Walking Sticks and canes are a favorite wood carving project for both beginning carvers to the most advanced woodworker. This free, online project by Lora Irish will take you through the basic techniques used in choosing your wood staffs and sticks, wood carving cane toppers, cane construction, and finishing used for walking sticks. Learn how to use wood burning in your cane carving to clean the joint lines of your carving and add fine details. Explore the different steps you can use to add bright, bold painted coloring.
This free Irish project will be posted over the next several weeks, and will include how to carve the planes of the wood spirit face. So please check back often to see what new techniques, patterns, and ideas Lora has posted.
Harvesting Walking Sticks – Learn how to harvest, store, and dry your tree saplings and branches for cane carving.
Common Tree Species – Take a look around your own backyard to discover which tree species you can use for walking stick and cane carving.
Adding Extras – Make your walking stick stand out by adding a small ‘What If’ bag to your staff.
Our next lessons will focus on Cane Construction Techniques!
You know you do it! In fact, anytime you are on hold on the telephone, or as you are talking to your kids, or even when you are just thinking. If there is a pen or pencil and a piece of paper near by, you are doodling. As kids, you always knew who was going to grow up to be a creative person because their denim notebook was covered with tons of little doodles.
So, let’s have some fun and bring those creative doodles to our favorite art form, pyrography. Over the next few days I will be posting an in-depth, step-by-step tutorial for this Mushroom Doodle Pyrography Project. It will include the pattern, the doodle fill chart, and lots of photos so that you can complete your own desktop cork board note pad or kitchen recipe holder.
We will be working an outline burn around each element of the pattern. Then, instead of fill those areas with graduated shading, we are going to use our favorite doodle patterns. Each area of the pattern can feature lines, swirls, spirals, daisies, butterflies, checkerboards, and even full designs of flowers, leaves, and stems. Anything goes when you are doing a pyrography doodle.
Take another look at the top header image for this post to see a close-up of a few doodle patterns that we will be working.
Supplies: 12” x 12” x 1/4” birch plywood 12” x 4” x 1/4” basswood variable temperature unit ball tip or loop tip pen 220-grit sandpaper fine-grit nail sanding foam board graphite paper 12” x 12” x 1/4” cork board yellow carpenters glue 4 yards of sea grass twine hot glue and glue gun spray sealer
Please slip over to our craft, carving, and pyrography patterns website, Art Designs Studio, to get your free patterns for this project. The download link is on our home page.
Today we will work through the preparation steps. Tomorrow we will begin the pyrography steps. So, please, bookmark our blog and share our link with your pyro friends.
1. With 220-grit sandpaper, sand the front surface of your birch plywood. Work your sanding with the direction of the wood grain to avoid scratching the surface. Remove all sanding dust with a dry, clean cloth.
2. Print a copy of the outline pattern. Tape the pattern to the right side of your board, 3/4” from the edge.
3. Using graphite paper under the pattern, trace along all of the pattern lines. Remove the pattern paper and graphite paper.
4. Using your finest line burning tip, set your temperature setting to a hot setting. Burn along all of the pattern lines to set your design. You want a dark, even line.
5. Work a second burning over the pattern lines to create a thick to thin effect in your outlines. This adds strength to the outline, giving the line extra emphasis in the finished work, as well as interest in the changing dimensions of the line.
6. Using the fine nail sanding board, lightly sand over your board to remove any rough areas caused by the hot temperature burn. Wipe the board with a clean cloth to remove any dust.
So, go grab your freebie pattern package which features three patterns – our mushroom design, a sunflower, and a chicken. Gather up your wood burning tool kit and let’s get ready to burn!
Well, its Super Bowl Sunday this weekend here in America. While my guys will be watching the football game I will be enjoying a few, quiet hours of wood burning and pyrography fun. I thought you might like to join me.
This quick, and easy Steam Punk Star takes about two to three hours from start to finish. Use it as a door decoration, on a box lid, or to accent the cover of your latest scrap book. All you need is the pattern, which as always is given free with the project, your wood burning tools, 7″ sized basswood or poplar star, and a set of twelve artist quality colored pencils.
While you are here you might wish to choose one of our newer projects – Feathered Border, Snowman Card, or create your own Practice Board. Check out the Pyrography link in the top nav menu for more great, free pyrography and wood burning projects by Lora Irish.
It’s snowing here in Mount Airy, Maryland. We already have 2″ and it is suppose to snow for the rest of the day. So, it’s time to break out the hobbies and craft supplies and have a little fun.
And, just for extra fun here is a free printable Old World Saint Nicholas – pattern and drawing – for your wood carving, wood burning, or scroll saw work. Click on any image on this blog for a larger, full sized pattern or photo.
