Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures: 15 Simple Step-by-Step Projects (Fox Chapel Publishing) Woodcarving Plans & Instructions for a Unicorn, Wizard, Dragon, Elf, Toad, Owl, and More

by Sara Barraclough

A delightful woodcarving book devoted solely to magical little creatures! Carve a world of fantasy! The perfect source of inspiration for whittlers and carvers alike, Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures boasts a menagerie of 15 woodcarving projects for any skill level! This woodcarving book is devoted to the booming popularity of gnomes and their charismatic features, from their floppy hats to their expressive eyes, as well as other magically charming creatures and objects. From a happy hedgehog and a darling dragon to a forgetful wizard and a whimsical unicorn, Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures is the perfect source of woodcarving inspiration! Sure to conjure up your carving creativity, this exciting guide contains 15 step-by-step projects that carefully progress in difficulty from easy to more challenging, but can all be completed with just a few tools. With complete plans and step-by-step instructions and photography, you'll learn how to carve charismatic characters and objects full of magic, whimsy, and personality, including an owl, a sassy squirrel, a tiny woodsman, a sleepy fox, a troll with a will-o'-the-wisp, an elf, a cheeky toad, and much more! Along with the skill-building projects, you'll also find helpful overviews on materials and tools before getting started, detailed step-by-step photography, and guidance on painting and finishing each completed project. Author Sara Barraclough is a master carver and a regular contributor to Woodcarving Illustrated magazine, as well as the author of the incredibly charming Weekend Whittling Projects . With a detailed introduction on materials and tools, as well as helpful tips on painting and finishing each piece, Sara will walk you through every stage of the carving process. Beginners and pros alike will get a kick out of the super-simple, sweet designs rich with charismatic personality inside this book. Bring to life a magical array of gnomes, elves, animals, ogres, and more, with Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls and Mythical Creatures ! "Highly recommended. Each of Sara's characters is rendered with humor, joy, and an attentiveness to the details that beginning carvers need to succeed. Following along with this book feels like carving with a friend."
—Kaylee Schofield, Managing Editor, Woodcarving Illustrated Magazine "Sara's straightforward, simple approach helps guide the reader through the projects on a fantastic journey to create fun, caricature-style carvings. Her passion jumps from the pages, giving inspiration to carvers of any skill level."
—Dwayne Gosnell, Caricature Carvers of America, Author of Woodcarving a Halloween Chess Set

Genres: Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2020

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls and Mythical Creatures
15 Simple Step-by-Step Projects
by Sara Barraclough
This is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
What an enjoyable book! Very informative and well planned. Lots of step-by-step projects with great pictures to follow the steps. My dad was always making little works of art for a hobby. I always wanted to try but knew I would cut something off that I might need someday!
This book tells you how to avoid that with what you need, patterns, how to be safe, and more! Explains how to paint your project too! The projects are arranged from beginners, intermediate, then advanced. All super cute! Loved it! Made me wish I had this book 40 years ago!

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with this darling book of magical wood carving projects. My 17 y/o son was telling me he was feeling down the other night and I showed him the cover. He's 6 feet tall and I'm pretty sure he literally squealed at some of the projects. LOL They're darling, and it's just the sort of thing we needed during this endless at-home time.

The author is a mother of a little girl who collects her carvings, and she's a wonderfully likeable and talented carver. While nobody in our family has done this level of woodcarving before, the book made it seem pretty doable. I love that she says you don't need expensive tools and makes it accessible for people new to the craft. There's a mushroom house, unicorn, hedgehog, gnome and lots more. Step by step photos show up close how to do the carvings, and even the paints she uses are affordable and easy to locate. It's just utterly darling and fun. I see woodcarving in our future.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book with lots of do it yourself projects for the winter or when you have nothing to do. Very creative and lots of fun. I really liked watching all these mythical creatures come to life. It looks so simple!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures is a whimsically wonderful tutorial guide by Sara Barraclough for woodcarving. Due out 1st Dec 2020 from Fox Chapel, it's 104 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is such an appealing book. The characters are all fantasy and nature inspired, with a gnome, troll, dragon, wizard, and more, and several woodland creatures such as a toad, owl, squirrel, and others.

The layout is logical and easy to understand. The introduction covers tools, materials, and supplies, a very abbreviated safety section (carving gloves, leather strop, safety goggles, and dust masks are absolutely necessary and the author gives some suggestions). It includes some primer tutorials covering tools and how to use them as well as painting and finishing. The following chapters contain the project tutorials arranged by difficulty: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Each tutorial contains an introduction, tools and supplies listed bullet style, and step by step instructions. All of the tutorials include clear color photos of the steps as well as a color photo of the finished painted project.

Full size templates (measurements are in American standard measures - no metric conversions) are included for each of the projects (they're gathered into the same section in the back of the book). It's worth noting that this book does not employ any power tools. All the carving is done manually.

Really appealing projects. This would make a superlative selection for a makers' group, home workshop library, gift (with carving tools and some wood?), or similar. This would also appeal to handcrafters looking to learn new skills in the weird lockdown limbo we all find ourselves in these days.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

[Jamie Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not For Rank Beginner Carvers, But a Lot of Fun!

Don't let the “Learn to Carve” in the title fool you; you need to have some basic knowledge carving or whittling to make these projects. While the author does divide them into beginner, intermediate, and advanced, you would need to have some background in carving and the use of a band saw already to make these a success. But if you are at that stage in your carving and like whimsical, mythical creatures and “people,” the projects in this book look like a lot of fun. Each is broken down into simple steps to follow, with plenty of clear photographs to guide your way to success. The simplest projects are surprisingly detailed and look like more than just beginner-level projects. I especially liked the owl with its tummy feathers and wide-eyed multi-toned face. More advanced projects include gnomes, elves, a unicorn, a dragon, and even an absolutely darling mushroom house. If carving these kinds of mythical creatures and habitats sounds interesting to you, you will most likely enjoy this book.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really cute carvings in this book. I was pulled in by the gnome on the cover. The instructions seems very clear and the photos give you a really good idea of how to complete the projects step-by-step. This book would be good for someone who wants to (or already has) a band saw. Since I'm not interested in acquiring (nor do I have a band saw), I won't be working on these projects. I would have considered working on these if only manual tools were required like wood whittling style. It seems like this may not be for beginners only because of a power tool that is required, but I could see a dedicated beginner who wants to buy a power tool being able to do these projects because the instructions are quite thorough.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just learnt how to do some stone carving and was fascinated how much I enjoyed it, when this book was available I jumped at it.
Wood carving seems a little easier to do, the fact that more detail can be added to wood is a bonus. The information on starting the book is very useful and informative. The projects that follow are ranged from beginners and get a little harder as one progresses through the book, the designs are fun and would make great gifts for children or ornaments in the garden or elsewhere. There is a rainbow unicorn, raccoons, elves, a cute dragon, a woodman, mushrooms, gnomes and many more. Beautifully explained with photos of each step and tips and things to watch out for.
An excellent book to learn the art of woodcarving.

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, the characters are super cute! Projects are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced projects so the maker can choose one that suits their experience level. Supplies are discussed and then we get into the projects. Each project includes a supply and tool list and a template for developing the basic shape of each character. Clear photos show the step by step process along with helpful hints and written directions. The author is clearly talented at creating fun characters. I think my favorite is the squirrel!

Thank you to Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Sara Barraclough has created an excellent book for wood carvers to create some fantastic projects. She gives all the basic information that is needed to get started, and she provides patterns and instructions for several projects at different skill levels. The projects themselves are very creative and whimsical.

This was a well-written and well-illustrated wood carving guide that I will love to add to my collection.

[Witch-at-Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorable n the pictures are great. The author obviously lives carving small woodland animals, creatures and objects. I believe this is better suited to someone who already dabbles or has experience in wood carving because this isn’t geared towards beginners without experience. However m, it’s still a fantastic resource for ideas and patterns for projects if you like the theme of woodland gnomes and animals. I suggest this book for anyone interested in woodcarving it’s a fun book with adorable ideas and tips.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only are the projects enchanting and adorable, this book is an inspiration. When the author wanted to continue her family creatve history and entertain her young daughter, she took up carving.
The projects shared run the gamut from beginner (even if a bit intimidating) to more advanced. I seem the results appealing to all ages!
While I may not feel competant to do each of these projects I can imagine having fun attempting this as a group activity.

[FW · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun! My first 2 finished products look very little like the photos, but I had a great time carving them. I picked up sticks from my yard; I’m ready to start another figure.

I had better results when I carved with my non-dominant hand, probably because I had to concentrate more. Cut proof gloves are a must when carving.

I’ll happily be giving copies of this book as gifts this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has made me want to learn to carve. I enjoyed reading the author's thoughts. His dedication is adorable, and so are the projects. I love that the author is making projects for their daughter. The instructions seem do-able, and there are lots of pictures to help explain things, which is good. I cant want to try this new hobby out.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

GNOMES!!! I can not get over how wonderful this book is! It makes me want to go out, get ingredients and make my own gnome!! There are pictures of all different kinds of gnomes and the little things that go along with them. It gives you step by step of materials needed, painting, and so many different examples of the gnomes that you can make!!!

[Liz Koempel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute book about whittling. There is a lot of information for the beginner, but I highly suggest that they watch some YouTube videos first, because you can't convey a lot of the movements that need to be made in a picture.

[NayDoubleU · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didnt read the description and for some reason thought this was more of a clay thing. Its not bit thats fine. I cant say if the directions were easy enough to follow due to knowing nothing about the hobby but i can say it did not seem like a beginners book

[MeggieBree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice little intro to carving. The steps were explained well and the pictures were really nice, specifically the progress pictures. As an experienced carver, I even learned a few things!

[Jenny Houle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great projects from beginner level to advanced. The explanations of techniques, as well as all needed materials, are easy enough to follow even for those with no previous knowledge base.

[Lydia Timpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After downloading this book and reading it I have immediately sent off for some carving tools and some wood. I am desperate to try out these projects and the author makes them look so easy and fun. The tiny gnomes and the mushrooms are just adorable and the instructions look so easy.
I really can't wait to try them out for myself.

[Sally Mander · Rating 5 out of 5]

LEARN TO CARVE GNOMES, TROLLS, AND MYTHICAL CREATURES by Sara Barraclough

This is a great how-to book, it teaches you how to carve, starting with finding the wood that is most suited to carving. A lot of reviews have claimed that the book is too advanced, for just anyone to pick it up and start carving, I disagree. It specifies that you should probably have a lot of specialty tools, but there is absolutely no reason you can't pick up your favorite knife and begin carving.

In fact, the book mentions that you can carve on soapstone and other materials. Depends on what materials you have or what you can get.

My idea when I requested the book, was to carve faces or mushrooms onto the handles of my wooden spoons or have someone else do it for me.

I appreciate the complimentary copy of #learntocarveglomestrollsandmythicalcreatures from #netgalley I was under no obligation to post a review.