My hikes on the Appalachian Trail inspired this mushroom haven pyrography. When humidity, temperature, and moisture are just right, I come across mushrooms and more mushrooms, creating little villages.
Materials Used :
- A 13 x 7 inch oval wood slice
- The pattern (get it at the Pyrography Pattern Collective)
- Graphite Paper and stylus
- Wood burning tool – I use a Colwood and Razertip
Preparing the Wood
It’s always a good idea to sand the wood until it’s smooth. Depending on the wood, you may need to use different sandpaper grit to achieve the desired smoothness. Sanding your wood makes it easier to burn and create better lines and shading.
Tape the Pattern and Transfer the Image
Print and cut your pattern to the size you need and tape it to your piece of wood so that it won’t move around as you trace it. Slide the graphite paper underneath the pattern and use a pen or a stylus to transfer the design. This may be tricky but if you don’t press down hard enough, then your lines might be too light and if they are too hard, then the graphite lines will be hard to remove.
And then start burning. I started with outlining first before shading in the details. The smaller the tip of your wood-burning pen, the finer the detail can be. I wanted to achieve the wood grain effect on the door.
I often will take a few days to step away from a project so that I can come at it with fresh eyes and finish it up.
I used the fine tip for the small section on the roof to resemble moss and also used to create the fern. I then switched to the shading tip for the stones and the tops of the mushrooms.
The final step was to add a little bit of color using oil pencils. I went with an olive green for the plans and grass and a dark red for the mushroom tops.
This helps me not overthink the project and note any details I may have missed.
Thanks for joining me in this Mushroom Haven Pyrography Tutorial.
