I Made Myself A Cutting Board

After drooling over oversized cutting boards I've seen on blogs and on other web sites, I just had to have one for myself!    Problem was I couldn't find anything I liked and most everything was way more than I was willing to pay.    So what's a girl to do but make her own so that's what I did.      I don't intend to use it for food preparation but for decorative purposes only.  

My inspiration came when I saw how Kelley (Polished Pebble)*  had hers displayed in on her blog.

*(BEFORE I SHARE ANY OF THE PHOTOS BELOW LET ME SAY THAT FOR SOME REASON MY HYPERLINK IS NOT WORKING ON WLW SO I HAD TO JUST PASTE THE ACTUAL WEB PAGE I GOT THE PHOTO FROM.   I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH KELLEY AND LET HER KNOW I AM SHARING HER PICTURES)

 

 

(http://ppebble.blogspot.com/2011/02/red-hot-inspiration.html)                         

 

( http://ppebble.blogspot.com/2010/07/cooks-kitchen.html)

 

  (http://ppebble.blogspot.com/2010/07/cooks-kitchen.html)         

 

Kelley said her inspiration for displaying her cutting boards came from The Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten's kitchen.

 

(Unfortunately I don't have the source of this photo so if anyone knows the blog owner, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to give proper credit)

 

So I went to Lowe's and bought a piece of pine board.    I wanted my breadboard to have knot holes and be rather rough looking....like it had been around a long time.     To get the size, I measured underneath my cabinets to the countertop so I could prop the breadboard underneath the cabinets if I wanted to.     I needed to cut my board to approximately 15" give or take.    I found a lampshade (!) that was 16" in diameter and decided to use that for my template (I know there are easier ways to do this but hey, the lampshade worked for me!).    I then traced out my circle on the board.

 

 

Then just as I was getting ready to cut it out, husband came home and took over the jig saw and it's a good thing he did, I don't think I could have done such a good job.

 

I took my electric sander to the edges to smooth it out until I was happy with the shape.

 

Then I just brushed on a coat of Dark Walnut (cause that's what I had on hand) and wiped it down.    I think it makes it look really old!   I did put a coat of tung oil on it but since I don't plan on using it for food prep, it really doesn't matter to me that it's not very smooth.

 

Then the fun part....making different vignettes with my breadboard!

 

I first styled it on my kitchen table....

 

 

 

 

See how it just fits under my cabinet (sorry for the glare and tint....maybe one day I'll learn how to use piknik)

 

See how small another cutting board is compared to this one!

 

 

If I ever make another one, and I probably will, I think I'll just put a more natural stain on it and seal it.    But for now, I'm happy with my homemade breadboard.

Have you ever made one?    If so, please share!

 

I'm linking to these partys:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

 

Wow Us Wednesdays

Don't forget to come back on Wednesday when I'll host our healthy recipe link party.    Hope to see you then!!!