super shorty santas, you can make bottle stopper of these if you wish

my new carving studio on the road,,, what do you think? LOL should i build one ?

lol dont you love this rv....  now i can go to the top and it has a sunroom,,,, folks i just had to post this,,,  i believe the car is a chevy impala 1958     someone one had an idea,, and bingo there it is,,   55 years later to see this well i think it was so funny,,,  

thinking of rvs,, yes i been looking for a cheap one,,  c class toyota from 1986 to 1992,,, i went to see two so far,,, but really i could not justify the cost, and layout was not what i wanted , not that it was out of range but this was a want not a need,,  big difference ,,, some folks really have a hard time,, knowing the difference,,,  and sometimes its just nice to be able to have something you long for.... for a long time,,  

the camper studio made me want to have one that i could just get in and go,, when i was at my sisters place in canada at their farm i pick out a place i like to put it ,, the view was great,, out in the steer pasture,, lol and i will someday,,,  but i happy with what i have now,, so much use out of the one i have now,, it would be hard for me to sell it,, its perfect for what i need,, so we all have to have plans and dreams and goals to reach,   it keeps us going,, and new plans for carving is also the biggest delight ,, take care and keep carving,, arleen

the right tools for the right job,,,, ? carving tools ? keeping at it !!

after this week,, indeed i know what it is like to have the right tools to do the job.... this past week i looked at this 1986 john deere tractor and what it did for me to fix the driveways,,  then the scaffolding to repair some of the gutters,, and went out to buy a 20ft ladder to finish what i needed at my home,,  ( reason for buying this ladder is i needed something lighter i could handle,,  the 32 footer was way to heavy for me ,,,  i could have used it,, but thought for a long time the 20 ft was a need,,  not a want,,  ) so off to lowes i went to get one,, and finished the job in a quick manner,,  
so why am i sharing this again,, well as woodcarvers its so important to have the right tools to do the job,,  nothing is more frustration to me then to be in the middle of a job and none of the tools in your box is going to work to fix that problem,,,  and the same with woodcarving, if your knife is dull or the handle is not a good fit to your hand,  if your basswood is harder than you like,, all these things can make for a very frustrating time,,  so do yourself a favor,, and ask yourself a question,, what tools do i need to be a better woodcarver?  ok one word about tools,,  tools are only good if you learn to use them the right way,, and use them often,, just because i had a tractor at the farm,and if  i didn't know how to run it ,, then it does me no good,,,  so get the right tools,, ( even if you spend a bit more on them well worth it in the long run) and just keep carving,,  keep your tools sharp,, dont forget your carving glove and thumb guard,,  just as important,, and you will find hours of delight, in making something special out of wood,,,,  

berry time with mom

hi folks,,  again its the time of the year to pick raspberries,, mom has a big patch out back of their home,, this is one of my mothers favorite places to be,,  she loves picking them and making her famous raspberry jam,,   for the past few years its been hard for her to walk down,, so i drive her down with the car,,  today we pick some berries this morning,,  and i took a few photos of her and some flowers that are in full bloom,,  mom has always has a green thumb,,  i do not,, i try to keep her berry patch going its not as big,, i did some pruning last year,, the weeds, its a

big job to keep out along with other things,,   it was the highlight of her morning,, she told me she rather do this then shop,,,, lol
so here are some photos for those of you that are not on facebook,,  enjoy,,,  so we took some time to pick the berries this morning,, it was nice,,

things are looking up and the tractor,,,

hi everyone,, well i was eager to get on the tractor today to  get the driveways back into shape,    i thought i had to order stone but i regraded the both driveways  with the grader on the back and the front end loader in the front,,  after about 4-5 hours it was done,,  i was able to lug up all the stone that had washout to the barnyard, and also at my home,,  so i was glad that it was not going to cost me hundreds to order stone,, i just got one load last week, cost was 345 dollars,, but i had to top off some things around the farm,, it was way overdo,,,  and that was 26 tons on that load,,,  i still have a small pile left that came in handy to use today,,,  then i fixed the rain gutters above the back door of the barn,, were it water was pouring in by the door, and flooded out the feedroom,,,lol my scaffolding came in real handy today,, and the tractor is a huge plus,,  getting very handy with it for sure,,,,,,  just like dad,,  :) he was so good at operating it,, i never worried he always had it under control,,, and he could use that front end loader like it was an extension of his hands,,  i slowly seeing the same thing,, i finally after a few  years got the feel of how to handle the tractor in all kinds of situations ,... up hills, on hills, just about every terrain.. i help a guy last week to load a heavy item into his trailer,,  after i got off the tractor, he said he had to tell me he didnt  worry about me handling the tractor to load,,  he could tell i was good at it,, some folk have a tractor and have no idea how to operate it,,, made me feel good,, \
i told him my father never allowed me on the tractor it was his baby,, when he could no longer run it,, i told him come out here and show me how to operate it,,  and that it where it began,   alot like carving the more you carve the better you will be,,,
     
tomorrow my plan is to work at my home,, clean out the front gutters and the drain pipe i believe is clog,, major clog so hopefully once that is done,, all is well,
the basement has about 2 big fans going,,  things are almost dry but i will let it run for a few more days, and then start to remove anything that is damp,,,  which will help me to finally clean out the basement,, way overdo,,
the feedroom has a fan in it,, that i put in today,,  lol most of my stuff is in plastic buckets or bins, so not much lost at all there, and not as critical as the basement,,  but all in all, needless to say i am tired tonight,,, moving around stone with a rake and shovel at times,,  like the good old farming days,, lol  it feels good to work hard,,,  overall things are looking up,, thinking this would take weeks,, which really a few days,,,  take care keep carving,, i think i will carve for a while to relax,,   second thought i think i need to sleep,, lol  

a disappointing night

hi everyone,, well the work around my home and farm never stop,,,,  today we had about the worse rain storm i can ever remember,,, my home basement was flooded,,  which in almost 30 years i never had happen,, my driveway was washed out,, there is a rut of about 1 foot wide and about 1 and 1/2 foot deep ,,  the farm  well in the past five years nothing in the barns at all, the feed room had water in it,,  coming from a faulty rain gutter about the back door,,  along with a washed out driveway on my parents side,,,,  now i just got 25 ton of stone now i will get at least another 50 ton to fix both driveways and to build up the front,, i might put heave plastic about half way to keep it from washing out again,, and also at my home,, i got a plan,,, hmmm i dont think i do much in the way of carving,,  i will be busy fixing and cleaning up,,, never a dull day,,,

update
ok second update,,   well , things are looking up,, i went back to the house ready to use the shop vac to soak up the water,, most of it was gone,, where i have no idea,, but i put out one fan and will add a couple more and let it dry for a few days, and then start to chuck out the damp stuff, so its a plan,,,, and also to fix the main problem run off from the road and gutters, well i will order a load of stone,, 2a stone,, and few old tarps, and i will layer it,, stone tarp stone trap,, and that way it will not wash it out again,, well i hope it doesn't  i have some sand bags that worked well but a bit expensive, so this idea is about the same,,    the farm feedroom the pump i had in place worked fine, its empty and now it has to dry out,, nothing much lost there,,  and same thing here, i need to redo the top of the driveway with layers of tarp and stone,,  and maybe pour some hand mixed concrete, on top,,  it should hold,, but water is powerful,,  i can only try these idea,, and see    i know what i have to do to repair the gutters,,  out with the ladders tomorrow,, up up and away i go,,

tulip poplar leaf and his friend mr inch worm

FINISHED PHOTOS OF THE UNCLE SAM PROJECT

UNCLE SAM #20 END)

UNCLE SAM #1

NOAHS ARK LION #8

NEW kittens at the farm, and antiquing pickles and pine cones

hi folks,,  someone suggested that i name one of the kittens whittle,,,,  and i will also add woody and chip,,  for names,, lol ,    but here is a picture of them,,  now i have to figure out which one gets which name,, lol
i am finishing up some of the painting that i been at for the past two weeks,,  one more week and it should be done,, the bears have to be painted but its all coming together,,, slowly but for sure
here are some photos of the kittens and the projects being antiqued
keep carving folks,,  and get started on those christmas projects , never to early to do so !!!
update, someone on facebook thought of the name whittle , i added woody and chip
so its left to right,, woody, chip and whittle,   i thought it was cute,, official carverswoodshop kittens lol

CHRISTMAS PICKLE TIME , TIME TO HARVEST THEM NOW :)

yes many , christmas pickles,, they are fun to carve and even paint,,  they do take time,,  the painting and putting the white dots on them, along with eye hook on top,, ( i have to do that yet,, ) i have about 70 pickles so far,, at the apple feast at haycreek , i sold many of them, hope to do so again this year,,, do i decided to add a business size card along with each pickle, 
ok here is what the card will look like to go along with the christmas pickles,, its hard to sign the pickle so i decided to order some cards to sign to each pickle,, hmmm cant wait till these come in the mail,, it saves me the hassle trying to print these myself,, less of a headache,
so here are a couple of photos one of the card and one of some of the pickles being painting,,, ohhhh christmas is coming,, :) 

now the santas are painted now for the bears ooohhh my ,,

hi folk its  been  a while,, i will try to keep this blog up to speed,,  here is a photo of my finish painted santas,, only the bears and some pine cones to go ,,  i waited way to long to paint,,  like everything in life,, there has to be a balance,, lol  next time i will paint when i have 20 not 100 pieces at a time,, take care and keep carving ,, arleen

 this is a photo of one  the left not antique yet and the one on the right is done, it makes a huge difference,,

 new,, shorty santa holding a piece of coal,, have you been good or bad :) ?

new antiquing method for woodcarvers

PAINTING TIPS FOR THE WOODCARVER

just to explain,, thanks for the emails folks,, arleen

posted on my youtube channel,,,, i was ask about classes and the open house 

hi again everyone,, its been a while since i have done a video of carving,, plan to be back to it soon,, with summer ahead,, i decided not to do any classes or open houses, if there will be classes in the fall i will be sure to post them on my facebook page as an event,, if your in the area and would like to stop in your welcome to come ,,, please call me at 484-364-0471. i have also been carving up a storm of santas, getting ready for christmas,, yessssss christmas,, along with some recent orders that have yet to be filled, you cant wait to carve to build your inventory if you wait till oct,,, so yes carving is done all year long,, bears and santas seem to be the hit this year,, half of the bears are spoken for,, :) i am available for individual classes ,, just call for more information,, thanks and keep carving folks,, arleen

cancel all classes and open houses

hi folks,, just a notice all  events that i posted, all classes and open houses will be canceled,,  this fall if i choose to have a few classes they will be posted here,  you can always contact me if your in the area,,  if you like to drop by,,  otherwise i am planning to be open sats the day after thanksgiving untill christmas,  thanks and keep carving, arleen