I wanted to make a bunch of breadboards to sell at the Chapel Market, so I’ve been on the hunt for cool old boards for that purpose. I found a couple of beautiful old boards that came from a barn. They were about 8′ each in length and about a foot wide and they had lots of character…worm holes, dents, dings and a nice deep grain. I sketched out the shapes I wanted to make with chalk and my dad cut each of them with a jigsaw. Cari, someone who comes to help me with odd jobs as I’m getting ready for events, sanded them down. Sanding them was a tricky job, because we wanted to smooth them out without losing all of the patina.
I think Cari did an amazing job sanding them without going too far with it.
Now they needed to be oiled to bring out the richness of the wood and make them water resistant. It’s pretty amazing how the Hemp Oil soaks into the thirsty wood and wakes it up.
Kriste worked on a whole pile of them as I painted the jelly cupboard. Hemp Oil is her new love. (She shared about it in her most recent journal entry on the MMSMP blog.)
They turned out so pretty. We’ve leaned them up against the wall to let them cure.
Now, these boards are decorative only. While Hemp Oil is food safe, but the wood is pretty rough, so I wouldn’t use it for serving or preparing food.
Of course, I had to have a little photo session with one of the boards along with a pretty apple I just picked up from our local farm market and brought to the studio to have as a snack. It’s apple harvest time and the bins are full of delicious, freshly picked apples. I found this pretty blushing Golden Delicious with a leaf still on it. It was as yummy as it was pretty.
If there are any left over from the market, I’ll list them in the online shop.
17 Responses
Love this! We have bought an older home to remodel and there is an old log cabin on our propert with outbuildings and lots of barn wood. I had no clue what to do with it. Now I know one of the things!
These look so pretty. I need to get some of the hemp oil. I made a homemade stain of vinegar and steel wool and let it sit until it turned a reddish color. I used it to stain the cut ends of some barn wood I had to make it the same aged color as the rest of the wood. It worked perfectly and the newly cut ends now look the same as the rest of the board. Just in case you ever want to do that… 😀
They turned out beautifully Marian. I’ll be looking out for leftovers, although I doubt there will be.
These are so beautiful!
I love the look of those boards. I picked up a couple of real old ones at an estate sale a few weeks ago and they sold in a heart beat. I’ve been gathering some old boards that are clean enough to use to make some food safe boards – will DEFINITELY be using hemp oil on them!
-b.
Ehm… I’m sure nobody will actually think this, but it sounds like you’re going to list the left over apples in your online shop… 🙂
Ha ha. Yes, it could be taken that way! 🙂
Made me think of this bread board turned iPad/recipe holder…
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/172403491959996519/
I’m not usually someone who suggests adding practical function to something that is lovely as-is, but thought you might find the idea interesting.
p.s. your photos are always so gorgeous.
Yes, I have seen those, too! These would be great for that purpose as well.
Just beautiful!! Oh how I wish I was going to Chapel Market! Just too far away ;(
I would LOVE to have one of these. I live in Kentucky and you’d think barn wood would be plentiful, but alas….Oh, and to see comments by Victoria (i.e. the victorian restorer) on Marion’s blog makes me do a happy dance! Both of my favorite bloggers!
I want to apologize for sounding so negative when I commented on painting your chairs. I love the look of the wood against the white tables so that was what I was commenting on. Sorry if I came across in a bad way. I love your blog and the ripe old of age of 72 learn something new each time. Keep up the good work.
What a great idea, Victoria! A wonderful way to combine the vintage look with new technology. I’d buy one!
I absolutely LOVE the breadboards. They turned out so pretty.
You may have posted about the dishes pictured before, but are they Haviland made in Bavaria? I recently acquired a sugar jar & creamer that looks quite similar to your dishes here. I had to have them as a reminder of our time in Germany. 🙂
Really,even your apple has a curved leaf! Oh and the colors of the appleplate and wood are gargeous.love. Your the bomb!
The boards look great! They are nice for a centerpiece display on a table, especially if a vase sweats. Can’t wait to see the jelly cabinet.
Beautiful, beautiful work. These boards are so impressive!