Homemade gifts with a wood burner

Our latest wood-burning tool consists of 23 wonderful tips that allow you to embellish any wooden object with beautiful patterns. In this blog, you’ll learn how it works and which techniques you can use. We’ll also tell you more about wood burning (pyrography) in general and share useful tips & tricks!

What is wood burning?

Wood burning or pyrography is a creative art form used for drawing personalised designs onto natural wood surfaces. Using a special tool - the wood burner (also called a pyrography tool), the surface of the wood is burnt by drawing or writing at a temperature of up to 450 °C and a beautiful pattern is left over. Did you know that you can also brand cork and leather? Create beautiful decorations for your home or homemade gifts in no time. Wood burning is an extremely creative hobby that is suitable for both older children (12 years and over) and adults, as you can get started straight away!

Our newest wood-burning set includes a total of 23 different tips with different thicknesses and variations, as well as 11 stamps: with several shapes like a heart, star, arrow, flower, petal, triangle and various circles, with which you can easily achieve different effects. The stamps are especially suitable for adding the finishing touch. The integrated ergonomic handle makes the wood burner easy to hold like a pen. Besides wood burning, you can also use the tool to solder or cut materials like e.g. polystyrene.

Wood burning ideas

A wood burner is so versatile because the fact that you can combine different designs or shapes with different wooden objects means that the possibilities are endless. There are no limits to your creativity! To inspire you, we have put together the best ideas for you below:

Personalise a wooden bottle opener, ideal for Father's Day!
Decorate a wooden chopping board with a beautiful quote.
Embellish a wooden birdhouse with beautiful designs.
Make cosy coasters out of wooden discs (or create holiday ornaments for the Christmas tree).
Stick a magnet under the decorated wooden block or your disc and you have a fridge magnet!
Decorate your wooden kitchen utensils, you probably have 1-2 of them lying around in the kitchen.
Make wooden labels for your gifts out of thin wooden boards.
Write the teacher's name on a wooden ruler as a thank you at the end of the school year.

Transfer your design or a beautiful quote onto a piece of wood with a nice shape and use it as a home accessory or hang it on the wall.

Which wood is suitable for wood burning?

Whether hard or softwood, in principle any type of wood is suitable, the important thing is that it should be untreated and smooth. You will achieve the best results if you sand the wooden object smooth with sandpaper before working on it. Are you a beginner? Then it is better to use softwood such as lime, birch, spruce, and pine. Be careful not to press too hard on the tip. We advise you to practise the first attempts on a spare piece to get a feeling for the tool. Do you have more experience? Then try a harder type of wood, such as oak.

Preparations & applications

After you have selected one or more wooden objects and prepared them, it is time to get the workplace ready. First of all, provide a well-lit workplace equipped with a fireproof work surface. Before you start on the actual wooden object, it is advisable to first test the wood burner If you would like to use several tips, you will also need a pair of tongs to change them. The wood-burning tool reaches temperatures of up to 450 °C during operation. For this reason, the tips must completely cool down before you can touch them with your fingers again.

Safety first!

The wood burner becomes very hot during operation! Therefore, you must protect yourself and your surroundings when working with a wood burner. Here are the most important safety rules:

It might sound logical but just to be sure: never touch the hot tip with your hands;
Do not leave the hot tip on the wood for too long;
Always place the wood burner on the holder and make sure that the holder stands stable;
Unplug the appliance when you are finished;
Make sure that the wood burner has cooled down completely before you put it away again!

How to trace a design onto wood?

There are multiple ways to transfer your desired design as a stencil onto the wood. Which method you choose depends on your personal preferences and skills. You could download some stencils to trace. Any drawing can be transferred to the wood, but beginners should start with simple designs.

Drawing freehand

People who like to draw can first sketch the outline with a pencil before using the wood burner. First, draw in the main lines and then add the shading, textures and shapes. Any leftover pencil marks can be erased after burning the wood.

Transfer pattern with transfer paper

Is drawing not your thing? Don't worry - there are other possibilities! You can also transfer the design onto the wood using carbon paper. Simply select a pattern or font online and print it out. Place a piece of carbon paper on the piece of wood and lay your design on the carbon paper. When placing the carbon paper, make sure that the carbon side is resting on the wood and the shiny side is facing up. By tracing the lines of your design, the design is transferred to the wood and you can then easily trace it with the wood burner.

Stamp it!

A second alternative is stamping the design. To do this, select a stamp and apply enough ink to it. Then press the stamp firmly onto the wood without slipping so that a clear imprint is made. You can easily trace this with the wood burner.

Me-time

Pyrography can become your new relaxing evening activity, where you can wind down after a stressful day at work. Give it a try! Did you craft something beautiful? Share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #craftedtosmile