Santa Ornament

My daughter asked for a carving for a good cause she is working on, but she didn't want a cowboy. It just isn't girly enough. I bet there are some ladies who do like cowboys. They have a fashion show, lunch, and a silent action to raise money for the Women's Center.  They are putting gifts together in baskets. The wine and chocolate should go good with a santa ornament the coming holiday season. The santa is 6 inches tall and relieved in the back.

Trinket Boxes

I wanted to start out small with my chip carving using simple designs. These two boxes are from a craft store. Some of the boxes have open grain and soft wood making it hard to carve sharp edges. I don't know what kind of wood this is but I like the brown stripes. The first trinket box is 2 1/2 inches by 2 inches. I carved a 7 point rosette on the top. The second trinket box I also carved a 7 point rosette on the top. It is 3 1/2 inch by 2 1/4 inch and 2 1/4 inch tall. On all the sides I carved a double border of positive diamond with wedge cuts. It is drawn in with 4 mm squares. A fellow carver gave me this hint on holding your chip knife at the correct angle. He cut a 50 degree angle on a small piece of 3/8 inch wood so you can lay it against the blade of your knife.

  

Log House

This log house is carved in cottonwood bark. It is 6 inches tall. I wanted the roof to look like sod so I glued a piece of bark on top so the two pieces of bark are facing in different directions. I added some furniture inside the house. This carving took me back a few years when I was a kid. When I was carving this log house a lady asked how I knew were to place the logs. I told her I had played with Lincoln logs as a kid. I don't think you can even find them anymore, but it was a good learning experience growing up.

 

Elf

This carving of an Elf is from a Mark Gargac pattern. A 2 inch block was cut at a diagonal. The block was 12 inches long, so I cut it in half. I cut in the hair of the beard so it went in the cutout areas in the beard. I also painted the hair with light buttermilk. White sometimes gives a chalky look. When it dries I use a dry brush technique. I use a bristle brush and white paint. Dab most of the paint off on a paper towel. Then hit the high spots on the hair and the hat.