love creating from the cone basswood blanks

hi folks,, i just finished up the praying mary,, and of course i will do Joseph next,, just have to think on it for a day or two,, but soon i will have the whole nativity set done,, but most of all all the caricatures that i designed the past few months have been from the cone cutout,, very simple concept and oh i enjoy it,, i keep thinking i cant create another project and bingo i think of something that might work,, so keep carving folks,, thanks so much for watching the youtube videos and also reading my blog,, arleen

youtube finished project praying mary

PRAYING MARY #9 (END)

new dvds coming soon !!!

hi folks going to make a few more new dvds,, baseball player and sparky the fire dog, fisherman and ball in a cage,, will take a few days to get ready,, that will make numbers 48 and 49 :) i having fun folks,, ohhhh Joseph will be carved soon on youtube hopefully in the next week or so 

PRAYING MARY #1

here we go again, :)  i have 8 videos or 9 of this project,, some are posted tonight the rest tomorrow,, thanks and enjoy,, arleen you can find the rest of them on my youtube channel,,

PRAYING MARY

hi folks just having some fun in the studio today,, with a holiday to start off the summer,,  i just wanted to see how well the air works in the camper,, works great,,  it was 90 degrees today,, ohhh my ,, i dont like the heat,, but anyway,, i decided to do a little 2 inch praying mary,, sooner or later i will get a nativity set done lol one at a time, so i might do this one on line just a bit bigger  4 inches or so,,  but here it is , nothing fancy just something simple,, take care , hope you all had a safe holiday,, keep carving,, arleen

two classes set up for june

hi folks,, i  have posted two videos of  woodcarving classes in june,, thanks folks

WOOD CARVING CLASS ( CONE SHEPHERD) ONE DAY CLASS

WOOD CARVING CLASS ( CONE SNOWMAN) #2. ONE DAY

painting in my new camper studio

hi folks  i decided that i needed to get some of my carvings painted,  if your like me and rather carve then paint will this is what happens when you wait LOL ,, , i painted this in the carvers camper studio,,  it worked out just great ,, i could leave it till the next day,, and now i have a few ready to put on ebay,, or keep them here in the studio to sell later this year,,   they look a little glossy cause of the mineral oil mix that i use as a finish,, but in a couple of days that will disappear.  enjoy,, i am  having a great time,, still hard for me to believe that i really have my studio,, :)   keep carving folks, arleen

what shall i do this fall, which shows?

hi folks,, believe it or not , my mailbox, is filling up with applications for various woodcarving shows and craft shows,  now i have to see what i plan to do this fall,, i believe going to shows are important, but at the same time the expense of it can be high depending where you go,, so i am going to have to figure out which ones to go to,,so  i will have to sit back take out a calendar and see what i can do,,,  its always nice to meet folks at the show,, i will keep you updated which ones i plan to do later this year,, take care folks and keep carving, arleen 

BALL IN A CAGE # 7 ( END)

BALL IN A CAGE #1

here you go ,, there are 7 videos in all,,  i have two up on youtube,   the rest will be up soon, hopefully by tomorrow afternoon,, thanks , and enjoy, arleen

when you reach your goal what is next?? lots :)

hi folks, some of you that follow me know that today was a day i was waiting for a long time,, a studio that i can teach , carve and work in with a hobby of woodcarving that i love...,,  when i started to do the videos on youtube back in 2009 , i did one of myself that so  folks could see what i looked like,, it was called   arleen , the woodcarver,,  in that video i said that i would like to set shop at the farm,, now three years later,, its here,  how sweet to reach a goal,, no matter what it is,, if you work hard at it,, and search for it, and make it come to pass there is a bittersweet feeling,, now what is next,, well lots and lots,  lots of time here, and just enjoying it,,  most of us reach a goal and then set another goal,  i just going to enjoy it for what it is now,, and then plan all the classes i like to do here,  and hope that it becomes a place people like to come to.  but mostly folks,,  i just in a awe,, of it all,  thanks for going with me in my journey of finding what i was looking for,,  i would not have thought of a camper to work out,, but this one does exactly what i want it to do,,  i dont think i could find anything more perfect of what i wanted,, and the great thing it can come along with me if i move or decide to move to another location , or just a different  place around the farm,, :)  one person said god will give you your hearts desire,, and yes he did,, more then i thought,  and i am so thankful,, take care and keep carving

first class at the carvers camper studio, i had a great day!!

they did a great job carving the santa bottle stopper,, i had a good time caving,, this was the first class in the camper,, worked out very well,, thanks to all that came,,  after,, thinking of this soo long and to have it become real, what a great day it was for me today,,  i will have more carving classes posted soon,, enjoy the photos,,  i am blessed :) 

carverswoodshop sign at the carvers carvers camper :)

update,, i had to take him back into the garage,, he was cracking, maybe due to age,, so the sign is out on the camper, :)  take care,,  and keep carving everyone   , arleen 

well ok here i did it i finally used this carving i did back in the 80s,  it was in the garage most of the time,, i didnt want to put it out do to my amish neighbors but now i thought i would not paint it,, and use it to hold my sign for the carverswoodshop,, thought it was fitting for folks to know what it is and at the right place,, lol so i had to put him to work,, lol ,,,  i am about ready for the class on monday,, had the plumber in for about half a day,, and all the electric works,, so its ready to go,  what i neat camper,, i still feel so blessed,  take care folks,, enjoy the photos ,, arleen

lancaster county woodcarvers meeting, our carving project

this ball in cage was taught at our lancaster county woodcarvers meeting,, it was fun,, took longer then i thought,, this is the first time carving one of these, thanks mark for teaching this project to us,, arleen


i hope to get a video on youtube how to do this project,, for those of you that would like to try,,   it amazes me that i never did one of these till tonight,,  lol  i enjoyed it,, and i learn a few tricks to do this project,,  i ask for another blank  and mark was kind enough to let me have one,,  he did a fine job putting this together,,  


today, i now have five people signed up for the class next monday,, one spot remaining,, lol mom said she wanted to bake some goodies lol ,,i have to say , she enjoys to make treats,, so see if she is up to doing so,, my mom will be turning 80 this year,, she is a great cook,,  :)   


the plumber was here most of the afternoon,, fixing some things that needed to be done on the camper and also in the barn ,,,   so hopefully the money pit will stop for a while, lol    its always more then you think,,  budgets  lol kinda of a laugh,, but overall i still very happy with what i got,,  and very thankful,,,,  


keep carving folks, and take care  arleen  

a special couple that came to the lancaster show last march

this was in our newletter from the lancaster county woodcarvers club..... arleen

Who came to our 2012 Carving Show
the greatest distance?
Angie & Claude Champine!
Recovering from surgery Claude’s family gave him
a laptop to find something to do while recuperating.
While surfing the Internet he found YouTube, then
woodcarving and then Arleen Zomer’s YouTube site.
Arleen had her videos of carving and it struck
Claude’s interest and he was hooked.
Then they saw her ad for the LCWC Show and
found that Arleen was going to be attending. With that
they began planning a trip from their home in
Michigan to our show. After a 10 hour drive they
arrived in Lancaster Pa and at the show they met their
new friend Arleen Zomer. They had a great time
talking about her carvings and both Claude and his
wife Angie spent the entire day Saturday at the show.
As they were exiting the show Pete happened to see
them and asked if they were returning Sunday and
they had not planned to do that, Pete said, “Just wait
one minute!” and returned with 2 passes for the
Sunday event and they were so excited they returned
the next day and spent another day in seminars, (we
think they may have taken most all of them) visiting
the carvers tables and of course more time with
Arleen.
We hope this time here in Lancaster will bring
many chips from Claude’s knife and a new and
fulfilling use of Claude’s free time.

dont assume

interesting title,, we are taught in the police training, not to assume,  to get facts before you decide what to do,,, and today ,  as i was listening to yet another sermon in church ,, i began to assume that i knew were the story was headed,, i was soooo wrong,, it was completely different direction then i thought,, how many times we assume things that well are dead wrong,,  i sure have,,  why am i telling you this,, well,, sometimes we assume we know all about carving,, many of us that carve for a very long time just assume that there is only one way to do it, and there is nothing left to learn,, how wrong we are,, if you are a carver for a long time,, and feel like you cant learn anything new, well think again,, every time i go to a club meeting or a carving show, or just talking with other carvers, well there is always something new to learn, maybe a way you sharpen, or a way to get ideas for new carving projects, dont assume you learn all that your able to,, remember,, carving is a learning process, and if for some reason,,  you seem at a dead end,, well something will come along , and i light bulb will go off, saying , well i didnt know about that, or i should try it this way,,
,, i dont care how long you been carving, it can always improve, no matter what,,and it may just be  something sooooo simple that can make a difference, so dont assume , keep learning and  keep carving,, arleen

a week to go,, :) and thinking of the next step?? three things i like to do

hi folks, as i continue to get the studio camper ready for my first class , i keep thinking what a wonderful studio i found,,  just being happy by the fact that i got something that will work well for everything i wanted to do,,,  i have 4 people signed up for the class ( may 21)  and looking forward to seeing the folks from my classes in the past,,  i know its been a while since i taught a class about 10 months or so,, but now there will be more,   i just finished the outside steps with a small hand rail, nothing fancy,, my mother needed it to get up the steps and thought it might be best to get it done before the class, the steps were a bit short so i put a wooden skid under them and it is just the right,  i then put a very plain railing ,, and it looks ok,, and solid,, my mom just came over to see it and it passed her inspection LOL   the tables and chairs are set inside,,  and plenty of room to move about,, for 7 people,,  i just put all the paints in here ,, and will be bringing more stuff over tomorrow,,  everything will have a place and it will free my home of some things as well,, the foyer will look bigger lol ,, i had alot of stuff stored in my foyer for the shows, which i now can put in the office,,


1)...i also had the think of the next step??  more classes to come that is for sure but also wanted to do a few different things,, first to have individual wood carving  instructions available for those that can not   come to a class or need extra help ,,, so i will plan to announce that a bit later,,

2)..... also adding more group .. classes,, i will have at least three people for a class,, if not it will be canceled,,  so i will put something together soon, and go from there , some of the classes or night classes will be geared for those that have not carve before, to give them some simple instructions, that will help them before they come to a class

3) and have an open evening or afternoon,   a set time that anyone can come for hour or for the whole time,, bring what your working on, relax and sit and carve a while,,  i know the studio will be limited but even at my carverswoodshop luncheons,, i didnt have more then ten at a time,, i will be there no matter what,, i thinking of fridays, or wed nights,, not sure,, mondays i like to have for my classes,, and seems to work out well for most,, but it will be a set time that will be posted on my blog and facebook,  so any input of times that you might thing would work better i would welcome any email on the topic,,  evening or afternoon?  which would you be willing to come to,, also i leaning for friday nights, from 6-8  or 5-8   for those of you that will be traveling in lancaster county,,
 , i  will be here friday nights for sure as christmas season comes along , and sat,,  i will have my carvings that will be up for sale during the year ,  i had a few people that expressed that they wanted to come see my carvings and if i had a workshop they could come to?  lol now i do,,  and also i never far away,, you can always call to see if i will be in my studio,, :)  484-364-0471 or email carverswoodshop@yahoo.com

so as things move forward,, individual woodcarving instructions,   more classes and times i can be open for those that would like to come carve or visit,, is the plan,,

i see nothing but good things to come,,  and very happy to finally have a place to call my shop,, take care and keep carving,, arleen

making someone's day,, :) can make you smile

hi folks,, today was an interesting day,,,  strange things happen, and for a reason sometimes,,  lol   well tonight as i left my folks place at the farm i heard a cell phone ringing outside?? it creep me out a bit,, i could not see anything cause of the darkness, and i didnt have my flood light with me,, i asked if anyone was outside, no one answered...  good thing i had a carving knife in my pocket ,, yes i took it out,  and thought ok if i get to the car i will drive around the farm to see if i can find the one with the phone ringing,, now i only heard the ring once,,   i got to my car drove behind my folks place, and then around the farm and nobody there,,  well i got out of the car and started to go to the  carvers camper, a truck pulled in the driveway, to turn around ,,,  and i just stood to watch it,, its now about 12 am ,,  i then hear the phone again,,  right in front of the garage,, well i took a look and found a iphone  in the grass ringing,,   i picked it up,, it was lock i could not answer it,, so i called from my cell phone a person called MOM ,,  she was so happy that i found her sons phone,, i said i ran over the cover only  with the lawnmower earlier today, and didnt see the phone, at that time,...  she said her son just paid 500.00 for this phone an just got it working today with all the numbers,,   and they came up to come get it,,  what i neat time chatting with them,, i made their day,,  which was a wonderful feeling,, i know what it is like to lose a cell phone and the cost in replacing it,,,,i also found the cover, it was fine even going over it with the mower,, and we put the cover back over it,,,  so they were here for a while,, the story how the phone got over here in the grass is the son left the phone on the top of the car and drove off,, they live 10 miles away,, they never thought it was this far away,, my guess was that it might have been up  there a while due to the roof rack,,  i told them i was about to go into my carvers camper to work on a few things, and was able to chat about carving and classes to them,, and got to see some of my youtube carvings, here in the camper,,   so it was a good feeling to be able to help someone out,,  and they went away happy..  made me smile, and so glad that i found out that there was not a person walking around the farm,,  lol   keep carving folks,,  

FIREMAN'S DOG (SPARKY)#14 ( END)

finished photo of sparky :) last video to come soon

hi again, the last video will come soon thanks for dropping by,, enjoy, arleen 

what a joy!!

hi folks,, i  am here in the new carvers camper updating my blog,, there are three spots remaining for the cone santa head  bottle stopper class in less then two weeks,, things are shaping up well,  i will try to make my video clips for my project here,, but the cars and trucks going by might is a bit louder then i like it to be,, so i will do a test run on it,,, but plenty of light,,  and plugs in this room,  and plus i not far from the folks if they need me ,, having aircards, computers and cell phone you really can have an office anywhere,,, the technology is amazing,, so portable, and so compact,,  well keep carving and i named the firemans  dog to sparky :)  hope to get a few more videos up by tomorrow night,, take care  arleen

FIREMAN'S DOG #1

hi everyone,, here we go,, lol  i have more videos to tape there are so far 10 video clips  done.... but i  i need to load to youtube, and i have yet to finish the dog ,, so it might take a while,, just have to think how i want to finish it,,  ok the rest you will be able to find... on youtube ,  i will only post the first and last video here on facebook and my blog,, thank,, enjoy arleen

JUST HAVING FUN :) and will start another project very soon

hi folks,, i know its been a while since posting on my youtube channel,,  well the trailer has me very busy,, with two weeks to go before my class, i wanted things to be done,, fixed some broken windows, the air conditioner works great, and all the electrical stuff works, what more could i ask,, i cleaned the camper in and out, and the outside on sat,  put in tables and chairs, and 6 students will fit in here just fine, and plenty of space to move around so, things are going great,,  i have a few things yet to repair outside, no biggie, but it has to be done,, one more thing to purchase before all is done,
folks,, i just having fun,, and most of all feel so bless to be able to have found just what i wanted, its great  to be here  at the farm,, and instead of the shed,, to be able to move it about when i have to is great,, the lighing in here is awesome , lots of windows,, more then i thought,,  i will soon have another project up on youtube,,  another cone project ,  lol i cant seem to get away from it,,  one of the greatest features with this camper, is that everything i need will be here,  no more dragging stuff to a location to teach,, and also i will have some of my carving  i will have for sale in here in my studio camper   for folks that might come to the area, to see,   i will  provide  also private woodcarving  lessons too,  for some that cant make it to a class,  i will post my opening times for those that might be in the lancaster area, to drop by if your here in the summer and fall ,,  so many options, and so many plans,, we all need plans, this is what make life fun,, take care and keep carving,, arleen

santa cone head bottle stopper photos

WOOD CARVING CLASS ( CONE HEAD SANTA BOTTLE STOPPER) #1

first woodcarving class ( santa cone head bottle stopper) monday may 22, 2012 9am-4pm

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  • here we go folks, my first carving class at the farm, in the carvers camper lol, wow i feel so blessed ,  take care folks,,
  • monday may 21 2012  9am to 4 pm   :)  
    
    
    

    927 birdell road honey brook , pa. 19344 484-364-0471

  
  
  

  we will be carving a cone santa head bottle stopper, it will be located at the farm in honey brook at the carverswoodshop carvers camper, pa, 19344 total of 6 folks , cost is 45 , this includes the 1 bottle stopper ( teardrop metal ) and two blanks, make one in class and another at home, more blanks will be available for 3 dollars each paint and brushes provided to finish in class, please email me if your interested, bring your lunch,, cold drinks , bottle water and soda provided carverswoodshop@yahoo.com or called to reserve a spot , thanks arleen

moving ahead , classes are coming soon

hi folks, this past couple of weeks have been very busy,, i just got back from a short trip , and return , and eager to get things moving,,  along with cleaning out the trailer,, and getting the electric hook up i needed, well things are moving forward,, all i have to do yet is repair a couple of windows, and level it out,, and some other minor things and its ready to go,,   i have yet to do more projects on youtube,,  i will soon,, but until then,, i will be ready to start,, ok folks keep carving, i see summer will be here before you know it,, take care bye