Artist at Work by Sandra Healy

Sandra Healy hand carves and paints wooden birds which are all available on Etsy. You can tell she puts a lot of time and love into each one of her beautiful works of art!

On Flickr, she has a set where she explains how she creates her wooden animals. Even after learning how she makes them, I don’t think mine would turn out as beautiful as hers!

Drawn on Wood by Sandra Healy

Sandra starts by tracing her animal templates on wood. She arranges the templates such that the long or narrow parts of the animals are oriented with the grain of the wood.

The Cut Out Animals by Sandra Healy

Using a scroll saw with a very tiny blade, Sandra cuts out the animals from the wood. Can you spot the Dodo?

Roughed Out by Sandra Healy

Sandra removes the areas of the animals that need deeper cuts with a router. This saves her hands for the finer work. In her Etsy interview, it says that she has does this over 37,000 times! So I completely understand trying to cut down on the hard work her hands do.

Carvings and Chips by Sandra Healy

Using her chisels and knives, Sandra finishes carving the animals. The carvings are really starting to take shape now.

Sanded Animals by Sandra Healy

Then Sandra sands the animals smoothing out all the rough edges. Have you figured out what the flat carving is in the front?

Wood Burding by Sandra Healy

Just before painting, Sandra burns in some details on the animals. I used to have one of those wood burning kits when I was younger, but I was never this good. Her lines are so perfect. She even put little whiskers on the otter!

Finished and ready for new homes! by Sandra Healy

Finally Sandra paints them and applies 3 coats of wood finish. Now they’re ready!

She makes all sorts of animals, but her birds are my favorite. There are over 100 of Sandra Healy’s Wooden Birds on Etsy. Nearly all of them are listed around $38. Below are a few to give you an idea of the quality of her craftsmanship.

I will definitely be getting a bird, but how can I choose just one? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Cedar Waxwings by Sandra Healy

Frigate Bird by Sandra Healy

Stellar's Jay by Sandra Healy

Belted Kingfisher by Sandra Healy