Monday, September 1, 2014

How To Repurpose a Cutting Board

One of my favorite things to do is find old wooden cutting boards at estate sales.  I love to bring home these sometimes well used boards, clean them up and repurpose them.  Here's 2 that I recently nabbed.  This one had an extremely ugly fruit pattern painted on one side....


And this pig was too cute for words, but it was well used and a bit grimy.  Both boards needed quite a bit of work.

First up was to completely clean and disinfect them with bleach and lots of hot soapy water, before sitting them out in the sun to air dry for a couple of hours. Then I sand them down to remove the top layer of wood and to remove any knife-cut marks on both sides.  If the cutting board didn't have a hole in the top to hang it, I just drill a hole with a power drill at this time.

I generally use a stencil from our Cricut to stencil on a design or letters.  Then I get out my wood burning tool and hand burn the wood.  Sometimes I like to use a little natural stain to darken the wood.  My favorite method is to just use coffee grounds.  I dump that mornings grounds onto the board and scrub it into the wood with my fingers.  It's amazing what a nice rich color this can give to the wood.   Afterwards it got another good scrubbing and then oiled with coconut oil.  Finally, I added a piece of twine to the hole so I can hang it in the kitchen. 

I made this board especially for my friend Dolly from Dolly's Designs in gratitude for the beautiful aprons she makes for me.  She is also an avid cook and you should check out her cooking blog as well.


Your cutting board is totally usable, but if you don't feel comfortable using a garage sale item,  you can just display it in your kitchen. One word of advice - hand wash it, don't put it in the dishwasher. I had a  board crack apart after I stuck it in the dishwasher.


I am in love with this pig cutting board.  Wouldn't a group of them look adorable hanging in the kitchen?

Oink, oink!!

Linking up with....
#Best of DIY

24 comments:

  1. Awesome! I really love the pig too. You have to get that Etsy store going!

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  2. Bacon bits couldn't be cuter! Like the tips on cleaning...bleach really works well! Have a fun day!

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    1. Yes, I like to make sure they are really clean. xo

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  3. I love the idea of coffee grounds! I haven't done woodburning since I was around 12. That might be a fun craft to pick up again this winter! :)

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    1. I'm a bad influence on you - I'm getting you started on another hobby. LOL!!!

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  4. Just last night, I was packing up my kitchen, and found several old cutting boards, I had competely forgot I had them, they are not so pretty, but with your wonderful idea, I can now repurpose them. Thank you so much for sharing at Party in Your PJsl

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    1. I'm so happy I could help. Be sure to show us what you ended up doing.

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  5. My favorite is the little pig - yes, a row of them would be cute above an island. One for veggies, one for meats, etc. Thank you for linking to Make It Monday. I hope you entered the giveaway.

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    1. Thanks for coming by Donna - and yes, I did enter the giveaway!!

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  6. I love pigs so I'm a fan! I have a pig board that my son made for me in high school. I love cutting boards in general...great finds! Came over from Make It Monday.

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  7. Great tips and a nice recycle. Thanks so much for sharing at the Make it Monday Party!

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    1. Thanks - I'd like to find a whole stack of cutting boards - they are my favorite thing to do.

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  8. What a great post! I'd like to feature this tonight at Revisionary Life. New thrifters need to know this stuff. :)

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  9. I'm gonna have to jump on this wood cutting board decorating bandwagon here soon. Too cool. Thanks for sharing @ TTF!

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  10. Love that pig.
    I have an old cutting board like yours that says ...Use this side and save the face. It has chickens on the decorative side...with knife slices right through...barely noticeable. so I still display it.
    My daughter had the same thing happen with her cutting boards and the dishwasher. I'm going to link this so she'll see it and read it.

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    1. Thanks Pat. Yeah, I don't think I'll be putting wooden boards in the dishwasher anymore.

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