Miy Monogram Woodburning Decor

Miy Monogram Wood burning Decor
Decorative designs are easy to make, a great project for beginners
C r e a t i o n s & I n s p i r a t i o n s
"f o r t h e p u r e j o y o f m a k i n g t h i n g s"

Miycreations Project article and photographs
by Madeleine M Langlois

Monogram Retro Stool: Make a lasting impression

The ancient craft of wood burning creates decorative designs on wooden objects.
This project is perfect for beginners because you can start with any wood item
around your home. The last time I did wood burning was in the '70s, so I decided to
practice on my workshop stool to give it a cool retro look, and if I messed it up it
wouldn't matter.

Hands-on time: Under 2 hours.
Total time: Plus drying time for the water-based stains (2 hours), and the gloss
varnish (2 hours for each coat).
Skill: Perfect for beginners.
Project cost: Approximately $14.95 for the wood-burning tool.

Materials & tools:
• Previously painted or unpainted wooden stool (assorted pre-made wooden
items, in basswood, pine and birch are available at craft and hardware stores)
• Wood-burning tool with assorted points
• Needle-nose pliers with rubber handles (to change the hot points)
• Fine-grained sandpaper and tack cloth
• Steel ruler
• Graphite paper
• Monogram letter template or design of your choice on paper
• Circle template or a compass
• Masking tape
• A pencil or a ballpoint pen
• Grey and white eraser (the grey to remove pencil marks, white for cleaning and
finishing)
• Wood scraps to practice and test the points
• Protective workshop goggles (to prevent the smoke from the burner from getting
into your eyes while working)
• dark gel stain
• High-gloss, Minwax Polycrylic waterbased protective finish
• Foam paintbrush

(Items for this project are available at arts, crafts and hardware stores.)

Prepare previously painted surfaces by cleaning items by sanding lightly and
wiping with a tack cloth. Make a photocopy or a printout of a monogram letter to
use as your design template. Cut the design around the edges. Cut a piece of
graphite paper in the same size. Place the graphite paper under the design and
use masking tape to attach them to the wood surface. Use a pencil or pen to trace
the design onto the wood.

With a circle template, draw circles in assorted sizes around the monogram letter.
Attach the small round tip point (called the cone point) to the wood-burner. Place
the burner on the wire stand and plug it in. It takes about three to five minutes for
the point to heat up.

Use scrap pieces of wood to practice the basic strokes, like dots, lines and
shading. Hold the handle lightly in your hand, like a pencil at a normal writing
angle. With the point touching the wood surface, glide the tool smoothly toward you
in a fluid motion, lifting the point as soon as you finish a line. You don't need to
press hard. The longer the point touches the surface, the darker the image. A light
line can be made darker but dark areas cannot be made lighter. Try burning your
design lightly at first and then re-burn to darken as desired.

When ready, begin burning the monogram pattern onto the stool. While working,
clean the point tip frequently with sandpaper to remove any carbon deposits.
Rotate the item as needed while you work. Use a steel ruler to achieve straight
lines. Make assorted circle designs using a combination of dots and basic lines.
Make dots by holding the tool straight. Touch the surface only long enough to
create the size of dot wanted and quickly remove. As you burn your design, small
ash residues will collect on the wood's surface. Every so often, stop to brush them
off with a cloth or sandpaper. Add dot details to the border of the stool seat. Once
your design is completed, unplug the burner and let it rest on the stand until cool.
Use an eraser to remove any pencil or graphite lines.

To make the design imprint more uniform in color, rub a dab of dark gel stain over
the burned design with a cloth and quickly wipe it off.

To add to the retro look of this old stool, I gave the seat area a high-gloss finish.
Apply two to three coats of easy to use and apply Minwax Polycrylic, letting each
coat dry in between applications.

Variations: With basic wood-burning techniques you can create amazing designs
on various items throughout your home - like serving trays, chip wood boxes,
bowls, vases, flower boxes, decorative gourds, wood baskets and address plaques.

To make an entertaining coffee table for the cottage or family room, imprint a
checkerboard design and your family name on an old table.

Water-based or wax-based stains and oil pencils can be used to apply color and
details to wood-burned objects.

Safety Tips:
Remember the points are very hot and need to be handled with care especially
when changing them; unplug the tool and let the points cool. Remove and replace
the points using pliers. Always place the hot point tips and the pliers on a heat
resistance surface (such as glass, or a ceramic) and to place the tool back in the
wire cradle stand when not in use.

Monograms on wood;
Burning gives wood a retro
look. Decorative designs
are easy to make, a great
project for beginners

• Make a lasting
impression...The ancient
craft of wood burning creates
decorative designs on
wooden objects.

• Designs od choice can also be
applied to wooden surfaces using
stain markers to create various
designs on wooden surfaces;mirrors,
frames, pencil holder containers,
shelves