Santa climbing down the chimney with his bag full of presents makes a festive stand-alone carving. But this little Santa is more than a carving, he’s hiding a secret! Santa’s chimney doubles as a secret box. Simply hollow out the chimney to create a hidden box perfectly sized for holding small trinkets or a gift for that special someone.
Carving the Treasures Santa
Start by transferring the pattern to the wood. Cut straight across the top row of bricks with a band saw. Set the bottom half aside and cut one profile of the Santa top. Tape the cut-off pieces back onto the blank and cut the other profile. Then cut along the outline of the chimney-shaped box bottom.
Carve the Santa using your tools of choice. I’ve included a list of the tools I use. Continue re-drawing a centerline to keep things in perspective. I use a woodburner to add definition to Santa’s beard. For the fur texture on Santa’s hat and coat, I make small overlapping circles with a small round diamond bit in a rotary power carver.
Creating the Chimney Box
Measure and mark a 2%" by 2’4" square centered on the top of the chimney blank. Determine the depth of the box. Leave enough wood so the bottom of the box is У2" thick. Mark the depth of the box cavity by wrapping tape around the largest drill bit you have. Drill a series of holes inside the square. Stop drilling when you reach the tape so you preserve the box bottom.
Use а ¥2" to %" #3 gouge to remove most of the waste wood inside the box. Use a %"-wide single-bevel chisel to square up the corners and remove any rough edges. Shape the bottom of the box with a fine-grit cylinder-shaped carbide-point bit in a rotary power carver. Wrap a strip of fine-grit sandpaper around the sides and across the bottom of a small flat length of wood. Use the wood to provide the leverage needed to sand the sides, bottom, and corners of the box.
Trace the brick pattern on the chimney and carve along the mortar lines with a 2mm U-gouge. Cut the lid insert to size. Use double-sided tape to secure the insert while you adjust the fit. When positioned properly, trace around the insert with a pencil. Glue the insert to the lid, wait a few minutes to let the wood glue begin to set, then clamp the insert to the lid using rubber bands.
Painting the Treasures Santa
Blend equal parts of Santa flesh and medium flesh with a small amount of matte varnish for Santa’s face. Mix a very small amount of dusty mauve with the flesh color and varnish mixture. Use the dusty mauve mixture on Santa’s cheeks, the tip of his nose, and just beneath the hat line. Paint the lips with dusty mauve.
Paint the beard with Quaker grey, then use a dry-brushing technique to highlight the beard and add depth. Paint the coat and hat with black cherry, the gloves with hunter green, and the bag with espresso. The holly leaves are hunter green with wedgwood green highlights. Paint the mortar lines in the chimney Quaker grey. Then paint the bricks with barn red. For some of the bricks, add a little black or grey paint to change the color just a bit. Then dry brush a little Quaker grey over all of the bricks to age them a bit.
Finishing the Treasures Santa
Apply two coats of the matte varnish to prevent the piece from absorbing too much antiquing medium. Pick up a dab of blending gel along with a dab of antiquing medium on your paintbrush and coat one area at a time. The blending gel keeps the antiquing medium from drying too quickly. Wipe off the excess antiquing medium with a soft cloth. Use a clean dry paintbrush to remove the excess antiquing medium from hard-to-reach places. If Santa’s beard looks too dark when the antiquing medium is dry, use a dry-brushing technique to lighten it up with white paint.
When the pieces are completely dry, apply a couple coats of matte varnish. The inside of the box and the lid insert are finished with Formby’s tung oil varnish.
MATERIALS:
• 4" x 4" x 6" basswood
• ¼ x 2 ¼ x 2 ¼ basswood
(lid insert)
• 500-grit sanding cloth
FINISHING MATERIALS:
• Formby’s high-gloss tung oil finish
• Delta Ceramcoat matte varnish
• Folk Art blending medium
• Jo Sonja acrylic paints: rich gold, silver
• Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paints: barn red, holly berry red, black cherry, white, black, Quaker grey, Santa flesh, medium flesh, dusty mauve, light blue, true blue, hunter green, wedgwood green, espresso
• Folk Art down home brown antiquing medium
TOOLS:
• Drill and large drill bit
• Rotary power carver
• Carving knife
• Detail knife
• Fine-grit cylinder-shaped carbide-point bit
• #3 gouges: Vs",
• ’//-wide single-bevel chisel
• U- wood carving gouges : 1.5mm, 2mm
• Small round diamond bit
• Carving glove
• Thumb guard
• Band saw
• Woodburner
• Rubber bands