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I love to be decluttered and organized. It just provides a sense of peace and order, you know? However, I like things to be pretty and functional as well (ok now I’m sounding a little bit high maintenance…).  For me, that means having things where I’ll need them: coffee mugs near the coffee machine, wooden utensils near the stove, etc. And when I am organized like that in the kitchen, I’m suddenly unstoppable! Bring it on, Iron Chef !

Here I’m going to share a DIY farmhouse style mug or measuring spoon holder (I’ve made both, as you’ll see below) which are SUPER cute (if I do say so myself)  AND functional… these babies attach to the walls in your kitchen for easy access of those frequently used kitchen items! For simplicity sake, I’m just going to show pictures of the process for the measuring spoon holder, but the process for the mug holder is similar.

Materials

• 1 wooden wall plaque or plank (birch or pine recommended if you decide to use wood planks)
• 220 grit sandpaper
• rags
• tack cloth (optional)
• graphite lubricant
• number and letter hot stamps OR small letter and number stencils
• wood burning pen
• pliers
• heat proof plate (or other heat-resistant surface)
• Scrap wood
• 1″ mug hooks
• wood stain of choice (I used minwax “weathered oak”) or tea stain
• foam brush
• industrial strength velcro

Directions

1-) If your wood plaque feels really rough, start by giving it a quick sand and wipe off the dust using a regular or tack cloth.

2-) Using a pencil, draw a straight horizontal line about 0.5″-1″ from the top of the plaque. We’ll be putting the mug hooks along this line.

3-) Rest the measuring spoons across the plaque in the order you want them (I did smallest to largest), with the holes aligned with the line the you drew.

Optional but recommended: Put a firm pencil dot where you want each of the mug hooks to go (the dots should go inside the holes of the spoons when they’re resting on the plaque in their desired locations).

4-) Now draw a straight vertical line just to the left of each measuring spoon.

We can’t just evenly space the labels because each measuring spoon takes up a different amount of space. These lines will guide where we burn our letters so that the letters don’t end up covered when the measuring spoons are hanging.

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Note: If you want to be particular about all the letters being aligned, you can draw out a full grid here. I wasn’t particularly worried about being exact, so I left the line drawing at this.  

5-) Pick out the hot stamps (or stencils) you’ll need and trace them next to the appropriate lines.

I like to try to keep the measuring spoons in place while I do this to get an idea what the final product will look like, but they can get in the way….this is what the lines are for.

Once you’ve finished tracing, I recommend laying everything out on the board again to confirm that everything looks right. Put a firm pencil dot where you want each of the mug hooks to go.

6-) Treat all the hot stamps you want to use with dry graphite lubricant.

I like to lay out  all of the hot stamps that I’m planning on using on a rag (threads up) and give them a quick spray. Let them dry a few minutes while you take a breather.

7- ) Using pliers, screw in the first hot stamp you want to use. I worked from top down, so I started with the “1” stamp.

Then turn on the wood burning pen and let it heat up a few minutes.

8- ) Burn inside the appropriate traces. Since you took the time to trace earlier, it makes sense to burn all of a particular number or letter before switching hot stamps.

For example, while you have the “1” do all of the 1’s before switching hot stamps. This will save you a ton of time because every time you change hot stamps you will have to wait for the new stamp to heat up again!

9-) When you’re done with your first hot stamp, unscrew the one you just finished with USING PLIERS (see image above!) and rest it on a heat proof plate or other heat-proof surface.

Then grab the second one you want to use and attach that to the wood burning pen USING PLIERS. Let the new hot stamp warm up (test it on scrap wood when you think it’s hot) before burning again.

Note: For the love of all that is Holy, please be very cautious when using wood burning pens and other wood burning equipment! Do not let children or pets near the hot equipment (the hot stamps are a choking hazard for little ones anyway), work in a well ventilated space, and only remove and add hot stamps using pliers. We don’t want a fun DIY project to turn into an emergency room visit!

10-) Repeat steps 7-9 until you are finished wood burning.

It’ll look something like this.

11-) Turn off the wood burning pen and place aside on a heat-proof surface.

12-) Remove pencil marks and other extraneous marks

Gently erase any pencil marks that are still visible, excluding the dots where you’ll be screwing in the mug hooks. Then sand down any remaining pencil marks that you can’t easily erase (again,excluding the dots where you’ll be screwing in the mug hooks), any extraneous burn marks on the wood, and any rough areas of the wood (like the edges). Don’t worry about making it perfect!

13-) Glove up and mix your stain really well.  Brush stain onto the plaque with a foam brush.

Eco-friendly alternative: If you’re trying to save the world (go you!), you can tea stain the wood. The iron component of the tea stain should be made in advance.

Then wipe off excess with a rag.

If you find the stain isn’t as rich as you’d like it, give the wood plaque a quick sand (being sure to wipe off any dust with a fresh cloth or tack cloth) and do another coat. Then let the stain dry at least one hour or until the wood feels no longer sticky or wet when touched.

14-) Give the board a quick sand to make it nice and smooth.

Optional: Apply a coat of shellac or polyurethane and let dry at least 1 hr. The finish will protect the wood.

15-) Grab your mug hooks and thread  them where you want the measuring spoons to hang.

If you marked the spots with pencil dots then use these as your guide.

16-) Hang your mug/measuring cup holder where you’d like using industrial strength velcro or screws

Do not use command strips…we tried this and we had a mug casualty result. RIP mug!

17-) Accessorize with your mugs or measuring spoons!

You did it! Now treat yourself with a cup of tea or adult beverage.

Feel free to use this as inspiration. If you don’t have a wood burner and don’t want one, you can paint instead. Or come up with a similar plan  for other kitchenwares you use that you need frequent access. The possibilities are endless!

For more DIY inspiration head over to How I furnished My Living Room With Pottery Barn for Under $1000 and a fun DIY bathroom decor project!