Vintage Cutting Board Photo Display

Hi everyone! I hope you had a nice week-end. We had some really beautiful weather here in the Northeast, a bit on the cool side (50’s and 60’s), my absolute favorite. I had some time in my workroom, which always blesses me, and finished up today’s project–a vintage cutting board photo display.

I used it to hang some pictures of me and my sweet family through the years.

The whole project actually started with this galvanized container that I picked up at a garage sale for a buck. It’s been waiting in line for some kind of makeover.

I went ahead and stenciled “No. 7” on the side, but found it rather unimpressive. I thought maybe I could hang it on something and give it more presence, more purpose. So I pulled out various pieces of scrap wood and held the container up against each until I found the “right” piece.

I should mention that I chose the number seven because that’s kind of our family number. We married on the 7th, both kids were born on the 7th, and we live on 7 Glade Drive, just to mention a few. Interesting, right?

This old 18″ x 24″ cutting board, that I rescued from a barn rafter at a recent estate sale, seemed like a good match. I considered attaching the container to the bottom and painting a chalkboard above it. The container could have held chalk and an eraser, but I scratched that idea in favor of making a photo display.

I started by stenciling “FAMILY” across the top and didn’t worry too much about the water marks on the bottom, because I knew my next steps would likely take care of that. 

The application of a coat of Howard’s Feed N’Wax evened out the splotches and “fed” the dry wood, leaving it with a healthy glow.

The galvanized container happened to have a couple of holes punched through the back that I could use for attachment, but I think it would have been fairly easy to punch a couple of holes with a nail and hammer.

I went ahead and secured the container to the bread board using two screws–after drilling two pilot holes to make the screwing easier. The next step involved stringing some jute across the mid-section. In this way, I could hang photos from it with mini clothespins.

I hung three strands on different diagonals, using thumbtacks on the back of the board to hold them in place. For the final step, I strung some hanging wire on the back and the project was done.

I added some greens to the container, along with some deer antlers.

But then I nixed the antlers. You could put any number of other things in the container–how about extra photos so you or your family could change out the photos on a whim, or just go through the photos for the fun of it rather than leaving them stuck in a drawer.

You could use the container to hold keys, succulents, faux lemons, decks of cards, or any number of other things.

I’m not sure where it’s going to end up; right now it’s hanging in the kitchen near my ironstone cupboard. UPDATE: I used it to display photos at my sweet daughter’s vintage high school graduation party 🙂

I like having a place to hang some photos, especially this one–of me and my Dad. It makes me smile when I walk in the room. How about you? What’s making you smile today?  

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