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.
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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.

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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