DIY Stain For Wood

I found this tutorial on a blog off of Pinterest. I twisted what the author did in her tutorial to make it work for myself. I will link her blog at the end of this. I did not take step by step pictures to this but I can tell you exactly where I got every supply you will need.

What You Need To Make the Stain:

Steal Wool Grade #0

Black Tea Bags

Vinegar

Hot Water

Mason Jar or container of choice

Steps:

Boil about a cup of hot water and Place 5 tea bags into the water. The amount of liquid you end up with really depends on the project you are doing these letters I did did not use that much of the stain so make according to your project. The more tea bags you add the darker it will be. Set cup of water and tea bags aside until the mixture is at room temperature. Take your steal wool and place it in the mason jar, you are then going to want to take your vinegar and poor it over the top of the steal wool until it is completely submerged. Do this while your tea cools. Once your tea is completely cool add it into the vinegar and steal wool. Now let it sit.. for awhile.. You want everything to have time to mix together and make a good stain for the wood. I think I let mine sit for 5 days or so. 

What You Need to Paint:

Cheap or old paint brush

Cheap Paint

Rag or Paper towels

Sanding block 

Letters

Steps:

I went to HomeDepot and bought a small sample container of paint in Swiss Coffee. I also picked up the paint brush and sanding block from here as well. I laid the letters down on some cardboard in the garage. It was in the middle of winter so our garage was not warm. The paint was pretty thick which actually helped me do what I wanted. You do not want to coat the letters so you cannot see any of the wood anymore you basically want to barely put any paint on your brush and then move that in as much as you possibly can. I did not go in the same direction at all on the letters I just went crazy. I knew that if I went in the same direction that I would end up with a final project that looked too neat. I used the brush and paper towel for this to make sure it was completely rubbed in. Essentially I "white washed"the wood letters without mixing the water into the paint but that is the technique I used. In some areas the paint was too thick for my liking so I sanded some of it off. I was trying to go for an old distressed tarnished look. 

Once your paint is dry on the letters (I let mine sit for two days before adding the stain) you are going to want to get your concoction and brush it over the letters or whatever you are using this technique on. I did two coats of the stain and then I let it sit for awhile. I also took a rag and rubbed the stain into the wood to make sure it was getting into the wood. Now because these letters are just going to sit on my wall I did not add a sealant but if I was using this on a headboard or on something that was going to get a lot of movement or touch I would definitely look into some clear sealants. 

Here are the links that gave me the idea:

http://beingbrook.com/rustic-headboard-aged-wood/

http://beingbrook.com/farmhouse-desk/