{Love Bird Art}

Hey, y'all!  I have a really fun piece of art to share today just in time for Valentine's Day.  The great thing about this is that it's not just for the Day of Love.

I have had a piece of thin plywood in my craft room for months just begging to become something beautiful.  Recently, I found the cutest little phone cover on one of those daily deal sites.  (The deal is over, so, unfortunately, I can't link to it.)  It had a tree with initials carved in it, and there were two birds in the tree.  Immediately, I knew I had to create a piece of art based on the phone case design.

I have had a wood burning tool since before I got married because I used it to burn the edges of the wedding invitations I made.  I haven't used it since.  I thought it would be neat to use it to recreate the phone cover design on my piece of plywood.  I started by sketching a tree on the wood.

The great thing about sketching a tree for this project is that getting the tree shape somewhat decent is the hardest part.  The "bark" of the tree is just lines as you can see.  After the tree is all sketched out, it's time to use the wood-burning tool.

Let the tool heat up, then simply trace your pencil lines with it.  Of course, you must be very careful not to touch any of the metal pieces at the bottom of the tool.  Also, do this in a well-ventilated area because you will definitely be a bit overwhelmed with the burning wood smell when the tool is at its hottest.  After I traced all the lines with the tool, I used a flat tip to lightly burn some of the natural places on the tree to give it more of a realistic look.  After I finished wood burning the tree, I painted the surrounding area white to make the tree pop.

I sanded down the white paint a little to give it a worn look.  Then I cut out two little birdies from scrapbook paper and used Mod Podge to attach them to the art.  I used my distress ink pad on the edges and on some of the white paint.  I also painted three little red hearts above the birds and then sealed the entire piece of art with a coat of Mod Podge.

I LOVE my love bird art!

I made sure to use colors that I regularly decorate with in my home so that I can display the art year round.

I'm not sure if I like the birdies or the heart with mine and my husband's initials more!  This was such a fun project to do because I used a technique I've never used before.  Now I can't wait to think of more ways to use my wood burning tool! If you don't have time to create your own love bird art before Valentine's Day and you're looking for something that involves zero work, you can always download the Valentine's Day printable I shared this weekend {HERE}.  Enjoy!