Star Ornaments

These are a couple of variations of the Christmas Star. The Star ornaments are carved in cottonwood bark. The one is 4 inches long and the other 3 inches long. I used a v-cut on the 3 inch long one and it shows more of the bark layers. They are finished with three coats of Tru-Oil, which is for gun stocks. It really brings out the bark color. They make a nice addition to the Christmas tree.

Pine Cone Ornament

This pine cone ornament is carved out of basswood.  Pine cones come in male and female varieties. The male cone is usually no more than two inches long and lives only a few months in the spring or the autumn. After it releases it's pollen, the male cone falls off the tree. The pollen travels by wind to the larger female cone. After pollination, the female cone takes one to three years to mature. The seeds release in several different ways depending on the type of tree.

I added snow and a small cardinal to the bark house ornament that was on the Nov. 14 post. I think it added a little to the look of the house. The cardinal was bought from a craft store.

Hobo

I carved this hobo from a pattern in Woodcarving Illustrated. It has so many angles on the clothing, it made it a challenge to carve. The start of the hobo's began at the end of the civil war. With the network of trains it was easy to travel around the country. They traveled for harvest times, for farm work and sometimes just for a meal. They liked their independence and story telling around the campfires. During the war a lot of them joined the army so their numbers were greatly reduced.

Bark House Ornament

At our club a few of us joined in carving these small bark ornaments last Saturday. The back isn't opened up so I decided to carve in windows and boards on the front and back. It makes an interesting ornament out of a small piece of bark. I burned in the boards and around the windows. I'm thinking I should add a little snow to the roof since it is winter. It's 4 1/2 inches tall and 3/4 inch thick.

Back view

Front view

Santa Ornament in Bark

I'm still carving ornaments for Christmas gifts. I have 5 more to go. Meanwhile I carved this santa ornament in cottonwood bark. The grain of the bark is with the face, so the nose wouldn't break off. This is a good project for bark because of the simple design. The swirled hat added to the design and was fun to carve. It's a no see um because the eyes are covered by the hat. The finish is a coating of semi-gloss Deft for a natural look. It was a design by Dave Francis who lives in Canada.

Bark ornament

One of my carving friends carved ornaments out of cottonwood bark one year to give away. It's a good way to use small pieces of bark. This one is five inches long. The back is hollowed out. I used a razortip burner to make the board lines, nail holes, and some texture on the rocks and around the windows. The dark area on the right side is the outside of the bark. It has a flat bottom so it can stand on it's own. As you carve into the bark you get these beautiful colors from the different layers. I use Deft to protect the wood and it brings out the rich colors. The bark is from dead trees so there is no danger to the tree.

Pumpkin in wood

This was an interesting carving to do because of the steps I went through. I cut the outside perimeter with a band saw, then cut both ends off. Then cutting through the side I cut out the center. I glued the cut on the side together and then carved out the inside. I glued the bottom piece back on and carved the outside. The top stem is carved and then glued to the top end that I cut off. I also cut a piece from the part cut out of the inside and glued it to the bottom of the lid. Then I finished carving the pumpkin and it was painted. This is basically a band saw box. I added a battery candle inside and now I'm ready for Halloween.