Farmhouse-Inspired DIY Cutting Board

 
***Disclaimer: Please make note that this is a DECORATIVE piece - I do not suggest using it to place, cut, prep, or serve your food on!!!

I've been going antiquing a lot lately & have noticed a lot of aged/rustic kitchen items that I wanted to somehow incorporate into my kitchen decor. I knew I wanted to arrange them on a cutting board, but I wasn't happy with the ones in stores - they were too new/modern looking. Not to mention they were so pricey - I didn't want to pay $20 for something I would only use for decorative purposes. So I decided to make my own instead - AND IT ONLY COST ME $3!!!!**

You will need the following materials:

2-  5/8 in. x 5-1/2 in. x 6 ft. Whitewood Dog-Ear Picket Fence - $1.55 each (Link Here)
Hand or Power Saw

Wood Glue
Hammer

Nails

Sandpaper - 220, 150, & 80 grit

Acrylic Craft Paint

Measure out the appropriate dimensions suitable for where you will be placing your chopping board. For reference, my dimensions ended up being approximately 22" long, 16" wide.

Using a hand or power saw, cut 6 - 22 inch pieces. Take one of the 6 pieces and cut that in half, vertically. Arrange them as shown to compose your top & bottom sections. The half piece will allow the top & bottom to connect together.

Top Section

Bottom Section (Don't mind those drill holes - I am using scrap wood)

Apply a liberal amount of wood glue in-between your bottom & top sections. Secure with nails. Let it dry overnight.

All glued together :)

Note: placement of nails

 Next is to make this baby smooth to the touch! Because cedar wood so it splintery, it is important not to skip this step. I sanded first with 80 grit - then 150 - and finished with 220. Doing so will ensure that your paint goes on smoothly. It also slightly changes the coloring of the wood to more of a soft beige, which we want to peek through at the end.

The next subsequent steps involve a lot of layering different paints + one stain. This method is very important to the distressed finish. As I have said in my previous tutorials on distressing, layering similar yet juxtaposing colors allows them all to peak through when you sand away at them at the end.

Apply a very light layer of wood stain. Let dry overnight. I used Miniwax Wood Finish Stain in 'Jacobean', but feel free to use any brown stain.

Top Section

Bottom Section

Now time for painting. I didn't use any fancy paint - just cheap acrylic paint. I use 3 different colors and applied 4 layers - letting each layer dry in-between. My first layer consisted of Oyster Beige, painted as shown. 

My second layer was White, which I applied all over and diluted by taking a damp paper towel and wiping away the excess after each application.

Initial application before wiping away the excess

Wiping away the excess with a damp paper towel

Half complete

Second layer complete

 My third layer was Parchment, applying it randomly throughout, & wiping the excess with a (not damp) paper towel.

My fourth and final layer was White again, except this time I did not wipe away the excess.

Forgot to take a photo before I started sanding...whoops! But you get the picture ;)

Time to sand again. Each grit will serve a different purpose in how the paint will look. Sand at angles and with the grain of the wood to emphasize distressing. 80 grit will take off a generous amount of paint to allow the stain to peak through. So, be careful and specific in your application. Helpful tip: sand the ends for that wear-and-tear look & don't be hesitant to sand all the way to the original finish of the wood in some spots (shown below in the close-ups).

First couple of swipes using 80 grit

This is my favorite part because this is where all your hard work pays off, specifically those 4 tedious layers of paint we did earlier ;) 150 grit will subtly bring out the colors underneath the white top coat. Find a happy medium between not sanding harshly & sanding gently to accomplish this - hard to explain - you'll understand once you do it :) Do this sporadically throughout. As you can see in the image below, parchment & oyster beige are visible in these areas.

Finish with 220 grit to have an overall smooth finish. Here are some close-ups for more detail & reference

Add those antique finds of yours and you are done!

**This only includes the cost for lumber. I did not have to purchase any of the other materials used as I already had them on hand.

Refurbishing Antique Glass Bottles

I've always wanted to incorporate antique glass bottles into my home decor. Their various styles, shapes, and sizes just can't be found in the glassware section at your typical department store. I wanted that authentic wear-and-tear to add character to the mantel I was designing, not to mention antique shopping is basically Heaven on Earth!! So I ventured out to my local flea market to make that happen ;)

Find old,weathered glass bottles of various heights, sizes, and shapes. Remember - slight cracks, dents, rust spots, and scuffs are a good thing!! This will ensure texture & dimension to the setup. I found all of mine at an epic antique store in town. Each bottle was a steal at $1-$2 dollars.

 I used 2 methods to refurbish these antique bottles:

#1 Accentuating Its Flaws

Some of the bottles had a natural weathered-look that I didn't want to paint over. Remember those slight cracks, dents rust spots, & scuffs we mentioned earlier? I found that I could emphasize them by painting just the inside of the bottle! Simply squeeze dollop of acrylic paint inside the bottle and swirl it around, making sure to coat it completely. Because these are antique items having gone through wear & tear over many years, this method allows that uniqueness & character to come to the forefront without covering it up with paint.

#2 Painting Layers of Colors + Distressing

This method is exactly like the 3rd option in my blog post Distressing: How-to Make Anything Look Antique (link here), but instead of layering 3 similar colors on the outside of the glass, here I applied the first color to the inside of the bottle, then added the second and/or third colors to the outside of the bottle. I finished with sanding.

3 layers of colors (one inside, two outside) + sanding

Inside

1st outside layer

Sporadic 2nd layer

 

2 layers of colors (one inside, one outside) + sanding

Inside Coat

Sporadic Outside Coat

If I had chosen just one re-purposing style - either method #1, method #2, or leaving them be - it would've fallen flat to the eye because they would've been too uniform. Since they are antique and each unique in character, I wanted each bottle to stand out, yet compliment each other. Using different methods accomplished this- the different finishes & textures allowed each bottle to juxtapose one another.

Tutorial on the Rustic Glass Window shown above using Dollar Store Picture Frames HERE!