Sponsor Giveaway :: G A Carver

I'm so pleased to bring you a give away from my new sponsor Sean of gacarver!
When I buy beautiful handmade items I'm always curious about where it came from and how it was made. I'm guessing I'm not the only one to occasionally sit back and daydream of the origins of a beautiful creation so I asked Sean some questions about his woodworking to share with you all.


Hand carved cherry 'spife' spoon knife

  *What inspired you to take up woodwork?

I've always loved the outdoors and the beauty of nature and I think that
eventually led me to want to create items from nature. My Grandfather gave me a
small pocket knife when I was 5 or 6 years old ( I was mature for my age!) and I
enjoyed "carving" even then..thought it was more like scraping bark and turning
sticks into pointy sticks at the time. Later after seeing pictures of hand
carved toys and spoons I decided to see if I could do it myself, and really grew
to enjoy it, especially seeing how each piece shapes up in its on unique
way.

Hand carved baby spoon in highly figured sugar maple

*What is your favourite wood and why?

My favorite wood is Sugar Maple, there are more colorful woods,

there are harder woods and woods that are easier to carve but sugar maple

strikes a fine balance of strength, looks and working properties. Sugar Maple

can be solid blond in color with little character in the grain to very stunning

with curly grain, stripes and marbled patterns with tons of contrast. It takes a

wonderfully smooth finish, is durable and can take a lot of abuse...perfect for

spoons! It also is very common where I live, So I can search the woods for

damaged or overcrowded trees to use instead of buying lumber.

*I would love to know more about how your spoons and other items are made, will
you share with us the steps you take to turn a piece of wood into these lovingly
made creations?

Some of my spoons start out as damaged trees I take down, some as a piece of firewood
that has interesting grain and others I have to buy the boards. When working
from a tree I season the logs for a few months, split them into rough boards
then clean them up with a draw knife. Some of my spoons I use a pattern from a
spoon I made before, some I draw up the patterns and some I use no
pattern...some times its fun to just follow the wood and let it decide its final
shape. I use a small handsaw to cut the rough shape out, then finish shaping
with knife, wood file and sandpaper. I use a curved bladed knife for carving out
the bowl, after that it is hand sanded through numerous grades of sandpaper,
which takes a lot of time...and patience! I sand my spoons to at least 600 grit
and to as fine as 1500 grit, depending on the wood and intended use of the
finished product. After sanding I soak my spoons in water to raise the grain,
then sand them again, this keeps them from getting "fuzzy" after washing and
use. I use only food safe and nontoxic finishes on my products, mostly beeswax
and mineral oil as there are no fumes or chemicals to worry about. I could speed
things up using power saws and sanders, but that would take away from the
finished product in my opinion and it is much more satisfying and relaxing to
make something with your own two hands and at your own pace.

*Sean is offering readers a chance to win two of his beautiful baby spoons! Here is a little about them from Sean-

"This hand carved set of baby spoon in sugar maple and cherry wood. Hand sanded silky smooth, wet sanded to prevent fuzzing then finished with food safe, nontoxic beeswax and mineral oil finish. I sanded these down to 1200 grit. Bowls are both 1 inch wide, the maple spoon is 5 1/2 inches long and the cherry spoon is 5 3/8 in long."

 Aren't they just beautiful!

Everyone is welcomed to write a comment for an opportunity to win
*If you would like a second entry let us know what your favourite thing is in gacarver shop in a separate comment (I'm eyeing off his hand carved sugar maple eating spoon , I think I need a spoon for myself for snack time with the day care children so that i can stop being jealous of their beautiful cutlery:)
*For a third entry pop over and add gacarver to your Etsy favourites and let me know in a separate comment

Good luck all!