Round-nosed Toy Horse

I'll do my best to catch up on blog posts here, since I haven't updated in quite a while. Here's a new style of toy horse that i made. The nose is rounded, and oriented out away from the neck. This style is still "play tough," with usual attention paid to durability and safety.

Hand carved bottle stoppers from old wooden spools

I grab up old wooden spools whenever I can. They're a nice way to do a simple little carving, then I attached a dowel and a tapered cork. Thse stoppers were given a coat of salad bowl finish, some light acrylic paints, and finished with clear shellac.

March means Saint Patrick's Day whittlins!

I've been whittlin' up some decorations and door prizes for this year's Saint Patrick's Day celebration.

While many Americans treat March 17th as "Irish-American Mardi Gras," with green plastic beads, dyed green beer, and giant foam shamrocks, my family has always looked at it as "Irish-American Thanksgiving." In addition to great food, drinks, and music, we hold a trivia contest with prizes for our guests.

So far I've made a horse, some fridge magnets, and a handful of leprechauns. Prizes for the kids and grown-up kids alike!

My real Swedish Dala Horses

When I was a little guy, back in the early 1980's, my great aunt Virginia went on a trip to Sweden. On her return, she brought me these two genuine Dalahasts. I remember she gave me a story book too, about a little boy who's toy Dala horse came to life and led him on adventures.

These horses are suprisingly rough. Made for the tourist trade, they look to be rough sawn and quickly carved. The heavy base coat of paint looks dipped, while the saddle, tack, and harness are nicely painted in the two-colors fan brush style.

A sticker on the belly of the red horse reads: "Akta Dalahemslojd Tillv. G.A. Olsson Nunsa, Mora, Sweden"

Blogger she-nanna-gins

For whatever reason, Blogger is not letting me respond to reader comments. So, thanks for reading, thanks for the kind words, and to Brad: the horses I carve are made from basswood, and sometimes butternut. Both are great woods for carving. They are relatively soft woods (though still hardwoods,) with straight, dense, grain. It's almost as easy to cut across the grain as it to cut with it. Hopefully Blogger will fix these issues with the comments.

An Ettin for Ezra

Ettins are two-headed giants from fantasy fiction, most famously from CS Lewis' Narnia stories, and the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

I carved this ettin for Ezra, my friend's three-year-old son. Details on this monster include tattoos, scars, treasure, and a yellow wristwatch. Ezra now has a whole army of whittlied soldiers and wizards. The "bad guys" include a dark wizard, a dragon, and now this ettin.

As always, I used non-toxic materials such as salad bowl finish, acrylic paints, and shellac.

Christmas Carvings Roundup

Let's take a look at this year's hand carved ornaments. Some of these sold, some are still up for sale on my etsy shop, some are for gifts, and some are even for my own Christmas tree!







It's been a fun season for whittlin'. Upcoming projects include birthday presents for a couple of little guys about to see their 2nd and 3rd birthdays, so stay tuned!