Recycle Left Over Wooden Shingles: Use Pyrography and Acrylic Paint To Make Holiday Decorations For Fun and Profit

Two years ago we decided to raise some cash for a friend in need. We went to the Adrift Art Studio and got busy making a group of holiday greetings on wooden shingles. We worked as a team and actually did the work right off the tops of our imaginations. There were no preplanned drawings or designs.

One of the studio workers prepared the surface of shingles picked from our scrap box. Another worker selected pieces of shingle that would suit our needs. We were going to rapidly create a selection of small woodburnings that could be displayed for holiday decorations. I had produced similar works to sell in years passed so I gave the crew a general idea of what we were going to try to accomplish. The 7 steps listed below are the basics for a completed product.

1. select shingles
2. cut the part that is too thin off
3. drill holes in 2 adjacent corners for hanger
4. sand the surface and corners of each piece
5. woodburn desired artwork
6. paint with acrylics
7. add a hanger

We started an assembly line pretty quick and produced quite a few pieces that we put up for sale. This was all done in less than a week and we used the profits to help pay some outstanding utility bills that were causing much worry for one of the studio workers.I did all of the woodburning right off the top of my head as I worked. One of the other artists added the paint and we had a Jr. High student who added the hanger devices. Most of the material used was either found or left over from other projects.

When we had everything ready it was time to have an art party. That is how we sold the decorations, and not only did we cover the bills we also made a profit. We had great fun in the process and the entire experience proved to strengthen the force of Adrift Art Studio. This project carried us to other projects and a broader variety of creative expression. We are currently working to expand and hope to help others with our work.