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Lara and I are pretty vocal about our love of Target, especially their Dollar Spot. We can’t make a trip to Target without leaving with something from there!! The Valentine items were adorable this year and gave me some awesome inspiration. This post is a series of three where I take those cute, cheap items and make them unique and personalized.
First up is this adorable cutting board. It was only $3 and I loved how simple it was with the heart cut out. I decided it would be so sweet to add a family recipe written in my great grandmother’s handwriting.

Supplies needed:
- Unfinished wood cutting board
- Recipe or whatever you’d like
- Mod Podge
- Paint brush
- Card or hard plastic edge
My recipe was printed (horizontally flipped) from a toner printer. It won’t transfer if not from a toner printer.
Cover the printed side with a generous layer of Mod Podge. Be sure to get the edges well.
Take your hard edge and smooth out any air bubbles, making sure your paper is completely flat against the wood.
Let it sit like this for at least 24 hours.
Once it’s set for a day, go ahead and apply a saturated (not rung out, not dripping wet) washcloth to the paper transfer. Let that soak for around 5 minutes or until paper is totally wet.
Start to peel the paper off, rubbing gently to get the wet paper away from the board. This will take a few times of rubbing and then soaking again.
After the fourth and final cycle. Oh, I love it!!
In order to protect your transfer, apply a coat or two of Mod Podge and let dry.
This once simple cutting board is now family heirloom quality! I still remember visiting my great-grandmother and holding her soft hands while she told me stories. Now I have her handwritten recipe to display and remind me of her often. ❤️
I LOVE this idea! What a special gift this would make for any occasion!
Thanks!!
I absolutely love this idea! I want a handwritten family recipe on a cutting board today now. Too bad my Target Dollar spot was completely empty of all the Valentines goodies. I will keep an eye out for another cutting board option for this.
Kati recently posted…DIY Chalkboard Organizing Labels
Dang I’m sorry they were all out. That stuff does go fast. I hope you find another option!
Is the matte mod podge the best type to use for this or will any kind work?
I think the matte would look the best but it should probably be able to work with any kind.
What program did you use to flip the document?
I uploaded the image in Word and then reversed the image.
I am so upset!! I wanted to do the cutting board with the recipe on it. Everything went as planned until I started rubbing the paper off. The recipe looked great at first but the more I watered and rubbed the whole recipe begin to come off! It would have worked if I wanted to leave the paper on it…What did I do wrong? Followed instructions to a T and yes had it done with a lazer printer…please help!
Hi April! I’m sorry to hear your project didn’t work!! You said you printed with a laser printer, not a toner printer? It should be a toner printer. If you did use a toner printer and still had your image peel then my advise would be to try again and peel very softly when you get to that last layer of paper. I found if I rubbed even a smidge too hard, the writing would be damaged so I worked slowly and more carefully for that stage. Hopefully this helps!! It really is such a cute project once finished.
Recipe on cutiing board did work
Jolly and Happy, I am so happy to have found your instructions for this cutting board project. I absolutely love but I do have one question, I don’t know what is a toner printer, can you give more information, maybe printer brand and model. I have a jetink printer
Here is a newer model that is similar to my printer. It uses toner ink which is what’s needed for this project.
Brother Compact Monochrome Laser Printer, HL-L2350DW, Wireless Printing, Duplex Two-Sided Printing, Amazon Dash Replenishment Enabled https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763WDSYZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WyDxEbMC41T9E
Can these ctually be used as cutting boards or they only decorative?
Thanks for your question! I would only use the cutting board as a decoration.