Oh where to start…
So let me make a very long story very short. I wanted to work on a wood project, since I've become totally obsessed with wood, and furniture making lately. We went to Bed Bath and Beyond, and they had wooden utensils, so I figured what the heck, I'd give it a go. Then I realized I needed wood burning attachments for my wood burning tool. So I get a set of those (early birthday present) and then the ideas really started to fly. I wanted to make a gift for a friend of my parents, they are getting married next month so I was super excited because I get to make something, buy two things…really three things, and totally come up with an awesome wood project that I have already sold one set to a friend; how can all of this not be awesome?
This my friends is a great start to this very spur of the moment project.
So here are my wooden utensils from Bed Bath and Beyond, and my letters.
As you can see I was off to a great start…
So I got this far and thought, oh hell…these utensils are great, but I can't use them like this. Wooden kitchen spoons, and the like should feel cozy to the touch, they should be inviting, like a warm beverage, or your favorite blanket. Something that you want to use over and over again because it's comfortable to do so. These wooden utensils didn't have that feel. They felt stiff, and lifeless. So I go to my handy dandy search engine for everything these days…Pinterest. *Insert groan* I know, I can't help it, it's great for DIY's and such. I go with what I know. So as I was searching for a sealer of sorts I came across this link. It was JUST what I was looking for! Hooray!
So this handy dandy guy is super genius. The polish is organic, it's easy enough, it stains, it seals, and it's a polish! It was perfect for what I needed for my project.
So Mitch went out and picked up some bees wax at Hobby Lobby.
Another one of my go to's for all things crafty.
You will need a 3 to 1 ratio for this recipe. You'll need two things, bees wax and extra virgin olive oil.
That's it people, two things! I know RIGHT?!?!?!?!?! Another easy recipe; life is awesome.
So go ahead and cut off what you think is around 1/4 of a cup of bees wax. Let me save you the trouble…cut more than you think you will need. Friendly advice, trust me on this one.
I did a 1/4 of a cup at first, and needed to cut more like a 1/2 to 2/3's.
Set yourself up a double boiler. You can make this super easy on yourself by getting a spaghetti pot, filling it up about 1/3 of the way with water and putting a measuring cup in the bottom. Put your bees wax in there, and turn it on medium to low heat.
I set the stove top to about a 4. This will take about 10 minutes for the wax to melt. The smaller the pieces the quicker they will melt. I realize that this a total Capt. Obvious statement, but it had to be said.
So you can see that after a while the bees wax starts to melt into this beautiful yellow liquid. It's like liquid gold; it's so pretty.
Once your bees wax is totally liquified go ahead and measure out 3/4 cups of extra virgin olive oil.
My cup was a little cloudy since I had to remeasure my bees wax to get it as close to 1/4 cup as I could get. Like I said, cut more than you think you'll need for a 1/4 cup.
So this is what will happen if you don't heat your EVOO up before you combine it with your bees wax. No worries, just let it sit in the double boiler for about 4 to 5 minutes, and you'll be good to go.
This is what it should look like in the end, a little darker in color, liquid, and ready to go. Give it a little stir before you put it into your containers. I love these little Ball jars! They make me smile. They seriously are the perfect size for these kinds of projects.
Aren't they super cute?!
So I grabbed one of the many spoons lying around my kitchen, and dipped it into the polish I had left on the stove. I worked my way from the top to the bottom, slowly, and the wood drank up this polish like it was parched from a long stretch in the Sahara Desert!
So once I worked my way thru all the utensils I put each one of them aside to set. This sealer really feels lovely to the touch, nice and smooth, like satin. Since it's organic it's great on your skin too.
So here are my little Ball jars filled with sealer. Each jar will go with one set of utensils. I'll go ahead and keep the third one for myself.
You may not be able to see the difference between these pictures, but the one of the left is before, and the one of the right is after. The difference in feel is incredible. I really love how these turned out. I will definitely be making more in the future. If you'd like a set please email me at keva.bartnick@gmail.com and I will be sure to give you a quote per set before starting.
Happy DIY's to you!
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