Pizza Peel/Paddle Recipe or Memo Board

So, my sister is getting married. There's no other way to say it. :)  Congrats!  A few weeks ago we had her bridal shower, and I decided to make her a gift.  Because it was simple and a nice gift to give at just such an occasion, I thought I'd share. So here is how to make this personalized Pizza Peel (I had no idea that's what it was called) Memo/Recipe Board.  Perfect to hang in the kitchen, or to set up on the counter with a photo easel.  

If you can't tell by the pictures, this is easy to make.  But in case you're still wondering, here's how:

Materials Needed:

* Wooden Pizza Peel/Paddle/Board (Try checking your local thrift store.  I got this for $2.  Always on the look out for a steal on items I can later craft with!)

* Stencil Vinyl (Regular Vinyl with transfer tape will do just as well, for this project)

* Two contrasting colors of craft paint (I did a cream and black) and a sponge brush

* Metal clamp (can find at an office supply store)

* Super glue, or hot glue

Also, if you want, you can try priming your board with a primer first.

I did mine, because the board was weathered and coarse, but it didn't really help with the paint absorption later, so really it's up to you.  But, if you are going to want really clean lines with your image later on, see my second note below.   

So, once you're done priming (if you prime), use your sponge brush to paint the board with one of your craft paint colors, front and back (you don't want people to see the unpainted back, should you ever decide to display this somewhere other than on the wall).

"She's painting the pizza peel whiiite, she's painting the pizza peel whiiite."  (Not the same ring as painting the roses red.)

Note: See that awesome piece of cardboard behind it?  Yeah.  Great use for old boxes.  Tear them up and keep a few pieces to use to protect your other surface from the paint (I use them when I paint my nails with polish too.)  Or you could just use a table cloth, but that's beyond my cheap budget. ;)

Alright, onto the design.

I found some fancy flourishes in my Silhouette library, turned one on its side, sized it, duplicated it, and used the two as "bookends" or brackets for around the last name.  For their last name (or her soon-to-be last name: Hall) I used the font Birmingham.  Then I put the "established" est as 2014, the year they are being married, and used the fonts Parisienne & Respective.  (I can't guarantee those font links, but they were free fonts when I got them.)

Cut out the image using your stencil or regular vinyl, but instead of weeding away the outside, weed out the letters and flourishes. This makes the stencil.

To use vinyl as a stencil, weed out or remove the cut out shapes, leaving just their outlines behind.

Be careful that the "insides" of the letters remain in their proper place on the backing paper.  (I.E. the middle of the 'e' in est., or of the 'a', etc.)

Now, the thing that is nice about Silhouette's actual stencil vinyl is that both it and the transfer tape that comes with it are both mostly clear, so that you can easily see through them for positioning onto your surface.  But if you don't have that, regular transfer tape will do too!

Stencil Vinyl's accompanying transfer tape is clear, helping you see through it for positioning.

Pull the clear (or regular) transfer tape from it's backing and press it down over the vinyl stencil, taking special care with those "insides" of letters.  (We want them to stick!)

Position transfer tape over your image/stencil and press down to secure the vinyl to it temporarily.

The transfer tape allows you to then pull up the vinyl stencil from it's paper backing, with the stencil now attached to the transfer tape.  This helps you then, well, go on and transfer it to your surface. Hooray for clever names.

Next, go ahead and position that lil' stencil right onto your painted board, right where you'd like it.  I kept mine as close to the top as possible so that there'd be room for the memos or recipes to hang from below it.

Once it's positioned, carefully pull off the transfer tape, being sure that all of the inner parts of the letters are left behind. You should then have a vinyl stencil on your board, just waiting for the painting.  So what are you waiting for?  Paint it.

After waiting a sufficient time for it to dry, go ahead and pull off your stencil, and use your hook or a finger nail to carefully weed off the smaller pieces.

Note:  Because my wood was a bit rough, the paint bled a little under the stencil, since the top was un-sanded.  I ended up liking the look it gave, as it suggested an aged old cafe sign, but if you want clean lines, I'd suggest sanding your board before you paint it.

Using super glue (or a glue gun) attach your metal clamp just below your wording.  I had a difficult time finding that metal clamp--so don't check craft stores unless you are feeling really lucky.  I could only find it an an office supply store.  So save yourself time.  Just go there first.

Once that dries, you are ready to use or wrap and gift your newly made recipe/memo board!  If giving as a gift, write out your favorite recipe and include it, attached to the board, and consider adding in some of the ingredients to help build up their spices and cupboard. I included one of my favorites:  Brownie Pudding Cake.  Yuuuum.  :)  Hope you enjoy!