DIY Bamboo Bread Boards

Remember all the DIY Christmas gift posts I did last year?  Well guess what?  I never got around to posting two of them.  But guess what else?  It's almost Christmas again, so what the hay, I'll post them now.

I first saw boards similar to these on the blog Our Vintage Home Love.  Her blog is awesome, by the way.  If you pop in, you can read the story behind her bread boards in a tab at the top of the page.  She and her husband just opened up a storefront that I really wish was in Oregon.  Hmpf.  Anyway, soon after she first posted them, she opened an Etsy shop and started selling them.  And I pinned them.  And I drooled over them.

Then, December rolled around and I needed to come up with some homemade gifts.  I told The Dad I wanted to attempt the boards, showed him the pictures, and he busted out a slab of bamboo scrap from the garage and asked if it would work. Yes please.

I'm not gonna lie and say I had anything to do with these other than telling him what I wanted.  He drew them, cut them out, sanded the edges, and drilled the holes.  I oiled them and tied the leather laces on.  I know, all in a days work.

So technically, these weren't actually a Christmas present.  They were for my sister's birthday, but it's in December, so same diff.

We did one long, skinny board suitable for a loaf of bread, then four smaller ones that could be used for individual place settings.  Or, as you'll notice now when I post pics of dinners at my sister's house, they show up often as appetizer boards.

In addition to tying on the leather, I also got the fun task of rounding up goodies to put in the box with them.

I did cloth napkins, a bottle of wine, a bottle of dipping oil from a fun store called The Oilery, little dipping bowls, and for kicks, some bamboo socks.

Also, earlier in the year, I had taken a picture out of a frame so I could spray paint it and discovered it was an old note card from my dad to my sister.  

So I stuck that in as well.

Here's everything all bundled up and ready to wrap.

So there ya go.

A gift idea to get the juices flowin' and it' ain't even December yet.

If you're making gifts this year, I'd love to hear your ideas.