on my honor...: What are the Deathly Hallows?

I originally bought a wood burning tool to complete my heirloom recipe box project, but I realized that since I didn't know how the varnished wood (cedar maybe?) would react to the process, I might be safer going the paint route. Plus, I didn't want to burn the heck out of my nice vintage recipe box. So, there's the genesis of my wood burning odyssey...

So, I started thinking about making a wood-burned Deathly Hallows plaque for the sisters. I think it was because I saw this awesome DH tattoo on pinterest (the original source seems to have disapperated. Yes, I did just write that.). Anyway, the idea was that the sisters could hang the plaque around the house somewhere (with all the other crap I've made them) and it would act as a protective charm. Woe betide all who harbor malice toward this house.

You know what the Deathly Hallows are, right? Please tell me you do. OK, if you don't, go here. But never tell anyone.

You'll need a couple little wood plaques. I got these for a song at Michael's. They have fancier plaques (with beveled edges: beveled!), but I felt like this simple square was the perfect size for the sign of the Deathly Hallows. You'll also need a wood burning tool. Mine is from Joann's. I think it's around $12-14.00, but you just coupon that shit and get it for $6-7.00, right? Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. A pencil, a ribbon for making a hanger, a glue gun for gluing the ribbon. Oh, and you'll need a steady hand.

The wood burner comes with several different heads. I have a piece of scrap wood that I used to test the various heads for pattern possibilities. I'll show you sometime. You can see which heads I've used because they're darker--that happens when they heat up. SCIENCE!

For this project, I chose the rounded head. Screw it into your wood burner, plug it in, and turn it on. Be careful, intrepid crafters, this sucker gets soooooo hot. Make sure that it's sitting firmly on the tabletop and that no one is going to come along and catch the cord. Always remember that disaster could ensue at any moment.

Sketch out the DH on your plaque. You'll run the wood burner right over the lines, so they won't show.

Pick a starting point and run the tip of the wood burner along your line. I use small, back and forth, strokes because I'm truly terrible with straight lines. But you might be better. The longer you let the tip sit in one spot, the deeper it'll burn. So, keep that wood burner moving, unless deep, circular burns are part of your plan.

Whew! Part one down. OK, you can probably see the ragged edges on my plaque. Dislike! I sanded them down a tiny bit and then decided I'd finish the edges by burning them. I chose the flat head to finish the edges and just ran it back and forth along each edge until I was satisfied. You should know that I do enjoy the scent of pine burning. And there are delicate little puffs of smoke which rise from the wood. Nice.