all , arleen
ps still moving forward on the graduate