Hand-Carved Wooden Gifts for Tabletop Display: Heart-Shaped Tree Figurines

Hello everyone, this blog will share unique wooden gifts, two shapes of love heart shaped tree figurines, very suitable for desktop ornaments, or use your creativity to inlay it on the door as a chic shaped doorknob. The heart shaped trees, like the wooden figurines we shared before, are easy to make by sketching, chipping, carving, and sanding, and can be learned by wood carving beginners with this tutorial.

Step 1: Choose the type of wood and the size of the block.

We recommend basswood, or balsa if you have less strength, but basswood has a superior hardness and is suitable for long term storage. For the size of the wood block, the base of the heart-shaped tree is 5x5cm, and its overall proportion is appropriate when its height is 10cm, so you can use a 5x5x10cm basswood block for carving.

Step 2: Draw a draft of the heart-shaped tree.

When drawing the draft, prioritize the front view of the heart-shaped tree figurine. The heart can be forward or upside down, but in either case the top of the heart should be at the very top of the entire wood block. The wood block in the picture is much longer in length, so a line has been drawn across the top of the heart ready to be cut off. If your wood block is the right size, please do not have to refer exactly to the drawing in the picture. Draw the trunk at the bottom of the heart, with the wood to be cut off on either side of the trunk. Below the trunk is the base of the wooden figurine, you can set the thickness of that base to your liking. The trunk and base of the two heart wooden gifts are the same, only the direction of the heart is different, if you want to make it less difficult, it is recommended that you choose to carve the forward-facing heart shape as it is easier to carve where it joins the trunk.

For the side view, it is not necessary to put a lot of effort into the draft, just keep the width the same as the front view as you will keep adjusting and easily keep it in the shape of the heart during subsequent cutting and carving.

Step 3: Cut off the excess wood from the block to make the beginnings of a heart-shaped tree.

Starting with the trunk and base, cut away the excess wood following the drawn auxiliary lines, taking care to leave a little extra width to prevent cutting mistakes. Starting from the front view, cut out the heart shape. Note that only the front view will have the opening of the heart, while the side view will only have the tip of the heart.

Step 4: Using a carving knife, continue to carve the shape of the love heart to make it more rounded.

In this step you need to look at both the front view and the side view so that they are always aligned.

Step 5: Use sandpaper to sand down the heart tree figurine to lighten the carving.

Sand the wood figurine in its entirety, including the trunk and base. The trunk should be cylindrical and can be thinner on top and thicker on the bottom for a more aesthetic look. The base portion should be sanded into a circle. The heart should be sanded so that the marks left by the carving knife are lighter, the whole is more rounded and maintains the shape of the heart, taking care to keep all four sides aligned to avoid asymmetry.

Step 6: You can choose to paint it or keep the original wood color.

Use water-based dyes to hand-paint it in the color of your choice. Or just keeping the original wood color for it is also a good option.

To summarize

This is an easy wood carving idea to make. Compared to complex animal and figure shapes, the wooden heart tree shape is basically made up of squares, so it's easier to draw the front and side views of the draft, and you only need to carve it round to form the shape of the heart. Once made, both shapes of wooden gifts are very suitable for indoor display as unique and creative decorations, such as on a desk, windowsill, or bookshelf to add some log style to your home. As a handmade wooden product, it will also be a delightful gift for your friends.