Easy Project: Faux Stained Knife Block

 

Ever look at something debate about changing it, debate some more, then one day you just say "What the heck" and go for it? I've had my Knife Block since we got married. It's 30 years old. And it was fine in its original form. Aging well. Bothering no one. Sitting there, minding its business, holding my knives. 

But, it might be going to a new home. Still with me, however. So I decided "What the heck" and made it over with a faux-stain effect. Mr. Chocolate always freaks out and looks at me funny when I decide to mess with "perfectly good" things but turns out...HE LOVES IT! 

Supplies

• Knife Block
• Acrylic Paints
• Water

It's faded over the years but still in great condition. I washed it to make sure there were no residual oils or anything. 

You can see it wasn't quite dry but since the stain is water-based, no big deal. I mixed some white acrylic paint into some black paint diluted with water until I got a shade of grey I liked. Then I just lightly brushed onto the knife block which drank it up. I wanted a stain vs paint effect, hence diluting with the water. 

You can still see the wood grain which is what I wanted. It was still wet in this pic so dried even grainier. 

I used a small brush to blend the edges of the slots but only just so the wood didn't show. I did this project in the morning and let it dry all day to make sure the "stain" was good and set. 

Mr. Chocolate has appropriated one of my knives for his nightly apple and I keep pretending like I don't need to replace it because we don't share well! There's also the knife that accidentally got thrown away with a birthday cake box several years ago 😠😠😠

I'm quite happy with how it turned out, and it will look great "wherever it might end up". 

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Halloween: Supercalifreaking Easy Dollar Tree EEK Sign

 

I love these whatever they're made of seasonal signs I find at Dollar Tree. You can paint them, decoupage them, glitter them, vinyl them or do whatever your imagination comes up with. I chose paint and dots! 

Supplies: 

• Eek Sign (Dollar Tree)
• Black and White Acrylic Paint ( Craftsmart, Michaels)
• Dotting Tools ( See Below for Pic)

This is the unfinished sign. I did the insides of the letters and the edges with a small brush first, then painted the front and the back in a couple of coats of flat black Craftsmart paint. 

You want to make sure you get all of the nooks and crannies of the letters so it just takes a little patience. Spray paint would also work. 

Once you've got your sign painted, time to "dot it up". I bought a set of Ball Stylus dotting tools on Amazon and they really are great for making consistent dots. I also love that the paint wipes easily off the metal. From here, just go with whatever your flow us. I used different sizes and eyeballed my pattern. These are great for mandalas too. 

I started with larger dots and then filled in using smaller ones, filling in the exclamation point the most. 

Et voila!

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