Showing posts with label whittling. Show all posts

Whittle Mushrooms

I have been playing around with my knives again. 

I like whittling even though I don’t really know how. I have carved some crochet hooks and hair pins but then I decided to take it a step further and try to create something more detailed. So I decided to whittle a tiny mushroom. It was easy and fun.

  

I friend from church saw it and asked if I would make a couple tiny mushrooms for him. He knew a girl that loved anything with mushrooms and would like to give them to her. I told him I would and I did. 


If it was warm outside, I would sit outside and chip away but since it’s so cold outside and the projects I do are so small, I am able to drape a rag towel over my lap and whittle while watching TV.

It takes me about 30 minutes to turn a stick into a mushroom. 

I carefully placed the mushrooms inside a tiny keepsake jar and will give them to him at church today. 


It is said that mushrooms grow in wet areas and that is why they are shaped like umbrellas. 


Other fun facts about Mushrooms:

-Mushrooms that are not edible are what they call “toad stools”.
-They can glow in the dark.
-Some can turn ants into zombies.
-They are more like humans than plants.
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Handmade Hair Pins

I’m at it again. Playing with sticks. Whittling and carving. 

I have been intruiged with hair pins lately. Until a few months ago, I had no idea how women held their hair up with a hair pin. I mean, how is it possible that a single stick will hold a whole head of hair in a twisted updo? Well, obviously, easy. I was amazed when I gave it a try. I have been in favor of this type of hair pin ever since. 

Since Covid took half of my hair, I have had to be careful at how I put my hair up. I do not want to use anything that can be damaging. I stopped using stretchy bands and now only use hair pins or claw clips to keep from damaging the little bit of hair I have left. In case you missed it, you can read about my Covid hair loss HERE
After 3 months and losing 50% of my hair, It finally stopped falling out. Now it is in the regrowth phase. I use special shampoo and oil to help with the process. 

I got this fancy idea to make my own hair pins so I had my husband gather me a few sticks during his morning walk. He didn’t ask, He just knows when I gather little pieces of nature, I have a craft idea. 


I picked through them and found some that would be perfect. So the carving and sanding began.


Being a minimalist, I like to keep things simple. I do not like a lot color and I love things that come natural. Nature is full of things we can use in everyday life. I think I could seriously live in a tee pee, and eat berries for a living. Haha. 

After I carved the sticks to the size and shape I needed, I continued peeling away the bark to reveal the raw wood. Then I sanded them smooth and gave them a thin spray of clear coat. 


I gave one a burnt design with my wood burner. One has a silver painted tip and one I left alone because I thought it was just so darn cute with the “Y” shape at the top. Each one comes out different and has its own unique shape and color. 

  

I had to try them out and love how fun they are. (Girls, these can be used in self defense also) . They are approximately 6 inches long and made of Wonder wood (Wonder what kind it is). Haha. Seriously though, I think they are from an oak or maple tree. 

I plan to make some more and maybe even try to sell them. I’m just not sure this old fashion technique will ever be popular again. But who knows, there could be someone out there that would love to have a piece of nature to wear in their hair. 

What do you think?
Do you wear your hair up with hair pins?












Whittle a Little

I remember back when I was about twelve years old, my daddy gave me a pocket knife. Ever since then, I have always liked pocket knives. I remember it had about a 2 inch blade, a pearl handle and his company name down the side. There was a little beaded chain at the end so you could hang it from your key ring. I played with that little knife a lot. I used to find sticks and sit and whittle them into arrows. I would also find gigantic acorns and hollow out the inside and make beads. Through the years, daddy would give me a pocket knife. I wish I still had them.

I have a few pocket knives that Nick actually found on the road during his walks. My favorite is a little pink one. 


Speaking of walking, I told Nick during our walk the other day that I was looking for a stick so I could attempt to carve a crochet hook.
Nick thought I was crazy and said, “we can’t afford a hospital visit to get a finger sewn back on”. He wasn’t even aware that I liked to whittle. I reminded him that if I have the idea in my head, I was gonna make it happen. So I picked up a few sticks from the base of a maple tree and carried them home. 


I went outside on a beautiful sunny day and began to whittle a little. After a couple wasted sticks and an hour of chiseling and carving, I had created my very own hand crafted crochet hook. My fingers were sore and blistered. I felt pretty proud of myself. I gave it couple more days for my fingers to rest then made another one. The 2nd one was a little bigger and easier to carve. 


I had to try it out so I crocheted a little mug rug for a test run. 


It worked good but was a little rough gliding through the stitches. It needs to be smoothed out a little more and some adjustments need to be made so it will be more comfortable with my grip.


I may just leave them as they are and put them away. I accomplished what I wanted to do and that satisfies me. 

What do you think? 
Have you ever carved or whittled anything?