Another late Christmas post - Serving boards

My good friend sent me a picture of a serving board that was huge.  It made a grand statement on a buffet table and it was something she really liked.  She sent me the picture with a question "What do you think"?  (it was similar to this one, just a bit bigger and even more expensive Serving Board)  Well, it was pretty impressive shown on a beautiful, full table of appetizers.  But, the price on this impressive board was $199!!!!  What??  Well, it was supposedly made from 100 year old wood from a building in Europe.  So, what did I think? 

I told her I could make one that looked like it for a whole lot less.  And, I did.  In fact, I made two for her, one for her to use and one for her to give as a gift.  These were lightly stained with Minwax Ipswich stain, then sealed with shellac, which is food safe.  It will yellow over age, but then natural wood will also yellow, so all's good with that!

My friend purchased a big bag of leather pieces and we used a shoe-laced size piece of leather for the holding strap (through that hole in the "handle").  This was 40" long, about 1.5" thick and 11" wide.  BIG! and HEAVY! 

I'd make one for myself, just because they look really cool, but I have no place to keep it when it's not being used.  Pretty impressive, right?  And, the cost to make?  Materials were, nope, not going into that - let's just say she insisted on paying me $40 for each one.  And, if I get a request for another one I'll be very happy to take $40 for it!