Christmas has come and gone, the gifts have been exchanged. Now I can post some of the carvings I have been working on this season. I carve ornaments for family members every year, but this has been a rough year. I lost my Mother in March. I always carved her a special Santa in addition to an ornament,and it didn't matter what it was, she loved it. I wanted a special ornament in her memory. I started carving these in July. Then my Uncle passed away in September, and he always loved getting a carved ornament as well. I hope 2020 is a better year, don't think it could be any worse.
The cardinals were carved from 2"x 2" 6" basswood. I started by cutting out on the band saw. I then roughed them out with a Foredom and finished up with hand tools. I applied thinned acrylics for color and a clear glaze on the eyes. I brushed on a light coat of water based polyurethane and a second coat of glaze. Finally a coat of Howard's Feed 'N Wax.
