BumbleBeeFairy

Thank you to for awarding me with a DD yesterday. I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the favourites, watches and comments that you guys left for me - I am overwelmed by it! Deviantart has long been a place of pure joy for me (I have had an account for years - this is just my most recent one) and I have discovered some truly incredible people during my time here. I'd like to share a small selection of them with you now!

My buddy and adventuring companion. We met here on DA and fortunately she does not live far away so I regularly Holly-knap her for random adventures. She is a talented lady - check out her felting!


This lady works magic! I often wander to her gallery to look at all the pretty things!


Beautiful lady and a real talent, I've watched her for years!


Another talented lady! The first thumb is my OC Broden


I can't praise this man enough and I am proud to call him a friend. He is a legend and a treasure on his own but his work is breathtaking - don't miss out on his gallery!


Another lovely soul


Another gallery full of things inspired by nature
:thumb373188131:

That is just a tiny selection! I will likely share other magic people when I get the chance to sit down and do this again! Thank you once again for watching, I really appreciate it

Gem x

Thank you to everyone that sent me a birthday message I had a fun day running around a zoo with my camera collecting new ideas for wood burns! These are the animals that I will be working on soon:-

Wolverine
Grey Owl
Pallas Cat
Donkey
Peacock
Wolf
Giant anteater
White Rhino
Duck
Zebra
Red Panda
Amur Leopard
Giraffe
Flamingo
Penguin
Mongoose
Ring tailed lemur
White Egret

Suggested animals:
Crab

My husband-to-be bought me some markers so I have a lot of colours to play with as far as ink drawing goes. I also have tons of wooden hearts! Exciting!

If anyone knows of any useful marker tutorials I would be very grateful

Hello to everyone who has recently watched me! I have been completely shocked by the positive response that my British animals have gotten in the past few hours, it means the absolute world to me that they have been enjoyed. Thank you to everyone who has favourited, commented or stopped by - it really is appreciated!

It is going to take me quite some time to filter through all of the messages and many questions have been asked! I had some of the same questions several times and got asked some interesting ones at the craft faire I did this weekend. So, here is a little FAQ - just so I can answer everyone who took the time to ask

What is pyrography/How do you make your items?
Pyrography is the art of wood burning! I use a combination of a hot wire and a soldering iron to create my animals, mostly using tips that I have made myself. There are some truly incredible fire artists out there, many of them here on DA

When did you start woodburning and why?
I have only been burning for one year, as I recieved my soldering iron for Christmas last year, but I have been drawing animals for most of my life. My journey into woodburning all began with the sudden death of my Dad. When he died it was a complete shock to the entire family and our lives were turned upside down. I had spent many years doodling fantasy figures, scribbling down rp characters without really spending much time on my drawing skills at all. The day after my Dad died I stepped into his office at work, sat in his chair and pulled open one of his desk drawers. There in his drawer sat every animal I had ever drawn for him as a child! He had kept them for 20 odd years, within his reach when he was working hard to support us.

My Dad loved my drawings. He stole all the things I thought I had thrown away over the years and kept them After he died I had dreams about drawing into wood a few times and googled the practice. I asked my family to buy me the basic tools for Christmas and there we are! I started to burn and didn't stop. Each and every animal I burn is for my Dad, I sit with my wires pouring them into the wood in the hope that I am doing him proud. It gives me immense joy to then pass them on, either by selling them through Etsy, at craft faires or even just to friends.

Do you do commissions? Where can I buy your work?
I do sometimes open for commissions but, as this is my hobby, I am often stupidly busy running my jewellery business. When I open for commissions I post a journal with free slots I love to burn animals that are sentimental to people, I can burn pets from photographs and have met some wonderful people doing that.

You can buy many of the burns in this gallery from my Etsy store here: www.etsy.com/shop/GemsbyGem?re… It is closed right now until after Christmas but will hopefully be full of critters come the new year!

I'd like to try pyrography, do you have any tutorials or tips?
Excellent! Welcome to the club I have some information on safe practice in my journal here fav.me/d5b1in6 and of course you can always ask my questions. Just keep in mind I might be a bit slow in replying! I don't give out my personal methods or the sources of my wood but would happily help you if you come up against any problems.

I want to buy a stag from you! Will you burn more?
Yes! The stag that appears in my burnings is named Frost. He is one of the first animals I designed and has taken on some character since I began burning him. A lady picked him up at a recent faire and said he had a 'gentle face', I beamed at that! I will continue to burn him and he will be available on Etsy at times. As well as Frost, who is a bucktail, I burn an elk and a reindeer quite often and of course a little doe. They too will be available in various forms.

How much do you charge for your burnings?
My bookmarks, tokens and trinkets are usually quite cheap. I'm not interested in making a fortune from my burns, it is enough that they are enjoyed for me. My large work however, like the plaques and wall hangings, range in price depending on how much time I spent on them. Sometimes the large works can be sat on my desk for weeks

How do you design your animals?
I draw with HB pencil directly into the wood, usually from pictures I've taken or whilst watching documentaries. Then I burn straight into the wood and they just evolve on their own. My animal choices depend on what I am learning about, I love to research the animals before I burn them. There are however regulars that I burn over and over again. These including Frost the stag and Bracken the hare.

I'm struggling with grief after losing a loved one, can I message you?
Ok I made this one up myself! I have lost my Dad, my home, my beloved dog and my Nan all in the past two years (I am 24). If you need a kind word whilst coping with the grief of losing someone then you can note me. I will do my best to reply to you You are not alone

There we have it! I think that answers most of the questions! If there is anything not covered here please feel free to ask in the comments and I will do my best to answer.

Thank you all once again for your feedback and interest in my animals!

I have been rushed off of my feet with work lately, what with Christmas fast approaching and the trade becoming busy. It is a good change of pace in some ways but means I have no time to sit and burn large items - like boxes and wall plaques. I have so many ideas to put into wood but can only find the time to burn little things in pockets of spare time, which is a shame because the little things aren't the kinds of items people trawl the internet for.

I've contemplated spending more money on advertising with Etsy but decided against it, mostly because when I tried the search ads nothing much came of it and my love tokens and things aren't always something someone would think of to look for. So, it struck me that it might be a good idea to offer some freebies in exchange for a review and some promotion by word of mouth (to family and friends etc). I have so many lovely watchers who have given me a lot of advice and encouragement since I began burning, it would be lovely to spend my time/money on giving something back to them instead.

Here is my idea. I would like to send a gift to a few people around the world. This will consist of a trinket item (pendant, bookmark, wall heart etc) gift wrapped with a token and presented properly. In return I'm looking for some feedback on the items, the finish and presentation and some shameless promo! For example, a DA journal entry with a link to my Etsy and maybe some facebook/tumblr/twitter links. There will be no time limit on when the items are completed and they will be a surprise (I'll likely use your gallery as inspiration to make it personal). I'll be updating my tumblr and facebook with my workings on them though

Drop me a comment below if you wouldn't mind receiving something/spreading some love in return - I'm probably going to aim to send 3 gifts at first and then see how it works. I shall note you if I have an idea of what to make for you


Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/GemsbyGem?re…
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Gems-By…
Twitter: twitter.com/GemsbyGem1
Tumblr: bumblebeefairy.tumblr.com/