DIY Wood Burned Cutting Board

Wood burning had not been in my vocabulary until recently.  It sounded like something old men and young boys did to kill time.  It entered my vocabulary because of an unfortunate etsy mishap.  I was attending a Halloween engagement party for a dear friend and wanted to bring a creative and personalized gift that wasn't too in your face.  There are only so many things you can personalize.  Some of them are tacky.  It is a fine line.  For me if I want to give someone something personalized I want it to be something they can display if they choose OR something they can shove in a drawer if they want. This particular friend loves to cook so obviously I was drawn to a cooking theme.  I saw a beautiful customized small cutting board on etsy.  After ordering it I was informed by the seller that she discontinued that particular board because of a "mishap with the saw".  Hey I can relate.  So this is where I took fate into my own hands (inspired by the original board I ordered) and got a wood burner and a small cutting board. 

I have never wood burned in my life.  They say to practice on another piece of wood.  This is great advice BUT you have to make sure the density of the wood is similar in both your practice wood and final product. I practiced on very soft wood so that didn't help me on the large piece of wood.  I printed out my simple design on regular computer paper.  On the back side of the design I colored the whole design with a pencil.  I flipped it over and traced the design.  The lead allowed the pattern to transfer to the wood.  Then I let the wood burning begin.  I bought my kit for a very low price at Walmart.  

Did I mention it was a Halloween/engagement party?  Yes costumes were involved. Reid and I obviously went as a lumber-jack and a lumber-jill.  It was easy-peasy to pull off and you only needed to buy a plaid shirt, suspenders, and black hats.  PLUS I could tell my friend I made the cutting board in my wood shop.  Score!

I garnished the cutting board with a Wusthof pairing knife.  These knives are the best ever - if you don't have one you need to get one!  I tied it up with some simple twine and printed off a quick label in typewriter text. BAM - I was done!