Mandala Burned & Stained Wood Tray

Many years ago I bought a wood burning set to use. I used it once for a small shelf I personalized for my newest baby at the time. After that, I put it away and never thought about it again.

While on Pinterest one day, a wood burning project came up on my home feed and I thought I should try it again.  I wanted to make a project that I would use instead of being merely decorative. Sometimes in the evening, I like to have a cup of tea and of course, that means everyone else has to have one or hot chocolate so I thought a tray would be the most useful item I could try woodburning.

 

 

Not sure what I was going to use as a design, I found a tray first and let it give me inspiration. I knew when I saw the tray the design would be a mandala. I can never start with a small design and have to jump in over my head.

 

Looking online I found I loved. I traced it but changed a few things at the same time, extending some lines, omitting some, adding and deleting a few small elements here and there.

Using graphite paper I traced the pattern onto the tray. I was unsure of using the woodburning tool so I practiced a bit, trying the different tips before I started on the tray.

 

The practice wood was different from the wood the tray was made out of so I knew, either way, I was going to have a learning curve.

 

 

 

 

 

The tray was actually much easier to burn than the practice piece. There are some mistakes but since the pattern is busy, they aren’t too noticeable. Hopefully! 🙂

 

 

 

The woodburning looks lovely on its own but I had to add color.

While I had been searching for a design, I had seen a mandala colored with blues and I loved it. The design was too intricate to replicate for me but I wanted to use similar colors.

 

 

 

Instead of full on painting the wood, I wanted to stain it for more of a watercolor feel. I watered down acrylic paints to use and wiped them if it was too heavy.  For a little variety, I also added in some green.

I did use a wood stain for one of the blues, unfortunately, I had a slight accident with it. The top caught on my sleeve and dumped right onto the tray. 

I was able to sand it down somewhat.

Despite my little accident, I love how it has turned out. It still needs to be sealed but I couldn’t wait to post it. 

 

I will be linking up to these parties.