Are you looking for the perfect DIY wood burning project for Valentine's Day? Then this cute lovebird pyrography is for you!
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Valentine's Day is a wonderful opportunity to surprise your loved one with a custom wood burning art project. This little burning is easy to personalize by adding your own initials and dates.
Materials List for Valentine's Day Wood Burning Project:
• Piece of basswood (approximately 4.5 x 4.5 inches)
• Project pattern of lovebirds (Get your pattern here) OR
• Graphite Paper (Check out my favorite kind of graphite paper)
• Wood burning tool (I use and prefer the Walnut Hollow Creative Versa-Tool)
• Ball point pen
Optional Materials:
• Sanding pad (I use M-Jump sanding pads)
• Glove to protect hand (These are my favorite gloves to burn with)
Preparing the Wood
Whenever I begin a new wood burning art project, I like to sand the wood until it is buttery smooth. This step isn't required, but it will make your pyrography much easier to burn and produce more even lines and shading. I start with a rough-grit sand paper, such as 110 grit, then work my way up to 400 or even 600 grit sandpaper. (Be sure to wear a respirator while sanding to protect your lungs!)
Step 1: Tape the Art Pattern onto the Wood
Cut out your wood burning art pattern and tape it securely to the basswood. If you tape the top and side, it keeps the art pattern from shifting.
Step 2: Transfer the Image with Graphite Paper
Slip the graphite paper underneath the reference photo and on top of the piece of wood. (Make sure that the shiny side of the graphite paper is facing UP and the dull side is facing DOWN.)
Next, take your ball point pen and trace over the guidelines of this Valentine's day lovebird project. Keep in mind that if you press down too hard with the pen, you could dent the surface of the wood. If you don't press down hard enough, then your lines might be too light. Take a peak under the graphite paper once in a while to make sure that the lines are dark enough, just try not to let the reference photo shift out of place.
Step 3: Wood Burning the Outlines
Hold the wood burning tool much like a pencil (be sure not to touch the hot metal). Select a small point, (I'm using the mini flow point that comes with the Walnut Hollow Creative Versa-Tool) and gently burn over the main outlines of the two lovebirds and the branch. Use a light pressure and allow the point to slowly float across the surface of the wood. Pressing down too much can cause the point to sink down into the wood, which causes uneven lines.
Step 4: Burn the Leaves and Eyes
Next, wood burn the leaves and the eyes. For this step, I switched to the shading point that comes with the Walnut Hollow Creative Versa-Tool and lightly burned the outline of the heart-shaped leaves. It's okay to make the leaves a bit lighter than the birds, so they appear behind the lovebirds. Block in the dark part of the bird eyes with a dark value. Be careful to burn around the white highlight. Add in a few horizontal lines on the tree branch with a small pyrography point.
Step 5: Wood Burning the Wings of the Lovebirds
Using the shading point, burn dark, heavy lines underneath the wings and each layer of feathers. Then gently add some lighter values of smooth shading to the rest of the wings. Imagine that the wings are a gradient, where the darker values are at the bottom and they get lighter towards the top.
Step 7: Wood Burning the Bird Bellies
Use a shading point to burn a gradient on the lower bird bellies. This should be darker at the bottom and gradually get lighter as it goes up.
Step 8: Burning the Rest of the Birds
Continue to burn the rest of the birds with the shading point. To make them look rounded, wood burn around the tops of their heads and outer edges of their bodies. Apply light shading above their eyes and on the "cheeks".
Step 9: Darken the Birds and Burn the Leaves
Darken the shading on the birds a bit, stay focused on burning the outer edges of the birds, their bellies, above the eyes and the cheeks. Add a light layer of wood burned shading to the heart shaped leaves. Burn around the bird feet with a dark value.
Step 10: Wood Burn the Branch
Wood burn the branch by adding dark values to the top and bottom of the branch. Burn the middle of the branch a bit lighter. This will give the branch a rounded appearance. Be sure to burn some horizontal lines to mimic tree bark.
Step 11: Wood Burning the Valentine's Day Heart
Switch back to a small pyrography point, such as the flow point to lightly burn the Valentine's Day heart. If you'd like to customize the wood burning project, add your special initials in the heart.
Step 12: Add the Final Touches to the Wood Burning Project
Lastly, wood burn your special date at the bottom to finalize the pyrography project. Present your custom, DIY Valentine's Day wood burning artwork to your loved one!
Thanks for joining me on this super cute, custom pyrography project that is perfect for Valentine's Day!