Green Coffee Table

Here's a project that I'm in love with!  When I saw what Bear managed to create out of it, I was astounded!  I LOVE it!

Here's what we started with.  I found this old, dated coffee table on Craigslist for $5.  (I'm in charge of finding projects.)  It's solid wood, and I figured my brother (who is in charge of doing the projects) and I could do something with it.  But other than that, I didn't have anything in particular in mind.

If THAT was in my living room, I'd also be trying to get rid of it!  If its what's in YOUR living room, check out how it was transformed.

First the top was removed and the base was painted green.

I had left over rough cut wood with bark showing. So I decided to use this for the new top. I used a rotary sander with 60 grit sandpaper to smooth it out, and then cut the pieces to size.

I attached the unfinished top boards to the base with L brackets.

The top was stained with a dark walnut color stain.  The top was then sealed with a thick layer of poly-acrylic to really make the wood pop.
And one more look at the finished product...

We are so pleased with how it came out!  We are building up our inventory for our first ever HIVE sale at a local Antique/Flea Market.  On one hand we hope everything sells, and on the other, we're planning on where it should go in our own homes.  :o)  I hope you like it!  Even better, I hope you are inspired to make-over your own coffee tables.  It's so much fun!

Dining Room Chair Redo

Sorry for the poor lighting!  I scored 4 of these chairs at a thrift store for $10!  That’s $2.50 each!!  They were so 1990, and they were falling apart.  You couldn’t sit on them, for fear you’d fall through.  But I liked the lines and I’d been looking for 4 chairs to go around a round table in my living room.  (For board games and such.)

I started by taking off the seats, sanding down the chairs, and tightening all the bolts.  Once that was done, I was satisfied that I’d actually bought some quality chairs.  They were super sturdy, and ready to be painted.

I bought some yellow spray paint and painted the entire chair.  I let it dry, and then came back and sanded it to give it a weathered look.  You can see in the picture above the yellow paint, the original white-washed paint, and the wood beneath.  I then came back with some brown shoe polish to add a little “aging” effect, accentuate the detail work, and bring out the wood tone.

I then took the cushion, and placed it face-down on my chosen fabric.  I first stapled the corners, and then the midpoints, and then worked my way around, pulling the fabric taught.

Once I had the fabric stapled all the way around, I added another row of staples to make sure it didn’t come loose. 

Finished seat.

I reattached the seat to the chair.

And, the finished project.

I’m so glad I chose yellow.  I was really worried about it when I got started, but decided to go for it.  My living room needed a little “pick-me-up” and I was a cheery yellow, coupled with a modern printed fabric would do the trick. 

They actually look great around our game table!  But of course the biggest accomplishment, for me, is starting AND finishing the project!

Thanks for stopping by!

Garden cart turned coffee table

So I, Jenny, found this fantastic garden cart (below) on Craigslist!  I fell in love with the color, the chippy paint… the price!  It was fantastic!  Have you seen all those railway carts turned coffee tables?  Of course you have.  They are fabulous!  Well, my idea was to do something similar… not a copy of those, but to reinvent it in our own, quirky way.  I brought it over to my brother’s house for him to work on.  After all, he’s the handy one!

It’s me again.  Bear.  You start with a garden wagon that your sister wheels up and tells you she thinks would make a great coffee table. (Pause.)  The wheeled under-mount was removed.

I pried away all the flaking rusted metal pieces, since I wanted it as clean as possible. I didn't want the rust falling all over the floor once I brought it inside the house…

So I used a wire brush to clean off the loose rust, and used a shop vac to suck up the rest of the dust created by the scrubbing.

The hinges were also really rusted, which I love the look of, but doesn't bode well for using as furniture inside if paint is flaking off every day.

The hinges turned out pretty well too.

I wanted to use rough cut barn wood for the top of the table. The only problem is that these were too rough. I used 60 grit sandpaper first, and then followed that up with 100 grit to smooth it out further.

A view of the before and after…

I used some tools to further distress the wood. I had some left over installation hangers and chisels that I hammered into the wood.

When staining the wood, you can coat the wood with water first, so that the stain does not evenly apply, giving it an aged look.

The sun is shining on this, so the color of the stain doesn't really show through.

The base was constructed by stripping down the other piece of barn wood, and sanding the heck out of it. I wanted a smaller base so that people's feet could fit under the table when sitting at it. I also wanted the base tall enough so that the sides of the cart could all be lowered and still clear the ground.

I used wooden dowels to hold the base together.

I notched a square our of the sides of the base so I could further support the structure with a connection piece. I first started the whole with a drill, and then squared the corners with a jig saw.

I glued and tacked the connecting piece in place.

Then I filled the remaining gap with wood filler and sanded it clean.

The bottom of the metal cart was bolted to the top of the wooden base first. The wood piece was stained first. This way if I ever wanted to remove the wooden top I have planned for the cart, and just have the metal top show, then the base underneath will still have the stain finish on it.

I added spacers on top of the metal cart so that the top wood pieces will lay flush with the top of the metal sides.

Again I used my "distressers" with the top pieces.

Close up of the distressing. I like the installation hanger, because it looks as if this wood was used in shipping freight or something of that nature.

The top wood was screwed to the spacers from underneath as to keep a clean look. Two coats of poly-acrylic was used to give it a sealed and shiny finish. The base was also stained and sealed.

The color of the wood matches well with the rust of the metal cart. The color of stain was dark walnut.

This may look really top heavy and easy to tip. However, because the bottom of the cart is the heaviest point, it stays very well balanced.




The door can swing down and still clear the floor. This way people can choose to have the coffee table function at two levels easily.

And that’s how I did it.  I’ll admit, when Jenny rolled the cart up I thought she was nuts.  But I caught the vision and added my own spin to the piece.  I’m happy with how it turned out. 
This is one of the things that I LOVE about working with my brother on these projects!  He’s not just handy, he’s got an artistic eye, and it’s usually when I bring my finds and ideas to the table, and then he adds that spin of his to it, that we end up with something we’re both really proud of.  Thanks for checking it out!

(Best Ever) Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite things are freshly baked, warm, just out of the oven chocolate chip cookies!  It’s one of life’s little luxuries, and I LOVE it!  My trouble is I have no willpower, and for the first few years of my marriage, if I baked them, I ate them… ALL!  If it made 2 dozen, they’d be gone by morning!
Obviously, I couldn’t keep that up forever, and I found the perfect solution.  I make the cookie dough, and then freeze the cookie balls.  I take out 4 at a time, one for each member of my family (although by the time hubs gets home from work I’ve usually eaten his…)  and bake them.
A couple years ago I found the best chocolate chip cookie recipe!  I was given The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook… BEST COOKBOOK EVER!  Have you ever read a recipe that said “Braise the meat…” and thought “well HOW?”  They SHOW you, with pictures!  It’s fantastic!  In fact, they also showed me, step by step, how to freeze the cookie dough.  While it’s not rocket science, I appreciated it!

The cookies have become a weekly tradition here at my house.  My kids have gotten in on the act.  Yesterday my son helped me make the dough, and we’ve been enjoying the fruits (carbs) of our labor!

 
Chocolate Chip Cookies-(America's Test Kitchen)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 bag chocolate chips
1. Mix the dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, blend the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs, yolks and vanilla.
3.  Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4.  At this point, if you want to freeze, roll the dough into golf sized balls and place on waxed paper on a cookie sheet.  The recipe should make roughly 24 balls.  Place cookie sheet in the freezer for a couple hours until the dough is hard.
5.  Take out of the freezer and place dough balls into a freezer zip-lock bag.  FREEZE.
6.  When ready to bake, place the number of cookies you want to bake on the cookie sheet.  Place cookies in the cold oven, set oven to 325, and bake.  After oven reaches it’s temperature, bake an additional 10 minutes, or just until edges are golden but the centers are still soft and puffy.
*If baking un-frozen dough, just pre-heat the oven to 325 first, and then bake 17-20 minutes.  But make sure the centers are still soft and puffy.

ENJOY!