Santa Ornaments

I started painting the hair and beards of my Santa's like I seen another carver do so. I use watered down acrylic's mainly from Americana.  I start with yellow and paint all the hair. while it's still wet I paint burnt sienna, leaving some yellow. Then I paint light Butttermilk leaving some of the other colors show. I let the paint dry. Then I use straight white in a dry brush method, leaving little paint on the brush and just hit the high spots. I like how it looks and it will depend on how you applied the paint.

Tear Drop Santa

Leroy gave a class on this Tear Drop Santa at West Glacier. It is 3 1/2 inch tall by 2 by 2 inches. I cut the wood round on three sides. I carved the tear shape leaving the square side for the face. Draw an oblong circle and carve in the face. I intend to carve several for this Christmas season.

Puffin

I had a great time at West Glacier Rendezvous in August. I gave a class in carving a Puffin and took a couple of classes. This Puffin is 2 by 2 inches by 4 inches tall. I carved it as an ornament. 

Snowmen

These snowmen are carved in basswood 1 1\2 square by 4 inches tall. I carved 24 of these to give to family members so they are painted all different colors. Some of the eyes are a half round and others were an angled half square. The snow flakes and around the eyes were drawn with gel pens. I should have taken a picture of all of them, but to late now.

Santa Ornament

This Santa was carved from a 2 inch square, 6 inches long, it was cut on a diagonal. I used a coffee lid to mark the rounded back and carved it. I then carved the face on the front and left an area of natural wood and the edge to be painted. It gives a nice frame for the carving. I like to carve or wood burn something on the back of my ornaments.

 

Bird House Ornament

This is an idea from a Montana friend. The house is carved from cottonwood bark and the bird is from basswood. It is 2 1/4 inch square and 3/4 inch thick at the widest point. I was going to carve in the features of the house but I liked the look of the bark so I burned in boards. I like the contrast of the Goldfinch against the bark. It's a fun one to carve with some of those scrapes of wood lying around.

   

Owl Ornament

I've been working on a class for this summer. It is a simple owl that can be carved in a short time and has a lot of options. It starts out square and can be a little longer. This block is a little over 1 3/4 inch square by 2 inches long.  I use a washer to draw a circle on the top and bottom and draw center lines on all sides. I carve it round leaving one corner for the beak. I leave the center lines so it will be easier to draw in the ear tufts. 

 I carve the bottom round. I use a shallow gouge for the top and clean it up with a knife. It's a little harder to carve on the end grain. On the side I use a knife carving both directions. I leave plenty of wood around the eye. Draw in your eyes and then round and deepen the sides. Carve in the beak and eyes. Carve a few gouge marks on the front. I carve a relief line for the wings.

 I'm carving several for gifts so there is a lot of ways you can carve the eyes and painting with different colors. I used gel pens for the lines in the eyes. Have fun carving.

Heart Ornament

I carved this ornament out of a 4 by 4 inch piece of basswood. It's 1/2 inch thick. It has the same design on both sides. You could write anything on the blank space and I chose to write a Finnish Christmas greeting because of my Finnish heritage.

  

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.

     

Cardinal Ornament

The cardinal seems to be a Christmas favorite. I like carving birds for ornaments because they can be hung the year around. That is why I put a lot of detail into them. 

Santa Ornament

This Santa is carved from a 2 inch block cut at an angle  and is 6 inches long. I carved a layered beard and hair. The back is dished out.The beard and hair are painted with light buttermilk by Americana. Then I highlight with white. I used a bristle brush and dab most of the paint off. Also on the carved ridges of the hat although it doesn't show in the picture.

Reindeer

This carving is from a Floyd Rhadigan  pattern. It may not look like a reindeer but it sure is cute. The blanket on the back gives it some added color that I like. On the eyes I added a gloss medium over the painted eyes. It brings out the eyes. The gloss medium & varnish is by Liquitex. Bird carvers use this on the beak and quills of the bird. It looks very nice hanging on the tree.

Cardinal Ornament

This Cardinal is carved in basswood and is 5 1/2 inch long. It is more detailed than most bird ornaments would be, but I like the size and look of it on a tree. We don't have Cardinals in my area although they would be a welcome addition if they migrated this way.

Pine Cone Ornaments

I haven't carved a pine cone in a couple of years. They are a natural part of a tree so they make a good ornament and are fun to carve. I have been carving a lot of ornaments just in time for Christmas.

Santa Ringing in Christmas

This is the time of year it starts to get colder and the hunting season for Elk and Deer are here. Also you will see the red and black flannel shirts being worn. This Santa is carved from a one inch square by 4 inches long piece of basswood. The bell is from a craft store.I try to do different things to each carving to make them more individual.

Santa Ornaments

This is the time of year I spend a lot of time carving ornaments for Christmas while still working on other carvings. I like this type of ornament where it can be hung on a tree or set on a shelf or end table. The Santa is carved from a 2 inch square and 3 inches long. 

 

Turkey or Santa

When I received my Woodcarving Illustrated magazine I had to carve Glens double sided holiday ornament. It's a turkey on one side and a santa face on the other using the same cutout. I also carved the little moons byDave Stetsen featured on the magazines website. I always look for ideas for carving scraps of wood. With a magnet on the back, they can be painted and they make nice give a ways.

  

Ornaments

These three ornaments are carved from 1" by 1" by 4 " long basswood. I used a jump ring to hook on the acrylic bobble. I used a drill to open the hole at each end of the bobble because the ring wouldn't go all the way through without distorting the ring. I used cording for the bows, but you could use ribbon. It doesn't take a lot of time to carve these and they are good gift idea's.

Spiral Ornament

This is the time we decorate the Christmas tree and put up the outside lights. The spiral ornaments for the tree are 3 1/2 inches long. One is sanded and the other one I left the carve marks on the outside. I think it will reflect the light better then the sanded one. I did a craft sale Saturday. It is a good way to introduce carving to my community. The future of carving is through exposure and teaching this as a fun and rewarding hobby. I also gave a few pencils away to young kids who showed interest in carving. The young kids really liked the horses and galloped them across the table before the moms could stop them. There was good interest in my carvings.

Crayon Santa Ornament

We had our first snow of the season last night. It's a little earlier then the last few years. With Christmas season coming up carvers gear up to the season. The snow is a reminder in the joy of a white Christmas. When I seen the Crayon Santa in the Carving magazine I just had to carve one, ah three. It is carved from a 1 inch square by 6 inches long. I did round off the hair and beard because it gives a softer look.