cold santa with a scarf and windy santas, finished

sorry folks all classes are canceled

finished,, before and after photo and the garage is next

i was happy with the results,,  now back to carving for a while 

almost finished :) with the roof that is

hi everyone,, i know its been a while since i posted any new carvings or videos,, the farm has be very busy with painting the roof,, so far things have gone very well,, i see just a couple of more days and it should be finished by wed,,,, then theres the garage,, i might wait till spring for that project not sure,,, i also was going to wait for the second half of the barn roof but decided to do it to get it out of the way,,, now after about 40+ hours? ,, i kinda lose count , and 135 gallons of paint. its will be time to get back to carving soon,, keep carving everyone, enjoy the fall weather 

WOODCARVING FALL CLASSES 2013

2013 FALL CLASSES AT THE CARVERSWOODSHOP

  here is the list of the classes that will be available , min of 3 , max of 6   donuts and coffee water will be provided in the morning,  bring your lunch,,    here are the dates

SEPT 28 2013  , SAT,,  9AM TO 430PM ( shorty windy santa)
cost 55.00  included the dvd of the two projects shorty santa, and super shorty santa bottle stopper , this class in not a beginners class must have some experience with using a carving knife
 ......... important, the dvd is of the shorty santa , not the windy santa,, i have not made a video of the windy santa as of yet,   it will be a shorty santa with a windy beard

 

OCT 1 2013, SAT   9am -430pm  ( pinecone ornament ) cost 55.00 and included is the dvd of the the following projects penguin , mini pinecone , and front santa,   the pinecone done in class is a large pinecone,  and also two cutouts provided,  this a beginners class, but all are welcome to attend

OCT  26, 2013  SAT 9AM - 430PM  HOLIDAY HONEY BEAR,,  THIS PROJECT CAN NOT BE FINISHED IN ONE DAY,,55.00   but you will get a dvd of this project to complete it at home,,  which will be included along with one cutout and 7 pieces.   you  must have some experience with a carving to take this class , the last class we were able to finish carving the bear,, and the finish the pieces and painting at home,

NOV 9, 2013 9am - 430pm    SNOWMAN HEAD, cost 38.00  this is a beginners class, this snowman head can also be a bottle stopper,, ( 5.00 more if you choose to make a bottle stopper ) or a christmas ornament,, the choice is yours,

NOV 23, 2013  SAT 9AM TO 430 PM   spiral santa head ornament ,,  cost if 55.00 dvd provided of project, along with two cutouts, and soda, coffee, donuts,

you must have the following to take a class, knife,, carving glove , strop, and thumb guard,, if you are a beginner then you will need to purchase these ,, i have a few of these items,   ,,  but it is best to have some limited understanding of the push and pull method of handing your knife  before you take a class,, i do have a video on youtube explaining this method,, highly recommended to view this video ,, if you do not have internet that is capable of viewing this i do have a dvd, that i will give you and return it when you come to class,, please make sure your knives are sharp before you come to class,  i can hone them  only here,, not reshape the blade which takes time to do ..
if your interested in attending any of the classes above please email me to confirm a spot,, carverswoodshop@yahoo.com
or call me direct at 484-364-0471  thanks and keep carving, arleen .

a friend stop by and took a photo

hi folks,, as you can see i  indeed am on the barn roof,, painting,, a friend stop by and took this with their cell phone,,    yes old barn clothes came in handy,,,  and old pair of sneakers,,  i look like a mess, and i was ,, painting with aluminum is nasty stuff, and wait till i start to paint the other roof with the  black rubber,,,  those clothes and sneakers will see the trash at the end of my project venture....   i was able to find 5 gallons of this aluminum paint on craigslist for about 30 a bucket,,, which is 65 at lows,, so far i used about three 5 gallon buckets,,, have two yet and will pick up two more,, and i will redo the one side,, for a second coat,, cause it was really rusty,,,  just to make sure everything on that side gets covered,,,,, but the cheaper paint was kinda thick so some thinner make it much easier to apply ,,, i know they said not to thin it,, but i had to ,, the 30 dollar bucket was older stuff but the paint was just as good if not better then the new paint,,,  its a barn roof,, i cant go wrong with it,,, so it will cost me for the front barn only about 250 for the paint which is cheap   its the time to apply it that takes the longest ,, and doing it myself saves a bundle ,,  so i am happy to paint it myself,, i see myself doing this project for a while,, longer then i thought it would take,, cause i have to watch the weather conditions, to apply it without rain,,,   its been hard to find a day without rain,,,  well carving will have to wait a while,,  lol keep carvin folks

new project that is way overdo ( painting the barn roof )

hi folks,, back into the painting gear again,, last year it was my home, this year its the barn roof,,  it will take a few days,, but can take a few weeks, cause i need it to be nice sunny not to hot for me to work up there,,  one days work,, i figure it will take me 4-5 more days to complete,,  its really not that bad,, its getting up there and handling the heat,,  so hopefully tomorrow i will be at it again,,  i will get it done,, i have around 12000 sf of roofing all together,, but only doing about half of that,,  the black roof will be done next year just some patch work this year after the painting of the aluminum painting is done,,  a little at a time

honey brook cows

one large display case, and another one i found

now there are two cases,, for my studio,,  a self standing, and a small table top,,  both rotate and have lights,  nice way to display the carvings,,

dads cat ,, and a sleepy sunday afternoon

the display case,,

hi folks this is an old timex rotating display case,, i had one years ago,, and it fell apart,, it was given to me  by my old boss when he closed up his shop,,  this one i found on craigslist,, i had to get it home somehow so i put a farmers roof rack and off i went today to get it,,,,  it was about 70 miles away,,  the roof rack held up very well,,  and no problem ,, got some strange look going down the highway,, the guy at micky dees, wanted to know what i had on top of my car,,,    lol   it was fun,, the rotation didnt work at first but does now,,  the light does not work, but i really dont need it,,     it must be 35-45 years old,,  it holds about 80 pieces,,  now back to carving so i can fill the case up with more santas   keep carving ,,  arleen

carving and conviction

HI folks, an interesting topic,, what is it,, well ,,  carving is a wonderful hobby i enjoy for many years,,  i plan to continue carving for a long time to come,,  but carving for me is also an expression of who we are,, and  i wonder for a long time,, what carving will i not do,,   someone on facebook,,  was carving a wizard and said he knew as a christian he should not be carving them,, but enjoyed it so,,  lol that got me thinking,, 

if your are a christian,, what  things that would be in question for you to carve,, and here lies the problem,,  

i felt for the longest time ,, from the first time i started carving 30 + years ago , that i would never do any carving that was not in line of my christian faith,,  and carving wizards was one of them,,  folks its all about personal conviction,, and personal choices that we make,,, and this one was a personal choice not to do anything that would be question as a christian if i should carve it,,   in his word  God say that we may eat all foods,, but not all foods will be good for us...   same here i believe for me not all thing would  be good for me to carve ,,  just a short story ,,  

i once thought that i would carve a wood spirit,, the name itself  kinda made me wonder ,,,, but so many of the carvers were carving them that i decided to try my hand at it,,, so i found a stick in the woods, and thought this might work well,,  so i did carve one,,, and i thought i wonder what the history to this woodspirit thing is all about,,  after some research ,, i became convicted that for me it was not what i wanted to carve,,  and from that day forward i did not carve another, in fact i have no idea where i put the one that  i did carve... 

so choices in carving are many,, and as much as i would have enjoyed doing more, i knew i could not,,   

for some its not a problem to carve them,, and they might be christians,, and i would never judge someone that makes them,, i do look at them at shows, and enjoy the workmanship on them,,  and then i started making the santas in branchings instead,,  for ornaments..

i know that my readers are those that follow me on facebook and youtube come from all walks of life, customs and religions from around the world,, ,,   i welcome all to my youtube channel and facebook,,  ( expect scammers LOL )  and i know many folks whose religion is very different from mine,  and they are as devoted to their religion as i am,, and are friends..,,,, faith is such a personal journey, and i am very grateful to have this journey,,  keep carving folks,, 

finished spiral santa ornament and about another new dvd #62 one eye snowman, and spiral santa ornament

ok folks,, there are a total of 9 video clips for the project spiral santa ornament i am loading them today,this project was not painted but finished with my antiquing solution,, jake you should be happy,, LOL , ,, i will also have dvd #62 done soon,, in the works it will be one eye snowman,, and spiral santa ornament,, cost is 10.00 free shipping in usa and canada
if interested,, please send a check to
arleen zomer
226 hill rd,
honey brook pa.19344 

unpainted, SPIRAL SANTA ORNAMENT video clips coming soon

SPIRAL SANTA ORNAMENT #1

ONE EYE SNOWMAN #13 (END)

finished ONE EYE SNOWMAN PROJECT ,,, and a friend :)

hi folks i just finished painting the one eye snowman ,,, and also did another one with a black floppy top hat,, someone ask to see one like it,, so this is what a came up with,,,, the last video for the one eye will be up later tonight,, thanks for stopping by  ,,  enjoy,,, arleen

new dvd 60 and 61

ok folks two dvds are ready

#60 uncle sam is 2 hours and 18 mins long cost 10.00
#60 shorty santa, and super shorty santa bottle stopper is 3 hours and 19 mins long 
cost 10.00 
free shipping in the usa and canada
you can either pay by paypal, to zomerenterprises@yahoo.com
or send a ck to
arleen zomer
226 hill rd
honey brook pa,19344
if any questions please email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com
thank you arleen

dvd #60 UNCLE SAM

dvd #61 SHORTY SANTA, AND SUPER SHORTY BOTTLE STOPPER

ONE EYE SNOWMAN,, just for fun,,

hi everyone,, at times just like to try something a bit different,, this was an older design but updated,, added the gift box, and the extra carving of the trim of the hat and also the scarf,,  which i think it turn out ok,, i was happy with it,, this piece is 7 inches high,  

i will be doing one on youtube but a smaller one,, ok folks thanks for dropping bye ,, arleen 

super shorty santa on a bottle

finished super shorty santa bottle stopper,, and dvd coming soon

super shorty santa bottle stopper not painted yet :)

SUPER SHORTY SANTA BOTTLE STOPPER #1

new idea for displaying your bottle stopper

SHORTY SANTA #15 END)

had to put HONEY BEAR down today, hit by a car

we love cats,... and we have many of them around the farm,, not always by choice but , we love having them around,,, this cat was called honey bear,, one of the sweetest cats you will ever see,, not one mean bone in her body,, and she of course is the one that is hit today ,, my heart sank,,  so affectionate was this cat,, she did have a litter of three kittens ,, around the farm somewhere,, she had just moved them again,,  a good momma,, but we had to say goodby to her today,, she was still affectionate in the vets office before we put her down,, it made it even

more diffficult for me,,,, these times never pass with out some tears being shed,,, she was just a great cat,,,  so different then calvin,, he has an attitude,,, and he does bite once in a while but honey bear never did,,,,  i did locate her kittens today,, will try to feed them and get them on solid food,,,    well not the best day,, but lots of fond memories... such is life on the farm,,,  

unpainted SHORTY SANTA, ,,,,

ok so far there are four more videos clips coming for this project,, SHORTY SANTA,,, i will have to paint him yet,, and the last video will be made, so far 11 of them are up on youtube,, thanks folks, and enjoy,, arleen

PS some of you express an interest in a dvd if they become available,, they will soon,, please if you like to order one please email me at the carverswoodshop@yahoo.com,,,  i may have more then one santa on a dvd not sure how that will be,, all dvds are 10 dollars each , free shipping in the usa and canada ,, thanks again,, arleen 

SHORTY SANTA #1

SHORTY SANTA SERIES ( 3 STYLES )

painted WINDY SANTAS ( about youtube videos and dvds ) and facebook posting

hi everyone one,, some of you were asking about videos for the last few santas, shorty santa, super shorty santa ( bottle stopper ) and windy santa,, these are not on youtube or on dvd yet...... i say yet because i do plan to do a few different ones soon,, at this point as i have for the past few month gearing up for christmas and orders i need to fill,, at times i just sit down and start carving not knowing how it will turn out,, i know you hear of this often but it is very true,,,, even when i making my videos i really have no idea how it will play out,, most of the time i am very pleased with the results,, its also i\a time for me to try new techniques that will hopefully improve my carvings, so keep watching sometime soon i will have another project on youtube, had one idea that i still thing will work but not sure how to fit it into a cone shape block,lol that is part of the fun folks is creating,, thanks for all your support,, and your emails,, they been a blessing to me,, take care, and keep carving ,, arleen

  ...... this was reguarding my facebook group page  CARVERSWOODSHOP   ...........just a word, i have a couple of people helping me to screen folks that want to join,, and there are times that we might delete someone that should have stayed,, but i do not want the scams back,, the two that i choose are doing a great job for me,, they are willing to help me out,i can not catch everything that pops up here on this page day and night,,,, so please, if you advertize on this page you will be deleted,, all carvers i have met are decent honest bunch of folks, and i glad to have you part of this page,, thanks for your postings of your carving ,, and comments,, this is also a family friendly page, so anything that a kid cant see will also be delete,, thanks again to all of you ,, have a great day,,, arleen

new windy santa,,, hold on to your coat ,, fun to carve

just tried something a bit different,, it was fun,

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,,