Grateful Guest: DIY Thanksgiving Hostess Gift
Thanksgiving week is upon us! If you have the pleasure of attending the holiday at a friend or family member’s home, show your thankfulness by bringing a handmade gift.
This weekend we had the pleasure of going to a Friendsgiving and I brought the hostess these wood burned utensils and a tea towel. Craft confession: I got this wood burning set for Christmas last year and was sort of intimidated by it for 11 whole months. Yes, even me who does a whole lotta crafting can get scared by a tool. But, with a quiet Saturday on the books, I opened up the packaging and found out that I didn’t need to be intimidated at all.
What You Need
Scrap Piece of Wood
Ceramic Dish or other Heat Safe Surface
Step 1: Heat Up Tool with First Letter
There are a number of wood burning tools out there, but this Walnut Hollow tool is a good one for beginners. It’s not too expensive, which was attractive as someone new to wood burning. It also works with all of the Walnut Hallow add ons like the alphabet I used here. But, if you’ve got another wood burner around, it will do the trick as well. My hubby had an old one, so I actually tag-teamed this project and had two letters heating up at a time.
Decide what phrase or word you’d like to burn into your utensil. I decided on “GIVE THANKS.” I heated up the first two letters, but if you’ve only got one wood burning tool, one at a time is just fine. I recommend heating the tool up on a scrap piece of wood so you can test to make sure it’s ready and the letter is secured on properly.
Step 2: Wood Burn Your Letter on the Utensil
Each letter will take a few minutes to heat up. To give it maximum heat, I’d wait about 3-5 minutes in between each letter. As I mentioned, you can always test it in the scrap wood. I eyeballed the spacing, but you can always use a pencil to ensure you are staying in a straight line.
Step 3: Change Each Letter with Pliers
Once you finish using a letter, be sure to use needle nose pliers or another heat safe way to remove each letter. They will be extremely hot. I placed mine on a ceramic dish to cool down. Be sure not to place the letters on any surface that cannot handle heat.
The tool will remain hot, but you can start screwing in the next letter by hand and then finish with the pliers.
Step 4: Package Up and Give to Your Host!
Once you finish your word, you’ve got a finished gift! I tied together the two utensils with some ribbon I had around the house and paired it with a cute Thanksgiving tea towel. Tea towels make great hostess gifts. I often pick them up on clearance after a holiday and keep them around for future years.
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