happy new year 2013 and what is new ??

hi folks i know this is a bit early but in a couple of days we will close 2012,  for some it was a sad year and to others it was a good year.... for me it was a good year,  i got my studio this year,, and things fell into place nicely,,  so i had a very nice 2012,,    as i look back at it,, i can't help but to feel blessed,  very blessed,
so what is in store for 2013  ,, to be honest i do not know,,,  sometimes when you reach a goal,, there is a bit of a let down,,     i just enjoyed reaching my goal, knowing the things fell into place and just resting in the joy of it all,  
do i have plans?  well a few,, to continue having classes here, and just teaching  1-2 times a month,, until summer,  and resume in the fall,
and have my open house sat afternoons, the first sat of each month,
 also to have the studio open for folks that call , this summer if they are coming to the lancaster area.. as far as going to woodcarving shows,  i do not believe i will,,just the lancaster show is the only one i will attend ,,,   its so much work and planning, the first year it was a blast,, but since i have the camper studio i do not feel the need to do many shows.   to tell you the truth,,  i am already looking forward to next sept - dec,
it was a special  s time to have the studio open to the public this past christmas season ,, i had no idea how it would work out, and lo and behold it worked out good,,   many nights i was open no one showed up,,  that is fine,, i was working anyway,, and sats  were the day that they stopped by,,  i did well, and i am hoping as i may do this for a few years  that folks will know that i am there, and that getting the word out that i am open will catch on,,  so we will see,  just like this year i had no idea how things would be,,, and it was great,  i am hoping 2013 will have some great surprises for me as well,  take care and keep carving, and of course i have new youtube projects coming along with dvds to follow,  happy new year to you all,, arleen

hi folks, after a couple of days the three dvds are done,,
all are 10dollars each and free shipping the usa and canada,,
#54 cone chef and cone clown 3hours 19 mins
#55 cone little drummer boy and simple angel from a block 2 hours 47 min
#56 cone mrs claus and santa's reindeer 3 hours 57 mins

email me at the carverswoodshop@yahoo.com

cell phone money pit lol

hi folks,, if you follow me on facebook you know my cell didnt survive the washing machine today,, sad i just got it about 8 weeks ago,, and learning a new cell smart phone took me a couple of days,,  so i went back to walmart to repurchase the same phone,,  nope not there, so i went 20 miles to another walmart, and yes they had the same one,,   so this only took one evening,,  not days, to figure a new phone out,,    but its up and running,, funny how dependent we become to a cell phone, all the information that it stores, and photos,, sadly i lost everything on the new photo, most of the photos were loaded to the laptop, and i have the other old phone that now works enough that i can put back some of the numbers i need,,,, wow,, i know most of us use cell phones today,, and how much they become a regular part of our daily life,,   and what a lifeline to many,,,  i just wanted to make sure that my folks could reach me if needed,, so all is well again,,  so many things in life that can go wrong,, and when you lose a cell phone,, i have to think this really is not a big deal,, just go get another one,, yes it cost some but really in the scope of things, it more of a pain in the neck. to get it back working the way that you like,, i think i rather be carving LOL ..

new dvds coming, two almost done and one to go

OK here we go,, i decided it was a great day to work on the new dvds,, so far,, this is what is planned,, one dvd almost ready,, the rest will take a few more days,, 
dvd #54 cone chef & cone clown 3hours and 19min long, dvd #55 little drummer boy and simple angel from a block,, and the last dvd #56 mrs clause and santa's reindeer,, hope to get all these ready in a few days,, thanks folks, all are 10 dollars each free shipping in the usa and canada, some of you request some of these,,, thanks ,, arleen

merry christmas

to my family in holland and canda, and to all my friends, and  carving buddies here on facebook,, i want to wish everyone a very merry christmas,, and happy new year,, thanks for all your posting on fb and i look forward to a new year of new carving ventures,,  take care be careful driving , and remember the real reason for the season is Jesus, thank God for his wonderful gift!!!

coming in jan , three new dvds

hi folks, christmas is about  here, and now i am thinking of the new year,, i try not to rush a season it will be here before you know it,, but i had a few folks ask for some of my last few carvings if i have them on dvd,,  i got a bit behind with making new dvds,, i was trying to put two projects that relate somehow together , that is one of the reasons i waited for a while,, i went back to look and thought wow i  am way behind,, lol  so here is what i am planning,, sometime in jan i will put togethere the following ,,  i plan to have dvd #54  mrs clause and reindeer .... #54 chef and clown,, #55 little drummer boy and simple angel from a block,,  ,,,  of cousre these will be the same price as my others  10 dollars each dvd with free shipping in the usa and canada,, thanks folks,,  have a great weekend , keep carving,, arleen

LITTLE DRUMMER BOY # 14 ( END)

carverswoodshop, camper /studio open before christmas to the public

little drummer finished

hi folks i will get the rest of the videos of this project up in a day or two,, enjoy,, arleen

LITTLE DRUMMER BOY #1

little drummer boy unfinished

hi folks an other cone project  there will be a videos up on youtube soon,, have to load all 14 videos and yet have to paint him which will be done in a day or so,,  ok enjoy,, arleen ,, ps i post the first and last of the video here on facebook the rest will be on my youtube channel,,

SHORTY SANTA FINISHED, CLASSES ON THIS SANTA

beginners question how to clean up a carving

hi folks i was asked how do you clean up the fuzzies or how do you prevent them  is a better question,, cleaning them up can be tough,, some say a tooth brush,, but i find just going back over it with a sharp knife can clean up about anything, here is how i answered him today .................

 a few things about fuzzies,, 1 -- a sharp knif the most important thing *******       2--- good wood    3--- knowing your grain direction on the wood your carving,,   one big part of the fuzzies is just learning to make clean cuts , turning the wood when you feel it is going against the grain, and good wood,,  most beginners have this problem , an other is over cutting,, when you make a stop cut and making sure that the point of the knife is not digging past the stop cut,,   all of this you will learn in time,  and practice   also use the water and rubbing alcohol mix 50/50 and spray it lightly and it will cut better,, but dont over do the stray,, cause once it dries it can crack on you if you over wet it,,  also same thing when carving  eyes  a sharp knife is a must , otherwise it will not work well, learning and keeping a knife sharp  is the most important part to  learn about carving along with safety of a glove and a thumb guard,, keep carving ,  

NEW shorty santas, and some one eye from the class

hi folks i had fun today,, i stayed in my studio turn on some christmas music and painted away,,  i had all these to paint along with some other carvings that i wanted to give as gifts,,   so  some are on ebay,, the santa heads were done in the class as i taught , i normally do a couple at the same time,, so i added much more details to the shorty santas and the santa head to the trim of the hat and tassel  so i am very pleased with the results, along with doing a bit darker antiquing  which worked out very well,,  keep carving,, arleen  
ps the one in the middle is the one we will have the two day class in jan,, , ck listing of this class in an earlier post  thanks

woodcarving class of the santa one eye bottle stopper,, :)

hi everyone, here is a photo of the folks that took the woodcarving class today, they all did a great job,, bob wanted to paint his at home,, they did me proud,, thanks to all the came today,, !!!

shorty santas and class to come in jan 2013 two day class

a new class coming jan 12 and 19th 2013

hi folks,  coming in jan is the open house jan 5th, sat   12 pm to 4 pm,, then jan 12 and 19th is a two day class of SHORTY SANTA,   this will be a 6 inches tall i made one yesterday and have yet to paint him ,, lots of detail here he is unpainted,,  enjoy,, and the class will be at the farm here in the camper studio, limited to 6 folks and the cost is 70,00  one cutout,,  to reserve a seat email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com  thanks ,, keep carving arleen

pine cone class today,,

hi folks , i had a good time teaching the pine cone class today,,  they did a great job on their pine cones,,  now next week we will be carving, a one eye santa head botttle opener,,  it was a great day,,

having fun carving a large santa

hi folks,, i enjoy today,, i carved a bit larger santa, with a cane, i sold two of the smaller ones, and this one is 6 1/2 inches high and 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 wide,,  it was fun something a little bigger was nice to carve  ,

some more little santas

hi folks, just finished painting some santas, now to put them up on ebay,,  having fun

a few more ornament holders

how to make an ornament holder

ornament holders , video coming soon how to make them

hi folks here i go again, this are easy to make, i will have a video how to make them on youtube, and will post it here later today,, thanks and enjoy, arleen

a good day,, open house

hi folks,, as i sat here this afternoon,, i got to meet a few of my neighbors,  nice folks,,  , and sold a few things as well, so it was a super day,, i turned one of the table sit behind and carve, and it worked out well, i can see the things going outside along with able to greet folks as they entered,, i thought a couple of photos would interest you,,  i plan to do a couple of things different next time,,  i plan to be open the sat before christmas as well, if i have any carving left to sell, ebay did really well,,  more then i thought since it was a slow year all around but i guess its all in the timing,,  i plan not to go to christmas at joanna this year, and give this a try right here at the farm,, and to be honest i love this more,, ,, no packing and unpacking, and no other cost to travel, and the cost to be there for three nights,, i still plan to be at the apple fest each year, its still a great place to go to if you want to feel the christmas spirit ,, ,,,, , you learn what works and what does not work,, and you dont know this unless you give it a try,,, i was a bit shy believe it or not to do this at the farm ,, and i guess its the same anything else,  when its i new idea ,  it comes with concerns, or shall i say i bit on edge, if its the right thing to try or not,, but so glad i did,, and even those things that did not work out,,  its a learning experience either way,, and either way i am having fun,,  :) now back to carving,