Christmas Carvings 2016

Now that all the Christmas gifts have been handed out, I want to share the rest of my carvings from this year. The two Santa's are from a pattern by Susan Hendrix, in Wood Carving Illustrated magazine. When I cut them out on the bandsaw, I left the base on one. The other I mounted on the base after I carved him.
The star ornaments' were based on the glass blown ornaments of Christmas' long ago.

Elves Workshop at the Nature Center

Here's a few photos of yesterday's event at Martha Lafite Nature Sanctuary. Huge crowds,
I sold a few carvings and it wouldn't Christmas at the nature center without a snake.

Last Sale of 2016

One last carving sale before Christmas! They had to reschedule because of the ice and snow last weekend. I will be demonstrating and selling woodcarvings this Friday from noon til 5 PM. There is also a store for children to buy gifts for their parents. See ya there!


http://www.naturesanctuary.com/

Christmas Craft Fair 2016

Had a good day yesterday at the first Christmas Craft Fair in Kearney Missouri. We made some new friends and sold some carvings. Made our booth money back and a good profit. Thanks to the wife for my new fancy table cover. I'm pretty sure she bought a birdhouse from Santa Claus. I have one more show before Christmas. I'll be at Martha Lafite in Liberty Missouri on December 17 & 18.

Kaw Valley Show 2016

 This was my first time at the woodcarving show in Topeka Kansas. It is a friendly group of people and made me feel welcome. There were some great carvers there and the competition was tough. I did bring home two ribbons, a blue and and red. 'Coming To Town' took first in the Christmas theme category, and 'Elder In Cedar' took second in the Bark and Driftwood category. Overall, I had a great time and plan on attending next year.

Topeka Carving Show

Truck is loaded and I'll be hitting the road early tomorrow morning. Headed to the http://www.kawvalleywoodcarvers.org/annual-show in Topeka Kansas. If you come to the show, stop by my table and say hello.

I'm ready for the Christmas carving sale tomorrow at Martha Lafite. I'll be there, along with other Northland Woodcarvers, from 10am - 3pm.

New Ornaments For Sale

I have two Christmas craft sales coming up, so I've been trying to increase my inventory. I finished another batch of wood burned ornaments. Also, a couple of new carved ones ready for paint. I, along with other woodcarvers, will be selling our Christmas items at Martha Lafite Nature Sanctuary this Saturday from 10am - 3pm. Come out and get some of your Christmas shopping done.

Rustic Christmas Ornaments Update

Finished up this batch of wood burned ornaments. Ready for sale!

Coming to Town

The first Santa of the season is completed. If you've been following along, you know this was an old roughout. I received it with no idea idea what it was suppose to look like. So I let the imagination loose and this is the result. I painted him with thinned acrylics and sealed with a couple coats of Deft Satin Lacquer. He stands 14" tall, including the cherry.

Rustic Christmas Ornaments

Started a new batch of wood burned ornaments. I begin by cutting wood slices, these are from my tulip poplar tree. The limb has been drying for four years. Then I sand one side, and sketch and burn each scene. Spray a light coat of lacquer, and paint with thinned acrylics. I will apply a final coat of lacquer after painting.

NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves Review

I was recently given the opportunity to test out a pair of new cut resistant gloves from NoCry. The gloves are a blend of stainless steel, high-performance polyethylene, glass fiber and Spandex threads. The first thing I noticed, when I put one on, was it has the tightest weave of all the carving gloves I have used. Like all carving gloves they are not cut proof, they are cut resistant. The gloves will fit either hand. The pair I tested had silicon dots on the palm side which help in gripping the carving wood. But, they have other styles available. You can purchase the gloves on Amazon, here is a link to the gloves I tested....

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPU3GD0

Overall, this is a great product! The good news for my followers, you can purchase these gloves at a discount. NoCry is offering an exclusive 15% discount! Use the following discount code when ordering your gloves.

 3MI7C34N

Happy Carving!

Santa 2016 Update

Worked on the new Santa today. Painted the underside of his cape with Parchment, the outside and the suit with Tomato Spice. Still need to shade and highlight the cape and suit.

First Santa Carving of 2016

I received an old roughout with no pictures. I have no idea what it was suppose to look like. I figured it was a Santa. I didn't take any pictures of the carving process, but here are some of the painting in progress. Stay tuned for more updates.