a gypsy caravan

More on Woodcarving/Chipcarving with Children

Annette asked (ever so long ago, I'm afraid)  what tools and types of wood that Benjamin uses for woodcarving.  He carves with a Flexcut KN12 carving knife.  It has a nicely shaped and sized handle for a young person and it has served him quite well.  It is the topmost knife in the following photo.  The bottom knife is relatively new to him.  It is called a chip carving knife and is used to remove small pieces of wood from the surface of a carving.   There are some free beginning tutorials here and here.

Ben wears a thumb guard as seen at the top of the photo.  It is a heavy leather and has saved his hand many times.  We highly recommend wearing a thumb guard.   After slicing his hand once, he no longer forgets to wear it.  Carvers can also wear a glove on the hand they do not use for carving.   Ben's pair is pictured below.

They have a non slip rubber coating covering a Kelvar glove.  You can find some inexpensive safety items here.

Regarding the type of wood used, chip carvers traditionally use basswood or butternut as they are lightweight.   Here is some information on different types of carving wood.   

Ben has been working with a man who is teaching him chip carving.  This is his first project, an array of drawn patterns to practice chipping out.

It is so fun for me to watch him learn something completely of his own interest and skill.  I do not know how to carve wood, other than to whittle the bark off of a stick. :)  Ben has gained such satisfaction and confidence from his experience with carving. 

Thanks for visiting this weekend!

Woodworking Projects: Dryad/Tree Spirit

Benjamin carved this Tree Spirit for me for my birthday.  I thought you Narnia fans might enjoy seeing it.  :)

Woodworking Projects

I thought you might like to see the some of the children's recent woodworking projects.

Here is a bird feeder that Benjamin made following directions from the book Easy Carpentry Projects for Children by Leavitt.  It will be mounted on a pole and used as a platform feeder for the birds in our backyard. 

He has made a number of these feeders in the past and has given them as Christmas gifts with a small bag of birdseed in the middle. 

Here are some castle banks that the boys made from kits.  Ben left his natural wood while Christopher painted his gray.

Both boys so enjoy woodcraft.  They've made some nice keepsakes and gifts over the years.  There is a list of helpful books in my sidebar if you are interested in learning woodworking with your child.

Handmade Gifts: Crayon Art Caddy

On the first Saturday of every month, the boys head over to Home Depot for the morning.  The store offers a three hour time slot for children and their parents to make wooden toys or other useful items from prepackaged kits.  There is usually quite a turnout.  It is fun to see kids of many ages hammering and painting to their hearts content.  The children are given a work apron to take home and receive a pin for each project they complete.   The  woodworking session is free of charge. 

This week Christopher made this art caddy for his sister Annie.

Annie likes to draw, color or paint while her brothers have their table time lessons.  Christopher filled the art caddy with interesting things for Annie to use.  He bought an eight pack of crayons, some tiny pads of paper and some stickers. Total cost: about $3!   I know she will love it! :)

Mary Azarian, Author and Illustrator

Are you familiar with Mary Azarian's beautiful artwork?   Mary is a Vermont woodcutter whose illustrations adorn over forty picture books.  Her woodcut illustrations for Snowflake Bentley won the Caldecott Medal in 1999. 

Mary sells flower prints, greeting cards and alphabet prints as well as a number of other prints, both colored and black and white, on her website. 

Azarian's illustrations are comforting reminder of slower paced life.  While that pace still exists in some areas of our country,  things have sped up over the years for most of us.  Mary Azarian has a knack for slowing us down and showing us all that is good in life: vegetable gardens, rocking chairs,  zinnias growing in the flower beds, canning jars on the counter, smoke streaming from the chimney on a snowy winter's day.

My family thinks that A Gardener's Alphabet and A Farmer's Alphabet are must haves for any preschooler.  These alphabet books are an old fashioned breath of fresh air.  There is no "G is for Gameboy" within their pages. :)
The little ones have also enjoyed Barn Cat, which is a counting book.

For any of you who love to knit, crochet or enjoy fiber arts, A Symphony for the Sheep is a fun read.  Set in Ireland, this book describes and gives a rhythm to each part of the sheep to shawl process.  Mary's illustrations along with lively text by Cynthia Millen make you want to learn to card, knit, weave and spin.

Some other books you might want to consider written and/or illustrated by Mary Azarian:

Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute

 The Four Seasons of Mary Azarian

When the Moon is Full:  A Lunar Year

A Christmas Like Helen's

Mary's list of books from her website

Woodcarving/Woodworking with Children

When Ben was four years old, we gave him a hammer, a two by four and a couple dozen nails. He was content for a long time, hammering away in the basement on his little workbench that I had picked up at a Montessori school sale.

He has always enjoyed all things artistic but really seems to have found a niche working with wood. He has made several projects over the years including a little table for his sister, shelves, wooden toys, bird houses and a mail organizer for Mike. Here he is sanding some wooden figures in the wood shop in our garage.

This fall he has focused on woodcarving and has completed two projects thus far. The first is a snowman ornament. Second, is a Christmas stocking that he mounted on a pin backing. He is planning to give both as Christmas gifts. They still need painting or staining but I had to show them to you all because I think they are super. :)

Very few tools are necessary to begin carving wood. Ben uses a Flexcut KN12 knife and wears a thumb guard. He also finds it helpful to use a non slip rubber pad (similar to those used to open jar lids) to hold the wood in place so the project does not move around while working on a table.

It is a good idea to start learning under the direction of an experienced carver. Ben took a beginning woodcarving class at a local woodcraft store, for one afternoon. The class was intended for adults but the instructor was welcoming to well behaved, older (ten and up) children who were serious about learning to carve.

There are also woodcarving clubs in most cities who meet monthly or more often. Many of the members are retirees who are more than happy to pass along their knowledge and experience working with wood to younger carvers. It is helpful to see other people's work by attending woodcarving shows where local artists can exhibit their wares on display or for purchase.

If you are interested in exploring woodworking or woodcarving with your children, I have listed some books in my right hand sidebar.

Woodworking Skills: The Tea Table

Both of my sons enjoy working with hand tools. Benjamin began when he was four, hammering nails in a piece of soft pine.  We supplied him with the real things although he was very young.  He had a great respect for the tools and used them correctly from the start.  At that time, we kept a small workbench in our basement that I had purchased from a Montessori school that had closed.  It was just the right height for a young child to work efficiently and safely.

I would like to tell you that the bench is neat and orderly but that is not the case.  It is now kept in our garage (among many other tools, bikes and toys) but it still gets quite a bit of use. Benjamin now does his work at his father's workbench or outside because he has grown too tall to use the small workbench. Christopher, on the other hand, is able to use it comfortably.

Last week the boys disappeared into the garage for quite some time.  When they came back in the house, they told me that they planned to build a tiny tea table for their sister, Mary, out of some scrap wood they had found. Mary just loves to play with her miniature tea set and sets up elaborate parties with her dolls and animals.  I told the boys that the table was a great idea.  They went back outside and set to work.

After building the table, they sanded it smooth.  Then, they consulted their sister as to what color she would like to have it painted.  She chose dark purple.  Since we did not have any dark purple paint in the house, we took a trip to the craft store to pick some up.  While we were there, they also chose some sparkly "jewels" that they used to decorate the top.

Here is the finished product:

It stands about 7 inches from the floor, just the right height for a little girl and her dolls to sit around and share a spot of tea.  :)

While this table is not "professional" quality, it was made from the heart. It serves a wonderful purpose for its recipient, who will never forget the little tea table her brothers made for her.  I also think the skills used and learned while making it are so valuable.  But most of all, I shiver with happiness that these boys chose to spend their afternoon doing something to bring joy to another person.  That, to me, is worth more than anything.

A Special Gift

Ben (10) built and painted this box for our statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  He gave it to me recently as a present.  He chose colors that he thought looked "Mexican" and added some stars in the background of the box for decoration.  I bought the statue last summer for one dollar at a yard sale.  It is hand carved and very beautiful.  I am delighted that Our Lady's statue now has such a special place to be displayed.