I know I’m hopelessly late to review the March To DIY For box, but I’ve been really busy lately with almost no time to blog [even had to skip this week’s Talk To Me Tuesday, and have zero posts scheduled ahead]. In March, Darby Smart introduced us to the wonderful world of wood burning, an activity most of us here have never tried before, I’m sure.
HOW IT WORKS
Every month for $19.00 + free S&H Darby Smart “To DIY For” Club members receive a kit with a mystery DIY project, curated by the featured designer or blogger. The kits come equipped with everything you might need for your project, so you won’t need any additional tools. Darby Smart also offers a variety of one-off projects at various price points, as well as gift boxes.
If you would like to use my referral link, click here to check out the list of projects. Thank you! 🙂
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| Darby Smart To DIY For March 2014 Box – contents |
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| Darby Smart To DIY For March 2014 Box – contents |
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| Darby Smart To DIY For March 2014 Box – instructions |
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| Darby Smart To DIY For March 2014 Box – first attempt at wood burning, using the included scrap of wood |
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| Darby Smart To DIY For March 2014 Box – working on my project. I plan to cover the whole surface with flowers! |
The kit included everything you might need to create a fun project: two 9 1/2 x 6 Simply Bamboo cutting boards, Creative Woodburner pen, Crafter’s Workshop stencils, green Beads in a Bottle, and a plain sheet of scrap wood for practice.
As always, the instructions were very clear and easy to follow, and I’m glad I had that little scrap of wood to practice with because I totally needed it, since I never held a wood burner before. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in terms of pattern, but I used the included stencils and suddenly realized that I want to cover my whole cheese plate in flowers.
My husband was worried at first that I would hurt myself or burn the kitchen down [lol], but after supervising me for a few minutes he realized that I can handle this tool just fine, and left me alone.
The wood burner’s handle can get really hot after 10 minutes of use [at least mine did], so I had to keep taking breaks. I think the design that I have in mind is going to take me a while to complete, and with my schedule I’m only spending a few minutes a day on it, but you can see the progress I’ve made 🙂 There is a lot of detail that will go in it, but the result will be worth it, I’m sure.
Speaking of those green beads in a tube, I was confused how to use them and why they were included, but after taking a closer look at the stencils I realized that they were included as an extra in case we wanted to personalize fabric items: tablecloth, runner, napkins, maybe even a t-shirt or a canvas purse. That’s something I will consider doing in the future once I have more free time.
THE VERDICT
This was the best Darby Smart DIY project that I tried so far. I love the novelty, and the utility of it; and the fact that the wood burner is reusable will allow me to create unique items and personalized gifts in the future. I also really like those flowery stencils, I can reuse them for so many fun projects!
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