I don’t know about you, but once summer hits I’m constantly craving tacos. Taco Tuesday, sure… but also taco Wednesday, taco Thursday and taco every-day-of-the-week. The only thing that bugs me is how difficult it is to handle them. How can you serve them without them flopping all over the place? So I decided to craft a simple taco holder out of wood to solve the problem. Keep reading to check out my full photo tutorial!
Materials
- 13 x 5 1/2 x 3/4 inch piece of wood
- 12 wooden 3/8 inch diameter dowels, 3 inches long
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Paintbrush
- Wood glue
- Acrylic craft paint
- Washi tape
- Drill with 7/16 inch bit
- Saw (not pictured)
Step
Begin by cutting your wood to size and sanding the edges. Next, attach washi tape half way up the side of the wood, all the way around the perimeter of the board. Press down firmly so it is well attached. Paint the un-taped section with two light coats of paint, letting them dry in between.
Step
Now tape off a 3/4 inch section at the top of each dowel rod and coat with them each with acrylic paint.
Step
Once the paint has dried on the base of your taco holder, find the center line from top to bottom on the wood and lightly draw a line across this center point. Next, measure along this line to determine where to place your dowels. Make one mark 1 1/2 inches from the left side. Then make another mark 2 inches from the first one. Continue making marks every two inches until you get to the other side… you should have 6 marks.
Step
Drill down into those marks, but be sure to only go about a quarter of an inch deep.
Step
Next, fill the first hole with wood glue and insert the first dowel with the painted end at the top. Wipe away any excess glue. Repeat the process for the remaining dowels. Be sure that they are square, and let them dry thoroughly.
I left the wooden surface raw, but you might also consider adding a food safe oil to the unpainted areas for a different look. Anything made for wooden cutting boards wood work well.
Now go make some tacos! I opted for fish tacos with avocado, cabbage and a cucumber corn salsa… yum. When you’re finished eating, just wipe down the wooden surface gently with a soapy sponge and rinse.
The tacos sit perfectly in between the dowel rods, and the paint adds a festive pop of color perfect for Mexican food. These holders would also work well for hard taco shells… because what’s more annoying than loading up your shells and then watching them fall over on your plate?!
And if you want to get creative with the colors, you might try a multicolor look with contrasting colors on the dowels and the base. Or perhaps a different color on each dowel… the sky’s the limit!
