The Apple Street Cottage

Cutting boards are everywhere these days, leaning on kitchen backsplashes, hanging on the wall and being used as trays and charcuterie boards.  This one caught my eye at an estate sale and, upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn't a cutting board at all.   That's right, it was purely decorative with a 'not so great' finishing job. It whispered, "Take me home and make me pretty again."  So, I did! This post may contain affiliate links. The first step was removing that awful finish. My Bahco Carbide Scraper made short work of it.   If you do any wood refinishing and haven't tried one of these tools, you should.  The finish was removed in short order! A little light sanding and this piece was ready for finish.   Since I intended to continue using it as a decorative piece, I created a stencil . The edges were painted with black craft paint. Golden Oak stain gave the wood a little warmth.  The entire piece was sealed with Polycrylic . And the sad little p

  Fall is just around the corner and you may be thinking about how you're going to decorate this year.  Come along while I show you how to make this beautiful Fall wreath that can also be used well into the Christmas season! Welcome to the  Creative Craft Hop  hosted by Donna from  Modern on Monticello .   If you just came from Gail @ Purple Hues and Me ,   welcome to the Cottage!  At the bottom of this post I'll direct you to the next stop on this hop, but be sure to visit all of the other stops too for some amazing inspiration. They will all be listed. This post may contain affiliate links. Let's make a wreath! Step 1:  Gather the Milkweed Pods. I collected my pods last Fall during a walk around the pond.  They had opened and the seeds were blowing in the wind.  I gathered about twice as many as I needed - Ha-Ha!  For this project you will need approximately 60 pods. I left them outside in the sun f or the day to make sure they were good and dry.  J ust in case there was