Missouri Woodcarver

New Book for Beginners

2012-01-25T12:23:00.003-06:00

Well its official.....I can now start showing the book that I wrote for beginners. The book is about Caricature Bookmarks and includes two projects and some patterns. It is a step by step book and has alot of great ideas and instruction. Schiffer Publishing is the company that took my idea and made it into something that I hope will help alot of beginning carvers. There is a second book being released in the Fall of this year but I can't talk about it yet..... So be watching for the Caricature Bookmarks in a carving shop near you.

What about a Tutorial?

2012-01-11T10:21:00.001-06:00

I was thinking the other day about doing a tutorial....What would you want to see ? Can I carve things that other people request ? I would like some ideas and then we will see about making a tutorial out of it. This will be the first time I have really done anything like this, the last tutorial I did was the golf ball and that was a few years ago. Let me know what you think and we will go from there.

Chris

March Woodcarving Seminar

2012-01-09T10:13:00.004-06:00

For those of you that are interested in attending the March Woodcarving Seminar in Neosho, Missouri please send me an email at mowoodcarver@gmail.com.

Please include:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Email
Class you want to attend

I will be taking enrollments for the class at this time and will forward the information on to the Neosho Arts Council. Payment information will be handled at a later time and I will contact you by email or phone with the person in charge of the payment. The class space is limited and will be on a first come first serve basis.

Thanks

Chris

Golf Ball Tutorial Link

2011-12-15T07:17:00.001-06:00

http://www.yourfolder.com/yourfolder/published/DD/2.0/folder_link.php?sl=336c317c8877f7f5a14b136cbf370cd4&DB_KEY=WU9VUkZPTERZT1VSRk9MREVS

So last year I did a small tutorial on carving a golf ball, the place I was keeping the file must have removed it. So I received a request for the tutorial, so I put it back on the server in case any one was needing it again. The book mark tutorial will no longer be available as it has been turned into a book and will be released this Spring thru Schiffer Publishing.

Sears Roughout of Hoss

2011-12-09T10:08:00.001-06:00

I decided to break out this roughout that I got from Gerald Sears a few months back. This is one that was in their clearance pile because of the dark spot in the wood. So I will get started on him tomorrow as I will carve my last day at Silver Dollar City. I will post some pics of it during the carving process.... Happy carving.

Basswood Egg Santa

2011-12-08T15:30:00.001-06:00

Okay so with the weather starting to get colder outside and our break times at work are no longer taken outside I decided to work on some items to give away... Here is the before picture as well as the almost completed after. If you want to enter the giveaway, send me an email with Santa in the subject line and I will choose a random email December 16th and send the winner the Santa egg.....

New Carving Knives

2011-12-07T10:07:00.001-06:00

Okay so these are not new knives to some of you, but I picked these jewels up last weekend. I am bad about collecting knives ( its kind of an addiction) . These knive are made by Helvie and they are classified as a micro blade with what I would call a jumbo pencil handle, I dont know Helvie's correct name for the handle.

This blade is the Micro Upsweep Blade ( I used this blade for carving around the eyes)

This Blade is the Micro Sheeps Foot ( This blade makes really nice stop cuts)

I have used these two a very limited amount and from what I have used them on they will make a great addition to my carving knife collection. The price on these are around 40.00 each and can be ordered from www.helvieknives.com or any major woodcarving supplier.

Lunchtime Fun

2011-12-06T13:05:00.001-06:00

I had an extra basswood egg laying around and some free time during lunch so I carved this old guy. His eyes are closed...maybe that was what I was wishing I could be doing???? I have not figured out if I will paint him or not, anyway he will be something fun to give away.

March 3-4 2012 Seminar

2011-12-06T10:19:00.001-06:00

The Neosho Arts Council is putting together a Weekend Carving Seminar for the first weekend in March. The instructors will be Gerald Sears teaching intermediate to advanced class and Gregg Thompson teaching beginners.

You can visit Geralds website and take a look at the roughouts that he has available for the class. The cost for his class is $100.00 plus the cost of a roughout ranging from 19.00 - 25.00 each. I have taken his class and it is alot of fun and Gerald gives each student attention needed to get the carving done. Carvers for this class will need to bring a variety of woodcarving tools to carve his projects.

(Space is limited to 10 carvers for this class)

www.gnbsearswoodcarving.com

You can visit Gregg Thompsons website and look at the Bear project that he will be teaching for his class. Gregg will teach you the layout from a square block of wood all the way thru carving to finishing this project. His class is designed for the beginner carver and the cost is $75.00 which includes the block of wood, instruction and a good time. The only tool you need for this class is a carving knife that will be available for $25.00 if you do not currently have one. (pocket knives will not work for this class)

(Space is limited to 10 carvers for this class)

www.gandgwoodcarving.com

The location of the seminar will be held in Neosho, Mo. at the Lampo Building located on South Street just off the Neosho Square.

If you would like more information about this seminar you can email me at: mowoodcarver@gmail.com

Great weekend

2011-12-04T21:02:00.001-06:00

This post is not really carving related... It's more of a time to thank my friends and family who celebrated my wife and I's 16th wedding anniversary this weekend. We went to Branson, ate too much and had a great visit with fellow carvers and close friends. Our season of carving at SDC is at the end and it's time to say good bye until next year. I will be starting on some carvings in the next day or so, so keep checking back. I did however pick up some new knives while I was there, a Helvie mini upsweep and mini Sheeps foot blade. So I will let you know how those do. Here is a picture that I took of my lovely wife standing by the street sign near the carving shop at SDC. She has been very supportive of my carving and gives me good ideas every now and then........

Work in Progress

2011-11-30T18:20:00.001-06:00

So I was sketching some new snowmen to carve at a later date. I drew this one and had to try him. I still have to put his nose on and cigar in his mouth. I probably won't get to finish him this week but at least he is not far from being done.

Test from iPhone

2011-11-30T12:23:00.001-06:00

So I wanted a way to post to the blog when I am not at my computer. Sometimes when I am out looking for wood or tools I run across things I want to write about, but I forget and never can remember. So I found the blogger app for my phone and I am currently trying it out. Here is a carving that was done by Gregg Thompson in Wichita Kansas that I have on my desk at work. I will be blogging this weekend as we will be at Silver Dollar City enjoying some much needed time off with friends and family.

My first relief carving

2011-11-28T12:09:00.001-06:00

I purchased some wood last summer and included in the truckload was a piece of basswood that had been glued together and cut into an oval shape. I looked at that wood for several weeks trying to decide what to carve on it. I came up with an eagle with the American flag background. It took some time and layout prep work to get it in my head how to carve it. I usually dont do relief carving and respect those that can, but I tried it anyway. Here is what I came up with.

What to do with scrap Cottonwood bark?

2011-11-24T14:48:00.001-06:00

Here is something that was fun to create. I had a piece of cottonwood bark that was not big enough for a whimsical house so I carved a woodspirit in it. I took it to work and hung it on the wall of my office. I really hate to throw away pieces of wood so I put it to good use. What kind of things do you all create with your scraps?

Cottonwood Bark Santa

2011-11-24T14:33:00.000-06:00

I carved this Merry Old Santa a few weeks ago when I was demonstrating at SDC. He did not turn out too bad for being carved on the fly. Sometimes our carvings just guide us instead of laying out a pattern and thinking it thru. This piece of cottonwood bark came from Central Kansas when I was visiting a carver friend of mine. He had a tree marked that had been struck by lightening and the farmer wanted to tree gone, so we helped him out and cleaned up all the bark we could haul. What a trip that was. I used mineral oil to seal the carving once I was finished with him and installed a hanger on the back side. Now we will put him out for Christmas here in a few days.

Christmas Time Carvings

2011-11-23T12:23:00.000-06:00

So the other day I was thinking about some new Santa carvings and started sketching them out to create my patterns. I came up with some and will upload them shortly to the blog, but in I would like to hear from you all as to what you like to carve for the Christmas season. I would say that snowmen top the list with santa's a close second. I have also started adding things to my ETSY store online. If your not familiar with ETSY it's a great place to list your hand made items for sale. No import junk on that site. Www.etsy.com is the address and if you want to see some of my items search by store for MorgansCarvings. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pert Near Done

2011-06-25T13:59:00.001-05:00

This little guy is just about done with carving himself, as the title says....He was created to enter into the Wichita Woodcarvers Show. He took home the blue ribbon in the Novice catagory since I have never entered a judged contest. He now resides in my display cabinet and sometimes gets an road trip when I am carving at Silver Dollar City. He is out of a 2x2x7 block of wood and finished with acrylics and antique solution. His base is made out of oak 1x6.

More Carving Knives

2011-06-25T13:21:00.001-05:00

This knife is a detail knife from Helvie in a black wood handle. This blade is approx. 1-3/4" in lenght and has a minor amount of flex to the blade. This is a great all around knife when adding detail to your carving. You can get this handle with many different color combinations. I have several of these on my workbench.

The new series from Helvie is there Natural line. They come in a detail blade length and the handles are made from several different types of wood. This one is a locust handle with the finger grooves. The price on these knives typically are around the 20.00 range and are a great knife.

This knife is from Mike Shipley and his blades are more of a stiff blade. They come in several different sizes and the handles are all walnut. I have several of these knives ranging from small skinny blades all the way up to this size of 2-1/4" in length. You can contact Mike on his website if you are needing a knive with a different size handle that what comes standard and he will make you one.

Here you are looking at my Drake knife that I have. These knives come in three different lenghts from a small rounded blade to an upsweep blade and this long skinny blade. This blade is very useful when cleaning out the corners of the eyes and ears and those areas that are too deep to reach with a thicker blade knife. The handles come in several different types of wood.

These are just some of the knives that I use and hopefully you can get some ideas for what types of knives you need to complete your carvings. If you have any questions or comments about these knives send me an email.....

Different Carvings Knives I Use

2011-06-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

I wanted to talk a little about the different knives I use to create my carvings. I have several that I use and did not picture them all but I did take some pics of several different ones that you can see if they would be something that you need to add to your collection. My wife tells me that my carving is just an excuse to collect knives....

I will start with the smaller blades and work my way up to the bigger size as we go along.

This is the smallest blade that I use, it is a pencil style Helvie and I use this one for getting in to small tight areas where the bigger blades wont reach. The small handle make it very comforatble to hold and you can use it just like a pencil when making cuts. The blade is fairly thin and flexible, but still maintains a nice straight cut.

Here we have another Helvie knive that has a blade similar to the previous one, but this one is a little thicker and does not have any flex to the blade. The handle is rounded with a slight indention for your finger to grip. I use this blade for carving the golf ball faces where I need a small stiff blade to cut the material.

This knife was made by a local knife maker by the name of Scott Dunlap. He used a power hacksaw blade and took the metal down to the shape that you see here and then retempered the blade so that it will hold an edge. This knife is really useful when undercutting those rounded areas and does a real nice job of making cuts all around. The blade gives me incredible flex and smooth cutting where I need it most. The handles are acrylic and come in many different colors and styles.

Santa Hits Hard Times

2011-04-12T12:56:00.001-05:00

Well this Santa has seen better days since he started delivering toys to all the good boys and girls. I think that the economy is finally starting to catch up with him, downsizing of the elves was the hardest thing he has ever had to do. Santa is created from a 2”x3”x10” block of wood and his bag, sign and base are all separate pieces. He was finished with acrylics and sealed with my antique solution. Hopefully this year will be better for him and he can rehire the elves.

Gerald Sears Roughout

2011-04-12T12:51:00.001-05:00

You may recognize this carving, it started life as a Gerald Sears roughout. He has some really unique carving projects and they are a lot of fun to do. Most of his roughouts are approximately 15.00 to 20.00 each and are a good way to get a nice finished carving without laying out a pattern and using the bandsaw to cut it out. Some say that carving from a roughout is cheating….but I don’t see it that way. So if that’s all you do is carve from a roughout, good for you, at least your carving something that you are proud of. You can see all of Gerald’s carvings for sale and roughouts that he offers at http://www.gnbsearswoodcarving.com/

Cottonwood Bark Houses

2011-04-12T12:42:00.001-05:00

These Cottonwood Houses were a lot of fun to create, you can just let your imagination go wild. The Cottonwood came from Central Kansas and varies in thickness from 2” all the way up to 5” on some of the pieces that I collected. One trip to an old tree that had been struck by lightning and the property owner had cut it down, harvested me enough bark to last me for several years. If you ever get the chance to carve some of this bark you should…….

Mr. Snowman

2011-02-02T19:15:00.001-06:00

Well after carving those three santa's I decided to do a snowman and here he is. I have some more ideas for the next ones, so stay tuned to see what I came up with next.....

4x4x6 Santa

2011-02-02T19:12:00.001-06:00

This one was the last one I carved, his beard was given a little more detail, and he is not rounded off like the others I did. He has more of a chunky size and shape.

3x3x4 Santa

2011-02-02T19:07:00.001-06:00

This little guy is a 3x3x4 block that was carved after the 2x2. I changed the beard on this one and gave him a little more character.

2x2x3 Santa

2011-02-02T19:03:00.001-06:00

Since I decided to carve Christmas this year I have been designing some new santa's and snowmen. I have created several drawings and thought it was time to start trying out those patterns....

Incredible Knife……

2011-01-17T11:50:00.001-06:00

This is the NEW KNIVE that Gerald Sears is making. They are Helvie blades, tested by Gerald on his carvings before he builds the incredible handles. Now this knife is MINE, so you will have to choose from some of the others that he has created, and let me tell you they are as beautiful as they are functional. He makes them one at a time and each one is unique. This knife is made of Corian sides with Stainless Steel center piece and file work done to the edges on top and bottom of the knife. The end cap is walnut and the picture does not show it real well, but there are red accent lines in the handle. These knives start at 100.00 and are well worth the money for any carver or collector. You can contact Gerald at: gnbsears@netins.net

Handy Tool to have…….

2011-01-14T10:27:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to drop a short line about a handy tool to carry around with you. The Flexcut Pocket Jack is their new carry carving multi tool that fits nicely in your pocket. It comes with a knife, v-tool, and two gouges that hold their edge like their palm tool line. Now I am not a big fan of the Flexcut knives, but this one seems to be pretty good. If you have the Carvin Jack from Flexcut, the body of the Pocket Jack is thinner and about the same length. The tools all lock in place and seem really firm when your using them. The only down side to this tool is the pocket lint that collects in the middle………..

Finally some new carvings

2011-01-10T22:05:00.001-06:00

It's been awhile since my last post, my projects have been keeping me busy and I lost touch with the blog..There are alot of new carvings that I want to share with you and get some feedback. I hope all of your projects are going well and be looking for some new stuff from me.

Christmas Is Just Around the Corner

2010-10-25T09:27:00.001-05:00

Well its that time again to start carving Christmas ornaments. I had this idea for a Santa and just jumped right in..What do you think?

Wood Spirit

2010-10-25T09:21:00.001-05:00

I carved this guy yesterday as I was visiting with some folks at Silver Dollar City. He was finished with Bees Wax and Orange Oil and I think he turned out okay….

Just about ready

2010-10-20T17:07:00.001-05:00

I hope to get a few more carvings posted in a few days, I hope everyone will keep hanging in there with me.

Chris

Miner Finished

2010-06-09T21:51:00.000-05:00

Okay here he is all done.. It is titled " Graveyard Shift". I have another carving started, hope I have some time this weekend to finish it. Until next time.....

Unfinished Miner

2010-06-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would show you what I was working on now, he is not complete but this will give you a chance to see one of the carvings before he gets painted. I recently watched a documentary on Harlan County and the mining struggle that took place. This carving kind of came from some of the people on that show. For those of you that may be in Branson, Mo. at Silver Dollar City on Saturday, come on in to the woodcarvers shop and say Hi...

On Safari

2010-06-02T21:42:00.000-05:00

This guy was going to be a sea captain, as you can see he changed and decided to go on safari. It wasn't until I started on the hat when he changed his mind. I guess that was his decision...I have found that sometimes the carvings will turn out better when you just let the caricature take you where they want to go. I hope you like these new carvings, and they give you some ideas.

Until the next time.....

Finally Another Post

2010-06-02T21:35:00.001-05:00

I appologize for the long delay between posts, its has been kinda busy around here. I finally have some time to start posting again. This caricature bust was carved after I watched an area carvers video. I subscribe to his blog and really appreciate his style of carving. I learned alot from this carving and I am trying different things with the upcoming caricatures.

2010-04-28T07:59:00.000-05:00

Well the woodcarvin shop is just about complete. Sorry for not posting in awhile, i have been busy working on the shop and not carving.....There will be some new carvings that will be uploaded this weekend and maybe some pics of the shop. Thanks for hanging in there with me and I will talk to you all later.......

Aint' Done Yet

2010-03-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

Okay here is a carving i did a few weeks back, with the remodel of the barn I kinda forgot to post it here on the blog. It was carved out of a 2x3x7 block and finished with acrylics and sealed with deft. I used a pine base, I think next time I will go with something different. I hope to have the other carving finished in the next couple of days.................

Upcoming Pictures

2010-03-27T19:43:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the long delay in posts..I have been busy carving and then decided to remodel my barn shed and convert it into a woodcarving shop. I will have some new carvings posted next week. Hope you all have been busy carving and creating some neat carvings. Till the next time.........

Indian Golfball

2010-03-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a golfball that I had carved a few years ago. I dont remember how I came up with the idea for this carving but he turned out okay. He is sitting on a carved arrowhead base and finished with acrylic paint.

The Old Surveyor

2010-03-14T18:05:00.000-05:00

Well after I got back from seminar, I had alot of projects running thru my mind. I finally decided to get one into a carving. This old man had been around for awhile and I think he is getting close to retirement. He is carved out of a 2"x3"x7" piece of bass wood. Maybe someday he will get to retire but for now he is still plugging away being a rodman enjoying the great outdoors.

Day 4

2010-03-04T22:05:00.001-06:00

Well the seminar is pretty much over, we only have one day to go and then its off to home. It has been a wonderful experience and I have learned alot, met alot of great people and made some new friends. Tomorrow is pretty much a paint and last minute lessons on some finish work and then it good bye till next year...I already made my reservations for next year and cant wait till it gets here. I will be posting some pictures this weekend of the trip, so stay tuned...

Carving Seminar Day 2

2010-03-02T23:48:00.001-06:00

Well I finished the Bear carving today, and started the Roly Poly Santa that I should have pics of tomorrow. The seminar has been very busy and I have talked to alot of interesting people. You will meet people from all over the United States that share the same beliefs and creative expressions about woodcarving. I hope everyone that reads this will at some point and time come and join us at the Silver Dollar City Carving Seminar. Tomorrows carvings? Who knows, it will be what ever hits me when I walk thru those doors.....

Carving Seminar Day 1

2010-03-01T18:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, after a continental breakfast on steroids we loaded up on the shuttle and headed for the park. We got into the building and set up for the week, picked out a project from over 30 different items and got with it. I started with this santa figure about 8:30 and finished it by 1:30. I still have to paint it, but that will come later. I took alot of pictures today and have uploaded the before and after of Day 1 projects.....Tomorrow will be something I have been looking forward to carving, I should have pictures tomorrow night. Until next time......

Branson At Last.....

2010-02-28T12:41:00.000-06:00

Well I finally made it to Branson today to get ready for the woodcarving seminar. I must have had good timing because I pulled in right behind two friends of mine ( Gregg and George) at our hotel. If you ever get the chance to stay at the Best Western next to Silver Dollar City, DO...the people here are wonderful and the rooms are very, very clean and look great. Tonight we are going to the kick off dinner to get this seminar started. I will be posting each evening with pictures so keep checking back on my progress. I know my wife will be so she can keep tabs on me...LOL, Just kiddin Honey.

Finally Done.....

2010-02-24T18:37:00.001-06:00

Well after a year of sitting on the shelf unpainted, I finally decided to finish this carving. It started out as a Gerald Sears roughout, one of his clearance models named Buckshot. If you have ever get the chance to meet Gerald and Barb at any seminar by all means say Howdy. They are two of the nicest people to visit and talk about carving with. Anyway, I decided to paint this guy and give him a place in the display cabinet, now I did receive some pointers on this one and I think its a winner. You can take a look at some of Geralds carvings at http://www.gnbsearswoodcarving.com/

Another Tutorial Carving

2010-02-24T06:43:00.000-06:00

I recently received an email from Laurel Miller who followed the tutorial on the bookmark and sent me some pictures. I have attached just one of the finished carvings. Keep up the good work everyone...I really like getting pictures from people that have completed the carvings in the tutorials. Heck you can even send me pictures of other items you have carved..........Next week is Seminar Week, so be looking for some really good pictures from SDC in Branson, Mo.

Followers Carvings from Golf Ball Tutorial

2010-02-15T22:46:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to share with you the first golf ball carving from the tutorial that Doug has done. I am really excited to see what you all come up with next, so it looks like Doug is one up on everyone..............Nice work Doug !

Upcoming Seminar

2010-02-12T21:11:00.001-06:00

Well its almost time to get ready for the Annual Woodcarving Seminar in Branson, Mo. This year will be my first trip to this seminar and I am kind of getting antsy. The nice thing about it is I have two good buddies attending the seminar, so I will have someone to hang around with after classes are over each day. I will be taking pictures each day and will try to get them on the blog each evening for you all to see what has been going on. Who knows, I may come back with some new ideas for some more tutorials.....Then again I may just stay down there....Anyway I hope all your carvings are going the way you want them to.

If any of you have done the tutorials that are on the blog, shoot me some pics of them when you get them done, I would really like to see them, mowoodcarver@gmail.com

Chris

Golf Ball Tutorial

2010-02-09T22:26:00.000-06:00

Okay I just finished the tutorial and have it ready for download. Have fun with this one and send me some pics of your finished golf balls.

Chris

http://www.yourfolder.com/yourfolder/published/DD/2.0/wg_link.php?fp=c1982836&DB_KEY=WU9VUkZPTERZT1VSRk9MREVS

Golf Ball Carving

2010-02-02T13:05:00.001-06:00

Okay, since the last tutorial was okay, I am doing a simple and fun project on carving a face in a golf ball. I will start on the tutorial later this week, so keep an eye out for it.

Have fun carving....

Chris

2010-01-31T19:48:00.000-06:00

Here is the link to the Bookmark Tutorial

When you see the pdf file, right click the file and choose (Save Target As), speeds up the download process.

http://www.yourfolder.com/yourfolder/published/DD/2.0/wg_link.php?fp=4c7d456a&DB_KEY=WU9VUkZPTERZT1VSRk9MREVS

Bookmark Tutorial

2010-01-31T19:31:00.000-06:00

Well here it is finally...Copy and paste the link into your web browser and it will take you to the file. It is a large file, so if you have dial-up you might want to wait to download it...... Right click on the file and choose (Save Target As)...

http://www.yourfolder.com/yourfolder/published/dd/2.0/wg_link.ph?fp=4c7d456a&db_key=wu9vukzpterzt1vsrk9mrevs

Bookmark Tutorial

2010-01-29T18:51:00.000-06:00

I finished the bookmark tutorial and will be uploading it shortly to the blog...It took awhile to get it into a format that everyone can use. Sorry for the delay in getting it finished, I had some carvings to get done for some people. Be looking for it shortly.....

Bookmark Tutorial

2010-01-19T21:51:00.000-06:00

Well I got a late start on the bookmark tutorial, so keep watching the blog for updates..It should be finished by the weekend and I will get it uploaded to the site. Thanks for being patient. Till then you can start gathering up some items we will need:

1/2" wide x 6"-8" length x 1/8" thick plexiglass or equal material, 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 3" bass wood block cut in half long ways, your favorite carving knife, gouges, etc. Get these ready to do some carving.

Talk to you all later...gotta get back to that tutorial.

2010-01-14T22:36:00.000-06:00

The upcoming week will bring new carvings for everyone to enjoy..I will be creating a tutorial for the bookmarks that have been posted here on the blog. I should have it completed by the end of the week so keep your eyes open for that one. Try some just from the pictures on the blog and send me a pic of your completed bookmark...I would really like to see them.

Have a good weekend :)

Early Golf Scene

2010-01-12T22:19:00.000-06:00

Well as I was going thru my pictures of some early golf ball carvings, I came across this little scene that I did. I tried adding alot of different elements to it, the golf club, model railroad grass..etc. Faces in the golf balls are very addictive to the beginning carver and are very cheap medium to carve, most of the golf balls I used are found in ditches or friends give them to you. Take advantage of those free ones and carve some faces.

Bookmarks to Laugh At

2010-01-12T17:39:00.000-06:00

One day a friend of mine was looking for a unusual gift for her father, some type of carving to give him for Christmas. I told her that I can come up with whatever she wanted, she said just to use my imagination and carve her something. Well that was a mistake....The ones that are pictured here on the blog are the second and third bookmarks that I carved. I cant seem to find a picture of the one that I carved for her..too bad it was a good one, and someday when I find it I will post it on the blog. Till then enjoy these bookmarks.

Favorite Boots....

2010-01-12T17:29:00.000-06:00

This boot carving was the first one that I had ever done. It was a good learning experience and challenge to get the boots close to being the same in size. If you have never carved a set of boots before they are alot of fun, just let your imagination run wild.

The Gambler's Boots...

2010-01-12T17:17:00.001-06:00

The idea for the base came from a very well known woodcarver in Oklahoma....I won't post his name but eventually I will have a link to his blog. The boots were finished with acrylics and have woodburned stitching. I can only imagine what kind of caricature would own a pair of these boots.