Jul 13, 20202 min read

Heat Engraved Chopping Board

Tutorial for a Hand-Made Gift

"When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time." - Rick Warren

I'm a sucker for personalized gifts. especially the useful kind. And I absolutely love a good sense of humour when it comes to birthday wishes, because to me, growing older is not a serious matter. It should be celebrated with laughter and relief that you've made it that far! Whether it's 18, 30 or 65! Cheers to you!

I also love working with my hands, if I didn't, this site wouldn't exist, and if you didn't already know that, well, I'll shout it from the rooftops until everyone does! I LOVE creating things and sharing my experiences!

This project was something I've been wanting to do for ages; not all at once (the cutting board and the heat engraving) but this opportunity allowed me to do both and I got my family involved, while I was baking my birthday cake and prepping a large family dessert.

I had a piece of wood lying in the garage that was an awkward size, but had such beautiful grain, I couldn't throw it out. I got it out, worked out the approximate width based on an A4 sheet of paper and made my template by folding the paper in half. Then I petitioned hubby to cut the design I traced onto the board with an electric jigsaw and asked my son, who is like getting his hands dirty with woodwork, to sand the edges evenly and rounded.

Tutorial for a Hand-Made Gift

I then did the finer sanding myself and got to work with the heat engraving.

I used a really old soldering rod to do this work and although it had a wonky tip and a really long (hot!) handle, I was able to achieve the desired effect I had imagined.

Finally, we drilled a hole and knotted a piece of leather through it so it can hang. I oiled it with flaxseed oil with a little lemon essential oil for that fresh smell!

I just love how it came out and I love that the receiver of the gift (a young at heart, fishing enthusiast with a great sense of humour), loved it as much!

The next time you have the opportunity to gift a loved one, why not think about something hand made? I guarantee it'll mean the world to them! But remember, it doesn't need to be perfect. Even if it's a little crooked, it's the thought that counts!

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