It seems like every time I start thinking, I really need to start blogging more, life gets unexpectedly busy, I'm lucky to have five spare minutes to turn on the computer, and blogging goes completely out the window. Well, now my son is napping, my husband is relaxing downstairs, and here I am, taking a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas to write a little note.

Christmas is always a busy time for craftspeople. I am finally beginning to make a go at turning this wonderful hobby into a small side-business. I did a craft show with my dad, an amazing woodturner. You can see his site at www.aroundthewoods.com. We had a great time, and I was able to sell a few carved golf balls and some very cute bird tree ornaments. Since then, friends have also been interested in buying golf balls as Christmas presents. It has been a great boost to see that people enjoy the small things I make. I even received a letter from one buyer at the craft show, saying the blue jay she bought brings a smile to her face every time she sees it! These are the little things that make my day.

Below is a picture of some of the many golf balls I have carved. I hope they give you ideas of fun creations to make for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Beautiful Birds

Ever have one of those times where, you've been carving or sewing or scrapbooking or doing whatever your favorite hobby is, when suddenly, for no apparent reason, you lose your inspiration? You can't seem to find motivation to keep going, your materials are hidden away for a little while, and you just have to try doing other things for a little bit until you can get back to your beloved pastime?

If you have never experienced that, you're lucky. But that's what I've had recently when it comes to woodcarving. Who knows why? My inspiration is starting to come back, but right now I'm waiting on some more supplies to come in the mail. In the meantime, I have some (about six, I think) carvings that need to be painted, and golf balls that can be carved.

One project that I do find very easy to do when I'm in a "carving funk" is birds. These whimsical birds are very quick and very cute. They're great to make if you're just in a mood to make lots of shavings, and can make charming little gifts.

The design for these birds comes from Laura Putnam Dunkle's book Carving Whimsical Birds. It's currently out of print, but most online book stores will still have it second hand. I highly recommend it.

~ Karen V.

Horse Complete

Well, here it is, my first try at carving a horse from a wooden egg, now completely carved, sanded, painted, and varnished:

And, from the side:

Overall, I'm rather pleased with how she turned out. I'm thinking of attempting to carve a sleeping foal next time I try a horse, though. A curled up foal will suit the egg shape nicely, and is easier to envision than an upright horse like this one. For my first attempt, though, I think this horse turned out rather well, and I'll definitely be pondering ways to improve it in the future.

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Letting the Dwarf Hear

Last night I got back to work on my dwarf. He can now hear out of two nicely carved ears. Here's a close up of one ear:

Through carved golf ball faces, I have become better at producing faces in wood, too. A few months ago I would not have dared attempt a face this large, because the facial details would have been too daunting to consider. One of the greatest joys in carving has been continuing to see my skills develop over time. I never get bored of trying new patterns and looking at other ways to be creative within the limitations of round figures.

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Golf Ball Card Holder

I needed to come up with a way to display my business cards for a local golf shop that will be selling some of my carved golf ball products. Today, I quickly whipped this up:

I simply gouged out a space through the center of the golf ball to place the cards in, then did a little bit of decorative carving to give it a nicer appearance. To keep the ball steady, I glued it to a bottle cap. I plan to do something a little nicer shortly, but this will do for now, as the shop needed something made up fairly quickly.

Carving a Dwarf Egg

My newest project is a basswood dwarf. I started with a basswood goose egg at about 3.75" tall. I made a line around the top where his hat would be, and used a micro V-tool to mark it. I then used a straight blade to create a stop cut, and carved into the cut until the hat seemed a good depth. Next, I decided where the base of the nose and the eyes would be, and roughed them out. At another time, I will go into more detail about how to carve eyes and noses, two of the hardest elements in carving faces. I also marked the ears, and again used stop cuts and V-tools to define them.

So far, as you can see, I have formed the eyes, nose, and the dwarf's long mustache. I am modeling this fellow after an illustration in The Spiderwick Chronicles. Inspiration for carvings can come from anywhere -- books, computers, or random people on the street. My husband just rolls his eyes now whenever I tell him, "Look! That person would make a fantastic egg!"

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Golf Balls Galore and More

While I've been sharing with you about the golf ball butterfly and horse carving I've been working on, I have also been busy with a few other projects, too. I rarely have only one carving on the go. I like to have several carvings in various stages of progress. That way, I can do different things depending on what my mood is or how tired I am. Here are a few carvings that I finished varnishing yesterday:

Golf Balls Galore!... Granny, Bunny, Green Man, Butterfly on Flower

Bear in Tree Stump

Of course, I am still working away on my horse. I finished the carving of it last night, and tonight will begin my least favorite part of the carving process... sanding. I know many carvers don't like to sand, but I personally do love the appearance and feel of a well-sanded woodcarving. I sand all my carvings seven times using five different grits. Two sandings are done with 80-grit sandpaper, two sandings are done with 100-grit sandpaper, and then I do one sanding each with 150-grit, 180-grit, and 200-grit sandpapers.

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Butterfly on Flower... Finished!

Well, except for the varnish, this little guy is all done. Again, I'm sorry I don't have the greatest pictures. I'm using my computer's camera, which isn't the best. However, I think you'll still enjoy the look of this butterfly:

Butterfly on Stand

A close-up of the antennae

The antennae are the only part that are not carved out of the original golf ball. I find antennae are too delicate to carve, and to be perfectly honest, I just don't have the patience to make sure I get them right. Instead, I molded the antennae from black-colored Sculpey clay, and baked them in a 275-degree F oven for five minutes. I used white glue to attach them.

The golf ball stand is homemade, using corkboard, a self-adhesive fake grass tile, and a golf tee. I found both the corkboard and grass at a local dollar store, and the golf tee is from Wal-Mart. I attached the grass to the cork, used an exacto knife to cut the board into squares, and inserted the golf tee into the center of the square. I then used a glue gun to securely attach the tee in place.

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Come Along Horsie

Well, my horse is starting to show some progress. I think it's going to be a very cute, but somewhat pudgy, horse. Take a look:

Horse Front View

Horse Rear View

Horse Bottom View

Once I had figured out to separate the legs on the bottom, the shape of the horse really started to come together. I'm aiming more for a caricature look than a life-like representation. Wooden eggs and golf balls are both well suited for caricature carvings. The round shape lends itself well to exaggeration.

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Go Horsie, Go!

I have started another egg carving, and I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. The goal is to turn a wooden basswood egg, like this: 

 and turn it into a horse. Most of the time, when I begin a carving, I have a fairly good idea of how I'm going to get from the egg to the final product. Not this time. This time, I'm using the fine, well-proven technique of "winging it." After two days of carving, this is what I've come up with:

                                                                                    

Front view, you can see the head forming

3/4 View, you can start to see where the mane and tail will be

As you can probably see, I don't have a well-thought-out plan as yet. This could very well end up as a unique piece of firewood! (It wouldn't be the first time.) Part of the fun with carving, though, is never knowing exactly what you'll end up with. Every piece is different and unique, no matter how well planned it is, and no matter how many times you've carved the same thing. 

I am also very excited to have received more golf balls ready to carve! Here they are, all beautiful colors waiting to be turned into wonderful creations:

 I am always open to suggestions about what to carve. I plan to start a golf ball dragon tonight!

~Karen V.

www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

                                                               

Golf Ball: Butterfly on Flower Day 2

In my second day of carving this golf ball, I finished the basic carving. Here's how it looks from the front:

And here's how it looks at the back:

Now all that's left to do is paint it, varnish it, and add a pair of antennae. I'll use Sculpey clay to make the antennae. It will be a few more days before I get around to painting. I like to wait until I have four or five golf balls ready to be painted, and do them all at once. I'll keep you up to date, though, with other projects on the go!

~Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Golf Ball: Butterfly on Flower Day 1

Last night, I was reviewing what carving projects I have on the go, and at which stage they were each at. I had two wooden eggs that were drying their first coat of varnish; a golf ball waiting to be painted; a landscape egg I had almost finished carving; a golf ball that was marked and ready to be carved, and two eggs that needed to be sanded. With a heavy sigh, I decided to start sanding the two eggs, and then reward myself with hacking away a bit at the landscape egg and golf ball.

I'm not ready yet to show off the landscape egg. I've finished the carving, but I think I'll wait until it's been sanded and painted before showing it off! I will, however, show what twenty minutes of carving at a golf ball produced:

I know, it's not the best picture. I'm hoping you can begin to see the butterfly taking shape on the top of the golf ball, though. The ultimate plan is for this to be a butterfly with its wings spread out over a flower.

Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings

Welcome to The Whittle Things

Welcome to The Whittle Things!

My name is Karen, and I have been carving for about 16 years. It started out as something I could do to spend time with my dad, and has now become part hobby, part obsession, and a genuine sanity saver! As a stay at home mom of an infant boy, by the end of the day I need something to do that gets my mind off of housework, childcare, and the daily round of tasks to be done.

About three years ago I discovered the joy of carving basswood eggs. This was a Godsend for me, as I was a newlywed living in a small apartment without room for large pieces of wood and equipment. Basswood eggs are small, easily stored, and yet provide lots of opportunity to create whimsical people, animals, birds, and even landscapes.

Shortly after Christmas 2011, I also began carving golf balls. I had no idea this could become so addictive too! While I still tend to prefer egg carving due to the wider possibility for detail, I find golf ball carving to be relaxing as well. There is no need for sanding, painting base coats, or even using a lot of paint. I can just carve, paint in the details, apply a coat of varnish and it's done!

I have also recently begun creating golf ball keychains, like this rose over here. It's a great idea for any golfing friends, plus it just makes a neat key chain!


I look forward to sharing my carving projects with you, and hope to hear from other carvers out there!

~ Karen V.
www.etsy.com/shop/thewhittlethings