Showing Off

Last week, I finally got around to putting up a display shelf for some of my favorite woodcarvings. Here is how it looks on my wall:

Except for the teddy bear, these carvings all began as wooden eggs. The teddy bear was made while I was still in high school from a roughout that my dad prepared for me. The purple and yellow rabbit (second shelf, right) is the first egg carving I ever did. That pattern for her came from Mary Finn's book Carving Egg Animals, a great book for anyone wishing to start egg carving. My most recent carvings are the two Vikings sitting on the top shelf. Their weaponry and the horns on the Viking man's helmet are created from a two-part epoxy putty.

I plan to continue rotating these carvings as new creations are made. These little guys are such a cheerful addition to my living room!

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

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