Wood Burning: Totally 80s Wish Book

Recently, I've spent a lot of time on Pinterest. I like to click on the Hobbies & Crafts category and just scroll through the images. Sometimes I re-pin what I see, but mostly I just scroll, curious about what other people are up to and what's trending. About two weeks ago, I noticed several pins in which individuals had used a wood burning tool to embellish wooden spoons. It intrigued me and so today I headed out to Michaels.

When I got home, I received a BBM from my sister wondering what I was up to. I told her I had bought a wood burner. She replied, "That's totally 80s Wish Book." She was right. In fact, I remember one Christmas that I picked out a wood burning craft kit from the Sears Wish Book and asked Santa for it. It was a basic set -- I'm not even sure if the burner had more than one tip -- and it included several pieces of wood that had been stamped with designs to burn. That was probably the 80s. And the kit was probably a lot like this one. I remember how excited I was to set up at the kitchen counter with it and let my crafty juices flow. Alas, it never really worked the way it should and I remember the handle feeling very hot when I held it. Like so many craft kits for kids, it was a disappointment. I think my parents packed it back up and returned it to Sears. (I can't recall how they explained returning defective gifts to Santa, but I sure wish I could, because I'm sure it was priceless. Likely as good as the time an Easy Bake Oven refill kit arrived from Sears a week after Christmas and they told me that Santa had found it under the seat of his sleigh and made a special trip back to bring it to me...)

Not surprisingly, then, I was skeptical of the tool I had purchased, especially since I thought I had "cheaped out" on it. I was very reluctant to invest a great deal of money into something that I knew would be a passing fancy. But as I opened it, I noticed it was of a reasonable quality. I plugged it in (side note: it definitely could use a longer cord) and waited for it to heat up. I was almost afraid to pick it up, remembering the sensation of holding one as a kid, but, to my surprise, it wasn't hot at all. Let the burning begin!

I tried the general purpose tip on my first spoon, but really didn't like the results. Then I switched to a pointed tip and was happier with the line it produced. There's no question that wood burning is an easy craft that requires practice to master. Still, I had fun trying it out and the more burning I did, the more ideas I had for future craftiness. I could imagine burning designs on wooden ornaments for a Christmas tree or on inexpensive cutting boards to snazzy them up.

Of course, when I decided that I needed a wood burner two weeks ago, I hadn't thought about the fact that a wood burner would actually burn wood and cause some smoke and a burning smell. (I know, Duh!) As soon as I started and smelled it, I started to worry that it would somehow set off the smoke detector in my apartment. I realize that probably was a ridiculous thought. It didn't produce that much smoke, but I have an irrational concern about this sort of thing after living in Burton's Pond Apartments, where the smoke detectors were extremely sensitive and would alarm if you even thought about making toast. Instead of doing what many did back in the day to disable those hyper-sensitive devices, I closed the doors between the kitchen and hallway, and turned on my kitchen fan. Sure, it was probably overkill, but I'm happy to say that I didn't set off the alarm. (When spring finally arrives, I'll open the balcony door instead.)

So, what can I say? It looks like I've got a new hobby (at least for now). I've got a few spoons left to practice on and I'm looking forward to pinning some new inspiration for future wood burning projects. If you've got ideas, please share them!