This guy is about 12 inches tall and came from a Pecan log about a foot thick.
We cut back on the front to a point where we can get close to square.
(Square Bear - get it.)
We then square up both sides.
We have made 5 cuts in this pic, the ears are cut at a 45* angle, the nose and chin cut have also been made.

Here we have done the cut offs and rounded the ears.



Here we have shortened the nose about an inch and made the first two cuts bringing the heart out. We go in half way from both sides instead of all the way through with one cut.

We now make the outline of the heart and shape the legs

Side View

It is hard to show in the pics but we have ground down the face of the heart about 1/4 inch to give the impression the the bears claws are holding the heart.




We have now drilled the 1/2 inch holes for the eyes and burned and steel brushed him a few times.



The wood wizard thing in the center, below, with the little bear in the top left was carved from one of the cut offs of these bears.

Any questions?
later
waynecancarve/lynncantoo
See you at Ridgeway 2003.

What did you use as a finish?

with burning and brushing, then some sanding sealer and a couple coats of poly.
later
wcc

every time I use a sanding sealer and then try to put urathane over the top of it there are problems, what brand names do you use?

I would like to add that we live in a very small town with very few brands available.
We will have a Lowes opening here some time this month and we are looking forward to that.
After burning and brushing, sanding or whatever method that you are using to finish, you should allow the carving to "dry" for a few days.
When you see it start to crack (a whole bunch of tiny cracks) then it should be allright to use the sanding sealer.



I have tried the above method on very wet wood and got crappy results. The Pecan that the love bears were carved from was not that wet, it was a storm downed tree that laid there for a while.
Good luck
wayne