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Personalized Wood-Burning Crafts for Dad

June 16, 2015 by girlinspired 2 Comments

This project is SO much fun, I just might have a new obsession with my wood-burning kit.  I don’t know about you, but I struggle with ideas when it comes to making gifts for dads!  Today’s idea came to me when I was daydreaming about dinner, as I often do, and I think it’s one of the best personalized Father’s Day gifts I’ve wrapped up yet!  Wood-burning crafts combined with delicious food on the grill sounds like the perfect combo.Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!Wood-burning is a new craft for me and this tool set is actually a pretty versatile tool that you can use with wood, leather, and paper (among other things), but I gave it an initial test drive with some cedar planks for grilling that I found at the grocery store.  These planks are inexpensive and they really work well to flavor your food!  I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought that perhaps I wouldn’t even be able to taste the cedar, but I was really pleased with how much flavor it added.  If you have a grill-master dad in your life, these personalized wood-burned cedar planks are a fun present for him!  Wrap some planks up along with your tins of  perfect steak spice rub and you’ve got Father’s Day covered!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!Supplies:

Versa-Tool wood burning kit by Walnut Hollow   (aff link)
food-safe cedar planks for grilling (my grocery store sells these at the meat counter)
(or) other wood blanks
pencil
tape
design

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!Step 1:  Collect your materials.  This Versa-Tool by Walnut Hollow comes with a variety of tips for creating your design.  It also has adjustable temperatures so that you can use it with different materials and also burn designs in various shades.  We are using cedar planks for grilling today, but there are many wood blanks available, from luggage tags and labels to wall plaques and kitchen utensils!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 2:  The design.  You will also need a pencil to draw or transfer your design onto the wood blank.  I cannot free-hand a single line, so I found some designs that I liked and transferred them onto the cedar plank.  Use a pencil to sketch a design now or print out your design and proceed to the steps below for transferring.  I found my designs at vectorstock.com.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 3:  Flip your printed design over to the wrong side.  Scribble your pencil over the entire back of the design you wish to transfer.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 4:  Tape the design, right side up, onto the wood plank.  Position it exactly where you’d like your finished design to go.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 5:  Now use a pencil or ball point pen to trace around every line on your image.  This will transfer the scribbled lead onto the wood and transfer your design.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 6:  MAGIC!!  Make sure your entire design has been transferred and then remove the paper.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 7:  It’s time to heat up that wood burning tool!  Screw the desired tip into the top of the tool, plug it in, and turn it on to a medium setting.  The tool heats very quickly!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 8:  Work slowly and carefully to trace over your design, burning it into the plank.  You can experiment with various heat settings and tool tips for the various parts of your design.  SAFETY TIP:  Use needle nose pliers to remove and replace tips as you change them out.  Place hot tips into a glass bowl while cooling.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 9:  Continue burning your design and creating new designs until you have a finished gift that you love!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Step 10:  You can have little ones sign their own names in pencil onto the wood and then burn it for them for that special touch!  Include instructions for using the cedar planks with your gift.  These, for example, need to be soaked in water for 1-2 hours before placing on the grill.

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

I soaked this one for about an hour before grilling and the bottom became pretty black.  The instructions say single use only, though the supermarket employee indicated that they could probably be used more than once!  If you’re concerned about all your wood-burning work being charred in one fell swoop – consider giving dad a big stack of cedar planks with the personalized work on just the top one or two.  You might also put your new skills to work on a cutting board – I know that’s what I’m planning to tackle next!!

Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

And in case you’re wondering, I grilled this salmon with some black pepper, garlic salt, fresh oregano, and lemon slices, and it was delicious!!Personalized Cedar Planks - use a wood burning tool to create fun, unique gifts for dad!

You might also like:

Perfect Grilled Steak Marinade - mix up this spice rub and give it as a gift or use it for the absolute best pepper marinade!

Perfect Steak Marinade and printable Father’s Day spice rub tin labels

Filed Under: Crafting, gifts Tagged With: Father's Day gifts, grill gifts, wood-burning

Perfect Grilled Steak Spice Rub

June 9, 2015 by girlinspired 6 Comments

Father’s Day is coming up and we like to celebrate with food! Steak is always, always at the top of our list. It’s taken me some time to nail down the right combination of spices for the perfect tri-tip marinade, but now that I have it, I like to mix up a big batch of grilled steak spice rub at once so that it’s easier to make my marinade when the time comes.

spice rub container with 'Dad's best barbecue steak rub' label and bell peppers

I found these fun tin cans in the Target dollar bins last week and thought they’d make good packaging for some Father’s Day steak rub. I hot glued a few wraps of twine around the can and made a quick label to stick on top. This can will hold enough spice to marinate at least 12 big tri-tip roasts, so dad ought to be set at the grill for quite a while. You could also mix up a can of spices for chicken (here’s my favorite herb roasted chicken combo) Add in a gift card for the butcher shop or some new BBQ tools, and you’ve got a gift that any dad would love. Click here for free printable labels!

sliced steak on wooden cutting board

The marinade is a cinch to mix up once you have your grilled steak spice rub ready. You can make it in a glass baking dish and cover with plastic wrap or toss everything in a gallon size Ziplock bag and then seal up the marinade all around the meat.  open container of spice rub showing herbs and spice mix

tri tip roast in marinade in glass baking dish

For the best flavor, try to marinate the meat for at least an hour or two, turning several times. This recipe is enough to marinate 4 individual steaks or one large tri-tip roast – 1 1/2 – 2 pounds of meat. When it’s time to cook your meat, heat the grill on high for about 10 minutes. You want it to get nice and hot. Place your meat on the hot grill to sear the outside quickly and seal in the juices. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until the meat reaches your desired doneness. We like medium-rare and this takes about 20-30 minutes.sliced steak on wooden cutting board with bell peppers in background

Perfect Grilled Steak Marinade - mix up this spice rub and give it as a gift or use it for the absolute best pepper marinade!

Perfect Grilled Steak Spice Rub

5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 96
Calories: 5kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup onion flakes
  • 1/4 cup garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup sea salt
  • 1/8 cup onion powder
  • 1/8 cup chili powder

Instructions

  • Mix spices together to make a total of 2 Tbsp spice rub. Combine with 1/4 c. water, 1/4 c. olive oil, and 1/8 c. balsamic (or apple cider) vinegar. Place meat in marinade and soak for 1-2 hours. Grill.
  • For larger batches of spice rub, mix 2 parts (red pepper, black pepper, oregano, onion flakes, salt, and garlic salt) to 1 part (onion powder and chili powder).
Tried this recipe?Follow me on Pinterest @girlinspired!

Nutrition

Calories: 5kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 605mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

sliced steak on wooden cutting board with spice rub container and baked potatoes in background

Filed Under: Food and Recipes, Main Course Tagged With: Father's Day gifts, spice rub, steak, steak marinade

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It is my hope that you will find inspiration on the Girl. Inspired. blog. All photos are copyright protected by Girl. Inspired. If you wish to share something that you have seen here, I am absolutely thrilled! Please use only one picture with a direct link back to the project you are referencing. Thank you so much for your understanding!

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