Thursday How To: New Life for Old Wood

Donni of The Magic Onions loves old wooden bowls. She loves them so much that when she finds a negected specimen, she cleans it up and restores it to it's former glory. You can read about her entire restoration process in this post, but today she shares her recipe for a lovely, creamy polish.

After the cleaning process, an old wooden bowl will have a vintage look and I often leave it just like that. But sometimes, a bowl needs to have a little more TLC. This is how I make my polish.



The pictured bicarbonate of soda was used to clean the bowl, you can read all about my cleaning process here. I couldn't find my measuring cup anywhere (Kids! *big dramatic sigh*) so I improvised with an old yogurt container (4 oz).



You'll need:
1 cup of odorless Turpentine (2 yogurt containers)
1/2 cups of melted beeswax (1 yogurt container)
a few drops of essential oil (optional - lavender is my favorite)

Make a bain-marie on your stove to melt the beeswax (if you want instruction on how to safely melt beeswax, take a look at the this post about working with beeswax).
While it is melting, sit your turpentine in a bowl of warm water... you want it to be warm when you add your hot melted beeswax. When wax is melted, add it to the warm turpentine and stir thoroughly. When it has cooled a little, add your essential oil and stir again.



As the mixture cools, it emulsifies into a wonderfully thick polish.



Use a lint free rag to rub the polish into the bowl evenly. I apply a few coats and Voila! A beautifully stained and polished wooden bowl. I love knowing that it has had a myriad of lives before this on, that it has been loved, tossed aside, forgotten, discarded, found, restored and then loved again. Phew... how romantic! Look at the beautiful grain marking that appeared.



Isn't it amazing how you can turn a grotty old thing into a beauty?

Donni's shop Fairyfolk is filled with colorful felted acorns, felted stones and needle felted toys. Waldorf Inspired, all natural, handmade and eco-friendly. In her own words, "Needle felting is how I reconnect with myself, being creative is a necessity. It is the language of my soul and try to speak it often."