Ornament 2017 Winners

And the winners are.  Drum Roll please.  I picked four winners and I thank you all for leaving a comment and sharing your favorite Christmas movies!

The carvings are signed and dated.  I am certain that someday they will be fine collectibles or fire starter!  One or the other!

We are in a Winter Storm Watch so I will not get to the Post Office today…but watch your mail later in the week!  I will need your address.  Please send it to me via email captainconnie2001atyahoodotcom

L.D. 

Kathy in St Paul

MJM

Denny Gross

Congratulations! 

2017 Ornament

I struggled with the research and development of the ornament that I wanted to carve this year.  Time was running out and so I made the decision to switch to another idea…and that one worked out just fine.

We try to make the ornaments one of a kind…although we carve the same main design painting makes them individual.

We start with the general shape and carve from there.

We like to carve outside and let the chips fall where they may.  After a few carving sessions Chance starts to drag in bits of wood…so then Far Guy uses the leaf blower to blow the shavings off the patio.

I paint inside…at first I was using paint brushes that stood up in a cup to hang the drying ornaments on… then Far Guy made me a dryer…a board with a screw in the top that was connected to the peanut butter jar.  It worked really well and I could paint 12 at a time!

Gesso

Base coat

There are no two that are exactly alike. 101 were carved. They are supposed to look like rustic fish decoys.

Leave me a comment with the name of your favorite Christmas Movie to be entered in the ornament give away.  Sunday at 8PM my time I will draws some winners!

I am certain after last summer I could carve a fish blind folded.

 

Last Day of November

Our weather is almost perfect.  It is warm for November…above freezing but the wind has been howling like a banshee.  Our snow is gone.

Most of the people that we mailed our woodcarved extra special Christmas Ornaments to should get their packages in the mail today.   We hauled two large bags into the Post Office last Monday and caused a line right out the door.

So this years question that will earn you an entry into the Christmas Ornament Give Away will be…what is your favorite Christmas Movie?  Leave me a comment or email me your answer. 

My favorite is “A Christmas Story”  you know the one  “You will shoot your eye out.” 

I sorted beads for one manly eyeglass cord and ended up with three.  I hope my friend from carving thinks one of them is manly enough for his taste.

The browns, tans and blacks worked up quite nicely.  Most of these were odds and end of beads that we left over from other projects…some came from garage sales and some from my friend Nellie who gave me all her beads.

 

I had to order a few more bead supplies and I may make some more eyeglass cords after Christmas.  I have already learned not to wear my favorite out of the house, someone admired mine and asked where I got it…so I gave it away.  She was just thrilled.

The Christmas Ornament Give Away will be open until Sunday night 8PM my time at which time I will draw for a couple maybe three winners and then I can get them mailed off early next week.

For now the woodcarved ornament remains a secret…maybe tomorrow it will be revealed.

Christmas Projects Begin

I updated the computer Christmas Card Address list, a few people had moved…luckily I quickly got their address via a private message on facebook.   Perhaps I should just send their Christmas Card via facebook too.  I also updated my real address book…the one I can page through and look up an address.

Far Guy says he has an idea for the Christmas Letter…some kind of wonderful Christmasy computer paper will be purchased soon.  Another ink cartridge is on the list too.

The wood carved Christmas Ornaments will be mailed today.  I am certain I will cause a long line right outside the door at the Post Office. We will have an ornament give away soon…maybe beginning Thursday and ending Sunday so I can get them in the mail next Monday.

The Cookie Exchange is coming up soon.  I bought some coffin shaped tins, presentation is important!  I have decided to make fudge. Three kinds. The no fail one with marshmallow creme, a white chocolate dried cherry fudge and a layered fudge with caramel, salted peanuts and maybe peanut butter and butterscotch chips.  The plan is to make all the fudge in one day, package it all up and put it in ice cream buckets in the freezer and when I arrive at the Cookie Exchange I can put everything in the tins.  I know I can make the no fail fudge recipe…but thoughts of a time when I made fudge when the girls were little keeps coming into my head…the fudge never set up and had to be scooped up with a spoon.  The girls didn’t seem to mind.

It took me over a week to decide what to make for the exchange, this week I will gather all the supplies and next week the fudge making will commence. My first idea was chocolate covered potato chips…someone said “That doesn’t sound real Christmasy to me.” ( He likes fudge and I never make it.)

I had real good luck making gluten free pumpkin bread over Thanksgiving. I used my normal recipe and substituted rice flour for regular flour…almost the same amount perhaps a third of a cup more.

Weekend

Pansies must be tough…

They were blooming under the snow…hardy little things.

I worked on packaging up the woodcarved Christmas Ornaments so they will be ready to deliver in person or by mail sometime in November/ December. Far Guy made custom cardboard protectors for the ones that will be mailed.

I lost my mojo on the making of the Christmas Cards.  I want to veer off into other areas…very tempting….oh look I could make that…isn’t that cute?  I should make more photo cards…not…I have an idea for stitch marker do dads…I gathered the supplies for that project….and they are on my desk right next to the cards.  Will that be my reward AFTER the cards are done…or will I weaken.  Time will tell.

 

Ongoing project: Christmas Ornaments

We did it.  The wood carving ornaments for this Christmas are all complete!!  Yeah us!  With less that 3 months to go!

There are 101 ornaments, I have 17 extra blank ones…one is for a new baby who will arrive in September a Great Nephew or Neice…we must wait and see.

I will give some ornaments away here on the blog as it gets closer to Christmas.  Suffice it to say, they all started out alike as carvings but as they were painted each one became unique.  I painted in batches of 12.  Depending on my mood some are a bit wilder/more colorful than others.

Accent colors

I was happy to finish yesterday.  We need four more hooks to accompany the carvings.  I will pick up small Christmas bags and tissue paper when it comes out in the stores, package them up for giving and for mailing. Seven ornaments were completed, wrapped in Christmas paper and sent home with family that were visiting earlier this month.

Not sure what I will carve next…something in bark most likely.  A smaller project. Something relaxing without a deadline.

Plink, Plink

This year we have some Acorns! Not as many as some years.  The plink plink sound as they fall off the trees and onto the steel roofs is good to hear.  Last year we had no acorns.

We sat outside and woodcarved for awhile yesterday, it was about 78F and a nice breeze was blowing.  Our Christmas Ornament project is moving right along.  37 are completely done and many more await painting.  We have about 7 left to carve. ( I think the total is 99 ornaments)

It seemed like a very “loud” day with traffic noises and people leaving the lake…and one  “summer teenager” on some kind of loud dirt bike.  When it was quiet we could hear the plink plink of the acorns reminding us to enjoy every bit of these last Summer days as Fall is coming on fast.

Ongoing Projects: Christmas ornament

The research and development of the 2017 Christmas ornament is complete.  

IT WAS A STRUGGLE.  The ornament I had in mind was just not making it from my head to the pattern to the wood.  I gave up and said “Let’s do this instead!”

One is complete with Chance’s name.  We need to round up some more wood…probably from the carving guys.  I cut out a few with the band saw, and will cut out some more one of these days….I think I have enough wood to do thirty and I need eighty something. ( The rough shape is cut from a piece of Basswood.)

Just to have something in the works to grab and sit outside in the afternoon to carve is a good thing. Having the project underway is a good thing. It is a relief.

You have to make hay when the sun shines!