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BITS AND PIECES  are carvings that are done to replenish the supply of novelty carvings for display at woodcarving shows and the occasional spur-of-the-moment carving  just for the fun of it.  The first three photographs are of  Tree Noggins carved out of basswood tree  limbs using only a knife.  The carved faces are finished with a coat of Howard Wax-N-Feed.  The fourth photograph above is of Pin Heads carved out of Doll Pins purchased at Hobby Lobby to resemble the old wooden clothes pin.  Pin Heads are carved with only a knife and finished with Howard Wax-N-Feed. 

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EGG NOGGINS  are heads and faces carved out of a basswood hen egg to be used as a bottle stopper, a bobble head, mounted on a base or free standing on its bottom (as in the first photogrpah on the left.)   The variety of faces to be carved is under the freedom of imagination and the experimentation of the carver.  Egg Noggins are excellent for the practice of carving faces since the head and face is basically round and egg shaped.  Basswood hen eggs cost  an average of one dollar each from woodcarving vendors through their catalog or at woodcarving shows as well as Woodcraft stores. Also use only basswood hen eggs as some eggs are made from harder wood making for difficulty in the carving process.    Read the rest of this entry »

Pumpkin Nogginsare faces carved into  basswood wooden hen eggs and in pumpkin shaped  thin basswood strips as flat relief jewelry pins.  The photograph at the left is jewelry pins carved to look like pumpkins with various faces to bring a smile.  Caricature faces to be more precise with a green cap of a pumpkin stalk.  Each is carved using deep gouges and knife with some wood burning for the pupils of the eyes, cigar and the separation between the stalk and the pumpkin skin along with the veins of the pumpkin.  The eyes and teeth are painted with acrylic white paint and the rest of the Pumpkin Noggin is painted with boiled linseed oil and artist oil paint.  In the photographs that follow the Pumpkin Noggins are carved out of basswood hen eggs. Read the rest of this entry »

Bits and Pieces are carvings  of various subjects and often carved for the fun of it .  Pictured above are Tee Noggins carved in golf tees.  Next are three monkey heads carved out of catalpa wood which is a nice carving wood not often used.  The third photo is of miniature jig saw cut outs that were given to me by my “No See-ums” creator friend Don Worley which I promptly carved and gave back to him. Read the rest of this entry »

WHITTLE FOLK TREE NOGGINS are faces carved into basswood tree branches three to six inches tall.  In a previous posting https://woodbeecarver.com/?p=1860 Tree Noggins were featured.  This posting will be simply a gallery of the latest Tree Noggins carved  using a knife  made by Charles Simpson of Alabama made with Personna floor scraper blade as pictured in the photograph to the left. Read the rest of this entry »

The Old Carver’s Law says, “Leave no wood uncarved,” so it became a challenge to carve faces out of a hard maple bottle topper on English Leather bottles.  Using the knife  in front of the bottles  in the photograph which was made by Charles Simpson out of Personna floor scraper blades, a slicing cut was required with every cut in this very hard wood.  Besides the hardness of the wood, the challenge is also to carve a different looking face with each carving.  Such a challenge is a way to learn to carve faces as every face carved becomes another learning experience that fulfills the saying: “The more one carves the better one carves.” Read the rest of this entry »

SCRAPPER – Bobble Heads are whimsical carvings done only with a knife using scraps of wood, thus the name “SCRAPPER”.  The Old Carvers Law states: “Leave no wood uncarved,” so Scrappers developed as a way to utilize small scraps of wood as a novelty and fun carving.  There is no practical use for these Scrapper Bobble Heads other than they provide a way to practice carving faces while using scrap pieces of wood that this Old Carver finds is hard to throw away.  It is like the fellow who bought a new boomerang and could not throw his old one away. Read the rest of this entry »