How we made a marble cutting board

Choosing gifts for the attendants at my daughter's wedding was a difficult decision. Selecting gifts for the bridesmaids was a relatively simple task. However; it was a different story when it came to the attendants who were serving. We wanted the gifts to be unique and adequately reflect our appreciation.

My daughter and I scoured the internet for ideas and asked for suggestions from friends. Then we hit upon the idea of making each wedding a marble cutting board for cheese. We took inspiration from the need for a large piece of marble for the cheeseboard at the reception. The future bride approved of the idea so we gave it a shot. Here's what we did.

So, where can you go for large pieces of marble? Our answer was the local quarry. Huge stacks of marble and stone were everywhere. We also kept an eye out for stone and marble that would make natural stone countertops. The staff was great to answer our questions about the names of the material and where each came from.

It didn't take long to find a large piece of rectangle marble that was thick, flat and smooth. It made an ideal marble cheeseboard for the reception table. Next to that stack was a pile of odd sized thick pieces and thin tiles.

We knew that we had come to the right place. The wedding attendants didn't need large pieces but we did want them to be attractive. In the end, our selection for the wedding attendants centered around Tennessee marble.

Possibly no gift for a wedding attendant has ever been easier to create or more unique.

• We took the marble pieces home, scrubbed each one with a mild detergent and rinsed thoroughly.
• Once they were cleaned, I put them on the towels to let them dry overnight.
• I flipped them over and put the tiles on clean towels the next morning.
• That evening I placed the marble pieces in the oven and “baked” them at 450 degrees. After the pieces had been at that temperature for an hour, I turned the oven off. The pieces stayed inside the oven overnight and were removed the next morning.
• Even though the oven had been turned off, pieces retained heat. Hot mitts were used to remove the marble pieces and they were placed on wire racks to cool.

Finishing the gifts for the wedding attendants was easy. We tightly wrapped each gift in clear plastic wrap and added a cheese knife in the package. A layer of bubble wrap was added next and each one was placed into a gift bag that coordinated with the wedding colors.

All that was left to do was to give them to the wedding attendants on the big day. It was an easy inexpensive gift that should last for years to come.