Every year I like making some of my Christmas gifts. I like to use what I have in my craft supplies, recycling or whatever I can find lying around in the garage. After seeing some pins on Pinterest that involved using a wood slice and then painting it, I knew I wanted to do something similar. For some reason I decided I wanted to try the same thing only using a wood burner.
After some research, it seemed like the best starter burning kit was one by Walnut Hollow. Their Creative Versa Tool kit has a variety of burning tips, heat control and a handy little case. I ordered mine on Amazon but have since found the same kit at Michael’s and Lee Valley Tools (this was the cheapest).
My husband was able to slice some 2-3 inch tree branches into slices for me. I spent quite a bit of time sanding each disc; this is the most boring and time consuming part. Depending on the types of trees in your area, some trees will have a very clean look inside and some will have swirls and dark spots. I use the cleaner wood for burning and the others for painting.
As for what I like to burn on the wood slices…everything. I look for images, colouring pages, silhouettes or script and then transfer it to the wood. I use my ipad, shrink it to the size I need and screenshot it. I tape some tracing paper to the ipad and carefully trace the image being sure not to rest my hand on the screen or it moves (as a lefty, this can be tricky). Once the image is on tracing paper, I use carbon paper under it and trace it onto the wood.
The burning part is fairly easy. Softer wood burns easily and you have to watch that you don’t press into the wood too much. The darker spots on wood often contain sap or are drier and burn differently than the rest of the wood. I wear a glove as my bare hand can get quite warm. I tried burning on maple and it is quite difficult and takes a while to darken a small area. This wreath is from a maple tree branch the city cut down and left in a pile.
I do not say that I am doing pyrography because I am more focused on making outlines or darkening a stenciled area. I enjoy the focus involved in making a straight burn line and the smell of the wood as it burns; it is like being at a campfire in your own home. That being said, if you are just burning outlines, you could easily work on it in a craft room in your house. If you are burning a large area of the wood, I would suggest you do it in your garage or workshop or, at the very least, be able to have the windows open.
I have expanded from burning on wood slices to burning on pallet signs, plywood tags and wood slabs. My husband has caught the “yearn to burn” as well but has decided to use a large propane torch and then scrapes off the black to reveal beautiful burned ridges.
Some of my future posts will involve wood burning. I hope you will visit again and keep up with my journey in this hobby.