Scavenger Chic

A Trio of Barrel Stave Upcycles

• By Joan
• September 25, 2019
• 9 Comments

Several months ago I helped move my nephew into his new home.  At the time I asked his mama if there was anything he needed as a housewarming gift…or if there were any of my projects I could gift him.

A week later she got back to me.  He really liked the barrel stave candle holder I made last year.  Unfortunately I had sold the candle holder shortly after I  made it and I had no more barrel staves left.  I can’t remember what I ended up giving him as his housewarming gift but I’m sure it was fantastic! 😆 

Somehow, somewhere, my sister digs up these 3 old barrel staves…I’m back in business.

Don’t let a little dirt and rot scare you.  The rotten ends were easily chopped off and the ends resanded.  And the remainder of the barrel slat was given a good sanding.

All three barrel slats were given a couple coats of Danish Oil .

**hint, if your danish oil or varnish is having a hard time drying, try putting it out in the sunshine.

For barrel stave Number 1, I’m just repeating the same process I used to make the candle holder last year.  Find an old candle holder that has the  separate candle pedestals.  Use a metal grinder, or hacksaw or some other metal cutter to detach the pedestals from their base.

Drill holes in your barrel stave and insert the candle holders.  Glue if needed.

Barrel stave number 2 doesn’t even need a DIY.  I will tell you that up until last week this particular hook held back a set of curtains.  The curtains were so faded that they had to come down but the curtain tieback makes a great hook.

For hanging, I inserted a screw with a rusty washer thru the top and bottom, ready to attach directly to a wall stud.

Barrel stave number three is being transformed to a bottle opener.  Both the tin  and the bottle opener are from Hobby Lobby.

The metal tin was way too shiny for my old barrel stave.    To gunk it up some, I’m wrapping the tin in an old rag soaked with apple cider vinegar.

Some of the rag is even pressed down inside the tin.  Let sit a couple hours.

Meanwhile,  I screwed the bottle opener to the top of the stave.

For the handle of the bucket, I painted the wood black and drilled four holes inserting wires to hold the handle.  They are twisted on the back.

Screws and more rusty washers would hold the bottle opener to the wall.

Shiny metal no more.

I’ve done this technique one other time, adding clipart to a tin.  Of course you could always just leave the tin plain.

If you would like to add clipart, search the internet, I used the search words,  “Free Vintage Beer Clipart” where I found the above Classic Craft Beer logo.

In your photo editor download your photo, flip the photo and print out your desired size.

Paint Mod Podge on the tin slightly larger than your clipart.  Stick on your picture (do not cover with Mod Podge) and let dry completely. Overnight if necessary.

Holding the tin under water, rub your finger over the paper, gently rubbing the outer layer of paper.

Keep rubbing until all the white has been rubbed off.

Did I ever mention that the bucket is there to hold the bottle caps?

Aren’t they fun?  It’s time to be on the hunt for barrel staves.

Stay inspired.

Shared at Talk of the Town,   DIY Salvaged Junk

Related posts:

Modern Farmhouse, DIY Barn Door Coffee Table