Julie Finn
These are what you’re going to use for gift tags this year, and for menu cards, and for labels for your potluck dishes, and for party favors.
They’re wood slice chalkboards, and they’re freakin’ genius.
Check out the tutorial to make these wood slice chalkboards from Little House Blog, although with the only materials required being tree stumps or branches, a chainsaw, a sander, and chalkboard paint, the project couldn’t be easier. And yet what an impact it makes! These chalkboard wood slices are lovely, they’re useful, they’re versatile, and they’ve got to be fun to make, on account of you know how I love my power tools.
Interested in even more wood slice projects? Check out this list of 11 tutorials for inspiration:
1. buttons. Use eensy-weensy fallen branches, and an even eensier drill bit, for this project.
2. candle holder. Make sure your slice is pretty wide to catch the drips.
3. card holder. These tree stumps look great holding greeting cards–and they’re super easy to make.
4. checkers. Give kids a bunch of thin slices from a tree branch (or let them saw their own!) and some paint, and let them make themselves a full set of checkers. This makes a great outdoor toy, and if one gets lost, you can just saw and paint yourself another one!
5. coasters. These wood slices benefit from a clear sealant to protect them from spills, but if you don’t mind the odd stain, you can do without even that.
6. crayon, marker, and colored pencil holders. If you start them off with a pre-cut wood slice and hand them the correctly-sized drill bit (I recommend a paddle bit
7. moveable alphabet. Kids will love the feel of these letters.
8. napkin rings. Keep those paddle bits out, because these wood slice napkin rings are also just that easy.
9. toy boats. These are way cuter than anything that you’d find in a store.
10. tree blocks. Tree blocks are a huge hit with kids, but it’s crazy-expensive to buy your own set. Fortunately, it’s exactly this easy to make them yourselves.
11. water filter. This is your kid’s next science project.
If you’ve got another great wood slice project in mind, tell me about it or link to it in the Comments below.
[wood slice chalkboards image via Little House Blog]
