Tag: pyrography

Leather pan handle

On By CarynIn Craft

Dad put another leather handle for cast iron pans on his wish list, so I delivered. I used some unfinished tooling leather, cut it to shape, wet it, and formed it to the handle of my Lodge cast iron pan. The design is wrap around, with only the end sewn, so that it can slip on and off. I sewed the ends together with waxed thread using a baseball stitch.

Photo description: dried leather is pan handle, side view
Photo description: sewn end of the pan handle

I wanted to add some decoration to this so turned to my pyrography setup.

Photo description: starting the decoration with spirals done with a pen tipped pyrography tool
Photo description: completed pyrography in Zentangle style, with spirals going to stacked tear drops to clustered bubbles finished with parallel lines

I finished the leather with Resolene, a leather conditioner that will protect against food splatters.

Throwback Thursday: Cribbage board

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

I went all out on this custom cribbage board back in December of 2004. I designed the Celtic knot triple path, shaped the oak board, carved storage recesses, installed hinges and a custom leather clasp, and even handmade the pins from twisted wire capped with blown glass.

Photo description: cribbage board shown paying side up, with three colors of glass pins, red, green, and blue to match the paths of the Celtic knot
Photo description: cribbage board shown closed, with half the pyrography design visible
Photo description: cribbage board shown open with storage compartments

Decembers before kids are a treasure trove of throwbacks. This board is pretty, but it hard to actually use, especially when there is alcohol involved. Those loops and whorls make counting a dizzy prospect.

Throwback Thursday: homage to Terry Pratchett

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

I made this book stand in December of 2004 and graffitied it with pen, paint, and pyrography as an homage to Terry Prachett’s Disc World book series, specifically the wizard’s university library.

Photo description: Oak book stand with “Property of L Space”, math equations, an aboriginal style kangaroo, and Latin words. Two hooks at the top hold clear elastic filament which helps hold books open.
Photo description: side of the stand with angle bracket reinforcement and Greek words in red pen
Photo description: back of the book stand showing the prop with hinge and restraining chains

I finished the wood with a clear coat of urethane.

More pyrography

On By CarynIn art, Craft

The pyrography pen is out, all things must be adorned.

Photo description: side view of a small antler lucet fork with animal prints (alpaca, rabbit, cat, bison, sheep) done in pyrography.
Photo description: side view of a medium-sized antler lucet fork with animal prints (rabbit, sheep, bison), and flowering vines done in pyrography.
Photo description: side view of a large antler lucet fork with a Celtic knot, hand drawn, then done in pyrography.
Photo description: wood drop spindle with vines done with pyrography around the edge of the whorl. The top of the shaft, below the hook, is wrapped in waxed red silk to reinforce the wood at the weakest point. Calwood Super Pro II in the background.

Pyrography on antler

On By CarynIn Craft

We had a little pyrography on wood with yesterday’s throwback, so today is my new obsession: pyrography on antler. I recently made nåls for nålbinding from the tines of deer antler. I’m experimenting with different shapes and curves and am quite pleased with the results. I was thinking of inking them for decoration, but the dried ink literally just wipes off the slick bone surface. I turned to pyrography instead. I have a Colwood Super Pro II wood burning unit, which can be fitted with a vast array of tips. No more messing with old soldering irons. I can also control the degree of heat, which makes a difference. For wood I use the detail setting around 5-6. For the antler I had to crank it up to 9. Even then, it took several back and forth motions to burn the color into the fine lines. I achieved the color without cutting into the bone, which left a silky smooth surface after a light sanding and buffing. I finish each nål with a coat of Renaissance wax. Here is a video short of a thicker nål with a wrap-around pyrography vine.

Photo description: four antler nåls, two with pyrography. The left most nål has four foot prints: alpaca, rabbit, bison, and sheep. The second from the right has a line drawing of a flax stem and bloom. The other two are plain, because people are different.

My nåls sold well at a recent Earth Day Market. The ones that remain I will be selling on Etsy.