Hi! My name is Bailey Kuykendoll (pronounced Kirk-en-doll) and I am an Interior Designer who, as the name of my blog states, is a Jack of ALL trades...yet the master of none! And if I am going to be completely honest here, I wouldn't want it any other way.
(no perfectionist here)
As a young child you really couldn't get me to try anything new, in fact the definition of my name should be changed to "chicken." But THANKFULLY as I have aged, I find myself wanting to give ANYTHING a try!
Okay, enough of the "gibber gabber," lets get on to the first post (yippee!)
In this post we're going to explore "dying wood" with clothing dye, instead of staining. A lot of people are intimidated by staining (another blog post on that later) but I found dying to be pretty much "fool proof!"
I chose to work on a project called "Vintage Calendar" that you can find here on Design Sponge's blog, with a few of my own modifications (obviously the major one being dyed boxes:)
These 3 vintage calendars are done and ready to be used... read below to see how its done.
So, ever since I "dyed" my first piece of wood (see below), I've been itching to try more! I was just curious to see how it takes bright colors or even black for that matter.
This one was done with "grey" dye...it has a slight purple tint to it as well.
This one was done with "grey" dye...it has a slight purple tint to it as well.
Here are the supplies you'll need: *please note I made four boxes at once...I decided I might as well turn these little gems into AWESOME gifts! So you will only need one of everything you see!
step 1
You can either make your own boxes or run to your local craft shop and buy one that is about 5 1/4" wide (that is the minimum width) 31/2" deep and 2" tall. (they have them at both Hobby Lobby and Michael's for about $2.50 if you're power tools just aren't working today:))
After a few simple cuts (we had some leftover pallet wood as we JUST moved back to the Midwest from California) the boxes can be assembled a few different ways. We tried wood glue, screws and a nail gun. The nail gun was cleaner, easier and didn't split the wood (remember these are from pallets, so the wood is a little more brittle)
step 2
the BEST part...dying the wood.
Simply fill up your bucket with water and pour in your dye color. I chose (from left to right: green, pink and royal blue.) Make sure you have some sort of a stick (I just used leftover wood) for this part, as they dye will "stain" your hands.
Hold the wood in the water for approx. 5 minutes, but really it's to your specification. I like deeper, darker colors so I actually held them for a while (and actually dipped them twice)
Here are the colors...this was after I dipped them once, let them dry for about an hour and then dipped them again. (again let dry for another hour) When the wood is in the water the colors are a lot deeper, once they dry, it usually lightens up!
Now..
if this was a project that I was making for a kids room, I would be SO happy with the outcome...but I am not a HUGE fan of primary colors in an "adult" home. SO...I added an additional step.
step 3
stained the dyed boxes.
I know earlier I said this is for people who aren't big fans of stain, so feel free to skip this step...
But I was looking for a deeper, richer color. So I simply took my FAVORITE stain (Minwax's Gel Stain, color: aged oak) and put a light coat over top the dry "dye" and then used an old rag and wiped off the excess. It's a VERY simple process and an extremely simple stain to use, in fact I am THOROUGHLY surprised all stains haven't gone to "gel" yet!
The left photo is the "unstained" box, the right is the "stained" box. I like the richness it gave the color and then grain of the wood just completely popped!
step 4
Modge Podge your box, all over. This helps protect against stains, plus if there are any "rough" areas that weren't completely sanded down, it will help smooth them out.
A final shot of just the boxes! LOVE the color and the rough/raw beauty!
OKAY, if you didn't want to take the time and go through the Design Sponge tutorial for the calendar, Ill do a quick and easy run through for you...
step 1
Grab 365 white 3x5 note cards (I bought 2 packs of 200, which was beneficial, as I had quite a few mistakes!) I also bought this ADORABLE date stamp (that comes with the arrows as seen below) at Michaels for about $5! And then simply "stamp" you life away
One last thing before I go...here is a shot of the box I bought at Hobby Lobby and dyed (this one I didn't stain, seeing as there wasn't a whole lot of wood grain on the box) (the 4th box I kept talking about) This is a little bit bigger, so now I have a place for my pen!;)
Who doesn't like handles?
Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
Enjoy.
step 2
the BEST part...dying the wood.
Simply fill up your bucket with water and pour in your dye color. I chose (from left to right: green, pink and royal blue.) Make sure you have some sort of a stick (I just used leftover wood) for this part, as they dye will "stain" your hands.
Hold the wood in the water for approx. 5 minutes, but really it's to your specification. I like deeper, darker colors so I actually held them for a while (and actually dipped them twice)
Here are the colors...this was after I dipped them once, let them dry for about an hour and then dipped them again. (again let dry for another hour) When the wood is in the water the colors are a lot deeper, once they dry, it usually lightens up!
Now..
if this was a project that I was making for a kids room, I would be SO happy with the outcome...but I am not a HUGE fan of primary colors in an "adult" home. SO...I added an additional step.
step 3
stained the dyed boxes.
I know earlier I said this is for people who aren't big fans of stain, so feel free to skip this step...
But I was looking for a deeper, richer color. So I simply took my FAVORITE stain (Minwax's Gel Stain, color: aged oak) and put a light coat over top the dry "dye" and then used an old rag and wiped off the excess. It's a VERY simple process and an extremely simple stain to use, in fact I am THOROUGHLY surprised all stains haven't gone to "gel" yet!
The left photo is the "unstained" box, the right is the "stained" box. I like the richness it gave the color and then grain of the wood just completely popped!
step 4
Modge Podge your box, all over. This helps protect against stains, plus if there are any "rough" areas that weren't completely sanded down, it will help smooth them out.
A final shot of just the boxes! LOVE the color and the rough/raw beauty!
OKAY, if you didn't want to take the time and go through the Design Sponge tutorial for the calendar, Ill do a quick and easy run through for you...
step 1
Grab 365 white 3x5 note cards (I bought 2 packs of 200, which was beneficial, as I had quite a few mistakes!) I also bought this ADORABLE date stamp (that comes with the arrows as seen below) at Michaels for about $5! And then simply "stamp" you life away
Seriously...
It took me 3 FULL DAYS! But in all honestly doing 4 sets at a time was VERY worth while, cause I would not want to do all those separately!
Then I also got a separate pack of note cards that are "colors" for the separators between the months.
I could simply leave this like it is, OR I could add a little something to the cards that separate the months...
Who doesn't love washi tape?
If you are doing what I did, and making them into a gift, use a little string, and wrap it up with a nice little card on the front! Makes a fantastic gift and is LOTS of fun in the process!
One last thing before I go...here is a shot of the box I bought at Hobby Lobby and dyed (this one I didn't stain, seeing as there wasn't a whole lot of wood grain on the box) (the 4th box I kept talking about) This is a little bit bigger, so now I have a place for my pen!;)
Who doesn't like handles?
Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
Enjoy.
