Repupose and Upcycle Old Cutting Boards

Taking things - discarded items nobody wants - and turning them into decorative and sometimes even useful items has become a challenging pastime.

For instance, take the two cutting boards pictured to the left. I considered turning them into shelves or even racks for towels or jackets but in the end decided to keep it simple by painting uncomplicated images on them.

A painted star and burning candle on the plain wood of this paddle cutting board was something I'd been considering for some time.

The stenciled star was painted in antique gold and is surrounded by burnt umber. Burnt umber was dry brushed along the inside edges of the star.

The candle stick consists of a straight line using barn red and a half-inch brush, a float of burnt umber on the left while on the right is dry brushed white. The flame was created using one stroke of antique white with yellow, orange and blue layered on top. A hint of a wick was added. Burnt umber, black or grey will work fine for it.

Lastly, antique white was dry brushed around the flame up into the bottom of the star.

The cat silhouette board was based with one layer of black wash then multiple layers and colors (nutmeg, gold then antique white) were slapped on with abandon to create a background for the silhouette.

The cat silhouette was painted using a flat one inch brush loaded with black. Basic shapes in multiple layers of black were used for all parts than a hint of a shadow using burnt umber was added along the right edge.

A hole was drilled at the center top of the board and a piece of scrap material was poked through and tied in a knot to be used as the hanger.

A simple day project to create simple, country primitive decor for you or as gifts.

Have fun!

Please visit my online gift store, Visages

Cute Folk Country House and Picket Fence Art Poster

Cute Folk Country House and Picket Fence Art Poster by Visages
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Kitty Cat Christmas Picture Rectangle Stickers 

Kitty Cat Christmas Picture Rectangle Stickers by Visages
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  Schipperke Picture Trucker Hats

Schipperke Picture Trucker Hats by Visages
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  Owl Porcelain Candy Jar

Owl Porcelain Candy Jar by Visages
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  Funny Ferrets Shirts

Funny Ferrets Shirts by Visages
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 Who da Man? 3 Retro Colored Owls Spiral Note Books

Who da Man? 3 Retro Colored Owls Spiral Note Books by Visages
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 Colorful Painted Butterflies Mouse Pads

Colorful Painted Butterflies Mouse Pads by Visages
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Panda Bear Picture iPhone iPhone 5 Covers

Panda Bear Picture iPhone iPhone 5 Covers by Visages
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Cute Nursery Room Bird Cartoon Gallery Wrapped Canvas 

Cute Nursery Room Bird Cartoon Gallery Wrapped Canvas by Visages
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First Mothers Day Baby Bird Greeting Cards

First Mothers Day Baby Bird Greeting Cards by Visages
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Picture of Panda Bear Chef Posters 

Picture of Panda Bear Chef Posters by Visages
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Old White Sheets Make Up Candy Corn Pillows

Worn out white sheets were given to me by our neighbor who lives down the road. They were lovely but unusable for bedding.

What to do with them? Recycle, upcycle and repurpose, of course!

The pictured candy corn pillow made from an old sheet was my first. It measures 11 inches on all sides. I have since changed my pattern measurements: 11 inches across the bottom; 13 3/4 sides all raw edge measurements.

Materials:
* white material of some sort
* straight pins
* scissors
* ruler
* newspaper (to make pattern)
* sewing machine (or sew by hand)
* fiber fill (I found an old unused pillow, ripped it open and used its filling)
* acrylic off white, dark orange like burnt orange or terra cotta, and gold. Basically you'll want to use colors that are muted and antique looking unless you prefer bright colors and you aren't going for the "primitive" look
* One inch flat brush
* Water to rinse brush

Measure and mark 11 inches starting at the outside corner and along the bottom edge of the newspaper.

Mark at 11 inches.

Measure upward (vertical) 13 3/4 along the outside edge and at the 11 inch mark, and mark both.

Now place a mark at five and a half inches between the two top (13 3/4) marks.

Lay the ruler down at the 11 inch and five and a half inch mark then draw a line to create one side.

Lay the ruler down at the outside corner and the five and a half inch mark then draw a line.

You now have the triangle. Cut out along the lines.

Pin the cutout triangle onto your fabric and cut out the shape.

Or fold the fabric, pin on the newspaper pattern and cut out two shapes at once.

Remove the pins and paper pattern then repin the fabric pieces together.

Sew quarter inch seams leaving an opening large enough at the bottom to stuff fiber fill.

To really make the pillow look like candy corn, don't make triangle points. Instead, sew curves at each point (semi-circles).

Cut off the points and snip the now-curved points of the triangle.

Turn right side out and stuff. Make sure to poke the stuffing well into the corners so they'll hold their shapes.

Sew closed using a simple stitch of your choice (like a whip-stitch).

TO PAINT:

Load your flat brush into gold and draw a line about three inches up from the bottom on one side of the pillow. Fill in the space from the line you made to each seam.

Rinse brush, load with terra cotta. Draw a line two and a half to three inches from the top. Fill the space between the gold and the orange line and side to side using the seam as the stopping point.

What we're doing is just painting one side of the pillow. Then we'll let it dry and repeat the process on the other side.

Rinse brush.

Paint the tip of the candy corn with off white.

After the paint dries, do the same thing to the other side of the pillow.

The paint will dry stiff. Leave as is OR sand it a bit to soften it. Don't get over-zealous with the sandpaper. You'll remove all the work you did painting.

 Cute Country Scarecrow Matching Postage

Cute Country Scarecrow Matching Postage by Visages
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Cute Halloween Scarecrow Folk Art Rectangular Cake Picks 

Cute Halloween Scarecrow Folk Art Rectangular Cake Picks by Visages
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Cute Halloween Jack OLantern and Crow Custom Invitations

Cute Halloween Jack O'Lantern and Crow Custom Invitations by Visages
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Cute Halloween Jack O'Lantern and Crow Postage Stamp

Cute Halloween Jack O'Lantern and Crow by Visages
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I Heart (Love) Halloween Tote Bags 

I Heart (Love) Halloween Tote Bags by Visages
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Princes Pumpkin Halloween Party Invitations 

Princes Pumpkin Halloween Party Invitations by Visages
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  Orange Halloween Envelope

Orange Halloween Envelope by Visages
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 Halloween Princess Pixie Shirt

Halloween Princess Pixie Shirt by Visages
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Fall and Halloween Cards 

Fall and Halloween Gifts Cards by Visages
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This hand painted vintage metal cake carrier (holder or cover) was originally bare silver metal (tin, I wonder) when it was given to me by Donnie, owner of Glasgow Trading Post.

I used acrylic paint then sealed it with a water-base varnish more to protect the paint than anything but in the end the piece appears to be enamel coated.

If you tackle the project be prepared to use at least three layers of acrylic to base-coat it. But once you have it base-coated, depending on what element you're painting you can get away with using only one layer of paint.

The next project - also given to me by Donnie - is a sponge cake pan also originally bare silver metal. Again, you'll have to base coat at least three layers.

Color was floated below the edge of the "icing" with dry brushed highlights on the "icing" to make it appear three dimensional and no other decorative elements were added. I wanted it to look like a cake setting out in the kitchen but it will also look good on a kitchen wall.

This piece was also finished with water-base varnish.

Note: Acrylic doesn't stick to metal as there is no adhesive in the paint. It's strictly water-base with pigment.

To help the paint to stick, you have the option of sanding to roughen the metal or using spray enamel paint as the base coat.

These items are for sale at Glasgow Trading Post in Glasgow, Missouri. Have fun with the two projects!

Please visit my gift store, Visages. Below are just a few of my original designs. 

Funny Tea Mug Quote Hand Warmer 

Funny Tea Mug Quote Hand Warmer by Visages
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I Heart (Love) Hot Cocoa Mugs

I Heart (Love) Hot Cocoa Mugs by Visages
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Hot Caliente Jalapeno Peppers Sticker 

Hot Caliente Jalapeno Peppers Sticker by Visages
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Orange Plaid Gift Tile Trivet 

Orange Plaid Gift Tile Trivet by Visages
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Green Plaid Tile Trivet 

Green Plaid Tile Trivet by Visages
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Snowman Chef in Apron & Chefs Hat 

Snowman Chef in Apron & Chef's Hat by Visages
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Hot Caliente Mug 

Hot Caliente Mug by Visages
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I Heart (Love) Coffee or Candy Jar

I Heart (Love) Coffee Jar Candy Dishes by Visages
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Repaint Old Garage Sale Decorative Plates

Garage sale find: Three decorative plates with ugly images for a total of 10 cents. What to do with them? Repaint them with acrylic paint, of course!

Top: To paint the edge, I laid a disposable plastic plate on top of my garage sale find then ran a lead pencil around the outer edge and painted the edge black using the line as a guide.

Middle and bottom: Nothing special about the painting techniques. Just a bit of dry brushing on the pumpkins.

All plates were sealed with water based varnish.

There are the ideas. Have fun!

Country Red Check Gingham Birdhouse Plates

Country Red Check Gingham Birdhouse Plates by Visages
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Country Blue Gingham Welcome Friends Plates

Country Blue Gingham Welcome Friends Plates by Visages
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Primitive Americana Barn and Sheep

Primitive Americana Barn and Sheep Plato De Cena by Visages
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Cute Blue Country House in the Sunshine Dinner Plate

Cute Blue Country House in the Sunshine Dinner Plate by Visages
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Cute Country Angel Watering Flowers Party Plates

Cute Country Angel Watering Flowers Party Plates by Visages
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Kitty Cat with Hearts Picture Dinner Plates 

Kitty Cat with Hearts Picture Dinner Plates by Visages
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Retro Color Owl Collectible Plate

Retro Color Owl Collectible Plate by Visages
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World's Best Cook Panda Bear Chef Plate

World's Best Cook Panda Bear Chef Plate by Visages
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Bright Colorful Painting of Flower in Meadow Plate

Bright Colorful Painting of Flower in Meadow Plate by Visages
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Snowman Chef in Apron & Chefs Hat Plates

Snowman Chef in Apron & Chef's Hat Plates by Visages
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Rooster Crowing Plate

Rooster Crowing Plate by Visages
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Upcycle Repurpose Vintage Glass Vacuum Coffee Maker

Create a lovely candle holder with a vintage vacuum coffee pot with little effort like I did with this one given to me by some folks who were cleaning out their vacation country home in Missouri.

Remove the metal and ceramic internal parts.

There is no need to remove the glass vacuum tube (tube attached to upper deck of pot).

Fill the bottom with imitation rose buds and leaves, or buttons, or old wooden thread spools, or marbles, or just anything that suits your fancy.

I chose imitation rose buds and leaves 1) because they match the Christmas candle I painted and 2) they are the only thing I found at the second hand (thrift) store I was attracted to and that fit my budget of $1.

Put the upper half of the coffee pot back on, tie a torn strip of scrap fabric matching the color you added to the bottom part of the pot (or your decor) then insert a pillar candle.

This is certainly an eclectic idea and so easy, so fun and just plain so unique.

Get an "I upcycle & repurpose" tee at Visages Gift Store.

I Upcycle & Repurpose Tee by Visages
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