The Craftiest Workshop

One of my very first blog posts was about my wood burning hobby. Since then I have done quite a bit more burning.

I feel as though my hobby has progressed nicely since August. I upgraded to a Razortip burner system which allows me to switch between two different pens; one for lines and one for shading. This system heats up in about 15 seconds. The burner I started out with sometimes took 15 minutes to fully heat. The metal tip looks similar to a utility knife and allows for much more precision for lettering or detailed sketching. Another improvement with these pens over the first one is the size of the grip. I would get hand cramps from the first one because it was so big around. The Razortip one feels almost just like a pen or pencil and it has a foam grip. The price of the system, with two ports is about $200 and it comes with one pen and one cord. You can order other pens to do specific things and cords from the manufacturer out of Martensville SK.

I start by finding an image I like. I screenshot it and trace it onto tracing paper so it is the size of the wood I am using. I then use carbon paper to transfer it onto the wood. Some of my burning is a copy and others I have added things of my own to. I keep all the traced images in plastic sheets in a binder. I haven’t been repeating very many of my projects but I may make versions of my favorites again in the future.

Most of my burning leading up to Christmas has been ornaments. I quickly realized that adding a bit of color after burning enhanced the look. I seem to make ornaments in groups based on a theme.

I started these gnome ornaments after looking at the shape of these wood slices that Chris cut for me. I was inspired by this village that was created on a walking trail near our house sometime in the last few months by a local Pathfinder group. At the base of about twenty trees are these doors, bird houses or other creations made to be gnome or fairy houses. It always makes me smile when I walk by.

Here are my gnomes.

Check out my easily to follow tutorial to create your own. https://thecraftiestworkshop.com/how-to-draw-burn-and-paint-a-gnome-on-a-wood-slice/

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Another set of ornaments was created as a result of a commission request from a teacher who wanted to gift her students with a religious ornament. I used plywood and cut out these gift tags then burned in a different scene on each one.

She also wanted to gift some ornaments to friends, family or colleagues so I made a few religious ones on wood slices as well.

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Another theme I explored was Christmas Songs. I added a bit of paint and glued some material bows on a few of them.

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Here is my Christmas tree collection.

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Below are a few other fun ones that I made.

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You might notice that not all the wood is the same. Many of the ornaments are made from wood reclaimed from our 2016 wildfire. The bark was completely gone and the fire dried out the wood but did not burn past the bark. Some of the other ornaments with bark are from a maple tree that was cut down at Chris’s parents this summer….I love the smell when burning this wood. Each tree is different and burns differently which only adds to the artistic experience.

All in all, since March I have wood burned and painted 125 Christmas ornaments/tags.

After Christmas my focus will likely be on burning some more pallet signs. I have a few song lyrics in mind but will need to come up with border ideas and/or appropriate art to go around it.

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As we gladly leave 2020 behind, I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you reading this for supporting my newest hobby of blog writing. I hope that I have somehow enhanced your lives and encouraged you to try a new recipe, craft or hobby. If I have helped any of you through this period of self isolation then I have met my goal. I know that writing and creating these posts have helped me keep busy and productive.

I haven’t really started selling my creations unless asked to make something specific. Next year I may try to set up shop at a few local craft fairs.

SPECIAL REQUEST: can each of you look through your Christmas cards and see if there are any images that you think would look great on a wood slice ornament. I can shrink any picture. If you find one or many, could you take a picture of them and send them to me either on Instagram, messenger or email: thecraftiestworkshop@gmail.com

I also wanted to let everyone know that I am changing the days of the week that I will be posting. I will start posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the new year with my first post of 2021 on Jan. 2.

You can follow my future woodburning on instagram ccjmt5 and on pinterest the craftiest workshop. I try to post all my projects on both sites.
Happy New Year everyone!!