HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND WISHING YOU HAPPY CARVING DAYS AHEAD

hi folks,, i am here with my folks as i normally am on new years eve,, and we have a tradition of eating an old dutch tradition that oliebollen, which is dutch donuts,, which is dough with raisins, and put in a deep fryer,, and we eat it with confection sugar,, very good,, they have made this in holland for over 100 years,, and many dutch families enjoy this treat every year,,, and i enjoy ours tonight,, i want you folks to know that i tried to get mom to do a youtube video with me ,, and i would call it cooking with my dutch mama, but she isnt to thrilled with the idea,, but i almost got her to do it tonight with making of this dutch tradition,, lol ,, maybe next time around,, i tease her all the time that we should do a video together,, that way i have all her good recipes on tape, if not on youtube for my own collection,, well i want to wish many of you a very happy new year,, i plan to relax visiting some friend tomorrow, and also letting you know i plan of course to have some new projects in jan,, i been working on getting a new shop here at the farm is still going on,, but i am sure hoping this year a good one, keep carving folks, and thanks again for all of you that enjoy watching my videos , blog and facebook,, may god bless us in the new year,, take care arleen

relaxing time after the holidays? finding carving time...?

hi folks i dont know about you, but after the holidays most of us need just to relax,, i am looking forward the rest of the week to be a bit more quite,, its wonderful to have family around for the holidays, but its not just the company but the shopping and getting the holiday food, for dinners , cleaning up stuff before folks come over etc, like many of you..... it did not leave a lot of time to carve, lately i have to find slot of time to do any carving, lol not complaining cause if i were to carve each and every minute, then it wouldn't be special when i finally would sit down to carve, like all things to much of anything doesn't make it special anymore,, i want to keep my interest in carving special, refreshing, and rewarding.... now as a new year approaches i wonder what it will bring,, i will be sure to think that one over for a couple of days... hope your able to find a bit of time to carve, you can bet i will try to get some carving in this week,,, keep carving, arleen

some more photos of cone santa, by Robert Wilson

here are another couple of photos of robert wilson cone santa,, he did a good job on his santa,, thanks robert

cone shepherds by Wayne Smith

hi folks from time to time i love to share some photos from other carvers. and some carvers will send me photos from following my videos,, i asked wayne if i could post these on my blog , he was kind enough to let me do so,, so here it is ,, he did a great job on his cone shepherds,, thanks so much wayne enjoy folks,, keep carving, arleen

MERRY CHRISTMAS and my old poem

hi everyone,, or shall is say hi folks,, :) i just wanted to wish all of you a very merry christmas,, its been my pleasure to know that so many of you enjoy the blog and videos and facebook,, and that many of you are learning the art of woodcarving,, i hope that your christmas, is a safe one, and that your able to enjoy the day with friends and family,, my family is very small here in pa,, my folks and i,, but i have wonderful dear friends around me,, i will have some family here, late tomorrow night they will be traveling tomorrow on christmas from canada ,, so folks,, keep safe, and keep carving,, arleen

christmas poem, by arleen zomer
twas the night before christmas and all through the house,
a carver was carving , and quiet as a mouse

late at night , all you could see ,
was a light on in the shop where the carver would be,

basswood in one hand and a knife in the other
a gift it would be for sister or brother,

the carver kept working late into the night
knowing all to well it would soon be light

when the carving is done he looks with delight
to be able to give it away to someone tonight

and the smiles it will bring to the ones that he gives ,
the carver will cherish it as long as he lives
merry christmas,

a busy time of year!! deadlines,,

busy,, who? me? yessssss as most of you are too,, it seems every year i vow to get things done earlier so i can enjoy the holidays more ,, lol it never happens,, i guess that is why we have deadlines that we live by,,, christmas dec 25, tax time april 15th, etc,, if i didnt have a deadline i would never get things done on my own,, but somehow ,, we all finish or get things done,, and i just have to remember i am not the only one with deadlines,, some folks work well having a deadline , and are able to get things done in an orderly fashion,, well i dont,, i get things done,, but as i get older ,, my attitude is i will get done when i get done,, but it WILL get done, i learn not to stress over it,, and well its hard not to,, no one likes deadlines, i find i can have a few months before a carving show, and yet,, i always working on something the last min, but it does get done,, the show still goes on,, christmas, and tax time with come weather your ready or not,, that is one of the reasons i dont care to take on commission work,, i never like it,, but once in a great while i will do it,, so , now that christmas is almost here, yess i can say i am finished, and nothing much more to do,,, but at the same time i dont remember running around town so much as i did this past week,, gone all day,, and exhausted by the time i came home, but i got things done,, and now i can really sit here and carve or write this post in some calm manner for a change,, lol i hope you all will find some time in your day weather tomorrow or christmas day, to relax,, it will be ok,, and enjoy a few moments of stillness, keep carving folks, arleen

woodcarving knives, murphy knife vs pocket knife ( rough rider)

answering some questions about knives, beginners, and about rough rider knives

well that was a fun project , simple and fun, and looking for carving room??

hi folks,, as christmas nears, i being to get a feeling that i cant come up with anymore christmas projects,, the simple cone shepherd, just came out of the blue, i was thinking of doing a shepherd,, but just didnt know how to go about it,, well yesterday was a good day,, the project finished in a day, instead of days,, but i enjoy every minute of it,,,, i wish all my projects came to me that easily , but sometimes they do and sometimes not,,,, but where i am to teach carving is a bit of a problem,, i did find a place that was a decent price,, but nothing like having your own room , that you can set up and leave it ,, not having to bring all the stuff you need for a class, i trust that i will find something,, somewhere, and i will keep you all posted when i do find or put something at the farm,, ok have a great night and keep carving,, arleen

simple cone shepherd #11 ( END)

hi folks, this is the last of the 11 video for this project you can get the all of them on my youtube channel, thanks for watching , and enjoy, arleen

SIMPLE CONE SHEPHERD #1

hi folks, there are 11 videos in all, please find the rest on my youtube channel,, also i will be trying to load them all sometime tonight,, thanks again, enjoy arleen

new carving project soon on youtube,, SIMPLE CONE SHEPHERD

hi folks,, i am at it again,, came up with a cone project in my cone series,, called the SIMPLE CONE SHEPHERD, ,, here are a few photos of the finished project,, enjoy, arleen

1000th video from the carverswoodshop and merry christmas

calvin the cat on ebay

hi folks, this calvin is a bit bigger than the one done on the video,, i enjoy making another one,, here is the link to ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/180775126842?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649#ht_500wt_1287

here are some photos

days are passing by and christmas will soon be here and new ideas ?

hi folks,, i know time is passing quickly,, i have one more project for christmas that i would like to do,, not sure yet if i can fit it in,, mean while i am carving a couple of the cats with the santa hat, seem to be a hit with many,,, i will have a couple up for sale in a day or two,, not sure if i will do it here on the blog or on ebay,, have not decided yet which way to go.

well i am always thinking of new projects not only with carving but also some things i like to build,, the solar furnace that i did a couple of years ago , had a great deal of planning,, but i glad now that it was completed,, and enjoying the heat it provides,, and i also enjoy making something no one else has done yet,, or at least few people tried to make, so it makes it more fun when you feel your the first to come up with an idea,, it has to do with a mini studio, and craft shows, iam getting tired of the ez up tent and want something a bit more solid,, i will be sure to take plenty of videos of this new venture, i am sure some of you will want one too,

i often wondered where i come up with these ideas,, i guess i can thank my dad for that,, he always was trying something new for the first time at the farm,, weather it was the auto bucket washer, or auto feeding system,, now mind you the farm you had always new ideas how to improve things or make it easier,, so i guess i have some of that,, my dad enjoyed the simple things in life, but also ventured in new ideas to improve stuff, it made him happy to see ideas come to life,

so as i continue to press forward to this new idea,, who knows i might start a trend ,, wouldnt that be just the neatest thing to do, keep carving folks, i sure will , arleen

finished pencil santa ornament

pencil santa ornament #4 end 001

pencil santa ornament #1

three videos are posted ,,, i will paint and video the last one in a day or so,, thanks for stopping b y, enjoy arleen

listing more on my ebay site,, this one is my large morning santa,,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/180770035541?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649#ht_500wt_1156

i listed 8 more items this morning, but this is by far the largest,, thanks , arleen

some up for sale on ebay

hi folks, no better place then ebay.., if you want to sell your carvings,, its a lot of work to put up things on ebay but to those that asked if i had any carving for sale here ya go lol here is a link to some that i have up , more are sure to follow,, take care and keep carving, arleen

http://www.ebay.com/sch/carverswoodshop/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686

well missed most of joanna at christmas

hi folks,, i been so busy the past few weeks, i been under the weather for the past week, and was only able to do one night ( friday night) and decided it was not a good idea to be out in the cold all three nights,, i caught what a lot of folks had going around the past few weeks,, it the season again of this stuff,, i was very disappointed but happy i am not worse and almost back to normal again,,, some sleep-less nights but over all ok,, along with being sick,, we had a lot of family visiting from canada,,and very busy with a bunch of kids around,, so today i started to list some of my carvings on ebay to start,, lol if you ever done the ebay thing........well its fun but a lot of work too, most of all it takes time,, which right now i got some of that ,, not bunches of it but some,,,, ok folks hope you all have good health the weeks before christmas, and keep carving,, arleen

in awe

hi folks, this blog not only tell you about woodcarving but a little about my life,, i am farmer , woodcarver, and worked in security, etc,,, but if you follow you also know that i have a faith that i depend on in life. many of you have this same faith,, some do not,, i just want you to know that i am not one that will beat you over the head with a bible,, my faith is a quite one,, now i know some of my christian friends out there will say that its my responsibly to share every chance i get,, i say no,, its the way you live not the only words you speak.., but i have to learn not to lump folks into a role,, we all do it from time to time, same goes for those folks that see christians hateful people,, some are indeed ,, in fact they not the christians i would choose to relate myself to.....and many of my christians friends will agree, i am not one to start a conversation with you and hi i am a christian,, i rather, that you get to know me,, that i am fallible human first, that tries to do good to all, yes i have attitude,, yes i have my shortcomings many in fact, but in light of all that, i trust god to work those things out in me for the greater good,, i ratheri trust him, and obey him, and try to have that relationship with him,

that no matter what happens in life he is the one that will be there, and when all is done in this life i know for a fact that he is waiting for me ,, and welcoming me... and once you have this faith, it can not be shaken, no matter how i feel, or what i do,,..................... so i am in awe of how he provides, as a farmer, you learn the concept very well, he always always provides ... folks, as some of you know that i lost one of my jobs in the past, it was only a parttime job that i had for over 20 years,, i told you then that when one door closes another one opens,, at the farm we had a field that i use to rent for horses i vowed i never do it again,, but today ,, i cant lump a group of folks into one cause of the fault of one, so i got a call out of the blue,, this person needed a place for 5 horses,, at this point i was haying the fields, we talked for a while and told her my hesitation, so i decided to go ahead and let them rent,, wow i told her that i cant lump everyone cause of one bad apple,,

taught me two things i need to remember

first ,, you cant lump folks into one basket......

second ...- when god sends and answer , your to trust it,,

i dont know how many of you know the story of the man and the flood,, he is standing at the top of his house,, water rising,, and he is yelling for god to save him... so a boat comes along,, they said get in,, but no the man said god is going to save him, and the boat left without him,, later another boat appears,, and the man says again god is going to save him,, and he tells the third boat the same,, the man drowns,, he gets to heaven and asked god why didnt you save me,, god replied,, i sent three boats to you???

so i didnt want to miss the boat that to me was plain as day,,

you all have a great safe carving day,, arleen

working on some new dvds, slow process this time around

hi folks,, i am working on two videos for my dvd collection,, one will be the HIDING THANKSGIVING TURKEY, it will have one project on it , and the other, has three,, CONE SNOWMAN, WINTER TREE, AND THE WOODEN LIGHT BULB SANTA,, it will take a couple of weeks, before i have the covers, and patterns done and ready for sale these will be videos 39 and 40 ,, its been slow cause i lost some of my videos from my old computer,, so finding stuff at all has been kinda tough,, but there is a way,, so i keep at it,, if there is a will there is a way,, is a very true statement,, keep carving folks,,

you never know.....good things aren't always plan

hi folks i had to reflect on the last couple of years,,, as thanksgiving is now past and christmas coming,, and then new year,, i had to think,, i didn't plan how youtube turn out,, nor the blog or facebook,, i just wanted to put videos up about woodcarving,, and now,, looking back,, i sit in awe,, of what it became and wondering how much much it can become. i keeping thinking how many more new projects can i come up with? how many more will come to the site to be interested in woodcarving, and how many of them keep at it after they start.... its an amazing thing,, the internet can be a terrible thing or a wonderful tool to learn,,, there are sites that are good , not all has to be bad on the net,, and i for one want only the good,,, we have enough tv, and talk shows, and movies that are in my opinion just plain garbage, it does my heart good to hear,, that a 12 year old boy , from norway, was on facebook, and wanted to learn to carve,, he was full of questions, yes 12 is young,, when he wrote that he watch 2oo plus videos that i posted on youtube , of the 1000 that i have up,, seems to me he has the carving bug , imagine that,, that a young kid is interested in carving,, not spending his time playing games on a computer but wanting to learn woodcarving,,, and the other day i got an email of a young couple that are trying carving together,, how neat is that,, i hope all those that start will enjoy it enough to continue for a lifetime,, some will become great carvers,, the next generation of carvers,, so you never know what you might do will help another carver,, and good things are not always plan,, i hope that many more enjoy carving,, and learn from not only me but others as well, keep carving folks,

wow what a weekend and next weekend another show,

hi folks, as this past weekend is about over,, it was a busy one for sure,, family being here from canada,,,, holiday shopping on black friday,, and then we decided to have a farm yard sale sat,, wow we never had a farm yard sale before,, we had some farm stuff we didnt use anymore,, so we set up in our truck garage, and just like the shows, that i do,, its a lot of work,,, i have more understanding how much work folks put into these garage sales,, it was a last minute decision,, so cause some of my family was here it was a good time to start,, lol not sure if i would do this all the time, but for a few weeks i will have it ,,

so next weekend,, i will be at the haycreek again for the CHRISTMAS AT JOANNA

http://haycreek.org/christmas_at_joanna.htm

henry the amish kid

hi folks, i did this project over the past couple of days,,, today ( thanksgiving) i finished him,, henry the amish kid,,,, my video will tell you who he was,,, it was a fun project, and now i am about to venture out to our local walmart for the maddness, ,,,,, not much i need ,,, i have family from canada ,, and we enjoy just looking around with the rest of the folks that are shopping, sometimes you can get a great deal... no i am not standing in line for hours,, i wouldnt do that,, but i guess its a time just to hang out with folks you care about and to enjoy some of the beginning of the christmas season .. well i better get going,, lol see if we can find a parking space,, if not i am going back home, :)

henry the amish kid

happy thanksgiving 2011.

cone snowman #8 ( end)

new project CONE SNOWMAN

hi folk, this is another way you can carve the cone series ,, i am having fun making all these differemt project using the same pattern ,, the cone,, hope your enjoying them as much as i am making them,, take care,, ohhh there are 8 videos to this project , i will have them up soon ,, arleen

cone snowman #2

hi again, there are 7 videos for this new project CONE SNOWMAN,, thought it would be fun to do it from the cone, pattern,, ok take care and keep carving ,arleen

here is the pattern for the light bulb santa,,

hi folks since i dont have a dvd out on this year,, i give this one to you,, its the light bulb santa, there are three on the original pattern and i dont know where i put it at the moment,, its hiding lol anyway here is one of them , have fun making them, and enjoy, keep carving, arleen

christmas ball ornament for the beginner #7 (end)

hi folks all 7 videos are up,, thanks, and enjoy, arleen

new project CHRISTMAS BALL ORNAMENT FOR THE BEGINNER

Hi again, folks,, i thought i needed something really simple for folks that are just starting to carve, and i decided to make a couple of christmas ball ornaments,, there really is alot of different things you can do with this project,, just carve them and put someones name and year on them or do a relief carving on it, or chip carve it,, the ideas are endless,, but its a great way for a beginner to know how to handle the knife and wood, enjoy,, i will try to get the rest of the videos up by tomorrow morning,, take care and keep carving,, arleen

calvin the cat in a santa hat #11 ( end)

FINISHED project,, enjoy,, arleen

calvin the cat in a santa hat #1

another new project of calvin the cat with the santa hat,, there are so far 10 videos to this project,, enjoy,, arleen

what to do on saturday????? i dont know ,, maybe carve a while

hi folks,, some of you know how i might feel tomorrow,, i worked every saturday for the last 20 years , doing security work for a mall,, and now i am laid off,, yes it was only a part time job but still a job, that i enjoyed,, last week was my last official day to work on sat,, the mall where i work has closed,, the questions i had the past month about the mall is what are they going to do with it ??? my honest answer was i have no idea,, all i know is i work until they tell me its time to go,, i wanted to help them out with the last few weeks,, if needed,, but as many folks around the country well ,, being laid off is never easy,, especially when you work at one place for so long,, i always enjoy the mall

who was i?

was the person that found your kid in tears when they could not find you

i was the person that comfort your love one when we called for help when they were hurt

i was the person that walk your love one to the car when they were afraid

i was the person that would listen when you had a bad day

i was the person that would make sure the building was empty when the alarm went off

i was the first person was called when an accident happen

i was the first person that came when you had folks upset with you ,

i was the first person that would protect you if you were in harms way,

i was the first person that would hear the complaints

i was the first person that would be willing to say goodmorning or good night,

i was the first person that would hear much of the new news going around,

and i will be the first person that will say i enjoyed , my job as a security guard,

but the best thing was hearing from folks when i enter ,, ' SO GLAD YOUR WORKING TODAY"

it always made my day!!

to many were are just a rent a cop but to many we were where we were to be at the time, and i will say that many folks didnt call us that but thanks us for helping out where we could, thanks to all that made my career as a guard a good one, and hope to the many folks i came to know , i learn a lot from all of you, thanks ,, weather i did armed guard work or unarmed work i always met great people along the way,,,,,, i am a firm believer when one door closes another open, take care, arleen

arleen

carving for sale on ebay will be posted on my other blog

hi folks i have another blog called carverswoodshop - creations ,, here is the link it will have what i will be posting on ebay for sale,, thanks http://carverswoodshop-creations.blogspot.com/

just having fun,, christmas cat ( calvin )

hi folks sometimes the best carvings are done just out of the blue,, i started to carve this cat, with a santa hat,, from my cone penguin and cone santa ideas,, it was fun,, to do all of them but this cat has the hat folding down on his head,, i might do a video how to do this, not sure yet,, ok take care and keep carving, arleen

hiding thanksgiving turkey # 22 ( end) black hat

hiding thanksgiving turkey #21 ( painted the hat grey)

ITS FINISHED, :) HIDING THANKSGIVING TURKEY

hi folks i have three more videos to post today , but here is a glimpse of my finished turkey,, just to let you folks know, i painted the hat twice , once in grey and then decided to make the hat black, i have a video of the grey hat first so you can choose which one you prefer,, its finished,, it was a fun project to do ,, its always fun to come up with an idea and to carve it ,,,, i very happy with the outcome,, hope you like it too, take care and keep carving,, and yes i start another project very very soon, thanks for dropping by,, arleen

almost done, taking longer than i thought,,

hi folks, if you following the HIDING THANKSGIVING TURKEY, well its taking a bit longer then i thought, but hope to get it done and all the videos up by tomorrow,, so please ck my youtube channel, (CARVERSWOODSHOP) all the videos are posted there,, so far 20 video clips,, well cant wait to paint it ,, ok folks keep carving, arleen

IMPORTANT new changes,, 1.50 PATTERN NOT AVAILABLE , ONLY WITH A PURCHASE OF A DVD ,

hi folks,, i came to a decision that was not an easy one,, i want folks to enjoy the projects i have on youtube,, your welcome to watch them as many times as you like and enjoy, the patterns have become an issue for me,,, i had been selling them for 1.50 per project, by email only,, i decided, by the time paypal take a chunk out of it and the time it takes me to respond to emails,, it takes to much of my time, some folks had a hard time opening it up, in the their emails etc,, by the time i explained it it would have been easier to mail it at times,, ,, as i am moving forward, i decided to only give the pattern to those that purchase a dvd,, i reduce the dvd cost to 10.00 which is way below any other woodcarving dvd on the market,, i understand that times are tough and i decided to reduce the cost of the dvd, if you wanted to purchase one,, and plus it will have a pattern for those projects that require it, many are done from a block which does not need a pattern , thanks for your understanding of this,, ,, i dont think folks realize the amount of time and effort it is to do these projects on youtube,, your getting thousands of dollars of lessons for free over the youtube channel,, if you take a class anywhere, it costs 40-65 per project to take a class,, depending on the details on the carvings,, so please, understand,, i dont have everything on dvd, i have 38 which many of them have more than one project,, i plan to do two more dvds soon,, until i can go back and change the 1.50 statements at the beginning of each project , will take a couple of weeks,, thanks your welcome to email me , or call if you have any questions,, thanks again, arleen

hiding thanksgiving turkey #1

my new project of the HIDING THANKGIVING TURKEY ( IS THANKSGIVING OVER YET :) ) i thought it would be fun to do,, the idea came to me the other day,, for one of my favorite holidays,,, enjoy,, folks just to let you know it might take a while for me to finish this project,, so give me some time to finish it ,, thanks

cone penguin #5 ( end )

end

new poll please vote -------------------------------------------->

ok folks i need your help in knowing what you like see taught on youtube,, please vote on which projects you would like to do,, it would be listed on the rightside of the page,,, thanks for taking the time to do so here is the link , thanks again, arleen

cone penguin#2

this new project is a simple for the beginner and it is five video clips i will try to get them up tonight, take care keep carving, enjoy, arleen

the kindness of folks ... who can you be kind to today?

hi folks,, the other day i got an email from someone that sent me a banner he created for my youtube channel,, that he wanted to give something back, he said he was enjoying the videos,, and that i was welcome to use it for free,, wow,, i open it up and it was great,, to be honest i didnt have the time to figure how to get the wood backround on this banner,, so i was happy to post it on the top of my youtube channel,, so THANK YOU DAVID!!,

so you folks will see this at the top of my youtube page and its will stay there,, also i figured out how to do a background photo, that i can change from time to time,,

also jim is another person that was kind to set up a page to help you folks find videos clip of the different projects here is his link http://blog.mischel.com/arlene-carverswoodshop-carving-videos/ he had a program that made it easy to find all the video clips in one location,, he updates this site often, so be sure to ck it out,, i also found it helpful many times,,,,

THANK YOU JIM

both were a surprised to me when these folks took the time to do something kind,,,

i enjoy being able to do this as well,, and remember it doesnt have to be anything big,, something small can mean the most,, everyone deserves some kindness, you can make a difference,, i think sometimes you only need to something small take care and keep carving,, arleen

outside my home

this burning bush was so nice the other day,,, i took it with my cell phone,, and we just had snow a little over a week ago,, wow crazy weather ,, i wonder what winter will bring ?

calvin sleeping in this tree

lol found him sleeping in this tree, he is afraid of the bigger cats that roam around the farm,, i just had to take a quick photo of him,, lol he is up there a lot

cone santa #13 ( END)

cone santa #10

there are a total of 13 video clips for this project,, and i will start a new different cone project soon ,, take care and keep carving, enjoy,, arleen

after the wood carving show,, what i learn

hi folks,, as always, when you go to a woodcarving show your bound to learn something,, it doesnt have to be about woodcarving,,, it was more about people,, just to let you know that the show went very well,, i know it seemed a bit slower than normally but that was fine with me,,, it gave me the time to chat with folks, of course about woodcarving,, and other things,, when shows are very busy , you dont have the time to spend chatting with folks,,, so it was a relaxed feeling for me,, i just went to enjoy my weekend out among carvers,,, and boy did i ,,,, i ran into the most interesting folks,, listen to their stories,, and just enjoy the event,, i am amazed that folks from different walks of life, can come together to enjoy woodcarving,, it did my heart good,,, everyone seem to enjoy the art work in the room,, and so many different types of wood carvings,, so if you can go to a carving show do yourself a favor and GO ,, every time i feel i cant learn anything new, something comes up that renews my interest in carving, or in people,, thanks to all that came to the show,, my next show i think will be at delaware valley in fairless hills,, in feb 2012 ... i am planning on it for now,, but i have one more outdoor show at the christmas at joannas, at haycreek,, i be sure to post the dates for those that would like to come,, have a great week folks,, and keep carving, arleen

love this carving from jordan straker one of the best

to stain it and lightly wash it with acrylics. It is for a customer's Christmas card photograph. All basswood - 14" long, 9" wide and 8.75" high. The bears and the mattress/side rails are all one piece, the rest are separate pieces. I LOVED carving this! ....jordon straker carver

hey folks i dont do this to much but i had to share this with you ,, jordon, from my facebook group posted this photo,, i think its one of the best of the best, of carvings,,, i was in love it the first time i saw it,, and wanted you to see it,, i asked jordans permission to post this on my blog,, he did a wonderful job on it ,, i will also post some information that he put along with it ,, thanks for stopping by,, one day i hope to be able to do this,, i honestly believe that we all have gifts ,, and different from one another, this is his gift,, enjoy,, arleen

william rush show lima pa 2011 spoon carver

willaim rush show lima pa, 2011

at the show william rush , having a great time

hi folks just found some time to blog this at the show,, thanks for stopping by,, having a great time,,

cone santa #4

hi folks, a new santa,, enjoy, and dont forget to wear your glove and thumb guard,,, off to the william show i go,, take care and keep carving, arleen

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