Introduction
This free, PDF download pyrography project will teach you the basics to wood burning on leather through the creation of a leather artist journal. Included in this Lora S .Irish e-book are the step-by-step instructions for how to trace your pattern, how to prepare the leather for wood burning, the basic wood burning tool tips and how to use each to create your shading and detailing. Plus, Lora Irish has included a free pyrography pattern to use for your personal use in the craft of wood burning.
Download this Lora S. Irish e-book, Pyrography Pyrography Journal by Irish, here or enjoy the full free project online in this article.
To discover more free online projects and tutorials on pyrography please visit our blog at LSIrish.com.
Artist’s often keep an art journal through the year. This is a small book with watercolor paper or illustration paper pages where the artist can make notes, keep a dairy and add small pencil drawings or watercolor painting to the pages.
This artist’s sketch book is created using two pieces of distressed leather, several sheets of watercolor paper, some tracing paper and four strings of raffia. You can burn a design into either the front cover, back cover or both. Even the pages can have wood burned accents. Plus, because of the simple lacing technique, you can add or remove pages at any time.
Once you have learned how easy this journal is to burn and assemble you can create a wide variety of small booklets using different themed patterns, scrap book papers, and even paper bag pages. cover, page and lacing materials.
Supplies
variable temperature wood burning unit
standard writing tip pen
spoon shader tip pen
leather strop and rouge
2 pieces of leather 1/8” thick x 6 ½” wide x 11 ¼” long
2 sheets of 140 lb. watercolor paper deckle edges, 22” x 30”
18 sheets of velum or tracing paper, 6” x 11”
4 lengths of raffia, 40” to 48” long
4 rivets
hole punch or leather punch
leather needles or long eyed needle
acrylic paints: medium cadmium yellow, medium cadmium red turquoise burnt umber
black coffee assorted small soft bristle brushes
Pyrography Units
Variable temperature systems have a dial thermostat that controls how cool or hot your tip is. You can adjust the temperature setting quickly, making it easy to control your tonal values in your project. This style has two types of pens – the fixed tip pen where the tip is permanently set in the hand grip and the interchangeable pen where different wire tips can be used with the hand grip.
There are many excellent burning systems available to the hobbyist. Which manufacture you chose depends on your budget, your pen style preferences, and what is available to you locally or online.
The tool shown to your right, the Versa-Tool made by Walnut Hollow, is an inexpensive variable temperature set that is readily available at most large craft stores.
I also own and use regularly a unit made by Colwood and one by Optima. Both are high-end variable temperature tools and give excellent performance.
Common Pyrography Tool Tips
Tips comes in many shapes and bends from the tight bend used in the standard writing tip to half circles that can create fish scales and even square tubes that make a textured pattern on your board. The four basic pen tips used throughout this book – the standard writing tip, the micro writing tip, large flat shader, and a small flat spoon shader.
Each manufacturer has their own name for each tip style, so please check their website to find the right tips for your unit.
Burning tools come in two varieties – permanently fixed tip pens and interchangeable tip pens. Fixed tip pens give even, consistent temperature control and are strongly suggested for your favorite tip profiles. Interchangeable tip pens allow you to obtain and use a wide variety of specialty tips and an inexpensive cost.
Each manufacture has their own style of interchangeable tip system, in the photo samples above the bottom flat spoon shader is shown as an interchangeable tip pen.
