Since having kids, I’ve turned into a fairly crunchy mom and have worked really hard to get rid of any and all toxic junk in our home that my kids could be exposed to. One of the things I got rid of from our garage was our wood stain. It smells horrible and I knew I didn’t want the kids accidentally getting into it one day, so I just threw it out!
A few weeks later, I was making some wood frames (find my DIY $5 post here) and I was really missing my wood stain. I wanted a more natural look for this frame, but it was a Sunday and I really really really didn’t want to go to Home Depot to buy a new can of stain.
I hopped on Pinterest and found out that you could make your own wood stain! Curious, I looked more into it and decided it was worth a shot to avoid having to go to the store (I’m ridiculously lazy on weekends)!
The key to making your own stain is letting it sit, and then adding more and more coats to your wood to get your desired look. I let my stain initially sit for 24 hours, and then did some testing on scrap wood to see how many shades I needed to achieve the right shade.
Turns out, even though the first few coats of stain come out pretty light you can get a really beautiful and rich color if you keep adding! I found that letting the stain dry out in the hot Vegas sun made it even darker, and I loved the colors I was getting!
This recipe made enough stain for me to complete three large wood frames, and it cost me pennies to make! I stored it in a mason jar, and I love that it didn’t smell horrible and wasn’t nearly as harmful as the stains you get from the store!
Supplies:
-1 cup of vinegar of choice. I used white vinegar because that’s what we had, but different vinegars make for different colored stains!
-1 steel wool pad
-Mason jar for storage
Instructions:
Pour the vinegar into a mason jar, add the steel wool, and shake it! Let it sit in a relatively cool and shady place indoors for at least 24 hours, shaking occasionally. After time is up, remove the steel wool and apply to wood with a brush or rag! The stain is very watery and doesn’t require much, but it is very effective and the end result is gorgeous!
Find my post on how to make your own wood frames for $5 and without tools HERE!
