Small Wood Carving ideas for Beginner

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A man showing a beautifully carved wooden panel with intricate designs, featuring a bird surrounded by floral patterns. In the background, various wood carving tools are neatly arranged on shelves, highlighting the craftsmanship involved in wood carving classes and lessons.

Small Beginner Wood Carving Ideas

An animal can learn, but it mostly uses its instincts to interact with its surroundings and stay safe. In woodcarving, instincts can help you make quick decisions. However, humans often rely on thinking and planning to create detailed and precise carvings.

What are some small wood carving ideas for beginners?

Beginners can start with simple projects like an Old European carvig style, a cutting board with a bird, or a plate with butterflies. Each of these projects can be done with just one knife, making them perfect for those with limited tools or space. Just remember, when you carve a bird, it’s best not to wing it—plan ahead!

Hello, my name is Alexander Grabovetskiy. I am a wood carver

Alexander Grabovetskiy

Hello, my name is Alexander Grabovetskiy. I am a wood carver with many years of experience. I have been carving since I was 6 years old.

I also teach wood carving and have done so for a long time. Many beginners ask me: What should I carve as a beginner? They want small projects to start with. Do you have any small beginner wood carving ideas?

If you are asking this question, I understand how you feel. There are many reasons to focus on small projects instead of big ones. Maybe you have limited tools. You might only have one knife or a couple of carving gouges.

You might also have limited space. The good thing about wood carving is that you don’t need a big workshop. You can use your dining table as your workbench. Sometimes, a dining table is the best workbench. I remember using my kitchen as my workshop in a small house. I worked all night, and my wife kept me awake by reading books to me. One project was a coffered ceiling carving. I had to carve the sides of the beams. There was a time limit; the deadline was one month. The coffered ceiling had to be installed in a new house before the “Parade of Homes.” This event happens once a year, and local homebuilders compete with their best houses.

I carved the coffered ceiling with only one knife, a #12 peril (Swiss Made). I finished it on time and got paid well.

You have the power to transform your skills. All you have to do is pick up your carving tools.

Coffered ceiling carved by Alexander Grabovetskiy

I recommend starting with just one knife. It is a wonderful tool. You can do a lot with just one knife. It doesn't take up much space, and you can travel with it and carve anywhere in the world. Especially for small projects, just put it in your backpack and go.

In my online school of wood carving, I have many projects that you can carve with just one knife.

Our skill in woodcarving comes not from our hands but from our brains. It's about using our minds as the most powerful tool, even more powerful than any carving knife. This ability comes from two basic traits—our vision and our social nature—that early woodcarvers used to become great.

What are some wood carving ideas for beginners using just one knife?

Old European Carving Style

– Start with a simple project. – Carve something small and easy. – Maybe an old European style. – Look at pictures for examples. – I have a course on this. 

Woodcarving School -This Course is designed for Talented people who love Woodcarving but don't know where to start. I will take you back to History thousands of years.

For something like this, you don’t need a lot of tools. It’s very easy to carve. Let me share a bit of history about this style.

If you visit Northern European countries like Norway, Denmark, Germany, Russia, or Finland, you will find similar ancient carving styles everywhere. This style dates back to the 8th and 9th centuries. It was very common to decorate household furniture, entry doors, and even Viking boats with these carvings.

Old European Style of Wood Carving Course

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Cutting Board with the Bird

The next project I would recommend is making a cutting board for your kitchen. It's a small wood carving project. All you need is a carving knife. Just look at the pictures—it's a gorgeous project.

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Curly Bird Cutting Board Course

Plate with Butterflies – Carving Project

If you want to challenge yourself and take your carving skills to the next level while still using only a knife, I recommend looking into carving a plate with butterflies. It is a little more challenging but still good for beginners. In this course, I will introduce some different carving knives.

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Plate with Butterflies Carving Course

The word “genius” comes from Latin. At first, it meant a guardian spirit that watched over someone's birth. Later, it came to mean the natural talents that make each wood carver special.

What to Carve if You are new to Wood Carving?

After that, you could move on to more complex but still small carving projects like the ones below.

Carving with more Tools

Knife and Gouge

Small Flower Rosette – Carving Project

Woodcarving School with Classical Flair - Carving Flower Rosette- Corner Block - with Alexander Grabovetskiy - Woodcarver -@grabovetskiy #woodcavingschool
Woodcarving School with Classical Flair - Carving Flower Rosette- Corner Block - with Alexander Grabovetskiy - Woodcarver -@grabovetskiy #woodcavingschool
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Woodcarving School with Classical Flair - Carving Flower Rosette- Corner Block - with Alexander Grabovetskiy - Woodcarver -@grabovetskiy #woodcavingschool
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Woodcarving School with Classical Flair - Carving Flower Rosette- Corner Block - with Alexander Grabovetskiy - Woodcarver -@grabovetskiy #woodcavingschool
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Like a lotus flower, your skills will expand outward from a center of strength and confidence.

After you learn how to carve with a knife, you could try carving something like a small flower rosette. This is a very fun project. This small rosette is a great project for beginners and really useful. You can use it in your home.

This project will show you how to use small gouges. When I was an apprentice of a master, he gave me a knife first and said, “Until you learn how to carve wood with just a knife, I will not give you any other tools like gouges or veiners.” I spent a long time mastering the knife before he was happy with my results.

After that, he gave me my first gouge. It was a #7 gouge, about 19mm or 20mm, something like that. As much as I love that approach, you don’t have to follow it. You really don’t have to master the knife. You can jump right to a carving gouge project.

This small rosette is a wonderful small carving project.

Flower Rosette – Carving Project Course

Your entire life is like an apprenticeship where you use your learning skills. Everything that happens to you teaches you something if you pay attention.

Robert Greene – Mastery

Antique Rosette – Carving Project

School of woodcarving | Learn to carve Antique Style Rosette Inline Video Workshop with Woodcarver Alexander Grabovetskiy https://schoolofwoodcarving.com #woodworking # woodcarving #woodworkers #woodcarvers @woodworking @woodcarving
Woodcarving School | Learn to Carve Antique Style Rosette with Alexander Grabovetskiy Woodcarver | School of Woodcarving https://schoolofwoodcarving.com
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Woodcarving School | Learn to Carve Antique Style Rosette with Alexander Grabovetskiy Woodcarver | School of Woodcarving https://schoolofwoodcarving.com
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Woodcarving School | Learn to Carve Antique Style Rosette with Alexander Grabovetskiy Woodcarver | School of Woodcarving https://schoolofwoodcarving.com
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After mastering the small flower rosette, move on to a bigger one. This rosette is based on an antique style rosette. I had to carve several of them for a client. This one is a bit more challenging than the flower rosette and also slightly bigger. But it’s still small enough that you don’t need a shop to work on it. You can carve it on a dining table if your wife, husband, mom, or grandma allows.

This rosette is also carved from basswood. In my opinion, and the opinion of many professional wood carvers, basswood is the best type of wood for carving. Basswood is a beautiful and clean wood. Woodcarvers of the past called basswood the “queen of the woods.” It has a very clean look with a creamy color and not much visible grain, which is easy on the eyes.

Anyway, this rosette project could be your next project. All patterns are available on the course page.

Antique Rosette – Wood Carving Course

You must understand the following: In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it. Your interest must transcend the field itself and border on the religious.

Robert Greene – Mastery
ProjectDescription
Old European Style CarvingSimple project in the ancient European style, common in Northern Europe. Great for beginners.
Cutting Board with BirdSmall kitchen project. Carve a bird on a cutting board. Suitable for beginners.
Plate with ButterfliesSlightly more challenging project, carving butterflies on a plate.
Small Flower RosetteFun and useful project, carving a small flower rosette. Introduces the use of small gouges.
Antique RosetteBigger and more challenging project than the flower rosette. Based on antique styles, carved from basswood.

Where to get wood carving patterns for beginners? 

All patterns are available on the course pages. Whatever you want to carve, just go to the course page and you can download it. But, of course, you have to be a member of the School of Wood Carving.

If you lose touch with your passion for wood carving, you might still create some pieces, but eventually, the lack of true enthusiasm will catch up with you. Your carving will start to feel mechanical. You'll begin to carve just for the sake of it or for immediate rewards. Over time, you'll become more passive and won't develop your skills further. This can lead to frustration and depression, without realizing that the root cause is being disconnected from your own creative potential in wood carving.

Additional Notes--
MaterialsMost projects can be done with basswood, which is recommended for its clean and creamy look.
Work SpaceThese projects can be done on a dining table, making them ideal for those with limited space.
PatternsPatterns for all projects are available on the course pages for members of the School of Wood Carving.

Limited Access – Free sharpening lessons

 Get Access

Like Leonardo, you take what you do for others and make it your own.


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