Pyrography

I am giving pyrography a shot. I really want to make toys that are natural and safe and eventhough the acrylic paint and varnish I use is labled non-toxic I wouldn't give it to very young kids that still stick things in their mouths.

So, I am going for wood burning instead of paint and beeswax instead of varnish. I bought a bar of beeswax at my local HFS and bought a small pot at the thrift store for 76 cents to melt it in. You are supposed to use a double boiler because the mixture is flamable but instead I was just very careful and stirred constantly and removed from the heat as soon as the beeswax was completely melted. What was the mixture? I used vegetable oil, tea tree oil, and lavender oil. I think this mixture will keep well and it smells nice, too.

So far, only the little chickadees have come out good. Pyrography is not easy. You can't make any mistakes, or you need to know how to integrate the mistakes, something I haven't learned yet :P