Woodburning and how to start

                           Burning wood?

                   

by: Loretta Butler  3/7/19

No not like that, I'm talking about creating real art!
 If you have never tried to woodburn my advice is to buy an inexpensive tool from any craft or hobby store and JUST START!!

Start small with letters or finding out what the tips are capable of. I have realized over the years you will find a tip you use the most and make it your shader, outline with it,or whatever you need it to do! You don't need to spend a fortune to begin, this is a hobby that is very inexpensive and doesn't require a large inventory.

TOP 5 Budget Friendly Tips on getting started:

This is the one I purchased with even more tips!!

1.   As I stated before, go to a craft or hobby store and purchase an inexpensive burner. I bought my first at Michael's. At that time I think I paid around $12.00. Not to bad for all that it will do. The one I purchased came with a holder and 3 tips. One for shading, one for writing and a calligraphy tip.






2.  This is by far my best tip... it should be #1 but you need a burner first!
BUY A PAD OF WATERCOLOR PAPER!!!     👍
 I wish I would have known this when I started and saved myself wood scraps and a lot of wasted projects. You can practice techniques and temperature levels for shading on the watercolor paper and Mark each right on the paper for reference. The picture below shows how I did this and still use this as a reference point still.

not a great example... but also a great reference point in your progress

 3. A simple stencil or alphabet pack will help you with lettering or patterns until you get used to your burner. You can pick these up at the same place you bought your burner.




4.Want to add color to your pictures? Water colored pencils will do the trick. Just color in with pencil and use a small paint by number paintbrush with a drop of water. Make sure to stay within your outline or the color will bleed. Just like when you learned to color with crayons- stay in the lines!


5.Last but not least....
Practice, practice, practice. Woodburning is an art and needs A LOT of patience. You can do it but don't rush. You will notice after time your projects get better and better, so don't rush into anything big. Start small and learn all that you can do with each tip, before you know you will be creating beautiful projects.
GOOD LUCK and happy burning!