Dream Book Design

DIY Driftwood Art

In the new kitchen there is this wall. And its huge. At first we were kinda stumped as to what we were going to put there..some huge art, multiple frames, we didnt know! But then of course, J and his brilliant mind, came up with this driftwood art idea. It is so perfect because it takes up the huge space, was super cheap to make, and has a verse on it that we love to be reminded by daily.

Heres the process:

  • Purchase the supplies: Four 6′ fence slats and one 2x2x8 piece of wood

  • Cut down the slats to the desired length {we cut ours down to around 5 feet}
  • Have the wife {me} attempt to use the circular saw for the first time, to cut a little more off

  • Sand down the slats enough to remove the grainy finish and expose the wood

  • Attach two 2×2’s cut to just under the height of the driftwood piece {for ours: each piece was just under 2ft. long}. Use gorilla glue {or liquid nails} and use two wood screws through the 2×2, into each slat. Also, as an additional note, you might want to invest in a stronger adhesive like Sugru glue (https://sugru.com/) for attaching the slats.

Hey Ryobi..would you like to sponsor us, we will totally sign on for only $2 mill.;)
  • Next, take a hammer, chisel, etc. and beat that wood up. Lots. This creates even more character in the wood, making it look even less ‘perfect’. Make sure you pay extra attention to the edges, the especially deserve a beating;)

  • Now comes time for staining the wood. We used a homemade stain composed of: Steel Wool and vinegar. You take a plastic or glass {or not, considering ours cracked-oops!} container and fill it with white vinegar and a steel wool pad. Let it sit for about three days for a lighter steel stain, and the longer you let it sit, the darker steel stain it will be. FYI: the stain goes on fairly clear…BUT.. it definitely darkens over time on the wood. Ours darkened about 5 shades darker over the next few hours
At first we had planned to use the Minwax, but it ended up being too dark. Just ignore it, but don’t ignore Honey-shes too cute to ignore.

  • Let it sit overnight, mostly to get rid of the vinegar smell {please for the love of God, leave yours outside. DONT, I repeat, DONT, leave yours in your house overnight.} Next, we added two 2-Hole ‘D’ Ring Hangers to the back. Once secure, attached a metal 16 gauge wire across the back
  • Thank you for all your comments and verses, we ended up choosing the verse 1st John 3:18 “Let us not love with words or tongues but with actions and in truth”.We traced it out in Sharpie using a projector for guidance, after we hung it on the wall. We used the program Powerpoint to layout the verse. Once outlined, we used our handy dandy wood burning kit that we got from Michaels store, for $30-which we plan on using for many more projects. We seriously felt like we were back in elementary school using that wood burning pen. Didn’t yall do that too when growing up? Maybe it was just each of our crazy craft parents.
  • Once finished, we realized the stain was so dark that it was hard to read the verse, sooo… we sanded it with some medium grit sandpaper, and it lightened it up quite a bit

  • Drum roll please….
Above two images Melissa Young Photo

What do yall think?We love it. It takes up most of the wall, it is rustic, it adds a great texture to the room, its a great daily reminder, and to top it off, here is the price break down:

  • Wood: $10
  • ‘D’ Ring Hangers: $5
  • Metal Wire: $4
  • Wood burning pen that we will use many,many, more times:$30
  • Stain: Already had. But if this was our first time making it, it costs about $3
So technically paid $49 to make this project, but when I think of how many other projects we can do with that $30 pen, I get giddy!
<3,
Adri

PS- I linked this project up with some of my favorite parties🙂

 

Comments

  1. Bree and Bryce says

    I LOVE this!! You’re blog is awesome. Love your home and everything you have done with it! The brick wall is amazing…I have one in my family room and it is probably my favorite thing in my house…I think everyone needs a good brick wall in their life!

  5. Cassie says

    Your project made me think of reclaimed barn wood and I wanted to share this site – its sort of like the Craigslist of reclaimed materials… I have not bought anything yet but I am on the lookout for new flooring for the kitchen.

    http://www.planetreuse.com/

    Hope you can use some reclaimed material on a project!

  9. adrianne says

    Thanks everyone! We love hoe it turned out! Bree-totally agree that everyone needs a great brick wall!
    Cassie-we would have loved to use reclaimed wood. Thanks so much for that site. Will for sure try to use it in the future!
    <3,
    adri

  11. Mrs BC says

    That looks AMAZING, like it had fallen off the side of a church 100years ago. Beautiful. And thanks for the tip re steel wool & vinegar, I have never heard of that before.
    Mrs BC
    xx

  12. Jana Alexis says

    Love the cheap but amazing art idea! Great way to artfully display a beautiful verse. (PS: It’s driving me nuts that you’re only sharing a bit of the process at a time…can’t wait to see the finished renovation!)

  16. adrianne says

    Mrs BC- the stain is great. Just to make sure you know though, it is a gray colored stain because of the steel wool pad. We used redwood, so it didn’t look too gray on ours, but thought you should know.
    Jana- I would love to show you the whole thing, if only the whole thing were finished! Haha! Soon though hopefully!
    Cape on the corner- sometimes I do feel like it’s the American dream. Especially when were all out front on the porch and the ice-cream truck comes by! Gotta love it!
    Ocdesign-Haag thanks! I’ve used other power tools before, just never the circular saw! It was fun:)
    Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! We appreciate it more than you know!
    <3,
    adri

  21. adrianne says

    shannydew and 3creativechicks- Thanks so much! Glad you found us too! Hope you find some fun stuff on here, and we have many more great things coming!! Welcome:)

    <3,
    Adri

  23. Kacee says

    I found the perfect “barn wood” stain this summer. We built display stands for my photography booth (for art shows) out of barn wood. Tannery from Cabot, sold at Lowes. You have to get them to add color to the neutral base. The color matched the barn wood perfectly.

  32. adrianne says

    Thanks for the postive feedback loves! And thank you House Queen, Katrina, and Sanctuary Home for following! Hope you like the rest of the stuff you see:) You all are so so sweet!
    <3,
    Adri

  34. aeni says

    hi Adri!! I´m a 24 years old spanish girl that read your blog everyday(always i´m looking for new entries)i love your house…it´s amazing the work you and your husband do.
    i have a request, what font do you use to this DIY?
    i´m working on a headboard and looking for some fonts.
    thank you so much.
    PD:Sorry for my english…i´m trying to improve…
    bye!

  35. adrianne says

    aeni! i am so sorry for the delay! and your english is great my love! unfortunately, we aren’t sure because we used multiple fonts for the project, and like idiots didn’t save it. The main one we used was edwardin script ITC. But other than that I don’t remember:( I wish I could help more! Good luck on your project:):)
    <3,
    Adri

  37. Leslie says

    I love the hanging AND I love the verse!
    Vinegar? Whooda thunk it?
    Blessings to you as you and J make your home!
    ~Leslie

  38. MrsOgg says

    This looks AWESOME! I’m tucking this idea in my back pocket for when I need it. I also am really impressed with the fact that you made your own stain. Thanks for sharing!

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  45. Ninja says

    Hi! Your wood is so beautiful and it is great on the wall with a writing on it!
    I just finished today to paint a table-project where I used new wood to make it look older. I used red pine and now the pieces of wood are resting for overnight after 2 layers of varnish. And I want to do some writing but in white 🙂
    I’ll put some pictures on my site soon of this project.
    Ninja

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