| There was a time when adults considered wood | | | | Beeswax |
| burning child's play, and many ten year olds | | | | Polishing cloth |
| received wood burning kits for Christmas or | | | | Food safe salad bowl finish |
| birthday. These kits consisted of a wood burning | | | | Thin strip of leather |
| pen, pine wood plaque, pattern, a few colored | | | | Directions: |
| pencils and water based finish. | | | | 1. Plug in your wood burning pen. |
| We have come a long way, as adults have | | | | 2. While pen is heating, lightly sand both sides of |
| discovered the creative pleasure of designing | | | | your cutting board with #400 sandpaper to make |
| unique decorative gifts using wood burning | | | | the surface smooth enough for the pen to glide. |
| techniques. The most popular items are lazy | | | | 3. Cut your design to fit your board. |
| susans, cutting boards, and small pieces of | | | | 4. Place design on board and tape corners. |
| furniture. | | | | 5. Slip tracing paper under design. |
| Wood burning is easy to learn. It is a little time | | | | 6. Carefully trace design onto board. Remove |
| consuming, but the results are worth the effort. | | | | design and tracing paper when finished. You are |
| We will use a kitchen cutting board as an example | | | | now ready to burn your design into the wood. |
| of how you can turn something ordinary into | | | | 7. Place your cutting board on a flat surface. Sit |
| something beautiful, decorative and functional. You | | | | comfortably and gently pass the wood burning |
| can buy supplies online or from your local craft | | | | pen over your tracing. Don't grip the pen, as this |
| store. | | | | will quickly cause hand fatigue. Go slowly and |
| You will need: | | | | gently, letting the pen do the work. Hold pen |
| 1 Wood burning pen | | | | longer over any area you wish to make darker. |
| 1 kitchen cutting board. Maple is preferred but pine | | | | For lighter lines, make one pass. |
| works well | | | | 8. When you've finished tracing your design, |
| #400 standard sandpaper | | | | unplug the pen. You are now ready to color your |
| 1 design of your choice. Use an embroidery | | | | design. |
| pattern, check craft magazines, or buy a book of | | | | 9. If you traced a colored design, match your |
| wood burning patterns from your local craft store. | | | | pencils as much as possible to the colors in your |
| Start with a simple design. | | | | pattern. With your model as a guide, use your |
| 1 sheet tracing paper | | | | pencils to color your design. Don't try to make an |
| Scotch tape | | | | exact copy, but use your own sense of color and |
| 1 hard lead pencil | | | | your own creativity to make the design yours. |
| 1 set colored oil pencils | | | | Shading areas of your designs gives it more |
| 1 can Krylon fixative spray | | | | depth. |
| # 600 wet or dry sandpaper | | | | 10. Once you are satisfied, lightly spray three |
| Sanding block | | | | coats of fixative about ten minutes apart... This |
| Satin or Gloss acrylic water based finish. | | | | sets your colors and eliminates smearing when |
| Several 1" & 2" sponge applicators | | | | you apply your finish. |
| Wood stirring sticks | | | | 11. Lightly sand using #600 paper. You will use the |
| 3M fine finishing pads | | | | sandpaper dry for this step. |
| Amber Wax | | | | |