Wood burning, or pyrography, is the art of burning designs, patterns, or pictures into wooden surfaces. Read on to discover the best wood burning DIY projects – most are beginner friendly, and all are available for free online.
19 wood burning DIY ideas
You’ve probably seen gorgeous pyrography pieces and thought that you’d never be able to make something like this yourself. However, wood burning is surprisingly easy to do, and in most cases needs only a few tools and supplies that are relatively easy to source online.
The basic wood burning tools you’ll need include a heated metal tool such as a Walnut Hollow versa, a safety mask, and finger guards. Once you have your tools, these online tutorials will have you mastering the art of pyrography in no time at all!
Completely new to wood-burning craft? Check our complete pyrography beginners guide for all the information you need to get started.
1. DIY wood burning rolling pin
This tutorial from Pyrocrafters shows you how to use wood burning to customize a rolling pin for your business, as a gift, or just for fun! We like that the video goes through the materials and tools you’ll need, how to prepare for wood burning as well as the process itself in detail.
2. Celtic knot box
We adore the lovely Celtic knot design featured in this project from Wildwood Studio. This design is also a great entry-level project, so it’s perfect if you are new to wood burning.
3. Wood burning pictures
This video from TKOR showcases a range of wood burning techniques and hacks, showing you how to easily burn motifs, designs, and lettering onto both flat and curved wooden surfaces. This guide includes a particularly cool technique of cutting out a stencil from sticker paper that is used to burn pictures onto wood.
4. Personalized cutting board
This cutting board by ClaCali is a perfect example of how to make personalized gifts with wood burning. Once you watch this tutorial, you’ll be able to apply this technique to create a range of customized gifts for your loved ones!
5. DIY wood burning earrings
These pyrography earrings by Diva Styles ooze natural, Boho style, and are easy to make. This simple and elegant design can be adapted to different sizes and shapes.
6. Personalized calligraphy wooden box
This wooden box would make an excellent gift – you can burn the name of the recipient on the side in a stunning calligraphy script. You can also use the wood burning calligraphy demonstrated by Melissa Esplin in this video on a range of projects.
7. Country rabbit board
We not only love TheHappyTwig’s adorable country bunny design, but also how the design is burned onto a natural slice of wood that shows the grain of the wood.
8. Wood burning DIY ideas
LeahLouu delivers plenty of inspiration in this video, with stacks of ideas for wood burning on cutting boards, spoons, pegs, and pencils. The techniques range from leaf motifs and lettering to graphic designs and patterns.
9. Flower bouquet photo frame
We love the pretty detailed flower design on opposite corners of this photo frame by The Aloha Studios. The intricate detailing makes this project more suited to intermediate and advanced wood burners.
10. Beginner-friendly coasters
On the other hand, this one is a great starter project for beginners! MacGyver K shows you how to make easy pyrography coasters with simple lettering and designs and is finished with natural rope glued around the outside of the coaster.
11. Cypress turned carved pyrography bowl
This stunning project from Yuval Lahav Woodturning uses not only wood burning but also woodturning and carving. The result is stunning, but this one does involve specialized equipment and requires a certain level of experience.
12. How to transfer wood burning patterns
This handy video tutorial from Burn Savvy demonstrates three different techniques to transfer pyrography patterns onto wood. It starts with the basics of importing and printing out the design, right through the wood burning process, three different ways.
13. Custom wedding card box
Burn Savvy shows you how to make an elegant wedding card box in this time lapse video. We love this beautiful concept that you could use to make a range of personalized items, such as special occasion pieces or birthday moments.
14. Basic introduction to wood burning
Dylan’s DIY Workshop gives an introduction to the art of wood burning for absolute beginners. This video goes through all the basics and essential info you’ll need to tackle other projects on this list!
15. How to burn pictures & designs into wood with a Cricut machine
If you have a Cricut die-cutting machine you’ll know how many amazing things you can do with these incredible devices, but did you know that you can also use them to burn designs onto wood? Let Mr. Crafty Pants show you how!
16. How to burn lettering it wood using a Cricut machine
This tutorial by Deb’s Joyful Designs shows you how to use a Cricut machine for wood burning, this time with calligraphy and lettering designs.
17. Taurus sign
We love the faded ombre effect of this stunning astrological Taurus design project from Richy Coelho. This advanced technique is definitely one to try once you’ve mastered the basics of wood burning.
18. Monarch butterfly
If you thought pyrography could only be monochromatic, check out this video! Wildwood Studio shows you how to add color to your wood burning projects.
19. Pyrography gourd
This is another great pyrography video from Richy Coelho, this time demonstrating the cool technique of wood burning directly onto a real gourd. The stunning leaf motif of the design is in perfect harmony with this natural canvas.
Final thoughts
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at wood burning, these tutorials will show you everything you need to know, as well as giving you plenty of ideas and inspiration. This artform is surprisingly easy, and you’ll just need a few tools and supplies, so there’s no better time to get started!
If you’ve enjoyed this round-up of the best wood burning DIY ideas, go ahead and share it with your friends and family. And if you are looking to DIY something less technical, check out these DIY soap, paper nesting cats and toilet roll advent calendar tutorials.