I'm still slowly but surely working on my kitchen.
Organizing and decorating it...
Tonight I finally brought myself to get into a craft project so I decided on a small, quick one.
My kitchen colors are varieties of greens, blues, and yellows. There's already so many yellow tones (ugly walls) in my kitchen so I try to stay closer to greens and blues.
I'm going for a natural look with colors you would typically see on a warm sunny spring day in a garden.
Anyways...
Tonight I worked on my boring o'l knife block.
I love natural wood on just about everything but I've been tired of my knife block and it's boring look so I decided to paint and stamp it!
It was a breeze to start and finish and the paint I used took no time at all to dry, which always makes a project that much more fun to work with. I'm not a very patient person when it comes to waiting on a project to set. When I start, I want to get it done right then and there because I can be a terrible procrastinator!!
Tools Used:
Wooden Knife Block,
Sandpaper, (Don't know the grade)
Swiffer Cloth and Wet Wipe,
Cheap 1" Acrylic Paint Brush,
Americana Acrylic Paint, (Celery Green)
Paint Tray, (you can also use a piece of smooth plastic, wax paper or glass plate)
Stamps and Black Stampabilties Ink Pad.
1. I started out by sanding the block down on all sides to make sure I didn't have any rough and uneven spots and edges. I also sanded off the brand name on the front of the block so it wouldn't interfere with my stamping on a later step.
2. I blew off as much sanding dust as possible then I took an off brand of Swiffer Cloth to it and rubbed it down to get the rest of the loose dust off. After I did that I then wiped the block down with a baby wet wipe (because it was within arms reach). You can use a damp dish rag or wash cloth. As long as you get the remaining dust off of it you'll be just fine.
3. I let the block dry and started to paint it. I highly recommend that you use strokes that go with the grain of the wood. You'll end up with a better out come. You'll also need to apply several coats of paint to it. I applied about 3 coats on each side. Each coat needs to fully dry before reapplying a new one. If you keep painting over wet paint you'll (a.) end up with light spots where you'll be able to see the wood underneath, (b.) you'll get paint build up in areas, or (c.) BOTH! Any or all of those won't be very flattering for your end result. I used a nontoxic acrylic paint and I would suggest the same for yours as well. After all, your knifes are going to be rubbing and touching parts of the paint and you wouldn't want toxins to get onto the knifes you'll be cutting and chopping your food with. Ick!
4. Once you have all of your coats of paint on and it's completely dry you're ready to stamp.
Pick out which stamp you want to go with, test them on a piece of paper to ensure you're going to be happy with the out come, and then plan where you want to stamp it before you cover it with ink.
When you're ready to stamp your piece, lightly dab the stamp onto the ink pad and carefully stamp your piece in the desired area (or as close as you can get it) and let dry.
I used a scrap booking ink brand (Stampabilities) because of the fact it's nontoxic.
5. You'll want to find a nontoxic water proof sealer to cover the whole block in.
I have not sealed mine yet because I'm not sure what to use.
I thought about my off brand of Mod Podge but I'm not sure how well that product will stand up towards water.
My block is located right beside my kitchen sink and gets wet very quite frequently.
If you have any tips and/or suggestions I would love to read about them!
After you complete all 5 steps you'll be finished and ready to show it off as your new decorative kitchen piece. I hope this was an enjoyable DIY tutorial and was easy to understand and follow.
God Bless and Keep Crafting!
