Bobble Head Santa is a fun little project  carved out of a basswood hen egg for the head and the body carved out of a three inch tall by an inch and half square block of basswood.  The spring was made using stainless steel wire wrapped around a quarter inch diameter  bolt and then epoxied to the head and the body.  Artist oil paint and boiled linseed oil  was the primary finish while  the white fur trim of the hat and coat were painted with acrylic white paint.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first photograph above shows how the wire spring is inserted into the head and into the neck of the carved body and secured with epoxy.  The second photo shows a side view drawn on a three inch tall by an inch and half square block of basswood with a carved to basic form of Santa’s body next to the square block.  The third photo shows the carved to form body with the wire spring inserted into the neck area to illustrate the position of the spring.  The fourth photo shows three basswood hen eggs in progressive steps from guidelines drawn on the left egg,  the center egg shows beginning 0f roughing out and the third egg is carved to form ready to receive detail carving.

The first photo above shows the head and body carved to basic form along with the wire spring that will be inserted into the neck and bottom of head.  The second photo shows a completed wire spring, a wire spring being formed around a quarter inch diameter bolt and the coil of  19 Gauge Stainless steel wire.  The third photo shows a close up of the Santa head while the fourth photo is of the completed Bobble Head Santa.

The basic steps for carving a Bobble Head Santa can be used to carve any caricature bobble head figure that the carver’s imagination can create.  Carving is a fun activity and often a fun project  makes carving even more enjoyable.  Carving is a journey so enjoy the journey.