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DIY wood burn design cutting board
This easy DIY cutting board is created with wood burning so that you can safely use it for food preparation. Easy to create with a stencil and wood burning gel. You can buy pre-made wood burning gel or check out our DIY wood burning gel blog post & create your own!
This project is part of our 12 Crafts of Christmas series.
This easy DIY project will have you ready to create gifts for everyone! Teachers, coaches, friends and yourself of course! Supplies Wood cutting board (ours was bamboo) Stencil Wood burning Gel -- purchase or see our DIY recipe Food grade mineral oil Heat tool Apply your silk screen stencil. Using your choice of wood burning gel, gently pull it across your design. Be careful not to go off your stencil. Remove your stencil slowly. Let your gel sit for a moment while you wash off your stencil. Ensure you are working on a heat safe surface. I use a heat protecting mat & it works fabulous. Using a heat gun/tool slowly move around your design. Continuously move the heat. Although I have not tried it -- I have heard others set their design in the heat press or oven However, you do not have control of which sections set darker. This is why I prefer the heat tool as I can control how dark each section gets (with practice!). Allow your design to cool and then go over your board with food grade mineral oil. Your board is now ready to be a functional decor piece! See this project come together in the video below.
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 Many times it’s what is behind your image that catches the eye. I love using a variety of techniques to create unique backgrounds. The credit card technique is simple and fun. You end up with a truly unique look every time. The best part is it’s so easy to do! Beautiful Backgrounds -- Credit card painting technique  Supplies Old credit card/gift card Wax paper Paint 2+ colours surface to paint  Start by placing your paint colours on the wax paper. Create small puddles close but not touching the other colours. Take your credit card & dip it into all the colours at once. Gently drag your painted dipped card across your project surface. You will notice that as you go the paint puddles will begin to blend a bit this can add to the unique drag lines created. Play and drag you will perfect your own technique! The best part is the paint goes on thin so your background dries fairly quickly. You can always add more of one colour or new colours if you want to change up the look. Go be creative & share your results with us when you are done!
 First a few tips: Oil and water don't mix. Yes you learned this as a child but it still holds true for DIY projects as well. If you use an oil base stain or paint do not try to layer on a water based product. Water based products will keep whites white. This is important because there is nothing worse than your gorgeous white project that turns yellow very quickly due to the sealer! Outdoor projects it's more about sealing the wood from damage. I like to use a water base Spar urethane. YES it is harder to find but water based does exist. Remember our tips above as to why water based is desired. Spray sealers. I still vote for water based. The benefit of spray is you don't risk smearing your project by brushing across it. It happens- usually when you are on a deadline or used extra time being creative. Personal choice on a brand -- just remember to get WATER based.   Glass & Mirrors. So far we have not had the need to seal glass or mirrors because we either want it to be temporary, used permanent products like heat set inks or etched it. However this product is on my list of products to try as it has been mentioned in many craft groups. Here's the thing. I really don't seal a lot of projects anymore. Now that I do a lot with Chalkology pastes and inks I find I don't need to. Yes I've used ink on wood. The paste doesn't move unless it is wet AND rubbed or scrapped off, so for many projects they don't need that extra step. I seal the wood if it's an outdoor project. In this case I am more worried about the wood damaging from Mother Nature's elements than the project on top! So seal that wood really well (I use water based spar urethane) NOW go be creative and feel confident when you are ready to seal!
 Wood burn projects have always amazed me. They are so elegant looking and yet so rustic and natural. They seemed so challenging UNTIL I discovered you can use stencils & a heat gun to create your designs . MIND blown! YES you can have the look of wood burn but the perfection of a stencil. There are a few different products on the market to use: Scortch pens, scortch paste, torch paste. The struggle many have is that when using a stencil would need to avoid bleeding under, yet you need to be able to apply enough product to have it work. Thanks to other crafty minds a wood burning DIY gel has been created (recipe below)! Why a Gel? Gel is thick enough to not bleed under your stencil yet thin enough to go through mesh if using a silk screen style stencil (perfect for multiple projects of the same design!)
 Ready to DIY this mind-blowing wood burn gel? Supplies: Warm Water Food colouring (2-3 drops) Thick-it Amonia Choloride In a glass bowl, combine 1 Tbsp Amonia Chloride, 8 tsp Thick-it, 1/2 cup warm water and food colouring. Stir well. The food colouring is so that you can see your application as this gel is clear. The colouring will not affect your project. Place in container. This will make plenty of gel for your project as you use very little! You may wish to 1/2 this recipe. A Tip we have picked up from using this gel. Over time it will turn back to liquid. To slow this process store your gel in the fridge.  Using your gel paste with silk screen stencils. Just like paste, ink or etching cream the gel is very easy to use! Simply apply a small amount across your image & use the squeegee to remove the excess. Remove and wash your silk screen stencil. Grab your heat gun and start burning that wood. Be sure to move the heat around so that you do not over burn one spot. You will see the wood start to change colours-- more heat = more burn, less= less burn. Play around and figure out the look that you want to achieve. Bonus of wood burning... it's food safe! Simply sand your finished item gently and apply mineral oil over top. Grab a bamboo cutting board & give it a fun design! We want to see your creations! Be sure to tag us @ChalkElegance on Facebook & @Chalk_Elegance on Instagram when posting your Burn gel/silk screen creations!
 Your goal is a nice smooth surface to work with- this can be the make or break of your project-- rough wood often = stencil/transfer leaks. No matter the wood I am working with I always sand. Sand paper comes in a variety of grit ... this is the aggressiveness that the paper will attack your wood with. A lower number is more aggressive (this is great for shaping, taking off old paint, smoothing out bumps). A Higher number is less aggressive (this is where you fine tune and really smooth out your project). Personally I use a 3 sandpaper process, I have read sign makers who do as many as five steps-- find your happy spot.  My system is a 60 or 80, 150 and followed up with a 220 grit. Yes it appears smooth after the 60/80 but you will have very fine lines from the sand paper in your wood. These fine lines may result in fine leaks of paste/paint under your stencil/transfer. Use the higher number grits to make it smooth as a babies bottom! Working with a wood like ship lap? Clearly you want the grooves to stay. How do we deal with the leaks into those grooves though? A quick and easy way to work around those gorgeous details is to slip a tooth pick into the groove, create your project & then pop out that tooth pick! It acts as a temporary gap filler. Now bust out that sander and have fun creating custom pieces with your Chalk Couture! For more tips and tricks working with Chalk Couture join our Email list and VIP Facebook group. |
Stephanie Nixon
A busy mom of three finding me time, therapy and fun with Chalk Couture and crafting! 
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