Country Wood Crafts - How To Make A Rustic Checkerboard
If you just happen to have a 1 x 10 piece of wood laying around then you can create some country wood crafts. Why burn leftover wood from projects, or send it to the dump? When you can create great recycled wood crafts for yourself, for gifts or to sell. If you love to paint or create, then a house building site can be a wealth of free supplies for your country wood crafts. (ask first though, even if it looks discarded, better check first!) Wood makes a great surface for painting. It is a nice change from canvas, and you can get really creative with the way you display it. Below is a country wood crafts, homemade checkerboard done in primitive style that I created and sold at a craft show. I actually hauled this piece of wood out of the fire pit, before it was burned. (I actually found quite a few, but those are other projects!) It was a piece of 1 x 10 inch pine wood that was approximately 2 feet long. This particular piece of wood had been used for forms for footings, and had also aged a bit while it was outside which adds to the country rustic look.
Country Wood Crafts - Homemade Checkerboard Game
This is what you need:
To make this primitive country wood craft, all you need is a piece of 1 x 10 (1 inch thick by 10 inches wide) cut to two feet long.
sandpaper
red and white paint
unfinished wooden wheels (purchased at hardware or craft store) for the checker pieces.
thin dowel (to store the checkers on)
cap for dowels (so the checkers don't fall off)
drill
varnish
rope for hanging on the wall if you wish
Measure out your checkerboard in the center of your wood, using one inch squares for the game board.
Country Wood Crafts - Paint the Checkerboard
Paint the game board red and white (or whatever colors you prefer) and then decorate the rest of the wood any way you want. I painted a country farm fence scene on either end and I lightly stained the wood with watered down acrylic paint and wiped it off. Country wood crafts are fun to make, since you can get your ideas based on nature and recycle wood into crafts.
Country Wood Crafts - Checker Pieces
Then for the checker pieces, I headed to the hardware store, and found those little wooden wheels that are used for model projects etc. They were quite cheap. I then bought some doweling, and drilled holes that would take the thin piece of doweling a couple of inches from the checkerboard on both ends. I also purchased the caps to fit on top of the doweling.
Country Wood Crafts - Paint the Pieces
Paint your checker pieces and fit the dowels into the drilled holes with some wood glue and let dry. Place your checker pieces on these dowel pieces for storage.
Drill 2 holes at one end and thread the twine or rope through for hanging on the wall.
The beauty of country wood crafts, is that you can paint a scene, or just stain the wood, or decoupage it, use stencils or anything you want. You can use image transfer if you prefer or you can use tracing paper and put a design on, you don't have to free hand paint if your don't want to. There are so many great ways to create recycled country wood crafts. This checkerboard was measured out but freehand painted. You can use painters tape and have straighter edges as well if you would prefer.
Country Wood Crafts - Varnish It
Once you have completed your project, either spray or paint on water based varnish. Water based is good, because it won't yellow the whites, whereas oil based varnish will. The newer water based varnishes are tough, so you don't need to worry about the surface. I used two coats. You can get it in satin or gloss.
Wood Crafts - Recycle
This country wood craft, is a great way to recycle leftover pieces of wood from any projects. My family thought I was crazy as I hauled out pieces of wood from the soon to be fire pit, they told me they were too short to use for anything, and had weathered. To me this was just perfect! My hubby said "you can't really make 2 feet of wood into anything", but I managed to create recycled wood crafts.
I managed to make quite a few country wood crafts, from many pieces of 1 x 10 pine forming wood in various lengths, that I then sold at craft shows and a craft store.
So, before you head to the craft supply store and buy expensive kits and supplies, really take a good look around and see if you could recycle something for your next craft project. This gets the creative juices flowing and you can come up with ideas if you look at it long enough, rather than trying to create a craft from a magazine. You can use craft magazines for inspiration, but come up with your own unique designs!
Country Wood Crafts - Each One an Original
Each piece of country wood crafts, would be an original, and unique, something different, that is why they sold at the shows. I could make a few of these checkerboards, but each one would have a totally different original painting on them and different stains or colors on the wood. No two would be the same. Many of the buyers, bought them to decorate a rustic cottage or cabin.
So, that saying "another persons trash is another person's treasure" is very true when it comes to recycled country wood crafts. Take a look around your own yard or house or garage, or head on over to the local dump and reuse center, and use your imagination.
When I first started painting, I would paint on paper and canvas, but found wood to give paintings dimension and add to the look. But quickly found out that unfinished wood craft kits at craft stores were quite expensive. So, I went looking for tossed out wooden items, and with some of the new high adhesion primers on the market was able to repaint and bring back to life many recycled country wood crafts, for myself and to sell. Also see Country Wood Crafts - Acrylic Painting
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Comments
Great idea for leftover wood. I use leftover wood to make ornaments. Good at Christmas time. I'm lucky to work for a wood craft company and can get many kinds of wood to do country wood crafts.
Beautiful! What a wonderful project, and a great article descibing it!
wow another good idea to use some waste stuff
What a great idea! I know if my beloved daddy had made me one of these before he died,I would have treasured it always. Not only could this be a gift that could become an heirloom, it would be a fun winter project for anyone.
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