just some thoughts, :)

hi folks,, i been busy the past couple of weeks,,  my sister was here for a visit along with some other folks,, from canada,, and it was a busy time of chatting and shopping ( they shop) ,,  and also i been working on the trailer,,  caulking all the seams, and up on the roof too,,  not my favorite place to be but it was good that i got it done before  :)  winter,, caulked every window,, and did a little painting ,, spruce it up a bit,,  the rusty pipe and lamp got a coat of rustoluem,    so it looks nicer and just have to winterize it and another small heater , and i am set,,  having classes in here during the winter will be nice,,, i gearing up for sept,,  i also want to get a few things done at my home this fall, and paint it next spring,,,  i see how that goes,, looking for a safer system  then the ladder,,  to work from ,,  so i still trying to find the stuff i need to get the job done,,     there is always something that needs repair, replace , repainted around here,, if its not the building then its the yard, that needs trimming, tree trimming, mowing and just basic clean up,,,  so my projects are a bit slower coming on to youtube,, but there will be more,, sometimes the breaks are good,, and i sure more projects will be posted soon,, so gear up for fall and winter,, from the sounds of things they are calling for a bad winter,,  i like snow ,, not plowing it but i will deal with whatever comes my way,, one way or another,,, so keep carving folks,,  and enjoy,,, arleen

carverswoodshop answers your questions HOW TO PRICE YOUR CARVINGS?

electric fireplace for the camper studio :) sweet

hi folks,, i just got this as a gift from my family for my birthday that will be this week,, they often ask what do i want,, my normal response is nothing,,  this year i was thinking how to heat my camper studio,, and i know that this heater will only do so much i will have to get a mr buddy heater when the days get really cold, and i will winterize the camper yet  ,, dont know how to do it but i will learn, but this was a perfect fit , its has that fire going, and its sooo neat,,  so i told them that i wanted a small electric fireplace for the studio, ,, so its here,, i felt like a little kid could not wait to get it home to see if it would fit the spot in the corner, and bingo it does, perfect fit,, and everytime i look at it i know it came from my family,, its soo sweet,,    i been working on the roof, sealing all the seams, with caulk the bees are out in force so i will finish it later tonight,,  well folks keep carving, and keep well, arleee

CAT IN A PUMPKIN #11 ( end).

cat in a pumpkin

just having fun today,, i had no idea if this project would work out ,, it was ok,,  i have 11 videos of this project,, 6 are up on youtube,, thanks

CAT IN A PUMPKIN #1

fall is coming, yesssssss

hi can you tell i love fall,   ohhh yess i do,,  with the cooler weather on the way and leaving the heat behind,,    fall to me is also a time to gear up for all the event to come and holidays,, i know it seems early but it isnt if you have to carve for christmas, etc.... i also love the change of the season,  the leaves change in their beautiful colors, and a nice cool crisp air,,   yes i love the fall and even winter,,  i dont care to drive in the snow or plow it,, but rather do that then mow,, lol   now last year it was a very mild winter,,  and this year.... well they are calling for a bad one,,,,  we will see,    all i know is this will be my first year in the camper studio,, i am learning a lot about rvs,, lol and trailers,, i will try to winterize it myself,, but what i am doing today is caulking up all the seams on the roof windows and anywhere that it needs it,, the water will be turn off, but i will get a heating  of some kind in here, thinking of a electric fireplace a small one to add something special to the studio,, and it will be great,, i will have classes in here come winter ,, well that is the plan, and even have my open house in the winter too,,  on sats,,  but we will see how things go,,  i  still cant get over what a great studio i found,, i know its a camper to many but to me its my small teaching studio that i always wanted,  how wonderful to find something and to enjoy it as much as you did the first day you got it,,  i am blessed beyond words,,  it will be a great thanksgiving this year, fall   and holiday season all around
keep carving,, arleen

HOW TO FIND UPDATED WOODCARVING CLASSES BEING OFFER by the carverswoodshop

list of woodcarving classes sept and oct 2012 ,

 hi folks here is the list of dates for the carving classes to be held at the camper studio at the farm , honey brook pa,
there will be open house on sats  starting sept 15, 2012,

also individual instruction for those that can not come to a class,  min is 2 hours, please email me or call 484-364-0471  afternoon or evenings available


sept 10, 2012 , monday, 9am-4pm   cone shepherd,  one day class, cost 40.00. two cutouts provided,

sept 17, 2012 ,monday, 9am-4pm  cone sheep , one day class  cost 40.00  two cutouts provided,

sept 29 , 2012  sat morning, cone penguin  /santa hat  830am -12pm   1/2 day,,  cost 25.00 two cutouts provided,, then open house 12pm-4pm

oct  1, 3, 2012  mon and wed, 9am-4pm   morning santa, two day class, cost 75.00
two cutoust provided

oct 13. 2012 , sat, half day,, ornament branch santa face, 830am to 12pm
cost 25.00    two cutouts provided ....then open house from 12-4pm  your choice of face

oct 27, 2012,  830-12pm sat half day, cost 25.00  branch ornament santa face
two cutouts provided,,  then open house from 12 to 4pm your choice of face

oct 29,31, 2012 mon and wed, 9am -4pm  cone sheriff, two day class, cost 75.00  two cutouts provided ,

nov 5, 2012  monday, pinecone ornament , 9am-4pm  one day class, cost 40.00 two cutouts provided

min of 3 , limit of 6 people in a class, all students must have carvers glove and thumb guards,
every class you will be provided with a two cutouts, and also water, soda, and coffee and donuts in the morning,,  bring your own lunch for the day class,
and if there is time on  sat 1/2 days classes your welcome to paint your carving here in the studio or just stay to finish at the open house,, ,  any questions or to reserve a spot please email me
carverswoodshop@yahoo.com
or call me direct at 484-364-0471


OPEN HOUSE STARTING ON SEPT 15, 2012 ,  feel free to stop by,, i will be openevery sat 12 to 4 pm  not open on oct sat 20th 2012

nov classes to be announced,, thank you , arleen

more classes being offered soon, for oct and nov

 ok folks more classes to come, the morning santa, sheriff, pincone ornament , light bulb santa face ornament, and more of the manage scence, ,, coming in oct and nov,, once i get the dates set i will post them in the event , open house will start sept 15 sat, 12-4pm, lots going on,, and oh i think i have another new project in mind for the youtube channel, wow i just having a blast,, :)
 

HORNET'S NEST

i was carving trees todayl lol ,, chainsawing limbs at my home and notice this hornets nest,, i was up a ladder but , i would have been running for the hills if i cut it down , good thing i saw it before hand, it will stay as it is till winter :) not a fan of bees yikes

dvd #52 cone sheriff is ready

good sunday morning to you all !! dvd of the sheriff is coming

hi folks, hope you all are enjoying a nice sunday,, as i was thinking what will be my next project on youtube,,  i often wonder if i will run out of ideas, but some how they continue to come,,   i have decided to put the sheriff on a dvd by itself,, its 2 hours and 15 mins long,, i thought i was worthy enough to put this one alone  on  a dvd,,   i often try to put more then one carving project on a dvd ,, but the carving on this  projects was a bit more advanced,  i enjoyed doing this project so much , so give me a couple of days and i will have it together, this will be dvd #52   some of my other dvds, only have one project on it,, chickadee, morning santa,  most of these project are longer projects,,  so i will be sure to let you know when it will be ready,,  the pattern is the the cone you will have to start with and just follow along with the dvd , to carve the project,,  ok folks have a great day,, and i will keep you posted , keep carving...  arleen

changing the name of the ( simple cone sheriff ) to cone sheriff

hi folks  i had in mind to do something simple and called it the simple cone sheriff, i know it became a bit more detail then i thought it would be,, so i will be changing the name to cone sheriff, so that it does not confuse the beginners,, last thing i want is to have a beginner get frustrated with carving a project that is a bit more then they can handle,, sorry , i dont want any confusion on the project, simple in the headline normally refers to a beginners projects,  this is the first time i had to change the name of a project,, so , if you see the word simple in the headline, it will be a beginners project,  this cone sheriff is a bit more advance, thanks , and keep carving, arleen 

SIMPLE CONE SHERIFF #19 (END)

CONE SHERIFF FINISHED PHOTOS ,,

HI folks,, the last video of this project will be done soon , thanks for stopping by

cone sheriff unpainted

hi folks this has yet to be painted, there will be a total of 19 videos of this project up on my youtube channel,  and i will paint him tomorrow, and do the last photos and video on him,, keep carving,, and enjoy,, arleen

SIMPLE CONE SHERIFF #1

carverswoodshop answer your questions, #3 aug 6, 2012 ( painting)

live on my youtube channel monday aug 8th 2012

live broadcast on my youtube channel tonight,,  at 845 pm  (est)
http://www.youtube.com/carverswoodshop , i know the video is not as clear the audio is fine,,  answer questions about painting tonight,,

ok some new classes coming

hi folks,, i am planning the following,,
the manger scene had a lot of interest,, so i am planning to do some of the manger scene classes,
 for the month of sept,, limit is 6,   cost per day is 40.00 you will get two cutouts,  and we will paint it in class,  please call and reserve ,   bring your lunch,, call 484-364-0471 or email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com min of 3 people to have a class

monday sept 10 2012   shepherd

monday sept 17 2012  sheep

monday oct 1 2012   pants and boots santa or robe santa, your choice, is two day ,, monday and wed oct 1 and 3 ,, cost 75.00



i will also have some open house for my studio,, on sats starting sept 15   from 12pm to 4 pm   space is limited, but your welcome to work on your project or bring it along to discuss
ok take care and keep carving,, arleen

dvd #51 cow and donkey ready , along with dvd #40 shepherd and sheep

business cards? should you make them or order them/

hi folks for years i made my own business cards until i had these made by vistaprint.com
 ,,  the cost was cheap by the time you get the ink and stock paper and the time you will be putting into printing your own, this is by far a great deal,,  they have specials of 500 for 10.00 free shipping,, you cant go wrong,, i just pasting this along for those that need cards for shows, etc,  but if you want brochures well that can be yet costly,, i will print those on my own yet,, i have a refilling business for inkjets, and vista  is still the better deal ,, so i passing this along for those that would like to have a more professional look to their business cards,,  and its great to hand them out to friends etc,  also you can add your own photos and many things to choose from,, so enjoy,,
here is their website , and they have a number of things you can order,, hats, banners, etc, its fun to see what they offer
http://www.vistaprint.com

here is a photo of my new card ,,

its been a blast!! and i am so thankful !!

hi folks , i just want to thank those that order these dvds ahead of time,, even before i have it done,,  i am amazed how many of you enjoyed the manger scene,, and every time i think i cant come up with anything new ,  bingo another idea comes along,,  ,,  but what also keep me going is you folks,, your interest in carving as been amazing as well,,  many of you cant wait till the next project to come about ,, and i sure dont want to disappoint you folks ,, i want to make sure i keep it interesting,, and new ideas that folks would enjoy to carve,, thanks again for all the support,,  and the calls and emails,,  many times i bow my head in thanks for everything he has provide,, and i am so grateful beyond words,  take care and keep carving,, arleen

NEW DVDS COMING #51 FOR THE MANGER SCENE

knowing when to quit and try another day?

hi folks , i see myself as able to fix things in a pinch when i have to ,, and sometimes really fixing it for good,, yesterday i walk into the barn, and notice a leak from a tank,, simple enough ...i just had  to plug that hole which i thought was  simple to do ,, i did it before, and thought i would  save ... hiring a plumber,,  lol,, well after two hours later and now its 4am in the morning,   i was frustrated by the fact that it was a simple task that should have worked the first time i attempt to fix it,,  but nope it continued to drip, knowing all to well that the fitting wasnt as tight as it should be, the next morning still thinking this is a still  simple task.....  so...  off to lowes i go,, coming back with a 2 dollar plug ,,  and again nope still leaking ,,  well i tried at least 6 different things to plug it,, short of taking a hammer to the whole thing, i walk away its still leaking,,  i cant figure it out, why this annoyed me so?,,  well i guess it more the fact that i have to pay a plumber to come out to fix it,, and we have a great plumber , i feel his prices are reasonable, but i just trying to save yet another bill,,  and its the fact that i dont know how to fix it  and do i wanted to be able to  ,, its time to call him in the morning which i will do,,,   so why the story ,, well if your carving something that may seem simple but its not working ,, there are times to walk away from it,, and try something different,,   its really ok when things dont work out,,  i gave it my best try today with repairing what i thought was sooo simple,, but maybe at another time i might be able to fix it ,, if i am willing to cut a few pipes and reattach them , but i am not willing to learn what it takes at this time ,, and sometimes with carving your learning level might not be ready for the larger project that might require you do first learn more steps before you attempt your project,,  but i am not saying you should not try,, yes try to carve it but if it becomes frustrating  then its time to step back,, stay with the things that you know and enjoy the level your comfortable with, and then later give it another try,,  keep carving folks, and i leave the plumbing for today for the plumber, maybe next time i will know what to do ,,  or not to do,, take care, arleen

SITTING ( CONE ) SHEEP #10 ( END)

manger scene now with the sheep added

hi folks,, i got the sheep done and this is what it looks like for the manger scene ,, it was fun,, thanks for stopping by,,, keep carving ,arleen

SITTING CONE SHEEP PHOTOS

this project is up on youtube ,, enjoy,, arleen

SITTING ( CONE ) SHEEP #1

next project is the sitting cone sheep to add to the manger scene

hi everyone well the sitting sheep cone is coming soon,, working on it hopefully will get a few videos up tonight,, i dont know how many yet,, i will load the first and last here on my blog  , the rest can been seen on my youtube channel as videos are loaded, this will be the last of the animals to the manger scene and all three , cow , donkey and sheep will be put on a dvd soon,, thanks and enjoy, arleen

carving creatures from kids designs

hi folks, i had their permission to post these for you ,, they made up these creatures and wanted to know if i could carve them,, so this is what they turn out to be,, it was fun,,

carverswoodshop answers your question live on youtube #1 july 23 2012

hi folks this was fun,, i will try to do this every week for about 15 min,  and the next one will be
monday july 30th 2012 at 845 pm    est,,, send your questions to , carverswoodshop@yahoo.com

live broadcasting on youtube,, ohhh my next monday july 23 2012 @845pm

hi folks,, i just tried the feature that allows me to broadcast live on my youtube channel ,, called carverswoodshop...     wow ,, i was a bit nervous,, and not sure what i was doing,, but a friend of mine was on facebook, and said she saw it and indeed it was live!!!,,  lol what is this world coming to and what can come next?   it is a wonder to me,, but it worked,, after i am done with the broadcast,, youtube will load it to my  channel for those that were not able to see it,,     its a little choppy but the audio is great,,  so i will let you know when i will do the next one in advance i will be using it to answer questions that i get on facebook about carving,, and in fact you can send me a question while i am on the air,,,  this will be fun,,  and others that might be watching might have the same questions,, so i plan to do this monday nights starting this coming monday, july 23, 2012  i will be on live at 830pm (est)  for about 15 mins,, hopefully this will work,,     i will give it a shot,, so gather round,, and send some questions you would like to see answered, to carverswoodshop@yahoo.com or you can do if on my facebook page,,  ok see you next monday,, take care and keep carving,,  arleen

pricing your carvings at a craft or woodcarving shows,, ?? ohhh the tough questions

 hi folks, as i was sitting here thinking about craft shows and woodcarving shows, well how do you price your piece,,  some will go by the hour,,,, which many of us do not,, cause no one would be able to afford it...  so how do you price a carving?...   i look at it from a different view point,, its not the amount of hours i put in a piece ,, but  here are questions only you can answer,,

what amount of money would i be willing to part with my carving?  

some folks never sell their carvings  cause they cant part with it,,

i have a few pieces that i feel that way about it,, but when you want to sell your carvings ,, then the next question is is it resonable?  is it affordable?

 i guess the next question would be that i often ask myself,, would i be willing to pay that amount for it?

   if you have a piece that you want to keep then kept it ,,, i never want to feel that i made a mistake selling a piece and if in doubt then dont...... ,, as long as your happy with the end result, these questions only you can answer,,,,, i cant carve  a bunch of stuff in a week, but  it takes months to build inventory for a show,

 i have no desire to do commission work,, i find it stressfull cause the other persons vision of a piece would be different then what the final piece will be, so i just carve what a want, and put it  up for sale, and if it goes great,, if not not a problem,  just take it to the next show,,,  so folks , dont  forget to enjoy carving if you get to sell some of them that is  great,, its the icing on the cake,,  i would have carved it anyway,,  cause i enjoy it,, keep carving , arleen 

some plans for the fall,, and why,,

hi folks,  hope you all are keeping cool and are carving some over the summer,,  as much as i wanted to get up to cherry ridge this past week it was not to be,,  i have  a mass of people ( family) coming from canada,, so far 18 people ,,  to help celebrate our mom's 80th birthday,,,  so as you can see its a milestone for her,, of course we will be eating at the famous shady maple  for her dinner,, everyone that comes from canada enjoys this place,,  so its a big event for us,, so i not use to so many folks coming but lots of cleaning and getting ready,,, so other things had to give a bit,, and one was carving for this week,, but my plans well here we go
in the next few weeks i will start posting my classes that i will hold here at the farm in honey brook,,  in the camper studio,,  some will be a repeat , for those that wanted to join in the past but could not , it will be offered again.
also on some saturdays i will have an open house,  from 12-4 if you like to drop by i will be at my studio,, and plan to have possible monday nights in the future as winter begins,,  so starting sat sept 15th 2012 i plan to be here, so bring a carving your working on,, sit a while and carve a bit,,
i know some of you may be traveling to lancaster and express that they would like to drop by  the camper studio,  which i am always honored and humbled by folks that have asked ,,  so saturdays will be the day,, and some wanted to know if i would have a class on sat ,, which might be possible mid oct,,  i have to work out the details of that yet,,  i will of course keep you posted
i do not plan on doing  as many of the events as i did last year,, and i will give you more details why in my next post,,  so as soon as i have things planed out for the fall you will be sure to see them posted here on the blog, facebook, and youtube,,  thanks folks for watching my videos,, i so enjoy doing them for you ,, take care and keep carving and stay cool,,,, arleen

ebay or esty,, which should you use? and other ways to sell your carvings

hi folks,  welcome back,, this topic is for those that want to sell your carvings,, well i have been selling mine the past year mostly at woodcarving and craft shows,, i plan not to do the shows but a few,, the lancaster woodcarvers show of course, but many i will not attend,,  carving shows are different, and craft shows ,,, well you must be able to get into a well known show for it to work,,   and plus the work to set up at a show,,, its a lot of work,, not only the day but the prep before hand, every show is different . so the way you set up at one show will be different then another,, one show might be outdoors,,  one might be indoors,, i will go more into what you will need for a later topic but for now i am going back to the ebay scene for a while,,  esty is good to but i feel you get more folks looking at your carving at ebay,,  the cost well ebay is higher,, they changed a few things which i think is for the better, they allow 50 free listings per month, and 9% fee after it sells,,  not bad,, but esty is cheaper,  3.5 for the fee, and 20 cents to list it for 4 months,, so thats a great deal,, and dont forget on ebay you must use paypal only,, esty i believe dont quote me i think cks, and money orders are ok,,   so if you sell on ebay,, i figure  at least 12.5 percent for ebay and paypal,,  and you also  have the cost of shipping it, another few bucks , and bringing it to the post office,, the gas,, so make sure your getting the amount you want from your carving,,   esty is cheaper, but will it sell,,  and are you willing to wait,,  some folks do great on esty,,  i will list them on both,,

also  i will list all the carvings  up for sale, on my facebook page called CARVERSWOODSHOP-CREATIONS,,  this is a page just for selling what i have,, , so give it a try ,, list a few things, and remember nothing ventured nothing gain.  keep carving,, arleen

ebay , it's been a while

finally got a few carving on ebay tonight, its been a while ,, i see they changed a few things , i think for the better,, so see how it goes,, i now have good lighting in the camper studio to take a few pictures tonight ,  so ebay will be the way i will sell a few things for a while,  see what happens,,  their new ways look good,, easier to set up a listing,, etc.. well keep carving folks, take care , arleen

THE NORTHEASTER ROUNDUP

hi folks, i have yet to go to this event but felt it was note worthy,,  i hope for those that are able to go that you enjoy your time there,, i hear there is a lot of classes to choose and lots of carvers,, wishing you all a great time together, and enjoy,, for those that would like more information about this event please go the link below,, take care , and keep carving,, maybe i get there next year,, arleen

http://newroundup.webs.com/

SOLAR TURN TABLE DISPLAY FOR THE WOODCARVER

just a correction , it turns 5-8 times per min,, not hour,, take care