Little Trump Wood Carvings

These little guys seem to be very popular. 

I call him "Angry Trump"

"Stormy Daniels Trump"

Thanks for the visit. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MacsFarsider

Hand Carved Santa's Sleigh and Reindeer.

Another Santa, Sleigh and all the Reindeer ready for paint. I did two different Santas. I am thinking that the smaller one is a better fit for the scene.

Little Trump Wood Carving

l call him "Little Trump".

Creating Toy Tops

I'm working on something a bit different going into the direction of toys for kids.

Back when Hurricane Sandy hit, a rather tall Rose Of Sharron tree was toppled. I cut up several pieces of the heavier parts of the trunk and branches figuring I could use them for some future project. 

It's the future> I took a couple pieces and really like working with the wood. Very hard and works to a nice clean finish. 

I turned out a few Tops. A toy from the past. A toy not usual today, but a fun little toy. I made up several and keep playing with them myself. Shhhh. It's very relaxing giving a top a good spin and waiting to see how long it takes to get that fall over wobble.

Here are the first examples. I am not sure about a finish though. I really like these natural but I know that kids prefer brighter colors. What do you all think? Should I maybe give them a light stain and finish or should I give them some color? 

I will most likely have these for future sale at about 10.00 each depending on how detailed a finish becomes.

These tops are all about an 1 3/4" in diameter and from 2 1/4" - 3 1/2" tall.

Headless Horseman WoodCarving

Another Headless Horseman off the bench. 

I usually make these with a Pumpkin but I decided to do a caricature skull this time around.

Thanks for looking. 

Please visit my Shop.

A Nice Day To Make Perogies

It was a great day today to make Perogies. 

3 Chief sized Potatoes peeled, quartered and boiled. The riced. 

1 cup of Shredded Cheddar cheese. I like white New York Sharp Cheddar. Vermont too. Add to potatoes in a mixing bowl. 

8 slices of fried bacon. Reserve drippings. Chopp up bacon and add to potato mixture

1 medium onion diced and sauteed in bacon drippings. Removed from the drippings with a slotted spoon and added to the potato mixture. 

1/2 cup of sour cream. 

Mix the above ingredients and season to taste with salt, pepper and just a touch of garlic powder and a touch of nutmeg. 

For the dough, 4 cups of flour, 3/4 cups of water, I use the water that I boiled the potatoes in. 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease, 2 beaten eggs and a tablespoon of salt. I put the salt and flour in a Kitchenaid mixer bowl. Then while mixing with the dough hook, I slowly add the liquids which have all been mixed in a 4 cup measuring cup. I slowly add about 3/4s of the liquid to see how the dough comes together. I want the dough to become little pieces about the size of Pastina pasta. 

Once the dough is where I want it I then bring the mixture together by hand and wrap with plastic wrap. 

Place a pasta rolling attachment onto the mixer. cut off about a 1" slice off the dough and start rolling. I like to roll it to the number 4 setting on the roller.

Once rolled I then cut rounds from the sheet of dough. I roll one sheet at a time. 

Cut rounds with a 3 1/2" cutter. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling on each round and then seal the Perogie by pinching the edges of the dough together around the filling. This is fresh pasta so I don't need egg or water to moisten the dough. The Perogie is 1/2 moon shaped. I then lay the Perogie on the counter and make sure that the Perogie has a flat bottom side. I also take the opportunity to press the sealed edge one final time while it is laying flat. I'm not the type that feels the need to crimp the edge with a fork but I know some that will do it at this point. 

I place each batch as I finish making them on a greased baking sheet. Each batch usually produces 9-10 Perogies. 

The filling and dough will make about a total of 65 Perogies. 

I continue rolling and filling until all the Perogies are made. 

I then boil the perogies until they float in the boiling water. Not too hard of a boil. I boil at about a medium heat. They take about 3 minutes. I remove each batch, the 9-10 Perogies, to a colander with a slotted spoon to drain. Do another batch while transferring the cooked batch back to the sheet pan. 

Continue till all of the perogies are cooked and placed back on the sheet pans. 

Allow the perogies to cool and then freeze them on the sheet pans. Once frozen, place the Perogies into freezer bags. One bag per batch. 

When I am ready to cook a batch, I bring salted water to a boil, Boil the perogies for 3 minutes and drain. Then I melt butter in a nonstick skillet, add the batch of Perogies and one medium sliced onion.  Sautee the Perogies until they get to a nice golden brown and crisp around the edges. I like to dip them after they are cooked in sour cream that I add chopped green onions too.

The filling.

Roller for the mixer to make sheets of pasta.

Rounds cut from the sheet of pasta.

Placing 1 rounded Tsp of filling on each round. 

Making the Perogies.

Sealing the Perogies and the half moon shape.  Flat Bottoms. 

Over 60 Perogies ready to freeze.

Perogies frying in butter with sliced onions. 

The Cardinal Christmas Wreath Wood Carving

I just finished the Cardinal Christmas Wreath. I think it turned out rather sharp. I carved it from 3/4" reclaimed pine. It's just about 7.5" in diameter.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MacsFarsider

Latest Wood Carvings. Butterfly, Dragon Fly, Chickadee Wreath

I just finished a few pieces last night.

Magnetic

Magnetic

Front

Back

Thanks for looking.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FarsidersCarvings

From Tattoo To Wood

A friend asked me if I could make her a Butterfly to match a tattoo. I like a challenge and asked her to send me a picture of the tattoo. Thankfully it wasn't one of those tattoos someone has in an intimate spot. 

Here is the picture she sent to me. 

My 1st attempt

 was OK but not really what I wanted. 

So I made a few changes and here is the final result.

Thanks for looking.

OK, This is the final version. Really. 

The cross needed a bit more detail. I think I have nailed it. 

Butterfly Wood Carvings

Just off the bench. Something just a bit different.

I have made these from 1/4" material. They are 4.5" wide by 4" tall. I followed color schemes for the orange and yellow and went crazy with the cool blue which is my theme.

I put Earth Magnets on the backsides. 

Thanks for looking. 

The Rewards Of Gardening and Farming

The Rewards of Gardening and Farming

I am not reaping enough rewards yet for canning, so for now, I will freeze. 

I didn't grow the corn but fortunately, my sister paid me a visit from Up State New York with dozens of ears of sweet corn and at least 50 lbs of potatoes. Not those little potatoes one gets at the grocery store either.

Most potatoes that grocery stores sell around here are just a bit larger than egg size. Maybe an egg and a half, lol. w up picking these potatoes. If I recollect, we called them #2 in size. The Bakers were gargantuan. Big enough to fill a dinner plate. We had fried chicken for dinner last night and my wife cooked up 2 of these potatoes. She added just a touch of cream to mash them and didn't even need that. They were so creamy on their own. 

Corn on the cob is one of my all time favorites and I will honestly say that I have easily eaten a dozen ears myself since last Sunday.

The rest I am freezing.

I'm finally picking real tomatoes. If the Opossums don't get them first. 

Guess which one will very shortly be a Tomato Sammich? 

These are the Juliet Tomatoes. They are a cross between a Grape tomato and a Plum tomato. They are very disease resistant and are a very abundant crop that produce right up to a freeze. 

Or until I have them ready to freeze.

One of my all-time favorite summertime foods has to be stuffed peppers. They get a meat and egg mixture with uncooked Minute Rice and slow cooked in V8 juice. These monsters are just screaming for stuffing. Even the little one. 

The little one is the size of my fist. You can just imagine how large the other 3 are. I think I'll need help eating these and I'm not the type that usually needs the help with much. 

Toys For The Martial Arts

Here is something a bit different coming from my shop. A couple of individuals that know that I have spent over 40 years involved with the martial arts asked If I could make a few items.

Here are a few of my latest pieces. They have been constructed from white oak.

Several Yubi-bo and a set of Tonfa.

The Yubi-bo are made to fit in the palm of the hand with a cord that wraps around the fingers. The cord that I use and have used since my military days has been paracord.

The Tonfa may be a bit more familiar to most. These are done from 1 1/4" thick White Oak. The handles are spun to fit comfortably in the hand. The thickest part is where I cut a tenon which fits all the way through the handle to fit snuggly into the baton. The tenon itself is a 3/4" diameter. This tonfa set will take some serious abuse and are great for a heavy workout.

Each piece has been sanded to a smooth finish. Treated with boiled linseed oil and then several coats of Polyurethane was applied. When dry, the pieces were buffed to a smooth and comfortable feel.

The Yubi-bo that I make are sized to extend approximately 2" from the ends of the average hand. 

The cord can be knotted and the knots will recess into the Yubi-bo. 

I leave the cords long so that the individuals that they go to, can size the cord to their specifications and styles. 

Yubi-bo Spun on Lathe. The wide end for blunt force blow and a narrow end for pressure. 

Yubi-bo for a wide hand.

If you have an interest in such art, feel free to contact me for custom orders.

Gmac111@msn.com 

Farsidercarvings@gmail.com