The holiday season always feels a little brighter when you can add something handmade to your Christmas decor. If you’ve already carved a classic wooden Santa, it’s only right that he gets some company!
Today I'm showing you how to carve a Mrs. Claus character figure.
This project can be carved out of a corner block or fully in the round. It’s full of character, texture, and holiday charm. Grab your tools, put on your safety glove, and let’s get whittling!
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This Mrs Claus figure is carved using a wood carving stencil. The stencils are available in 1", 1.5", and 2" sizes. The stencils are available on both Etsy and Amazon.
You don't have to use a stencil if you'd rather freehand draw, but a stencil helps you quickly and easily lay out your design so you a can get to carving!
The stencil sizes refer to the blank size used, not the finished height.
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Supplies Needed
Before we begin, make sure you have your workbench set up with these essentials:
- Basswood blank
- Stencil
- Mechanical pencil. It needs to be a mechanical pencil to get into the openings on the stencil. This is the pencil I use.
- Carving knife. A Flexcut roughing knife is shown.
- V-Tool
- Palm gouge
- 1mm #11 veiner
- 3mm #11 veiner
- Cut resistant gloves. I use the No Cry brand
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If you have any questions, or want to share your work, make sure to stop by The Carving Club, our free Facebook carving community with 30k+ member!
How to Carve Your Mrs. Claus Figurine
These are very basic written steps that give you a general idea of how to carve the figure. For a step by step tutorial with lots of tips, make sure to watch the carving tutorial video.
Prep the Block and Trace Your Outline
Start by getting the correct block of wood for your stencil. Use the stencil's height to mark how tall you need to make your blank. Cut the blank to height by hand or with a bandsaw, if needed.
If you are using a 3D-printed stencil template, align it to the front and side profiles of your basswood block and trace the basic silhouette of Mrs. Claus with a pencil.
You will need to trace the design, flip the stencil, the trace again.
If you're making a figure in the round, trace the appropriate lines on the back, too. She doesn't need an apron or face on the back!
Rough Out the Profile
Using your primary carving knife, rough out the block to match your traced lines. Remove the major corners and excess wood to create your 3D "blank."
Don't worry about any fine details yet. Focus on getting the general shape of her head, bun, and flaring skirt established.
Establish the Head and Hairline
I work from top to bottom on the figure. The bonnet and face are the first things to carve.
In the video, I came back to the kerchief at the end, but you can carve it now, instead.
Carve the arms and hands
After the head, the arms and head come next.
Carve the apron
Working out way down the figure, the apron is the next thing to carve.
Add details
The last step is adding details. I used a gouge to add texture on the skirt and a veiner for areas that needed smaller texture, like on the hair and kerchief.
Oil the carving
We always coat carvings with boiled linseed oil. After the oil has cured, you can paint your carving. You can also leave the carving un-painted or use the oil of your choice.
For this figure, my wife used Folk Art brand craft paints in Titanium White, Imperial Red, and Galaxy Blue mixed with Pearl White. This color makes what she calls "magic blue" and can be seen on many of our wood carvings.
She also used a pale grey on the hair and added a light wash to draw out the details.
She also used small dotter tools to add details to the figure.
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Happy carving! Make sure to share your work over in The Carving Club.
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