Realtime Barbershop!

Realtime ! That is their name... I love these guys! This is one of my favorite sets. Even though it is done in a rather bad sounding area. Enjoy the snappy barbershop!

Origami Dragons!

I finally found a cool dragon diagram that was within my ability. My first and second attempt look promising! I have had a couple of opportunities to make it with a larger piece of paper, but I like the smaller version. Perhaps if I could get a higher quality paper in a larger size. But as for now. I will continue with this one. Enjoy!

And Now for some Panels!

Remember these? I carved several of these about a year ago and I still have them! So I decided that they might as well be thrown into my Etsy shop as well. They still look pretty good, and it would be a shame to burn them up because they are taking up too much room. I don't know how many I'll post right away. Seeing that it is Sunday night and there usually is not a lot of traffic on Etsy on the weekends. Especially when it is getting nicer out every day. In other news, we have had several light sprinkles here and yesterday Cheryl found another moral! ( her first for the year) We went out on a walk on state land that produced for us in previous years, but found nothing this time. Michigan is getting pretty possessive of it's state land as of late. The place that used to be a simple parking spot with bike trails is now a "pay to stay" park! Don't get me wrong, they have done nothing to warrant the extra $6 to walk around on the state land. It just must mean that Michigan is broke and trying desperately to find new ways of income. Such is the government for you!

One More Fish Down!

I finished one more fish tonight. I'm not sure what is taking me so long, other than the fact that I may just be savoring the carving experience. Cheryl was nice enough to snap a few pics so I could use both hands to hold on to the tools. That leaves only one fish left. then I will have to work on background and maybe cleaning up a few of the areas that need attention. Hope everyone is having a great Friday so far and look forward to a great weekend!

Back to the Koi carving.

I worked on the koi a little more yesterday. I was able to get two of the fish carved. The last three might be a little more of a challenge, but with the help of the "Shop Cat", I should be able to meet any challenge! Red helps me stay in the lines and keep all my tools finely tuned! He alps lets me know if I have made any mistakes or alerts me if any areas still need attention. Other than that, I have found that putting the scales on is another fun and challenging part since i have only one chisel that matches the sweep of the scales. And that chisel is difficult to get into certain places. We'll see how far I get tomorrow. Have a great Week!

And Then there were Boxes!

OK since I'm all over the place after the toilet seat, I decided to once gain list my boxes on Etsy. I did manage to sell a few of them before. but it took a long time and I guess I lost faith. But Cheryl says they have to move out and they make us nothing sitting on the shelf. I agree! It was a wonderful learning experience, but it is doubtful I will ever make these again for profit. Cheryl says I have been a bum since I have not had a "LARGE" project to keep me busy. It's funny because whe I was totally immersed in the wood elf, she complained that she never saw me! In other news, We found a couple more White Morals in our "secret' spot. it's been pretty dry and it still is rather early for them. A few more and We will have enough for that Puff Pastry Cheryl has been eager to try out. MMMmm Mmm!

A Closer Look at the Stag Moose

Or Scott's Moose. I believe named after the guy who first discovered it. It is a Prehistoric Moose that roamed around North America. The really distinguishable characteristic is the ornate antlers. I know that I probably blogged about this topic before, But I love talking about the really cool animals that you don't see or hear about every day. Plus I want to clarify to people who may think that I messed up the antlers of a typical North American Moose. You can read more about this animal here. Enjoy!

Deer Of the World On Etsy!

I finally listed them on Etsy. Don't let the price fool you! They took at least an entire week to complete! It's just that the garage is getting full and things have to move out. I have enjoyed them for a long time and have since moved on to bigger and better things. It was a nice exercise in carving. So now is your chance to own one of the collection. There area few gaps ( I previously sold the other ones.) like the caribou and axis deer. I may even add my Irish elk some time. But for now...Click on the right to see them up close and personal! Enjoy! Not show is the Roe deer, Barking deer, Axis deer, and Irish elk. Perhaps I'll post them later. Be sure to check out the Stag Moose!

Obsessed with fish heads!

What a odd title! Eh? But it is true! I have been obsessing over these fish and the shape of not only their heads, but their bodies as well! It's not as easy as I first thought since this is not really a relief carving like I used to do all the time. The fish have to be more rounded. Their mouths and barbels are also a bit of a challenge. Well after a couple of days of laboring over them, I decided to call the first one good enough for the moment and set out on the next one. With two down, I can not set out on the remaining five! I'm sure that I will come back to each of them over time and tidy them up..but for now this is as far as I got this weekend. IT is rather fun though, tinkering until it gets to where it Begin to look like it should. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mushrooms at Harbor Island!

That is right! the morals are out and Cheryl and I found a couple on out evening walk today. Granted that they are rather small and this is rather early for them. So, if you look closely, you will see some frost bite on the tips. As for me, it was a little cold to carve outside today, so I dragged the log inside to work on it in the nicely lit shop. I was feeling rather 'stuck' with its current configuration, so I decided that I would now work on each fish one at a time until they were done. Instead of trying to complete it as a whole. The first fish is almost done. I'll see if there are any details to add after the rest of them are finished, but this is about how far I want to take the carving for each fish. I'll admit, I'm not as good as the Thai carvers. Those guys are awesome! Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!