Santa Has a Heart

I started carving this type of Santa ornament with the beard having cut outs about 12 years ago, trying to do different things to the carving, It is hard for me to believe I have been carving these that long.  Dave Stetson posted a pattern with hearts cut out in the beard and I thought it would look great in this type of ornament. The blank is a 2 inch square that is cut at a diagonal and is 6 inches long. The back is dished out and I carve something in the back. This one has a heart. There is a lot of room on the back to write something. They make wonderful gifts.

     

Little Guy

These little guy's were carved from 1 inch stock, about 2 1/2 inches tall. I like to encourage people to keep carving. My earliest remembrance is in my preteens going to the sauna for my dad's  hunting knife. And then we carved hunting knives and swords to play a sort of Robin Hood. Small figures like this can be carved with just a knife although I used a v-tool and small gouge. Keep carving.

Carved Cowboy

This carving is from a Myron Compton pattern. The cowboy is 6 1/2 inches tall. I like the big head with the small body. I had sawed out the blank over a year ago and decided to finally carve it. I need to work on some of these blanks sitting around my shop.