If you love the look of aged wood, but don’t have access to your own dilapidated barn, you’re in luck! There are actually several ways to take new wood and make it look old, from beating it with random tools and metal objects to layering different wood stains.
My favorite way is to use a couple of household items. If you have tried this before, would you agree with me that it’s totally easy? If you haven’t heard of the vinegar method, here’s what you do.
Start with about a cup of white vinegar in a glass jar and add a wad of steel wool (I have found bags of it at the dollar store!) If you’re doing more than a few pieces of wood, start with more like 2 cups of vinegar.
Leave it open and let it sit for at least a day a day or two. By the end of a couple of days it will be pretty gross looking.
We don’t drink tea, so I just picked up the cheapest box I could find at Winco and I’ve used it several times for either wood or just staining book pages. Brush over the wood with prepared tea, then with the vinegar solution. Order doesn’t seem to matter either, you can start with the vinegar then do the tea.
I did this to the wood for my train pallet art and the glitter spring blocks.