Afternoon Project

This little guy looks like he might be in need of a stimulus package! I whittled this little guy with nothing but an Xacto knife. He is made of 1 in thick by 2 1/2 in tall piece of pine. Yep, he is a real little guy. Whittling like this can be a lot of fun. On the videos in the bar to the right of the page you can see him before I painted him. This type of carving exercise can be a lot of fun. People really seem to like miniature carving. CAUTION!!!!!! As with all carving, and especially miniature carving be very careful to wear protective gloves. The most important thing to do is never forget the path the knife is travelling. If your finger is in that path, then it is in danger. Just be careful, and have fun!

I Think I'm an Elf!!!

Hey, this is one of my favorite posts yet! The other day I found a book in the library on "folk toys". In that book I found a pattern for those old acrobat toys...you know the ones where you squeeze the posts and the acrobat does all kinds of flips and spins? Well anyway, as a carver I am always looking for ideas. I took the pattern from that book and used it to carve an acrobat toy instead. The original pattern called for cutting out the pieces from 1/4 in. plywood, so it would be only one dimensional. That is no fun!!! Here are the photos of my finished product. You can also watch a demonstration of it on the cool video I put here.

The point is, that carving makes life more interesting. It took an already awesome toy, and made it stupendous! You can find ideas like this everywhere if you are always looking for a way to let you carving create joy for you!

So, your saying, why the elf title? Well...... this if the first time I have tried making a toy! After the joy it brought me, I think I know how Santa's elves feel. I also wonder how many tissues they go through watching their toys leave home on Christmas Eve.

FIRST ATTEMPT AT SELLING ONLINE

Well, I finally attempted my first sale on an online site. Actually two of them. I posted on Ebay and on Etsy. Neither has garnered anything worth mentioning. I haven't had a bid on Ebay, and no activity on Etsy. I think it is going to take some time. Here is an idea I had that I'll see if it works out. I have made some sales in the private sector. Each time I sell a piece, I include a card with my Etsy site, my blog address, and email. That way I am hoping to direct traffic to my site and hopefully generate sales. I have also utilized my local post office bulletin board to post an advertisement for my site. These don't cost me anything extra, so it can't hurt. Time will tell if they are worthwhile efforts. One thing I have learned so far about online selling. "If you post it, they still might not come!"

Christmas if Finally Over!

Now, I don't mean to be a hum-bug, but I am glad Christmas is finally over. Now I can get back to carving the way I want to. To tell the truth, I have gotten rather addicted to golfball carving. It as proved to pay off! While at my Folks house over Christmas, my Dad's boss saw some of th golf balls I had carved and commissioned me to carve four more for him to give as gifts to his golfing buddies. I have included pictures of some of the ones I did for him. You really have to have an imagination to carve these things, but they are loads of fun. I will post soon with a tutorial on golf ball carving. Have a great day!