Your projects are beautiful !!! I tried my hand at woodburning once - and I wasn't patient enough .... I wanted the line burnt NOW. ( LOL ) I hated going so slow ,so I gave it up. There is some awesome artwork out there done by burning -- yours is one of them !

Oh my-- you're very kind. And here was me wondering if it was actually considered normal for the craft to paint the woodburning projects or not, or if I was breaking some important rule I didn't know about. I'd seen some Victorian items done just in wood tones, but nothing more recent, so I'm afraid I don't have much barometer for it.

It is a slow-going sort of project, you're totally right, and I'm not always patient about it either. And there's a bit of a risk for minor injury, too. ("What's that sizzling sound? Oh, that's my thumb.") :-) I do like it because it's easy to work the pen-- much like a pencil, so you have a bit of control.

Did I see on a separate post you were the lady who was thinking of doing mosaics to sell? Now THAT takes patience, I give you huge credit for it. I've worked on mosaics, but after a few, I just was weary of all the mess with the grouting. I hope your projects go well.

Yes -- I am the mosaic-er that is thinking of
selling them!!!! Gulp ~~~ I'm afraid to start,too ! We've all been in your position . Should I or shouldn't I sell ??

Just by seeing your projects .... you have a good start. There's always room for improvment ...

Me --Having done crafts from start to finish ...I can somewhat guide you . First , check online to see a comparable craft . Note the things that attract buyers. Get ideas . See if your type of craft is selling . If it's not --- you have to thinkk of something "unique" to you that will sell. You have to think of the new & up & coming trend ... Good Luck !

Oh, I don't actually have any plans to sell. This is strictly a hobby. I do give things as gifts if they turn out all right, or I make things because I have a specific need at my house for an item. I post the projects online really because I think the communication aspect of it is nice, and I enjoy writing so this combines the two activities. (I write professionally for a business-to-business marketing firm, so it's a refreshing break for me to have a blog that's actually mine instead of behind-the-scenes advertising for a client.)

I just figure learning a little something more about a craft technique never hurts.

If you love to mosaic and you're questioning whether you should sell or not, maybe dip your toe in the water on Ebay. There, there'd be no big commitment and very little risk.

I do quite a bit of woodburning, but only for gifts. I don't have pictures, because I have no camera....I do enjoy the woodburning work! I use a little wood stain here and there to "highlight" the design that I have burned. When I am finished, I seal the item with sanding sealer, which I scrub down with 0000 steel wool, and then I paste wax and buff. At Christmas I made a set of wooden TV tables and then woodburned my boss' cattle brand into the tops. He loved the gift...even wrote me a personal thank you note!! (usually his wife acknowledges any gifts)
My DH made cutting boards for all of the kids, and I woodburned their family initial into them using a
Gothic font. They were quite pretty.

Here is a link that might be useful: font type here

Wow. It has been a long time since I've posted here. :0)
I have done some wood burning ( very little ) on gourds. I love to grow and paint/wood burn them. I agree witht the slooooow but in the end it worth the wait. LOL Can't say I've ever taken a class but learning as I go is more rewarding I think.
Penny

Jaybird- Thanks so much for the info on your approach and process. Your projects sound absolutely beautiful, and I can understand why they would be treasured gifts. (The idea of the cattle brand idea is very clever!) Thank you for taking the time to share!

Pennymacdonald, I didn't realize this would work on gourds, and I will be passing along that info to a friend of mine whose family plants gourds every year but has been looking for fun things to do with them. (Other than put them in a bowl.) They're contemplating doing birdhouses, but I think they'll definitely get behind woodburning as a project.

Wonderful ideas!

Here is my only attempt at wood burning , I beleive the pattern was a free one made for a sewing project, I would like to try my hand on gourds. love your mail holder think you did a beautiful job! and as you can tell I like painting them. this is just on a scrap piece of wood I was playing with, I need alot of practice!

I love my little woodburner. I've used it quite a bit, but this is the only one I have left to show for it. I made this box for my hubby to put his keys, wallet, pocket change, etc in. Woodburned the eagle and his name in it, and then stained it. Nothing fancy, but he loves it and I was pleased with how it turned out. (I whited out his last name in the pic, that's not on the box)

{{gwi:1474339}}

Oddie- You did quite an amazing lot with "a scrap of wood." Total transformation. And, yep, looks like your technique with the paint is the same as mine! Thank you for sharing!-- And thanks for the kind words on the mailholder. (I do use it A LOT. Keeps me organized.)

Countrygal, your eagle is very skillfully done. (Which I've found is not always easy to do--to be precise with the pen, depending on what the wood grain decides to LET you do!) Your lettering is amazing-- I can't write that neatly with a pencil let alone a woodburning pen.

It's all been really terrific to see. People on here are so nice for sharing.

--Jenn
htpp://web.mac.com/thriftshopromantic/iWeb/

Thanks ! your mail holder has inspired me to want to try woodburing agine, I have a couple of grouds that are beging me to do something with them, I am a visual person so please share any photo you have of your crafts, also wanted to say I checked out your bolg and you have some beautiful projects,what are your plans with that beautful glass globe ?.
countrygal68 love your eagle! I sure can appreciate your talent , it is not easy, you bouth have projects to be prould of!
Happy crafting
oddie

Thank you both. thriftshopromantic and anyone else interested in woodburning, if you haven't already, you have got to check out this site: http://www.woodburner.com/ it's loaded with info and patterns. There's soooo many talented people over there. have fun!!

Here is a link that might be useful: GREAT SITE!!

Thanks for sharing the site link, I will definitely have to take a look, that's great!

Oddie, so glad to hear you stopped by the blog and thanks for the kind words. I will be very interested to see your gourd project when it's done-- I imagine they could become a wonderful centerpiece in a bowl at Thanksgiving.

I have one more woodburning project I might post this weekend if I get a chance, we'll see. If I do I'll try to include the link here Monday.

Have a great weekend,
--Jenn
http://web.mac.com/thriftshopromantic/iWeb/

Well, I did get a chance to upload info on my last woodburning project, which was a woodburned copy of an old art nouveau advertising print, burned into a plain cigar shaped box.

http://web.mac.com/thriftshopromantic/iWeb/The_Thrift_Shop_Romantic/Woodburning_Keepsake_Box.html

This was the first project I ever did that involved multiple colors of stain, so from that angle I think it turned out all right. There are other things I'd do differently, but, lesson learned-- I figure it's worth including.

Best wishes to all the woodburners out there,
--Jenn