Turn Ordinary Wooden Plates Into Personalized Gifts!
6 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy
One of the things that Mom taught us were wood soldering. We created little wall hangings and personalised anything made of wood, and I remember the amazing smell of the pine that softly burned under the soldering iron’s tip.
It was during a recent sort out and throw out session that I discovered the soldering irons in a box. I found the acacia side plates and platter at a homeware store and decided that they had the perfect surface to create something beautiful on. Here's how I did it:
STEP 1: Use a round object like a bowl to draw the outline of the mandala. Find the centre point and divide the circle into quadrants. Then add similar patterns to each quadrant – it’s very therapeutic! See how to create the mandala here.
STEP 2: Use the lemon juice and paper towel to wipe any oil or residue from the wood and allow to dry.
STEP 3: Draw the mandala design onto the wood. Start with the centre point and draw the X and Y axis before you start filling in the patterns.
STEP 4: Carefully burn the pattern into the wood using the wood burning tool. See how here.
Wear a mask over your mouth and nose so that you don’t inhale the smoke. 
PRO TIP: When the tip of the wood burning tool gets covered with residue, wipe it clean against the offcut wood. You can also use this as a practice block for smaller details.
STEP 5: Rub out any pencil lines that may still be visible and give the plate a quick wipe-down with a damp cloth before wrapping.
I hope that you enjoy creating these beautiful plates - for yourself, or for someone special! 
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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