DIY Elevated Cutting Board

Hello there!

What have you been up to? I've been working on my new Elevated Cutting Board. I'm going to use it as a serving tray for cheese and crackers, or as a plant stand, or as a serving tray. (I seriously can't wait to have someone over so that I can serve cheese on it!)

Don't you want to make one? Not only are they easy to make, they're adorable, and functional!

I've had my eye on some cutting boards on Amazon and at Bed Bath and Beyond. They're elevated on little legs, like so: 

Cute but fairly expensive. I like the little feet, but it gave me the idea of making an elevated serving board. So, I've been keeping my eyes open at the thrift store for a cutting board to which I could attach legs.

I even found an image on pinterest (but no link):

And then I forgot all about that idea. Easy come, easy go. I don't know if that's a symptom of my age, or my blonde hair...

But then over the weekend, when Big A and I went to The Home Depot, looking for light bulbs ~ the idea came back to me.

As frequently happens, I'd wandered off ~ despite Big A's attempts to coral me.

(When I take off, he ends up paying for more than he might have bargained for, so, while I push the cart, he holds on to the front of the cart, to keep me from taking off and disappearing. However, I'm onto him now. I wait until he lets go and I'm off. Sucker!)

So with my new found freedom, I headed straight for the paint aisle, drawn to the "oops paint". On my way, I ran into display of about 20 of these:

For $4.88 ! So, I threw one in the cart. 

I wandered around the wood department, feeling proud of my find, and musing about all of the ingenious ways one could used a round piece of wood. And then I remembered the elevated cheese platter idea.

All I needed were 3 little legs ~ which I found easily. (I don't know why, but I want 3, not 4. Things are just better in odd numbers.)

The legs were $2.78 each. My mission was complete. 

(Then I had to slink back to find Big A, because he had the Home Depot Card.  Darn it.)

Here's what I (we) did when I (we) got home.

• I started by finding the center of the board. This is where the "we" comes in. (I stink at math, so Big A did all of the measuring. Now, don't judge, I'm good at other things ~ for instance, I can forge just about any signature. That might come in handy.)
  
  Anyway, find the center of the board.

• I placed the legs in a triangle pattern and then (Big A) measured out from the center to see how far (he) I wanted them from the edge. It so happens the legs looked best 6" out from the center.

• (He) I then measured between the three legs to get them evenly spaced. It worked out that the three legs had to be 10.5" apart and 6" from the center.

• Depending on the round you buy, you could just play with the measurements. Or buy the 17.5" round and use my (Big A's) measurements. ;-)

• I drilled little holes where the legs would go, and just screwed the legs into the wood. I used caulk to fill in the little gap that was left between the leg and the wood round. (See the white stuff above). I let the caulk dry for a day, and the legs were sturdy. 

• Sanding over the dried caulk and around the edges on the round and on the legs made the wood very smooth and even. 

• Next came paint. I used the Polyshades in glossy black, by Minwax. This stuff is so easy to use and looks beautiful. Just follow the directions on the can. Otherwise paint any way you like. I may add a french sort of stencil at some point..

In the above shot, the board has just one coat of paint. I was painting inside on a humid day, so drying between coats took hours! (Try to forget the state of my kitchen island ~ and think of my poor family who have to live around my constant messes!)

I eventually used three coats of Polyshades.

NOTE: In between coats of paint, I keep my brush from drying out by putting it in a large ziplock bag in the fridge. ;-)

And now, for under $20 I have my elevated cutting/cheese board.

Note: I won't be serving food directly on this, simply because knives would damage the surface. But the poly is food safe once it is completely cured. :)

Cute eh? Now it's time to clean off the island so that my family can use the kitchen again! 

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