Average But Inspired

Inspiring creativity with crafts, DIY, and home decor projects.

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November DIY Challenge: The Wood Slice {a DIY Wood Slice Serving Tray}

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Wood slices are all the rage amongst crafters these days, so it’s no surprise that my monthly challenge ladies and I decided to make them the focus of our November DIY Challenge.  You will not believe what everyone came up with!  Here’s a little teaser, and you can click through to each of these posts and the bottom of this page.13 Wood Slice Crafts

I turned mine into a rustic wood slice serving tray with wood burned detailing.  Tres chic!  (Or should I say “tray” chic in this case?)

DIY Wood Slice Serving Tray Tutorial
I loved this project because it allowed me to work with materials I’d never used before, and to create something that I actually have a need for!
The supplies I used were the following:

Step One:

Once I had my supplies together, I started by lightly sanding my wood slice and then taping a stencil to it.

Wood Slice - stencil

Step Two:

I traced the design onto my wood slice in pencil.

Wood Slice - drawn pattern
Step Three:

I plugged in my woodburning tool and anxiously waited for it to heat up. I had never used one of these so I was a little nervous about starting something on fire.  (If you know me at all, you know this is a legitimate concern.  For real.)Wood Slice - burning tool

Step Four:

Once I got started burning my design into the wood slice, I found that it was really easy to do!  The tool does get hot to hold, however, so I had to take little breaks here and there. It didn’t take long and the smell wasn’t too bad – thank goodness! I did NOT want to set off the fire alarm during my son’s naptime! Wood Slice - begninning burning

Step Five:

After I finished burning the entire design, I let the wood slice sit for a while. Then I had my husband help me drill holes into the piece so that I could screw in the drawer pulls for handles. (I forgot to take a photo of this step).

Step Six:

Next, I coated the entire wood slice with butcher block oil to help seal the piece. Butcher block oil is completely food safe and FDA approved, so I was confident using it on something that I knew I’d be putting food on. As with the previous step, I forgot to take a picture of the butcher block oil application, but trust me, it’s nothing exciting. It tints the wood ever so slightly, but it doesn’t change the color in any dramatic way.

Step Seven:

Once the butcher block oil dried, I went to screw in my hardware. At that point, I noticed that the pulls I’d purchased were two different finishes. ANNOYING! Since I didn’t have the receipt, I decided to spray paint them so they’d look the same. Wood Slice - mismatched hardware

Wood Slice - spray painted hardware
Step Eight:

After the hardware dried, I screwed the handles onto the wood slice and admired my rustic wood slice serving tray!Woodslice - serving tray empty plain horizontal
Then I served my kids a “fancy snack” of cheese and crackers.  (Trust me – this is way nicer than the animal crackers or raisins I usually toss into a bowl for them every afternoon.)  Woodslice - serving tray plain vertical
I think this is a perfect DIY gift, and one that can easily be personalized with a monogram, quote,or other meaningful design.  You could also add some cool hardware for handles to really make your piece unique!  Rustic wood slice serving tray

Now that you’ve seen my wood slice project, check out my friends’ posts!  You won’t be disappointed!

– Bre

To see where I’m sharing this project, please click here.

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Comments

    • Bre says

      Thanks, Leigh Anne! I am glad I didn’t burn a massive hole through it with the wood burning tool. A+ for that. 🙂

    • Bre says

      Thank you so much, Marie! Yes, you should definitely get one of those kits! They are shockingly inexpensive and I really think they can be used in so many different ways to create unique things! I can’t wait to try mine out in other ways. Thanks for your nice note and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

  3. Kendra @ www.joyinourhome.com says

    Such a great idea Bre! Love the detail of your design! I defiantly want to try making one too! Hope you have a great weekend 🙂

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Hi, Kendra! Thank you!!! Really, this project could not be easier. Hope you have a great weekend, friend!

  4. Chloe Crabtree says

    Just beautiful! I have never tried anything like this with a wood burning tool. Okay, I didn’t even know there was a wood burning tool, but you are inspiring me! This is truly lovely.

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Aw, you’re making me blush! Thank you! These wood burning tools are so cool! I could see you making all kinds of cool and personalized party decor with them! A bonus is that they’re really inexpensive – I think mine was $12! Have a great weekend!

  5. Breanna says

    LOVE this Bre! I’m glad you didn’t burn down your house 😉 I need to try my hand at some wood burning soon, I always love how it looks! Awesome job!

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Hey girl, thanks!! I cannot even imagine what you could do with a wood burning tool. I bet you could turn a junky old furniture piece into something truly amazing (as usual)!

  8. Erica says

    Oh wow, this turned out GORGEOUS! I love that lacy stencil – it just pairs so perfectly with the wood of the tray and the handles! Totally the perfect gift 🙂

    Reply

  11. Christina @ Operation Home says

    Trays unite!! Haha! We need a secret handshake or something. 😉 I love that we had similar ideas but completely different results!! The wood-burning technique is so cool!! And I love the stencil you chose!! Well done, lady!! 🙂

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Hi! Yes, I think that is my favorite thing about these challenges! It’s so amazing how you can think the same way but so differently at the same time! 🙂

    • Bre says

      Hi Lindi, thanks so much! The wood burning really didn’t take that long, I swear! :-). Thanks and have a great rest of your day!

    • Bre says

      Thanks friend! It really didn’t take that long! I can’t wait to try text like you did on your cutting board!

    • Bre says

      Hahahaha, thanks, Carmody! 🙂 You gotta try wood burning. I know you would come up with something AMAZING!!

  17. Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom says

    This is so neat! We eat cheese and crackers over here a lot and I would love to make my own personalized tray. That stencil design you selected is so pretty! Thanks for linking up with us at Motivational Monday, hope to see you back next week!

    Reply

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