Welcome to Midwest Storyteller’s first installment of –

If we analyze our friendships, we’ll often return to the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”. I found this to be especially true of Kathy. We estimate that we’ve known each other about five years. Prior to that, I knew she existed, but I didn’t “know” her.

The things we miss out on! It’s happened before. Years ago, a lady named Rebekah showed up at my writers’ group. Soon after, she volunteered to help with the Youth Theater I directed. I discovered not only that she’d been my neighbor two doors away for the last two years, but that she and I were twin souls! (Is that what you call it when you each think the other is riotously funny?) She encouraged me and inspired me, helped me and then, as sometimes is the way with life, she moved away, darn it all. She has a blog, too! Be sure to check her out at “There Will Be a $5 Charge for Whining”.

Kathy has proved to be another of those rare souls who has moved from the fringes of my life and taken up residence in my spirit. I’ve been hoping she’d succumb to my hints and agree to be a guest at Midwest Storyteller, so I’m thrilled to welcome you to her debut!

I misjudged Kathy at first. When a friend of mine invited her to a monthly food and fun night, she seemed to fit right in, but, my-oh-my, she took a lot of notes! As we all chattered away, sharing life, tips, ideas, stories, recipes and more, Kathy seemed to be jotting down everything we said in a little notebook that already bulged with previous notations. “Type A”, I thought. “Hops out of bed at the crack of dawn, rounds up all her ducks, requires them to salute as they line up in their rows and that’s the way they march. All. Day. Long. (Without making a mess).”

Then, one night we played a fun personality game. Kathy shocked me! By the time we finished, I could tell that the only thing I’d gotten right in my assumptions about Kathy was the possibility that she might have a collection of actual ducks! I looked at her, astonished. “The reason you carry your little book and make all those notes is so that you can keep all these ideas and go home and do them all!”

Smiling, she nodded. That’s when I knew that Kathy’s brain is every bit as “squiggly” as mine and bursting with creativity! I knew she had a “stash” – a treasure trove of things yet to be. I knew she had a messy room brimming with projects at various gestational stages. I love this woman! I’ve come to know I can count on her for understanding, prayer, hands-on help and she’ll probably adopt any ducks I find because not only does she have a pond – she loves animals!

Having delved into arts and crafts “forever”, Kathy is now retired from the insurance industry and has time to use all her hoarded supplies. Her favorite adventures usually involve a splash of paint as Kathy’s specialty is reclaiming old objects and making something new out of them. Take a look at a few of her fun projects –

And, how about these innovative ideas?

Kathy’s life is built around Christ, her husband, Robert, three children and five grandchildren. Although all the animals in the world would love to belong to Kathy and Kathy often dreams of this, she draws the line at the dog, Bre and the cat, Trixie. I’m grateful that she’s taking time out for us here at Midwest Storyteller to share her latest adventure – wood burning.

After seeing the set of beautiful wooden spoons she created for her mom with a wood burning kit, I wanted to try my hand at it, all the while muttering to myself that all I needed was one more hobby. Nevertheless, I took the plunge with Kathy holding my hand. Take a look at how her project turned out –

Let’s get started. Here’s what Kathy recommends:

1. Take a little time to watch some tutorials. YouTube always has lots to choose from and Kathy got great ideas and tips from CreativeBug.com
2. Put down something to protect the surface if you are doing this on your dining table, countertop or some other surface that you don’t want to risk getting a burn mark. Wood burning tools are hot! We used cardboard.
3. Gather your supplies.   Needless to say, you’ll need a wood burning kit. Kathy found this Walnut Hollow Creative Versa-Tool at Hobby Lobby for $29.99. Of course, it’s always a good idea to watch for their great half-price deals or use their weekly 40% OFF coupon. Needle-nose pliers are great for removing tips from the tool that will be way too hot to touch, and a small tube of graphite powder keeps the tips turning smoothly when you screw them in and out of the tool. Safety glasses are a good idea if you’re tackling a project that will take you a while. Remember that oldies tune, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” Well, it does. (We worked on a nice day with the windows open and didn’t really notice a problem.) A piece of scrap wood for practicing with the tips will reduce the “oops factor”. I couldn’t find any, so I grabbed a couple of paint stirring sticks and that worked just fine. Food grade mineral oil, rubbed on your finished project, will bring out the beauty of your work. An extension cord will probably be helpful to allow you to position your work comfortably. 
4. Practice with your tips on your scrap wood. Also, practice with your temperature control so that you’ll be able to get a clean look when creating your design. The paint sticks were “raw” wood and had no coating. The spoons were bamboo and seemed to have a coating or polish on the handles that required higher heat.
5. You can transfer a pattern if you need to or take off free-hand like a dare-devil! I chose middle ground by placing my spoons on the cardboard surface and drawing around them. Then, I penciled in whatever pattern came to mind when I practiced with the tips, offered up a prayer and gave it my best shot.
6. Once you’re satisfied with your artwork, erase any stray pencil marks, brush away any eraser crumbs or stray wood fibers and rub with mineral oil.

I know you can do it! All you need are supplies and bravery. My spoons aren’t perfect, but for a first project, I’m pleased! I thought Kathy’s were a masterpiece!

Here are a few more tips that Kathy shared with me and things we learned as we went along –

The shading point is great for leaves and flowers with pointy petals. It helped to rock it back and forth so that the wood burned all the way to the edge of the pattern because the spoons, like many other things you might use this tool on, look pretty flat but have a slightly curved surface.

The tapered point worked nicely for thin stems and small dots, while the flow point, though it looks too big for the job, draws nice lines and is best for cursive writing.

The hot stamping points added a lot of fun. The kit came with three – a square, a round and one with concentric circles. I used the circles for centers of flowers. The square one, pressed carefully along in a line, created the diagonal pattern you see on one of the spoons. The circular one, for some strange reason, reminded me of dandelion fluff, so I used it in clusters to create flowers that resemble those.

Neither of us may have every single duck in a row, but we did manage it with our spoons. Here they are –

Kathy and I both recommend Pinterest for tons of wood burning ideas. You’ll be inspired to create something fabulous! We hope we’ve helped do just that here today.

Thank you, Kathy, for teaching me how to do this! Wood burning turned out to be much more fun than I expected and I’m so pleased with the results.

Kathy and I would both love your comments. Have you tried wood burning? Are you inspired to give it a try? Let us hear from you!

Subscribe now so you don’t miss out, because we’ll be Creating with Kathy again soon!

A reminder: June is about to come busting out all over and you know what that means – There’s a First Friday Freebie coming right up!