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I hope you don’t mind, but I want to share yet another passion of mine with you … arts & crafts. I am equally as passionate about interior design as I am about creating healthy foods.
I am not too sure what my style is; Tuscan, sophisticated flea-market, farmhouse, rustic (but not too rustic), vintage… hmm, I guess when you boil it all down, I’m rather eclectic. My primary goal is to create a home that is warm and welcoming. One that says, “Come on in! Grab a drink out of the fridge (raw treat if so inclined) and kick your feet up on the coffee table as we relax together.”
As much as I love vintage and antiques, it is not always easy to find exactly what I have envisioned, so when that happens, I do my dandiest to make it myself! So I thought I would share with you a project that I did today. I hope it inspires you as well! Today’s project started in the kitchen with the wax paper, then I moved to my craft room for the printer and creation, then to the garage for staining, then back to the kitchen for decorating. I made a full circle. :) My objective today… vintage cutting boards! Or as close to them as I could get with the supplies on hand.
This is what I did.
And this is how I did it!… The bottom two cutting boards were purchased at Home Goods for $4.99 each. The top cutting board was in my cabinet. The black stand is a file holder that I got for $3.99. This will be used in my end display. Notice that all the cutting boards have different grains and colors in the wood. That will help the grouping look like it was collected over time and not all bought at the same time. I hope that makes sense. :)
I selected the graphics that I wanted to use and then printed them out on plain paper for a trial run. I wanted to make sure that the sizing was right and that I would like the over-all look.
I don’t have exact step by step pictures. You have to move somewhat quick and carefully for the next process, and I couldn’t juggle my iPhone camera at the same time. So, let me explain what I did next. I took my card stock paper (the kind you use for card making or scrapbooking) and sprayed lightly, a strip across the top and bottom of the paper.
Hint: you can use the same piece of card stock over and over, just need to reapply the spray adhesive each time. I placed a piece of wax paper on the card stock and smoothed it out. Make sure the waxy side is facing out. Trim the excess wax paper that is hanging over the edges. Place this in the printer. I faced my sheet wax paper side down because that is how my printer draws it up. I want to print on the wax paper. If you have any print on your image you want to “mirror” it before printing; otherwise, it will be backward.
After it prints, carefully peel the wax paper off of the card stock. Be careful because the ink is wet and will smear. Gently place the wax paper, ink side down, onto your cutting board and press down. DO NOT move the wax paper as it will smear. Using your spatula or credit card, be steady and firmly press the image into the cutting board. If your wood has any grooves in it or is pitted, it will leave voids. That’s ok; it will give it that aged appearance. After running over the complete image, carefully remove the wax paper. Ta-da! Again, it doesn’t look “perfect”, but I don’t want it to anyway. I want it to look worn.
The cutting board below is longer than a standard piece of paper, so I had to do the image on 2 pieces of paper.
After all my transfers had been completed, it was time to head out to the garage. The two cutting boards that I had bought still looked a tad too new for my overall aged look, so I took a piece of chain and gave them a good spanking. I then stained the boards. I used Special Walnut as my color of choice. Each piece took on a different color due to the wood it was made from. The stain helps to marry the image and wood, giving it that vintage look. I took a few snapshots just to show the difference the stain made in the wood color.
You could vanish it as the last step, but I didn’t. Here is the end product.
This is how I displayed them on my kitchen island. It’s hard to see the top 2 cutting board graphics due to the camera angle.
Well, that about sums it up. This was the first time doing this on cutting boards, and I tell ya what… I will be looking for used boards at second-hand stores from now on! The more banged up and used, the better. Haha Right now, my decorating fetishes are:
Old cutting boards
Antique rolling pins
Vintage crates
Antique wooden shutters
Antique salt and pepper shakers
And anything else that strikes my fancy! lol
What are you passionate about? I would love for you to share!
Many blessings, amie sue
How cool! What a beautiful kitchen too!!
Thank you Toni :)
Wow! I’m so glad I stumbled onto your blog! At first glance you could definitely tell the blog is beautiful and well put together. Next you start to read it and you realize it is full of valuable content. Next your are saying to yourself, “she is so much like me, we have so much in common!” I thought I was the only person obsessed with finding dishes in Goodwill :) And I bet she’s a scrapbooker also? Often times we are polarized by our differences, it is refreshing when we come together with common likeness. Job WELL DONE, Amie Sue!!!
Wow Tiffany…so beautifully said! I am always taken back by all the amazing people I meet through nouveauraw. I have made some life long friends and it creates such a wonderful support group. You bring me great words of inspiration. Have a blessed weekend. amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
So nice! Love it!
I have an inner interior decorator inside me too!
I am always looking for vintage cottage/chabby chic/country/30’s40’s….whatever jumps out at me.
My other passion is card making. I have set up one end of my kitchen with an old harvest table as my “creation station” . Great to see how graphics I would easily put on a crad can transfer to other forms.
So, when I am not creating yummy raw food I pop down at my table and make cards. So much fun!
If I figure out how to send a photo, I will send along a card just for you!
Thanks for sharing your talents!
Louise
Hi Louise, I am so thrilled to see so many like-minded readers here! I enjoy card making too! I would love a photo card. :) I spent years struggling to find my decorating “nitch” but finally, I surrendered and allow myself to explore all aspects of it. So much more delight and freedom in that. Besides, it really helps a person create their own style. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful weekend. amie sue
You have the most beautiful website in the website universe. I wish you were my neighbor. Thanks for all the delight you give me.
Donna
Oooooh thank you Donna. :) We can be Internet-neighbors! haha Thank you for your kind words, what a wonderful way to start my day. Blessings, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
I think you and I are soul-twins… I love everything that you do and I am passionate about the same things you are. I love your website as I love raw food too, and on my way to launching my own business… interior design with antiques and vintage items makes my soul sing.
I will have to give your ideas a whirl.. thank you so much for sharing.
Wishing you a Sunshiny Day with Healthy Hugs,
Lisa
Good morning Lisa…soul-twins it is! hehe How exciting to be launching an interior design business
. I wish you the most success. Please stay in touch on how it goes. So exciting!!
Absolutely beautiful, and you made it seem simple enough for a novice like me to try creating a lovely piece for a Tuscan kitchen! LOVE your kitchen!
That is so cooooool! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done.. I think I should try and find some myself. My crafting areas are sewing and painting. In fact I created a site on face book for crafters to sell their completed craft items. The Craft Connection. So if you look for it, it will have a quilt my mom made on a log bed that my son made.. Love the recipes.. And the very cool craft idea. Vally
Thank you for sharing Vally. Art comes in all forms… everything can become art and I just love that. Thank you for sharing with me. I like to sew quilts too… I use to make much of my own clothing when I was in high school, but quilting is more my love. :) What type of painting do you do? My grandfather taught me how to tole paint when I was 16 years old. For years I painted and sold item to help bring in extra income but it’s been awhile since I have pulled out the acrylic paints. :) Great job on starting The Craft Connection. It’s so wonderful to bring like minded folks together.
Have a blessed day! amie sue
Hi Amie-Sue, I think it’s a type of tole painting. I have self taught myself to paint.. So it’s a mixture of Vally/tole/and I don’t know what.. I do love the arts and crafts and now that I’m older and at home.. I can do it more often ..
Awesome Vally. I too love arts and crafts… much like food, there is always something wonderful to create and many wonderful ways in expressing yourself through them. :) Blessings, amie sue