I'm so excited for the next installment of the #modernholidayhome series. This week we're working with Minwax Canada and I'm excited to share a fun DIY Fawn Print Wood Serving Board perfect to serve Christmas breakfast and just like last week's DIY Christmas Tote this DIY reindeer pelt tray would make the perfect DIY Christmas Gift.

To catch you up if you missed last week, I've partnered with some of Canada's best DIY bloggers for a fun series called Modern Holiday Home where we each share a fun holiday project each week for five weeks. 

I've been loving this deer print ever since I spotted it in Christine Dovey's Spring 2017 One Room Challenge Basement makeover. I have a feeling fawn print (reindeer print, caribou print, springbok print) will be big next year and I wanted to see if I could create it using Minwax stain products and the results surprised me - in a really good way.

Here are the things I used to create this DIY Fawn Print Serving Board: A piece of flat wood, Minwax Jacobean, Minwax Pickled Oak and Minwax Mission Oak, a hand-sander (or sand paper), white paint, a paint brush, Minwax Fast-drying Polyurethane and two handles.


First I sanded the board. Note, I didn't use any wood conditioners because I wanted the stains to show brush strokes to enhance the "fur-like" quality of the board.


Then I painted the lightest stain first (Pickled Oak) all around the edge of the board and let it dry. Next, I painted the medium colour stain (Jacobean) along the interior of the board leaving a gap down the middle for the darker stain. Again letting it dry for an hour or so.


Then I painted the darkest stain (Mission Oak) down the middle. This was the coolest part. I brushed on the stain in a V pattern so it created full brush marks - it ended up looking exactly like fur.

Then I painted on the white dots of the deer pelt. I googled searched a pic so I could mimic the print as best as possible.


Next I used the polyurethane to seal the board - note, it is okay to serve on the board but don't cut directly on the board. Then I drilled holes for the handles and used a larger drill bit on the back so the screws could sit within the board.



If I were to do this again I probably would have done this set at the beginning after sanding. 


That's it! I love this DIY Fawn print serving board so much and I cannot wait to use it at Christmas - or maybe even all year.  It's such an easy DIY Christmas decor project and makes such a unique DIY Christmas gift.






To be honest I always have a good stash of Minwax products on hand. I know this may sound weird but to other DIY's out there I know they understand. There are so many options and it can go way beyond your imagination. I hope you enjoyed this DIY Fawn Print Wood Serving Board.

Be sure to check out the other bloggers in the Modern Holiday Home series; Colleen from Lemon Thistle, Thalita from The Learner Observer, Lindi from Love Create Celebrate and Gemma from The Sweetest Digs.