its finished, santas reiendeer

hi folks after about a month i finally got it done,,  i never had one that took me so long to do ,, its not the project but just getting to it was hard with painting the house , going away for a week,  life got in the way but here it is,,  enjoy arleen

SANTAS REINDEER #17 ( END)

new changes of the open house and classes

hi folks,  i been so busy here on the farm and my home the last couple of month, i decided to only have the open house once a month, it will be the first sat of the month only,   the next open house will be dec 1 2012   12 -4pm  and the next classes i will have up again very soon,, it will   at my carving camper studio here at the farm in honey brook ,  thanks ,,, arleen

wow the house painting is done

hi folks, its been a long two months,, of painting, or shall i say trying to paint,, i only had 3 sides to do on my home, and today i an officially declaring it is finished,, its been a tough task,, my original plan was to just fix the gutters that turned out to be let me paint the house,, it needed the repair, and a coat of paint ( stain )   so thinking it will take only about a month, ended up being two,,  with the wet rainy days, i took no chances,, the paint was expensive but i think in the long run worth it,,  ,, in paint i believe you get what you pay for, ,,,,  i will wake up i am sure stiff and sore tomorrow,, the ladders and scaffold were not the easiest to move around,, but i am happy that its done,, the only problem yet to solve is the woodpecker that has been hitting my home,, the front did not need the paint, and was in perfect condition till that nasty little bird put a hole or two in the cedar siding,, well see what happen, if it continues i will paint it ,, cause i think the smell of it keeps them away,, which i hope he will leave it alone,,     so carving will come back,, youtube, etc,,  so  keep checking in,, and i am sure i have a few things up in a few days,, i just need some rest for sure tomorrow,, that is why i love sundays,,  its a day of rest,, that for the most part i do not work on sundays,,,  we all need a day to chill after a long week,,  and so glad that i never felt the need to work on sundays ,,  expect last week,,  i put in a couple of hours, of something that had to be done,,  , but it was ok,, i do not make a habit of it,,  nor do i ever feel guilty taking a sunday nap,   ,, my farming days, i love my sunday naps,,  it was one day that i could feel free not to do anything,,  i will be sure to make it a relaxing day .....and  monday i have a list of other repairs around the farm is next,, so the list gets smaller but never disappears :)  keep carving folks,

lesson from the election, what a great country we live in

hi folks, i debated if i wanted to do this but i will,, many will say that there are two thing folks should never talk about if you dont want to discuss or debate,  one is politices and the other is religion,  which i think is very true,,  speaking from a religous view, i think most times its best to be silent then to debate it same hold true for politices , i do share my faith on my videos and what i believe, , i  am not here to offend anyone, i just share what is helpful to me,and if your faith is different then mine thats fine,  some of the nicest folks are folks that do not share the same beliefs as i do, so   i  am not one to debate but i  have in the past, most of the time you will either do one of two things will happen, you will either get into a heated debate or you will come to to an agreement to disagree...
one thing i love about this country, that you can believe what you want, and vote any way you want to ,, and that we can live in harmony with each other,  i saw this one day when i was working at a high end jewelry store as a guard  ,  and as i watch people all day,, i saw all kinds of folks, and i thought then as i do now, what a great country that we can all be different and live in peace,,, just because you believe in something that is totally opposite of me , we work, shop, and live next to one another, in total peace and without fear,  and isnt that what it is all about , the freedom to choose your path in life, and what is important to you that no one can take from you ,  freedom here in the USA  came at a price, of many folks fighting for that right to choose what we believe, and value in life,  so as tue come along i will cast my vote, and if my guy wins or not, i will accept it.  so i hope your able to cast a vote on tue, and remember no matter what  it its a great honor to do so,, happy voting day to all my USA carving buddies!!

time , frustration, and overwhelmed? is this you?

hi folks, as the storm passed us and we are back to normal in this part of pa, i have to say last years early winter storm  was  much worse,, i had no trees to clean up other than a small branch here and there, but nothing much at all, which i was very grateful,  now back to my to do list around my home and farm, and things i wanted to finish before it got cold, wellllll its going to have to wait,    as much as dont want to look at a half outside wall painted, and the rest of it begging to get a coat , its going to have to wait till warmer weather,,,   i have to say it left me  frustrated, and overwhelmed,,   a small leak on my trailer that at this point i thought i had chaulk it to death, well no so,,  i knew were in the roof it was coming from,, so i got back on the roof yesterday and rechaulk  it again, and now its a wait to see what happens,,,, along with a some of the double wide doors at the farm needed to be more secure, so off to lowes , and working on them,,   i had to learn what was more important to take care of first, and doors, roofs, and my job well they come before painting ,,,  i was  frustrated , and a bit overwhelmed not being able to finish what i set out to do,,   so the  woodcarving of a reindeer i started three weeks ago is looking at me now and i can hear it say , when are you going to finish me?  answer i dont know,   one thing i am learning, and should always listen to,  is if i feel like working on a project, do it,  and dont wait,,   and just do it,,  i dont normally work on sundays,,  there is a project i just had to finish, i running into a deadline,  and for the first time in a very long time, i got started on this project,    and you know what , i dont feel guilty,, but relieved,  i dont ever think god wanted us to be overwhelmed, so i worked for about 3 hours today, yes after church, and got a good start,, i didnt want to work all afternoon, but now, i do not feel overwhelm but i have the feeling that yes it will get done by the deadline,,  and that will give me a good nights rest for sure,,,  so life gets in the way sometimes , but you know what, it  makes the time i can carve even more special,  cause when i carve, i know that it takes me away from all the crazy stuff life throws at us, even if its just for a short while,  keep carving folks, and i will keep working towards, finishing what i started

HURRICANE SANDY,, hmmm

hi folks sorry its taking so long to get the reindeer finished, i started it before i left for michigan and now with the storm , was so super busy getting things put away here at the farm and at my home,, so much going on,,  i will try to get it done later this week,, lol i think i said that last week,,   well anyway,, the mich trip was super, the show was great, not a lot of folks but it was a nice crowd all the same,,,
the storm is getting stronger, here ,we have some hours to go before its over,,  lots of rain, and some winds so far about 40 mph,,   i been in the camper/studio ,,, but so far i dont even feel the wind shaking it,, which i thought it might,,   someone told me since i put it up on some blocks it will not rock so that is a good way to secure it i guess,,  i know alot of folks are having water issues,, so its going to be a long night,
keep well and safe to all you folks on the east coast,, this too shall pass,, take care, arleen

SANTAS REINDEER #1

hi folks, there are so far 12 video clips of this project, i will not be able to finish this till this weekend,, thanks and enjoy,, arleen

FRANKENMUTH WOODCARVING SHOW 2012 #3

this video was special to me,, thanks to all that took the time to help me make these videos,, total of three of the frankenmuth show,, enjoy,, arleen

an easy solution to finish the manger scene

today i went to the store tree and found this little manger , for a buck how can you go wrong, took it  and put one of my stars on the top,, i think it looks fine, and happy with it ,, its a nice finish ,  ok here is the photo of it

FRANKENMUTH WOODCARVING SHOW oct 22 2012 , i plan to be there

SORRY FOLKS THIS SHOW IS SUNDAY OCT 21  NOT THE 2OTH,, OK TAKE CARE , ARLEEN

lucy the little kitten at the farm

here is calvins new friend , sorta of lol, they get along ok,,  this is lucy,, sweet little cat at the farm

the apple fest show is behind me , and frankenmuth woodcarving show coming up next wee

hi folks, i had a great time at the apple fest , it was a last min decision to go.  the thought of setting up the big white tent , was a bit overwhelming to me with trying to get some work done here around my home and farm,,, but i went,, it was a very cold morning, i was out the door by 5am and setup by 630 and they open at 7am,,  the temps was 32 till about 10am this morning, the car was close enough to hop in the car to warm up a bit, and my normal big display was very small,,  i did not take all the videos with me, as you do shows , every show is different, and you can adjust what you bring along, , in the photo the other table that you do not see are some of the videos and carvings just let folks see what i do on youtube,,   there is a lot of interest in carving in general,, which always makes it worth to me to set up,, sold a lot of carvings, the christmas pickles were a hit again this year , about sold out of them lol   ,  so please if you get a chance to do a show do so,, yes its alot of work , some things you learn along the way , what to bring and what sells, at which shows,, the only thing i didnt think of was the smaller tent was 6x6 with no sides,  it was to short, when i stood to chat with people well could not see them,, lol so i sat down to carve and that brings folks around to see what your doing, esp kids,,  seem to enjoy it and asked many questions,  it was a good day, also i was able to meet a couple that followed me on youtube for some time, they came a long distance to a wedding and came up in this area for a few days, and came to see me at the apple fest, what a treat, to meet folks that i know only by name on facebook ,or by emails,, so overall the day was great,

now i am planning on the frankenmuth show in mich on oct 20th , i done this show before, and look forward to going, it will again not be the set up like i would have here in lancaster due to the lack of room in the car,, but i plan to have a great time all the same and hopefully meet some of you there ,, take care and keep carving

SITLL at it, one more to go

hi folks, i didnt realize how much work i had to do before i got to painting the house, alot of repair and some replacing patches of the cedar siding,, i always love cedar but to maintain it ,,,,, well its work,, the rain we had the past few weeks, has me a little behind where i thought i would be,, but that seems to be most things that we work on , it always takes longer than we think,   but at least i keep moving along,, i was not going to go tomorrow to the apple fest so that i could stay home to continue, but you know what time is to short , not to enjoy some things in  life,,   after this wall is done then one more to go,, another week or two it should be done,, like carving i just keep at it ,,  keep carving folks

apple fest tomorrow, and frankenmuth show in a week, no open house till oct27

hi folks today i sign up to be a vendor at the hay creek apple fest north of morgantown,, its outside and its to be super cold in the morning, i will be there about 530 to set up,, and see how it goes ,, last year it was a nice time,,  so my next open house will be oct 27th 12-5pm   ok folks time to pack the car,, take care and have a nice weekend , then next week oct 20th  i will be at the frankenmuth show in mick , keep carving ,

CONE MRS CLAUS #16 (END)

FINISHED CONE MRS CLAUS ,, PHOTOS

CONE MRS CLAUS #1

HI EVERYONE, HERE WE GO, the first and last videos will be on facebook the rest will be on my youtube channel,,  total videos i believe will be 16 video clips , i have the last one to tape after i am done painting it later today,, thanks and enjoy,,  arleen

new project coming cone mrs claus

ok folks what is coming up is a new project a request to make a mrs claus so i am done with carving it , now to clean it up for a day and paint it,, so i will post the new project called cone mrs claus 14 videos total for this project, coming up hopefully starting tomorrow

woodcarving lessons, private,,

hi folks some of you asked if i do private instruction of woodcarving, yes i do,, i have  email some of you about it but i think it is time to put it out there for those that would like to know the cost, etc so here i go,,
i know many of you are not able to attend a class when its posted ,  due to work and family commitments ,,  which i sure understand,  but also i find some folks prefer , esp beginners to have the one on one instruction  so i will begin to set time aside for this,, i will have normally afternoons and evenings open,, or sat mornings ok,,,,   sorry no sundays,,  i always reserve that day to the lord and my family.
min of 2 hours ,, i find by the time you sit down , and chat a bit, mins can go quickly,,  so the instructions are 2 hours long,, i find most folks that begin, two hours is enough  and  to stop to give them a break,,
cost is 35.00  for two hours,   when someone just needs a few things help with then that is when my open house sat afternoon comes in,,  its a time to catch up on a class your taking and were not  able to finish,, and also sometimes a classroom of 4-6 people some folks are going to be quicker to finish their projects,, also the open house is a chance for you to bring along questions that you may have about wood carving, or sharpening painting etc  .
i only sell some blanks for the cone projects when i have a class, or dvds,  sorry i do not sell any tools , but don does at his shop in lancaster, and he will be happy to help you and his prices are fair,,  so be sure to ck with him if you need wood or tools,, he is part of the lancaster county woodcarving club, here is information if you need to contact him,, he does not have a website but an email and the good old fashion thing called a telephone, to contact him,, lol   and i dont get a kickback from him,, just glad to have folks get the right stuff to carve,, so be sure to call him for any of your carving needs ,, here is my number 484-364-0471 or email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com


hillcrest carving
3540 Marietta Avenue Lancaster, PA 17601
(717) 285-7117
  carvingtherapy@gmail.com

thanks , and keep carving,, arleen

JUST HAVING FUN,, :) smaller projects

howdy folks,, i so enjoyed making the cone chef  last week,, i was so happy how he looked at the end, and   every so often,, i take delight in carving something new,,,  and this project was in my head that morning, and by evening i had most of it carved,  those are the projects that bring joy to carving,, its not a long project but a simple one,, not days of how am i going to do this but hours,,  sometimes for me , these out of the blue projects tend to be the most rewarding,..  you can take a simple project and it can bring a new added joy to your carvings,  
many of us plan ahead for project that are big, and very detailed,  i notice that when we had our bring and brag time at our lancaster woodcarving meeting,, my carving were small,, compared to the larger projects that it sat along on the table,,  we have some wonderful talented carvers in our group,,,   but mine were tiny.,   i had to think ,, i use to do bigger projects, but not so much since i video tape many of them for my youtube channel,,  smaller seems to be more to my liking then carving anything that is large,, not saying that i would not like to do a larger piece from time to time,,  i plan to ,, but for now i am happy with the smaller ones,,   for a number of reasons
i dont need any clamps and vises to hold my project,, its a good fit in my hand,,
i can take it anywhere to work on it,
faster to complete a few hours then days,
and easier to paint, ( most of the time)
i would like to do some larger cone projects,, i might just do that for fun,,  but i having fun just doing what i doing,, why change it at this point,, keep carving folks

CONE CHEF #13 end

ok folks here is the last video of 13 and the rest of them you can find on my youtube channel , thanks and enjoy, arleen

finished cone chef photos

 the 13 videos will be post by later this afternoon,, thanks for stopping by enjoy

unfinished cone chef

there will be 13 videos of this project coming soon,, two are up so far,, take care and enjoy, one more to go after he is painted

CONE CHEF #1.

hi folks another project, i hope you enjoy it , more videos will be loaded later today on my youtube channel,, keep carving

CONE CLOWN #15 (END)

cone clown finish photos,,

hi everyone, the last video is coming up soon,, enjoy,, arleen

CONE CLOWN UNPAINTED ,, it will be painted soon

CONE CLOWN #1

hi folks there are so far 10 videos of this project and more needed to finish and paint it,,  enjoy,, 5 videos will be posted on my youtube   enjoy, arleen

what more can i do , to get better at carving

hi folks,, i know many of you will say carve , carve and carve some more, is one way to get better,, its very true,  but i think there is another part of the puzzle to help us get better at carving,, to those of you that are able to go to a show,,  it does a couple of things,, great place to get new idea to carve, and another that is sometimes overlooked, is studying carvings,,  this past weekend , i was able sit back and read a carving book,, and study the photos, to see what is different  way of carving from the way i carve,,, to my surprise just studying the photos has made me want to try a few different cuts,  and that is where eddy the bottle stopper came from ,, so yes its carving , but its also looking at the detail of a carving that can help you maybe see what your missing in your carving,, of course you will have your own style , we will all have our own trademark on a piece,,  so dont pass up that carving book or watch videos of carving,, or carving magazines, you never know what you might learn or pick up along the way that will make your carving a better piece,, happy carving folks ,, keep at it,, arleen

learning from others,, good open house had fun

hi folks,, today as one of my students came over to paint i decided to take a book i had and try my hand at something a little different,, and enjoy making my own version of the project this is what i came up with,, he will be a bottle stopper,  i guess i name him eddy,,  LOL  i dont know why but he looks like an eddy to me,, it was a fun day,, and you can learn from other folks and use your own method as you go along,, enjoy, arleen

open house again this sat sept 22 12-4

ok back to working on the house, got more scaffolding,, now i can finish what i started,, lol and then  i wonder why i get up stiff.... lol... think its the climbing up and down,, but  will do some carving later this week,, and come up with another project soon
also this weekend sat also i will have another open house 12-4   take care everyone , and keep at it ,, arleen

woodcarving class ( sheep ) photo

hi folks, i had a great day today,  the folks in the class did a great job on their sheep,,  super job, here is a photo of it,,  now i have another one added to my nativity scene !!

NEW DVD #53 SCARCROW & CAT IN A PUMPKIN

hi folks , i just finished putting together dvd  #53  scarecrow & cat in a pumpkin  cost is 10.00 free shipping in the usa and canada  if your interested please email me ,, carverswoodshop@yahoo.com

learning that some things are not done in a day!!

hi folks,, i put carving aside for a bit,, i will have my classes and open house on sats,, but i been super busy, taking advantage of the great weather ( finally) not muggy here in pa.   i bought some scaffolding that i decided i was going to paint and fix up my home and the farm,, often in the past i if things were to high well i hire someone,, not often but from time to time,,   i had some rain gutters that needed to be reattached, and call a couple of people to get an estimate,, wow,,  i thought if i bought the scaffolding that could reach it,, 22 feet up,,  i could do it myself,, looking around the farm i also have a hayloft barn that needs to be painted, along with some roofing too,   in the past the one barn roof was not that high i always got up on that one with no problem but the other well to high,, i dont mind ladders but the older i get the less i like them,, and trying to carry stuff up to the roof while hanging on,,, well its getting tougher,, i did a lot of farm work in the past so i dont consider myself as weak,, but the 20 foot latter, heavy duty,, well i had a heck of a time to get it up,, i just dont have what i use to,, so i thought scaffolding would work out well, i stagger them so i can climb up to the top, and easy to bring stuff along with me,, a platform to work from,, feel much safer then any ladder, and those that know me , i will figure a way to do it myself,,  yes the cost of the scaffold will pay itself back without hiring a carpenter or painter,, took me a while to figure out how i was going to get stuff done, but now its coming together,,  i am working on my home ,, it needed to be painted long ago,, i pressure washed the cedar siding, and now its being painted,,  nothing is going to be done in a day,, just like carvings sometime,, it will take many days,,   but the end result is the joy of knowing i can still do it myself, and saving myself money in the long run,,  there will be a day that i will have to hire for help but until then i going to enjoy doing it myself,,  so keep carving,, arleen

CONE SCARECROW #13 (END)

SCARECROW PHOTOS, last video coming later tonight,

hi folks he is done, i have to be honest i had no idea how it would turn out, but i am very happy with it ,, hope you folks enjoyed the video and i will make a dvd of this project along with the cat in a pumpkin as our fall projects dvd,, #53   keep carving folks, take care......arleen

calvin the cat , and almost done with the scarecrow

hi folks, as i continue to work on the scarecrow project again today,, all that is needed is painting ,  then the video clip and pictures,, i will most likely put this project along with the cat in a pumpkin in to a dvd #53  that is the plan for now,,   but i thought this  might be nice for a few fall projects,,  as i begin to think yet of another project to do ,  i hope to have some new ideas for christmas,,   the projects are harder to come up with lately,, i dont know why that is ,, but i feel sometimes that i need something fresh and new to do,,  i  am thinking way ahead here but the big lancaster show we will have in march 2013 will be a big event,, and i going to try to come up with a project that i can enter the show,, so i need to put my thinking cap back on for a few days,, and there are times that its just better to just to relax and some how something will come along to spark my interest for a new carving idea , so today i will finish the scarecrow hopefully have it up by tomorrow,,  and see how things go,,  meanwhile i thought an updated picture of our farm cat calvin,,  some of you might like to see  him, he had been a good boy lately,, LOL we will see how long that lasts lol   take care and keep carving,, arleen

CONE SCARECROW #1

hi folks i am back with another new project, so far there are 4 up, not sure how many videos clips it will take but if i had to guess about 10-14   enjoy, only the first and last will be listed here how facebook, the others will be on my youtube channel,, thanks again for watching and enjoy,,

protecting the amish banana tree by carverswoodshop,, just having fun folks

folks just having some fun,, enjoy,,  i had fun creating it, :)