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

wood carving clubs?

folks i posted this on my facebook carverswoodshop group  in the doc section, and thought for those that are not part of the group i will post it here,  keep carving, arleen

carving clubs?
hi folks i have to be honest,  i never got into a carving club untill three years ago,, why,  well i had to farm, which didnt allow me to attend the meetings on time, plus i didnt know of the one in lancaster till a few years ago, and well, my first impression was not good of the one that i attended back in the late 80s ...  it was not the lancaster club it was another one, plus it was so far away, i could not get the farm chores done and drive the distance to get there on time..... so today, i do go to a great club, its the lancaster county woodcarving club,,,,,  i found the folks there to be friendly and helpful when needed,   its about 35 min drive for me, .   it doesnt matter what group of folks you decide to join in life, when you have folks that get together, there are bound to be times when folks dont agree,,,, at lancaster i found that most of the members do agree and a lot of issues, but some may not,, and thats fine,,  no matter where i worked, or any group or club i been in,, it only takes one person to really mess things up,  your going to have this,, i going to say something that i would not normally do,, but here i go,,, at my church at one time i was very plugged in,,  i went to many of the events, and helped out were i could,  as i got deeper in how things were handled well i didnt like it as much,, to few people ran it while the rest rode along,,  and some things i really had a hard time to adjust to as new pastors came into the church,,, so over the last 20 years, i go, i enjoy it and i dont get into the politics of it,,  its much easier,,  i still support it but, i find sometimes it would upset me to a point if i didnt justt step back that i wouldnt go at all,,  here is the lesson,, people are people ,, we are going to disagree on things,, it depends how much i want to be right about about a subject,,  or weather i can handle the changes,, and folks there are changes in life , jobs,  etc,  i decided then,, why stress myself out,, just go and enjoy what i did in the first place, or just stay home,, it not worth getting upset ,, so go to a club if you like, if you enjoy the company of other carvers then go,  if you enjoy watching how other carve then go,,,, if you enjoy learning about carving then go,,, if you enjoy getting new ideas  then go,, if you need help ,, then go,,  i sure most carving clubs are there to help you ,,  and hopefully you will enjoy it,, and if not,, carving is a wonderful hobby, you can be a loner at it or have fun sitting with folks to chat and carve,  and that is  what we do at the simple meeting i have at the mall, sad to see the mall meeting end but i sure to figure out another spot,, i not calling it a club, just folks that want a simple get together, and learn and chat,, and if you find a group you just dont click with well then find another, dont stop , just keep looking , or start your own, with some carving buddies, take care and keep carivng 

flooding at good old birdell road it happens at least once a year

i saw the water rescue go pass the farm,, lol it happens every year,,  and i took a photo of this last week of the flooding  where the rescue cars are standing now ,,  its right down the hill, it use to flood much more in the past before the rebuilt the bridge a number of years ago, today it was fine,, 

http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/09/08/news/doc4e68d45af094b730350415.tx

HAY CREEK FESTIVAL CANCELED , DUE TO WEATHER

Hay Creek Valley Historical Association

It is with great sadness and dispare that we announce we must cancel the Hay Creek Festival. Damage to this beautiful property is extensive and will require great effort to mend. While our attention must first be to maintain this historic property the funds generated from our Hay Creek Festival allow us to preserve and restore the furnance and property throughout the year.




I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO IT,, BUT THEY WILL HAVE THE APPLE FESTIVAL ON OCT 8TH, BUT THIS YEAR THEY WILL LET US SET UP FOR SURE, FOR TWO DAYS,, OCT 8TH AND 9TH, FOR THE WEEKEND,,,, OK FOLKS HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE, ....    OH WELL FOLKS ITS WATER, TO MUCH WATER,, I CANT COMPLAIN, AND I WONT, JUST DISAPPOINTED, ,

i finally got this carving done from months ago the big morning santa

wow , never say never,,  well i got him done and ready to take him to the show,, dont know if he will get a new home,, not sure i want to sell him but i  am sure folks will enjoy seeing him, LOL well i hope so ,, anyway,, he is 9 inch high,, and 1 3/4  x 1 3/4  thick , this is the largest morning santa that i have,, but i know i didnt finish it was soon as i should have, but at least it is done now,  sometimes things can take a while, and this one did for some reason,,  i dont know the reason, but what matters its finished,,   so if you have carvings that  not done,, dont fear,, you will someday,, if not today,, maybe tomorrow,, keep carving, and enjoy, arleen

painted a few carvings today,, for haycreek,, hmmm wonder how it will go?

some carvings painted before haycreek, :) the desk works great  rolled it into the living room and popped in a tv series  in the dvd .( little house)  sorry i just love it along with dr quinn, walton and picket fences ...and it was a great afternoon :)  

my new painting center LOL , love my roof rack :)

hi folks, if you follow me on facebook, you saw this already,, this is a computer desk that i found at the flea market where i work,, they wanted to much money for it ,, so i offer what i thought it was worth,, and the waiting paid off,, got it about half of the asking price but had to wait a month to get it ,, was it worth the wait, yes, it was,, i have yet to use it ,, i just set it up after dragging it home,, ( i love the roof rack i got last year,, a cheap one but it works well, :) i have a small toyota corolla, so i been able even to take home some wooden pallets, lol the looks i get from other drivers,, i dont care its funny to me,, the last load i took home well was very high ,,,, it turn a few heads,, and i learn to love those rackets straps ,, they come in handy,, i use them also to tie down some things around my home before irene came along,,,,, but anyway,, its my new painting center,, desk , table what ever you like to call it,,, i always wanted a small desk that i could put just my paints on and be able to use it just for painting, then carving and painting,, if you have a small space this is a perfect desk, to use either as a painting or carving or both if you chose, and there are two shelves so that one can be the items that need to be painted and the top one for the drying process ,, or finished items,, i also have room on the bottom shelf to store my plates and cups for mixing paints, and also cause the shelf that the paint is on its easy level to see your paints,, that was the main reason i wanted this one,, also its on rollers so its easy to move it to a different room if you have to,, plus i will add a clamp on lamp and a hair dryer on it so that i can speed up the painting if i am only doing a couple at a time,, many things you can do,,,,,,, so it was a good day for me,, lol lets see what i will drag on top of the car next weekend,, OHHH its hay creek festival time,, of course i will be able to take everything along,, without using dads truck this time,, the ez up canopy will go on top,, PS i did this last year,, so it does work,, just make sure you got a strap going all the way around inside the car, to make sure nothing flies off the car,, happy carving