Berry Wood Stain

Picture it... Milo in standing in her awesome kitchen stand that daddy made her... eating some blueberries... omnom-omnom... Mum is fixing some scrambled eggs and a bagel....humming and flitting around the kitchen....she brings her sweet little angel some eggs to see that Milo has smooshed the blueberries onto her kitchen stand....which has yet to be sealed..... 

I rush to clean it off....only to discover that is left behind it's pink berry goodness.... so what's a Mum to do?.... smoosh berries over the whole thing? That's what this Mum would do. 

Thawed out the rest of the frozen blueberries that I had... used a basting brush and painted that joker.

Brush it on, let it sit a few minutes, then wipe it off. 

                           

My birth mother was always starting random projects during random hours of the day.... I remember once going to wal-mart at like midnight to get stuff to make candles because she just had that random desire to candle it up. Another time we tie dyed everything we could find in our closet...we stayed up all night... That's one of my favorite things about her... how random and spontaneous she was.... hopefully I got a little of that trait. 

Now this process is messy. Be prepared. Use gloves, pull out a tarp or be prepared to mop your kitchen afterwards, put on clothes that you don't mind if they get dirty.  I was too in the zone to stop and do any of that stuff.....and I had to clean the kitchen floor, myself, and Milo. Do as I say, not as I do. 

You can do multiple coats to get a darker stain. I think that frozen fruits work better...and are cheaper....

After you are finished let it sit overnight to dry and soak in completely. Once completely dry, you can apply a sealer. I decided to make a sealer.....which is basically like a salve. One part wax, 4 parts oil. Melt all but the essential oil in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add your essential oil and pour into whatever container you choose. I used: 

1Tbsp beeswax

2Tbsp coconut oil

2Tbsp Olive oil

20 drops cinnamon Essential oil

Cinnamon essential oil is antibacterial and anti-fungal....plus it smells nice 

Once the salve is solid (you can put in fridge or freezer to speed up process) rub it on with a cloth. I find that old t-shirt scraps work great. Don't worry if it feels oily or greasy--the wood will absorb it. This coating will protect it from other liquids or berries seeping into the wood. You may need to repeat this periodically especially on the surfaces that are touched often. 

I tried out some other berry stains as well as tea and coffee. I didn't have frozen strawberries so I used fresh. I also just used beet juice. I was surprised it didn't turn out as bold, but it may work better with fresh/frozen beets.  

After the whole process, I did a bit of research and found that Berry stains can fade in direct sunlight...so it's best used on things going indoors. I also found some other ideas for stains using vinegar. Check it out here. 

The stains below are using vinegar and pennies or vinegar and steel wool....that blue is super pretty!

go forth and stain my crafty peeps...