walking stick ,,, a day for carving (rain)

hi folks, i been trying to find some time to do some carving,,, i had another small load of my branches that someone got for me,, i looked at them and decided to try a walking stick for one,,, kinda like the branch guys,, so i took one and worked on it all evening, i will have to work on it a bit more,,, i had another cane here that i got in frankenmuth, mich at their show 4 years ago,, its half done,,, it was a cane made of basswood,, i just could not get my mind wrap around it,, and found it difficult to handle to carve,, and the wood is hard,,,, but this piece was green ,, what a dream , the bark came off easy in the areas i removed it,,, so i doing it for my mom , tulips are one it,, and i wanted something simple to carve for a few days,, ,, once it is done i will post a photo,,, this walking branch is tulip popular lol ( and i am carving tulips on it lol ) ,, i know this wood is not the norm for making walking sticks, its been fun to do ssomething new,, and i was ready to carve something,,, this happens when i dont carve a few days,,, its raining a lot today,, tropical storm coming up the coast ,, we dont get many of these in pa ,, but its still raining, ,, have a great day folks and happy carving, arleen

just posted some things on ebay

hi folks i just posted some of my standing branches, and christmas pickle, on ebAy,,
if your interested do a search for carverswoodshop, or standing branch, or christmas pickLE,, thanks for dropping by, arleen

CHRISTMAS PICKLE #1

hi folks there are three videos on this project, all three are on my youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/carverswoodshop enjoy

will start the christmas pickle project soon,

hi folks here is a photo of my christmas pickle ,, a very easy project for the beginner,, i think there will be two videos on it,, short and sweet,,

well you never know what you will learn,,, christmas pickle??

hi folks, as i was working at the mall, someone told me about a christmas pickle... do you know what it is??,, i didnt so i wanted to know more,, so here came my questions lol
well the christmas pickle is a ornament, or a small item in a shape of a green pickle, they would put it in the tree so the child that found the pickle first would get an extra gift,,, so i decided i was going to google it,, love google,, lol and found that indeed its an old christmas tradition from germany. so i will see if i can find a good picture to make a small one for a project,, it should be simple, so not only did i learn something new but also maybe a neat idea for a project,,, how many of you know of the christmas pickle?? happy carving to you all, arleen

carving pumpkins , for the next event and i was ask to speak at a club

hi folks,,, good morning,, i have been carving pumpkins , its a change from the ornaments and santas as i have work on in the past. i found that the pumpkins were somewhat of a hit with folks so that is what am aiming to get done this week,, the next festival will be oct 9 at the same place where haycreek was located , at jonanna funace, three miles north of morgantown,,, this time the canopy will be simple to set up,,, also i got a phone call from a woodcarver that was a head of their carving club in east berlin, pa, she wanted to know if i would be able to do a presentation at one of their meeting,, i said sure, so that will be nov 21 on sunday,, once i get more details i will blog it,, lol funny speaking behind a camera is a lot different then in front of folks, so here i go again,, venturing in an area that i may not be comfortable with, but you never know unless you try,,, i have done some public speaking years ago, but to long ago to really remember, lol my age is showing,,,,,, well hope you all are having a great week,, i will let you know more info on this as i get more info on it,, take care, happy carving, arleen

some interesting things this past weekend, carving is the about the same

hi folks,, the festival is over and this is what i got out of it ,
one , that other vendors are very helpful, thinking i could do this on my own,, with some teaching from another vendor joe next to me and a friend that came along , well i now know how to breakdown the canopy and its so much easier then when i started this last thursday, today i set the canopy up and down twice,, its simple once you know what your doing, i also learn that you never know who or what you might run into at a show/festival, sunday was a good day,, even though i was ready to pack up in the morning due to the rain, and did it rain ,,,but i check the canopy and it was dry and just fine, i went ahead and set up and low and behold it turn out to be a great day,, i came home a bit earlier, and its amazing the amount of work some of the other vendors had, i had work but some of these folks spent hours setting up,,, took me two hours the first day, by the third day it was about 45 mins, so see practice makes perfect, or close to it, lol,, so many of ya folks follows this blog and i want you to know you will see things as they are,,, i wasnt happy the first couple of days, we were in the back, but sometimes we need to check our attitude at the door before we leave home,,, and make the best of it,, and having family and friends to bounce off some things what i could do better helped me alot , which i decided sunday....and what works at one show may not at another and you have to adjust to it,,, ..... learn what you can and you never know unless you try it, and the same applies to carving, learn what you can from others,, and try it keep at it , and you never know how good you can be,,hopefully the apple festival is next oct 9 , lol here i go again,,,,,, , have a great week,, keep carving, arleen

HAY CREEK FESTIVAL

this was sat, and it rain today, but it was a good day,, in fact i did better sunday,, go figure,, lol happy carving everyone

festival,,a time to learn

hi folks,,, if i said i had a wonderful time this weekend, well i would not be truthfull... it raining today,, and that is all new to me,,, i found one thing that has been positive that folks are willing to help you out. i had a friend helping me set up the canopy, and we did ok with it,,, but the next day,, the vendor joe, said that it can go higher,, lol i had no idea it could,, so we lifted the front higher which made it look larger, and more inviting for folks to enter,,, learning how to display etc is all new to me,,, the indoor shows of course are much easier,, chatted with a lot of folks,, sold things,, and to top the weekend its raining today,, and i mean raining,,, thought of packing up yesterday as some vendors have done, but i thought i will go and see, first to see how much the canopy will leak, they ( other vendors, said the canopy will not the first year ) lol i will find out when i go today,, it was very warm inside, having a power pack with a small fan was great,,, i have a video of my canopy and set out at the festival,, i will load it tonight when i have more time,,, hope you all have a happy and safe sunday,,, and carve carve carve,,, arleen

carvings are done and dvds are ready,, the canopy goes up tomorrow

well , folks, the time is getting closer,, boy did i ever carve a lot of stuff,,, i painted my ornaments for five hours straight ,, and got all of them done,,, just a few things yet but i am ready,,, tomorrow i set up the canopy and the sides along with the tables and chairs,, lol that is all i could fit in the car, good thing i am able to bring the carvings and dvds friday the start of the festival,,,,, to those of you that do this all the time, your my hero,, its so much work,, i never thought how much it took me at least a week to get all the stuff i needed, for this show,,, cause of it being outside,, ohhhh i am bringing two cans of wasp spray,, i am not a fan of bees, esp the yellow jacks, nasty little critters,.. so i am ready to do some serious running if i need to LOL well its one of god's creatures that i dont care for,,,, well they are calling for rain sunday,, it will indeed be an interesting weekend,,, keep carving, i will have updates this weekend,, take care, arleen

ta-da. i did it, got it up by myself only took an hour

lol lol ohhh my,,, yes i decided i was going to put the canopy out first before the festival, good thing i did,, after about 25 mins i decided to READ the instrutions, ( much easier ) lol and well getting it down was a learning experience ,,, but overall it will work out ok,, and i did it by myself,, so its looks nice and bright white in color,, so far so good, still have a bunch of items to paint,, will do them tomorrow , well a few more days ,, i about ready as i will ever be,, so hopefully it will go well, and i know for sure i will have fun, keep carving , arleen

almost ready for the big festival,

hi folks, as i run around like crazy this past week things are coming together, i have a few things yet to do and i will be ready,, found a nice 10x10 canopy , and now i am going to see if i can set it up in the yard before setting it up at the festival,, no one wants to look like they dont know what they are doing,,, lol ,,,,i have a new appreciation for those that do this on a regular basis,, i am sure once i do a few shows it will get easier, having everything you need, will be a big help,, an outdoor show there is a big difference ,, the weather of course is the biggest factor, and the wind,, i dont want it to blow away so i going to make sure it stays put. well i will give you an update, and i am sure either way , i will have a good time, happy carving, arleen

ACORN #7 ORNAMENT (END)

ACORN ORNAMENT #1

A NEW PROJECT, FOR THE BEGINNER, A ACORN ORNAMENT,

hi folks i am loading the videos how to carve a acorn, ornament,, so it will be fun will post it here in a few hours thanks

working to get ready,, all new to me

hi folks, i know the youtube channel has been slow to get some new things up,, i will try to find the time to get a couple of videos up for a new idea, a simple one for a beginner,, i am in the process of looking for a canopy for the hay creek festival ,, knowing really nothing about what is better than another, sides or no sides,, so i am a looking,,,,,, this outside craft show is a new area and how to maybe reach some that might be interested in woodcarving,, one thing i do know if you do any shows its a lot of work,, and planning,, my first show at lancaster woodcarvers show, was a great indoor show,, not sure how that show will all go but it was fine, i have everything in boxes ( kinda) and ( kinda ) ready to go to the next (indoor) show,, lol what was i thinking , outdoors your taking a chance with the weather, and wind and heat, etc, so it will be interesting, and i can see it can be exhausting , not only to set up, be there all day but all the talking one may have to do,, mind you i enjoy chatting with folks, so i dont think that will be a problem, but three days of it might tax my energy level, but looking forward to it all,, like they say nothing ventured nothing gained, and its all new to me,,, happy carving everyone,

HAY CREEK FESTIVAL i will be there

http://www.haycreek.org/festivals.htm
hi folks, i am going to venture into a new area,, i am going to the hay creek festival in sept,, i will have some of my carving for sale and also my dvds,, i have no idea how it will go,, but i been there many years ago and its a big event , i was told about 10,000 folks come over the three day event, i plan to be there for all three days, if your interested please ck out the photos of the event,, this is not a woodcarving show, but many different crafts,,,, i have much to do ,, wow and its about two weeks away,, looking forward to it,, ok take care i off to do some carving, lol time is short,,

back to the real world and to the future

hi folks i did have a very special weekend.... i guess the older ya get the more simple things have that special meaning for me, the people around me made it very special indeed. my sister bought some of the ornaments for christmas,,, and so i am back to carving a bit more cause time goes quickly , and before you know it we will be looking at the holidays at the end of the year,,, so back to the real world of carving and working, and looking forward the future, fall is a coming lol my favorite time of the year,,, happy carving , arleen

a special day,,,,,chatting ,carving , gift enough for me

hi folks i guess today is a special day, today i am 50,, wow its really hard to believe, i dont feel like it.... i am not one to make a big deal about my birthday, parties are not my thing, and i told my sister and mom that i prefer to have a quite day,, well so far so good, my sister came down for the weekend, and came here this morning for coffee, ( my sister is from canada) and today we will be going to a favorite spot to eat with my family, at shady maple, some of you might know of it,, everyone loves shady,, all you can eat, and believe me there is plenty to choose from,, its been a good day so far, and low key,,, i hope you all have a great day what is left of it,, i will be taking my carving box along to my folks, and will enjoy some carving time along with chatting with my family out on the deck,, thats a gift enough for me, spending some time together,, happy carving everyone
oh the flowers is from my aunt arlene from canada, very nice , thanks

decisions ,, , just not today

hi folks we all have them,, deciding what to do next,, it what we will have to eat to where we will go, and my goodness what to carve next,,, some carvers have a list of things they would like to do, and some of us don't. i sometimes have a few things in mind what to carve next,,, sometimes it comes to me out of the blue, and other times i struggle what to do next,, i hope that you have list of things you would like to carve, i have my big wish list of what i like to carve, that is waiting for me in the future,,, and someday it will come to pass ,, just not today,, its good to have a dream of what you like to do,,, that is what keeps me going,,, happy carving, arleen

lancaster county woodcarvers club meets tonight , and busy making a new dvd

hi folks, i will be going to the lancaster woodcarvers club meeting tonight, and i am looking forward to it,,, along with going to the meeting, today i put another dvd together, the tree bear ornament and the eagle flag branch ornament . the master is made, and will have to put together the cover and patterns,, so it will be a couple of days yet,, and deciding what shows to go to this fall, the william rush is for sure, frankenmuth in mich and ont canada show both of these i am considering to attend ,,,, and there is a large fall festival here in morgantown pa,, called haycreek and after calling them i might be going to set up there,, so it would be next month sept if i go,, will have to research i a bit more,, well folks hope your all enjoying the ending of summer,, it feels that way to me when sept is in sight,,, happy carving, arleen

updating the dvds that are available on www.arleenscarverswoodhop.blogspot.com

hi folks, if you visit my other blog that has the dvds and patterns for sale you will see something new, i am slowly adding the projects that are only available on dvd and putting a buy it now button from paypal to make it easier to order,,, someone suggested that i put a photo for each of the dvd of what the project would look like, so this is the cover of the dvd that you will see, of the finished piece,,, the standing branch will be the next dvd with another christmas standing branch, i will start that soon

here is the link http://www.arleenscarverswoodshop.blogspot.com

there are also patterns available thank you , arleen

what is next,,, well it has to do with christmas,, lol coming soon i promise

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #10 end

hi folks this is the end video all videos 1-10 are on youtube, for you to watch,, it will be up for a short time and then i will put it on dvd,, thanks for watching enjoy, arleen

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #5

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #4

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #3

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #2

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #2

new carving classes to start soon, mid to late sept

hi folks, i will be putting together a couple of carving classed together,, for fall, if your interested please email me, carverswoodshop@yahoo.com
i will have one day class and one evening class that will be about 4-5 weeks, hobo santa will be featured, thanks , arleen

STANDING BRANCH SANTA #1

are you good enough?? a loaded question keep at it

are you good enough to carve? well some are better then others, some have been in it longer then others, does that make one better, and good enough to carve? what if everyone stop that thought they could never carve as well as someone else,,, what a shame , no one would be carving , they would never develop their skills, never advance ahead,, so keep at it,, i have to say something kinda important,, i know that i am not a writer, i never claim to be, i know i dont write things like others, and i thought of that the other day,, but it didnt stop me from writing a blog, or doing the many other things i do,, i dont really worry about what others thing about it,, i just put down my thoughts on a subject to this blog and if helps a few folks then its worth it,, if some folks enjoy it with all of its mistakes then it was worth it,, if i was so concern of folks i wouldnt do anything,, so dont let folks discourge you,, its hard to hear anything negative when you finish a piece, just keep at it ,, so what your not the best,, if your enjoying your carving, and you find peace and happiness in it then keep at it ,, enjoy it , happy carving , arleen

what do you think?? when your carving,,,,??

lot of us find alot of enjoyment from woodcarving,, i have to ask what do i think about when i carve,, now thats an interesting topic,, well i for one find that i think about the carving mostly,, and assessing it all the time,, carve and look at it,, but for the most part, it takes my mind off of whatever is troubling me,, its a great escape,, isnt that why we have hobbies? its a life saver to many,, when everything around you is going down hill, you can retreat to your corner of woodcarving and get lost in it,, i have many times,,, but its also a time to think , about what a neat hobby it really is ,, how far you have come over the years, and just the greatest way to relax,,, sometimes it can be frustrating as it was when i work on that chipmunk, but the rewards were wonderful to see after a difficult piece, but most of the time its pure fun,, a time to get away from it,,, and folks, i can carve in a car, outside, inside, anywhere and i will be getting away from it,, if only for a few mins with my knife and block of wood, nothing better really, happy carving , arleen

HOW TO DRY GREEN WOOD AND MY NEXT COUPLE OF PROJECTS

drying green wood and my next video coming up

hi folks , as i am learning how is the best way to dry green wood i been carving lately, here is a few things i have learned,,
first i have been carving my branch guys and have a couple of new ideas which i will explain in a bit,,, i love carving them green but they can split on you and crack as they dry,, i had someone cut alot of a tulip poplar tree this past couple of weeks, and now i just love to carve green,, its easier, and so much faster then the hickory and black walnut i was using,,, but a concern was how do i keep it from cracking or checking, well in my research i found a couple of things,,, and cane maker told me to glue the ends, and it was rare that he had a piece the checked on him,, so as i got my pieces cut to the length and i glued the ends of the piece,, so i dont know if this will work but i know that its worth a try but i wanted it to dry faster,, so here is what i am doing,, and i will make a video for youtube,
after some research i been doing the following,,,,,, first put it in a micowave for a min to kill any bugs,,
glue the ends,,,, then for the next couple of days put it in the micowave on defrost for 30-35 seconds,,, and let it cool 7-8 times
now i do this in a plastic bag only,, cause the smell, and take it outside take it out of the bag and let it cool,
i have a scale as i watched it go from 130 grams of weight to 83grams, i will now stop, i have most of the water out of it,, or the bulk of it,,, not sure if it will work but it looks promising, and i have re-glued the ends more a total of about three times,, you want to be careful not to leave it watch it every time you use the micowave, and one person said it caught on fire , but i think they had it on high and wayyyy to long in the micowave,, i put a paper towel in the bag in case there is water in the bag,,, but it should not be hot that you can't hold it after it comes out,, plus the ones that are not dry it will have a cool feel to it when you hold it , branchs that are dry have a warm feel to it,, so just some tips if you like to experiment with this ,, and i will have the next santa piece that i am working on soon along with these details how to dry them if your carving green,, happy carving , arleen

one of my finished relief carvings in 1986 jesus and the lamb

i did this relief many years ago, found it , and thought you folks might enjoy seeing it, i am guessing it was 1986 or earlier, i used just hand gouges and no power tool,, its about 1 3/4 thick basswood and about 14 x12 , happy carving , arleen link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhCLQ--sgJE

butterflies lol look up

hi folks, i dont know about you but its been a hot summer in pa,,,, i have to tell ya, sometimes we can miss things if we are to busy with life,,,, i was mowing the yard at the farm, and around the barn,, i noticed something wonderful,,, as i looked up at the field that the amish just mowed for hay a few weeks ago,,, hundereds of butterflies,,, monarch , black, red, and yellow,,, and small white and yellow and black,, it was an amazing sight,, there is clover in that field so i shut off the mower and sat and watched them,, amazing,, just a flying around each other from flower to flower,, sometimes life doesnt let us enjoy the simple things,,, and it was simple , just turn off the mower and watch for a while,, i did carve a butterfly many years ago that i might just have to do it on youtube,,, so now i look for them,, everytime i mow,,, and wow they were there again today, busy as ever,,,, and to think of it i almost missed it if i didnt look up,,

for folks that ordered the video it will be shipped soon

hi folks, to those of you that ordered the video i will be shipping them out soon, i have yet to make a cover and i ran out of ink and cant refill the one i have, so a slight delay,,, but it will be soon thanks for understanding,,arleen

DVD IS COMPLETED,, AND WHAT IS NEXT?

hi folks today i just completed the dvd,, and ready to go,, its 2 hours and 40 mins long,, and what is next on youtube, i have a couple of ideas,, lol i will be back later with more infromation,, take care arleen

MORNING SANTA #22 (end)

hi folks, well i am done making the videos clips, , so that i can make a few dvds,,, to order please email me, and you can pay by paypal or by ck ( in usa funds only) email me for details, if you want to order it on youtube, they are loaded on youtube, in the private mode,,, if you have paypal, you will be able to view this project,, email for more details carverswoodshop@yahoo.com 20.00 free shiping in the usa and canada only,, please if your not in the usa or canada you can order it on youtube its 10.00 for a month of access, thanks happy carving , arleen