Summer means it is wedding season! And weddings mean gifts. When Rebecca of Hugs are Fun came to me with her idea of etching recipe box for her sister-in-law’s bridal shower, and I knew it would be just perfect for my nephew’s wedding at the end of June as well.
Recipe box 1. Rebecca did the embroidery, too! It’s a great set. Photo by Rebecca.
You can see how it looked with the transfer tape applied.
Rebecca planned a themed shower, based around the lovely design “Summer Love” by Casalastudio on Etsy. She chose to etch the top of the the bamboo recipe box with the “LOVE”design. We taped it so there would be the possibility of paining it, but Rebecca thought it looked great au natural! You can see the rest of her post on the project on her blog.
For my nephew, we decided to go a little more personalized. I went with a classic “kitchen” theme on the box, not really knowing the bride’s style. I also decided to etch the front of the box rather than the top, so the design could be seen with the box open.
The finished piece – love the retro recipe cards, printed from Love vs. Design!
Utterly satisfying sloppy paint job. Notice the bubble in the transfer tape by the Ns in “McKanna”
How the paint looked under the transfer tape bubble
After the transfer tape was applied, we cut the design. I painted it liberally and sloppily with black paint, knowing the transfer tape would take care of the mess. I was almost right – the lesson here is to always double check your transfer tape is fully adhered after cutting as well. After the paint was dry, I noticed a few bubbles along the cut lines, and black paint seeped under. I used a latex paint, so here’s lesson two for you: newly dried latex paint comes up nicely with a fingernail if you put a hot wet compress on it first. (Phew).
To compliment the retro / classic rolling pin look, I printed fabulous (and free!) retro themed recipe cards from Love vs. Design. The box size was a little odd, so we ended up making them a bit shorter before printing. The wedding wasn’t that long ago so we haven’t heard how it was received, but I can only hope the bride and groom enjoy our taco seasoning recipe as much as we do, and fill the box with recipes of their own.
The design in the natural “fresh cut” finish
Peeling off the transfer tape
I was nervous to paint it because I worried about something going wrong, but man that black really makes it pop! It looks really slick to have the paint.
Do you still have the little “Love” testers? Try out painting on those! (I’m planning an aside post on those, shortly 🙂 )