life does;t get better than this lol

starting the process of my basswood order

starting the process of my order of basswood,, ,, can't wait to try it out ,, my lumber guy just sent me the photos today,, it will take about 6-8 weeks to dry it after it is cut up ,,
 hopefully this will be what i am hoping for,,, nice easy to carve basswood,,,  see what happens,,

sitting amish finished

he was fun to carve!!

discussion about carving instructors ,, ( many are quitting and good reason why )

discussion about carving instructors ,, ( many are quitting and good reason why )

 

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hi folks,, this is a topic , that rarely gets attention,  and one i like to give my two cents to,,  it was posted on facebook by another carving instructor that they are no longer teaching  classes and shows due to the lack of students and cost ,, which i can understand,,,  the commitment of folks today is lacking but i believe it more the limited time and cost for most not to take a class,, many want to but to fit it in can be a difficult  with family and work,,,,  
in todays times the web has created a new way of teaching,, as many of you know , i have over 1700 videos up and over 130 projects to choose from for free, and you can purchase a dvd of most of my projects if you rather veiw it on a dvd player on your work area,,,, but i understand the expense of travel , setup, and cutouts, and overnight expenses, along with time spend before you go to a show or teaching a class, its work,, no doubt,,, but many folks are now teaching, and the pool of new carvers is limited,,, i for one, enjoy making my videos and dvds,  and teaching here at my farm,,  and plan to do so,,, yes some of the classes have been canceled , and that is ok,, it was not to be,,  i try to have different classes to fit the needs of those that would like to come to a class,,,
on a personal note,, i can understand the frustration  and disappointments that instructors deal with,, and the same goes for putting a show together,, the work that is done before a show or class is a huge amount of time and effort..  unless your super organizer ,, it can be draining,,  then why do it??  well most carvers that do shows and teach enjoy it,, and want to pass along a hobby that has given them so much joy,,, and my reason was simple i love computers and woodcarving and found my niche,,,   what i have today did not come over night,, it was countless hours with a video camera and prep work ...  i enjoy it, untill i no longer find joy in ,, i will contine,,  
i never thought of this as a way to make my living,,  if i did i would have stop long ago,,,  i spent countless hours carving santas,  ornaments , and many other things to keep my inventory up for the holidays,, and pricing them to a reasonalbe amount,,,,, one never knows what will sell, and what will not,,, if you ever thought of a carving career you better not quit your day job...  its not an overnight succes for most of us ,, its lots of work and hours ,, and its not work if you enjoy it long the way,,,  and if i dont like to carve something i dont,, i carve only those things that i enjoy,, that is why i keep away from commission work,,,,  commissionn work the word is WORK ,,,  i dont ever want to feel i have to carve,,, ,,  i know this might sound selfish but it keeps my interest in carving...  once it becomes work,, its no longer enjoyable,,   no one in thier right mind will do a hobby they dont enjoy,, isnt that what a hobby is to be ,,, enjolyable??   so folks,,  i will keep trying to come up with new ideas, and new videos on youtube, and make my dvds,,, am i making a killing at it,, no,, and most woodcarvers will tell you the same,,,  i have cover my cost which is about as good as it gets ,, and i am not complaining,,, but understand those that thought this is a great way to make extra money,, i can be,,  ( extra ) is the word,,,  not a living at it,, some do make a living at it,,  and enjoy taking commission work,,  to those that have done this my hats off to ya,,,,  glad your able to do so,,
 well will this was more than my two cents worth,, more like a dime :)  keep carving folks and thanks for all your support, and keep supporting carving shows around you,,  , arleen  

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DVD #63 WINDY SANTA ORNAMENT, SITTING SANTA WITH A GIFT

DVD #63 windy santa ornament & sitting santa with a tree, is ready,, this dvd is 2 hours and 31 mins long,, comes with a pattern of how the cone should be cut,, 10.00 free shipping in the usa,, and canada its 2 dollars per video more for shipping,, please contact me if your interested, at the carverswoodshop@yahoo. com,, or send a ck payable to arleen zomer, 226 hill rd, honey brook pa. 19344.. or paypal payment to zomerenterprises@yahoo.com..PLEASE WHEN YOU ORDER state the number and name of video,, thank you ,, arleen

FINISHED SITTING FIREMAN

hi folk this was a fun project its up on my youtube channel ,,,, carverswoodshop ,, there are 13 video clips of this project,, enjoy,, arleen

finished confederate and union soldiers

i had fun carving these  i will post these on ebay soon

,, enjoy,, arleen

FREDDY THE FARMER ( seasonal /holiday )

hi folks,  hope all is going well, we survive the deep cold spell this week, thankful it was only a couple of days near zero,,, as i continue to run heaters in the barn to keep pipes from freezing, so far all is well,  when in any doubt i flip on the heaters,, sure dont want to come in the barn and see water everywhere,, but one night this week i decided to make a farmer,,  you could use him as a seasonal /holiday farmer,,, the name freddy is from my dad ,,, fred,,, i thought it was fitting to give this carving a name after him,, after all my dad was a farmer,, so here are some photos of freddy the farmer , he was fun to do

shipping charges to canada,,

hi folks ,, just to let you know,, shipping dvds in the usa is free,, but to canada, it will be a charge of 2 dollars per dvd,, the cost of shipping there has increase in the past couple of years,, so i have to go to the post office and fill out paper work to send it,, thanks for your understanding,, arleen

civil war carvings, for christmas gifts and some to put on ebay soon

the photo with two,, one on the left was carved for my brother in-law,,  for christmas  the other one on the right won first prize at a woodcarving show in frankenmuth mich,,   the unpainted one is about to be painted and will be put on ebay soon,,,  i got some requests to do a confederate soldier which will not be difficult to do,,  just painting it a different color will do it,, so i do plan to do those soon,, lol   i knew some folks in the south were going to ask me to do one,,    ok keep carving folk 

saying goodbye to 2013 overview

hi folks as i say goodbye to 2013 it was a good carving year,, we did a lot of new projects that folks seem to really enjoy,, i did alot of carving this year then any other getting ready for christmas, and filling orders, not as many classes, did a bunch of projects on youtube, which i enjoy doing,   maybe not as many as the year before, but i was happy with the new creations this year ,, so overall it was a good carving year

some ways it was a tougher year for me,,  one big difference was the overhaul in the usa healthcare system,  folks i had my own insurance since i been 18 and the first time in my life i was going to lose it along with millions of other that had their plans dropped,,  i thought i didnt have to worry about obamacare,  and really paid very little attention to it,,   until i got the letter in sept,,,  my heart sank,,  but an education in obamacare  there was a lot to learn,,  from sept to dec 19 i finally got some insurance at the market exchange,, dealing with a down gov site, was frustrating ,, but over all i now have a plan,,  now i will have to see how it will work,, like millions of folks in the usa i wanted to keep the plan i had,,,  so things  are ever changing ... we will see how it will work,, i was a plan that  i could tell keep the doctor i had,, i  first just ck with the plan  i wanted to see if my doctor took that plan or not, which he did,, so time will tell,,, we all know something had to change in our healthcare system,,
it was instilled in me when i was 18 and farming i had to have my own plan,,  it was not an option not to have it,,,, self employment  your force to get something,, i dont understand the folks that say well i have to pay but get nothing in return,, ,, well that is what insurance is about hoping you never need it,,  weather its your car, house insurance,, ,,,, i know this  system is not perfect,, neither was the other system we had...so time will tell,  some things will have to be worked out,, like any new project it will have lots of bumps in the road,,,,  i sure when social security or medicare started it was not without  problems,,  and today i do not hear older folks wanting to get rid of either of them today,,  sure it was not popular back when it started,,,   i have to say i want less government too,  not more of it,, but things are the way they are,,  so 2014 will be an intersting year for sure
goodbye 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS .....have some fun with carving santas, and other things,

HI EVERYONE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!
i want to wish everyone a very merry christmas,, and also a very happy and healthy new year

i just posted some photos of the chimney santa,, in my latest new santas,, it was fun to do,,, and i got a good response to it,,   i enjoyed making them ,, lots of fun,,  well it looks like another christmas is behind us and soon another year,,,  for most christmas is a bittersweet time,,  but also can be a very happy time,, keep the faith and keep carving,,  god has bless us with so much, and most of all with his son,, may he be praised ,,,    for his wonderful gift to all of us,,, its weather we choose to accept it or not,,   merry christmas,,

some new carvings,, sitting santa on a chimney

now i take credit cards, how you can too if you do carving shows,,

hi folks,, as most of you that are use to using the internet,, may have paypal,, some that have not ventured into it or just like to do things the old fashion way,,  some always ask if i take credit cards,,  in the past i did not,, but now to new amazing things you can do with a smart phone,, most crafters now take a credit card anywhere they set up,, this new feature ( that has been out for a while) works very well,,   mind you it takes me a bit longer , small buttons on the cell phone LOl  but it does work great,, so yes  i now take credit cards,,  so here are the forms of payment . old fashion ck,,  paypal or credit card , and of couse money order,,   if you do pay with a credit card, you can either call me direct at 484-364-0471,,,  with information, or email it to me,,  the card number, ccv on the back ( three number on the back  and the expire date,, after i have all the info  and i get it set up i will delete the email,, and of course an address to mail it 

so there you have it,,,  so if you set up at craft /art/ woodcarving shows, you can too have all the features the big shops have,, and i have to say , in the past i missed some sales due to the fact i did not take credit cards,,  hope this info helps those that looking to add this feature to sales,,  keep carving,, arleen

SITTING SANTA #11 END

finished painting the SITTING SANTAS

hi folks,, for some reason i am not able to post the videos on this blog , i have to see what google did different, but anyway,, here is a photo of the two sitting santas,, one was done on youtube channel ,, carverswoodshop , so please go there to view my video of this project, thanks

hi folks,, i still here lol new ideas

hi everyone,, i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend,,, sorry i do most of my posting on facebook ,,, and i know some of you are not on facebook,,,, its been a very busy month carving ,,, trying to restock some of the things i sold at the apple feast in oct,,, i did replace most all of what was sold,, today i had my shop open,, as i have for the past 4 weeks on sat,, and it was a bit slow but today,, it was very good,, sold 7 santas, and 6 other santa on ebay,, so things are picking up,, i had a couple of new ideas here is one,, i will make a video of this project next on youtube,,
,,
the sitting santa,, i cant wait to paint him,,, just a bit different again,, when i think there is nothing new i can do ,, then i think of something out of the blue,, and i have another project as well, coming up next year,, see how it goes,, i will keep this one of course,,


  but it was fun to do ,,  now to paint it
,
  i am gearing up for cyber monday ,, by posting things on ebay as i have this past week,, will list more tomorrow for sure,,

, i will be sure to post the finish sitting santa,, take care and keep carving,, arleen

WINDY SANTA ORNAMENT #1

http://www.youtube.com/v/SZya1hgIjuk?autohide=1&version=3&attribution_tag=cepBM2Fdn63Dvh6gsUZ30g&autohide=1&feature=share&showinfo=1&autoplay=1http://youtu.be/SZya1hgIjuk

CARVING CAMPER STUDIO READY for 2013 holiday season

http://www.youtube.com/v/cbokH40msUs?autohide=1&version=3&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=dZV16AFqhDpZqcIfGIgcKg&showinfo=1&feature=share&autohide=1

opening of my camper studio for the holidays,, saturdays only starting nov 2 2013 till christmas

i know its to early for some of you to think about christmas,, but for me ,, its been on my mind all year,, carving  santas, and ornaments,  etc,,,  so i decided to open up  my camper studio for 8 weeks starting nov 2, 2013 from 10 am to 4pm  and will add some evenings a week before christmas,, here is the flyer i put together about this event,, classes will come in jan,,  will post them soon ....
i have no idea how this will go ,, but last year sats were a good day,, esp 4 weeks before christmas,,  i had a few people all ready stop by during the summer asking about it,,  so i hope it goes well,, wait and see, one never knows ,,, lol   but i will sure give it a try,, :)

fall is here

some time for mom ,, at september farm cheese and shady maple shopping

we have a new store in our town of honey brook,,, september farm cheese , they make their own cheese and serve lunch,, cheese sandwich and coffee is the best,, mom and i enjoy stopping for lunch after our shopping at shady maple,,  yummy,,

mich trip off to frankenmuth show, 2013

hi folks i attend this show for the past four years,, its a one day show, which is great for me,, i was able to take some friend with me for the day,, and enjoy a day out , along with a carving show,, i was limited what i could bring along,, nothing like what i do for our lancaster show in march,, but enough to hopefully spark some interest in stopping at my table,,  during this time i often meet folks that watch my instructional videos on youtube,, its becoming common place no matter which show i attend,,i would say half of the folks stopping by had tune in to my youtube channel,, its always great to meet folks that enjoy and are learning from my videos,,,  its always  amazes me ,, how many are learning how to carve from the videos,, its very humbling to me,,  i am so grateful that it been a source of joy to many,
at the show i was able to put in three pieces to compete,  and i won one first place and two second place,, photos will be below,,,   thanks to all that work on this show,,  i know hours of prep work goes into making a show like this happen,, not only from the club but from the vendors that come to set up,,

union soldier won first

battle cross , second

holiday honey bear, second

competition area

the show floor room

a carved horse

apple fest at joanna furnace early oct

hi folks every year i attend the apple fest here nearby , at joanna's furnace near morgantown, pa,,  it was a wet mess to start, and a two day event,,  normally its only one day,, i was not really up to it,, the amount of work to put a show like this takes days to prep for,,  this year i decided to use my big tent with sides since they were calling for more rain,,, i went out to secure a spot on friday,  it was pouring,,  and puddles everywhere,,  i choose a spot , then came back later with the tent when the rain would ease up,, they only had about half the vendors this year due to the weather,, but it turned out to be a great weekend for me,,  setting up in the dark,, i had a light 26 watt bulb that was = to 100 watts,  in a battery power pack that gave me enough light till the sun came up,,  i thought it was cool how it looked at night,,

below was my view from my table 

below i had this set up sat, where they had to walk in,, sat was kinda slow due to the possible rain that day 

                                                 

below i decided to change things up a bit,, and found that opening the sides and puting the tables around the outside for the tent so folks could walk around was much better in sales, about 3 times more in sales that day,,  i notice later that the table clothes were not even,, lol,, folks do not want to enter a tent as the one above,,  the one below was a much better settup,, plus i had a place to carve,, that folks could easily see,
 i sold about 1/4 of my inventory,, it was a great weekend,,,  as you can see there were not many vendors, otherwise i would have had folks around me,,,  lol  later i did have someone next to me later in the weekend ,

sorry about the slow posts ,,

hi folks i will try to update you with some photos and whats been happening,,  i been so busy this month and for many reasons. i post mostly on facebook these days of things that are happening, but i also know many of you do not use facebook,, so here are a few things going on,,  i went to michigan last week for a week, and was able to attend the frankenmuth show and also the apple fest earlier this month, ,  then getting ready to open my camper studio  on saturdays only this coming starting this weekend nov 2 2013  ,,  also like many americans dealing with the healthcare issues,, i am among those that will have to look for new insurance,,  which has taken some of my time as well, needless to say time has been short. so i will post about each of these events,,,, with some photos, soon, thanks for dropping by,, keep carvings , arleen

finished painting the santa and snowman oraments,

painting some of my spiral santa ornaments

some with a scarf , and windy santa  ornaments ,, will finish painting tomorrow

upcoming events

this coming weekend , oct 12 and 13th,, 2013  i will be at the haycreek apple festival,,  located above morgantown pa, at joanna furnance,,   also plan to be at the frankenmuth woodcarving show, frankenmuth mich,  on oct 20th,, sunday,, this is a one day show,, i will be limited what i can bring along,, but i will be there,,
also i will open my camper/ studio on sats beginning nov 2 from 10am to 4pm,,  i was open limited hours last year and decided to make this a yearly event ,,  i will be working on carvingws, folks are welcome to come and ck out my studio , and all my carvings for sale will be on display and dvds, along with display of all the projects that were done on youtube,,,

,,  below is the flyer i will give out at haycreek this weekend,,  i didnt do as many shows this year,, i was able to pick the ones  did well for me in the past,,  so this year i only did two woodcarving show,, lancaster and frankenmuth, and the haycreek apple fest,, and then open my shop up before christmas,,  i had some local folks all ready come and purchase christmas items,  appointment can be made for any other times, just call,,  thanks keep carving

seasonal bear ?

I'm giving away bears to someone that does not celebrate holidays because of their religious beliefs. so I decided to make a seasonal bear with the spring summer winter and fall. I just had to add to a little tree with the snow and the sunflower for the summer