The black actually is not paint, it’s an ebony stain I bought at Home Depot. I sanded every last bit of the old paint from this thing just so I could use the black stain, it’s my favorite.

The sticks are those thin little skewers you can get at any grocery store. They are sold in bags of maybe 50 (or maybe more). One end is sharpened to a point and the other is flat. Using double-pointed knitting needles would have cost way too much I think.

Those little skewers (as cute as they may seem) are a complete pain to work with. I had to sand them which was a nightmare, then stain them, which was worse, then measure and cut them, and finally sharpen every flat end to a point. The whole process was long, very long, and I think I lost feeling in my fingers for a while after.

Thanks again y’all!