Union Jack Patio Table

My mom had this table for over 35 years and during that time it was yellow, black, blue, maroon and rusty! I have had it in all it's peeling glory for a few years until this summer I decided it needed to be stripped back to the metal. I don't have a before picture, but this is during and it gives you an idea of the layers of paint 

 

My husband drilled a few holes along the rim to allow the rain to run off and then I used black Rustoleum Spray paint to cover the top and base. After that I made two stencils to form the Union Jack (it is not exact I know, I did do a Union Jack Trunk which is correct and I love!) I sprayed one coat of a cream colour for the lines and three coats for the triangles using leftover paint we had so the total cost of this project was $0 which you can't beat!

Do you have any favourite outdoor projects?

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Ikea Hack For FREE!!

Yes, you read that correctly, this table was FREE! It is made from two different IKEA products found in the garbage.

 

 

First you take one Klubbo side table which looked like it had been left out in the rain...

 



 

Then you add the slatted bed base from the Fjellse bed...

 

 

 

and you get this gorgeous table all for $0.00!

 

 



 

 

I found the original table in a neighbours garbage and thought I would buy some wood to make a new top.  Later that evening I noticed the bed slats in another neighbours garbage and realized it would be perfect for the top. 

 

I started by measuring my wood so I have about a 3/4" overhang and I cut the wood  (using my husbands mitre saw all by myself for the first time ever!).  I used black satin finish Rustoleum spray paint and covered the base with three coats.  While that was drying I lightly sanded and then stained the wood using Special Walnut colour stain.  When dried I laid the wood on the ground and used some offcuts of the wood to join them all together on the bottom.  I attached the top using wood screws to the frame.  To finish off the table and to protect it, I used two coats of Polyacrylic in satin finish and left it to dry. 

 

I love the combination of the smooth, modern metal and the rustic, aged wood.







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Sharing With:

Funky Junk Interiors                                   French Country Cottage

Life On Lakeshore Drive                            The Thrifty Groove
Be Different Act Normal                            The Chicken Chick
Thrifty Decor Chick                                   The Dedicated House
Alderberry Hill                                           A Humble Creation
An Original Belle                                       A Pinch of Joy
Serendipity and Spice                                 The Tumbleweed Contessa
The Rustic Pig                                            Elizabeth & Co
Not Just A Housewife                                Kathe With An E
Coastal Charm                                            Fluster Buster
If It's Not Baroque                                      Savvy Southern Style
Creative Cain Cabin                                    A Diamond In The Stuff
Someday Crafts                                           I Gotta Create
The Shabby Creek Cottage                         Made In A Day
Common Ground                                        Embracing Change
52 Mantels                                                  No Minimalist Here
Live Laugh Rowe                                       House of Hepworths
The Pin Junkie                                            French Country Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed                                     Diana Rambles
Funky Junk                                                 Redoux

Bedside Table

Three years ago when we bought our cottage it suddenly dawned on us that we had to furnish a full cottage and a guest cottage and had no money to do it! It's amazing what you can get for free. I will write a post one day with all of the items we were given and how we sourced them, but for now I wanted to show you the before and after of this cute little bedside table. Unfortunately the pictures don't show the full extent of the bad condition it was in, but it was free and we all love that, don't we?

When I was sanding the piece I found the note below taped to the top of one of the cubbies.  I had to put it back in once the piece was finished as it's part of the history of the table. I will try to remember in 10 or 20 years to look up this little girl and see what she is doing for a living.

I hadn't heard about chalk paint so thought I had to sand it all down to paint it and as I started sanding I realized what a great solid wood piece it was and it became harder and harder to convince my husband that it should be painted. In the end we compromised and only painted the cubbies to save me the work of sanding those. 

I used two coats of "Colonial Oak" coloured stain. That was okay, but not the colour I was looking for so I then added a coat of "Special Walnut". It didn't go as dark as I would have liked, but the wood seemed to be "full" of stain and wasn't absorbing anymore so I settled on this colour. I did two coats of Polyacyrlic all over and four on the top (I am obsessed about protecting the wood on pieces I refinish and don't even get me started on coasters, I have them everywhere!) I used homemade chalk paint on the cubbies and two coats of polyacrylic on those after to protect them.

 

 

What is your favourite freebie project?

 

 

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A Pinch of Joy      The Dedicated House        Crafty, Scrappy, Happy         An Original Belle
A Humble Creation   

Pallet Heart Art

I convinced my husband to pick up a pallet for me, but it had been sitting in our driveway waiting for some inspiration for quite a while now. Finally I decided to make some Valentines art with it, but now I like it so much, it’s going to stay up year round.

There is some discussion on the safety of using pallets (see here).  I had my husband cut the pallet so I would have enough wood to make four boards each 12” x 12”.  I then soaked them in hot water with bleach (to kill any bugs) and used an old toothbrush to clean them off.  I left them to dry and then we used wood glue and clamps to glue three boards together to achieve the desired size.  I needed to stain the cut ends so I made some steel wool and vinegar stain, but it was very strong so I needed to dilute it a lot.  

I made a heart shape template from paper and used that as my guide for the first piece.  I nailed nails (appropriately enough) in a heart shape. 

That looked boring so I then used kitchen string and wrapped it back and forth across the heart until I was happy with the pattern and tied it off.

For the second heart I used some raffia I had and soaked it in water for a few minutes, I then shaped it into two hearts and weighted them down and left them overnight to dry.  I simply used hot glue to attach it top and bottom.

 

The third heart I shaped some thin copper wire around the nails on the first board and twisted wire to secure them leaving a couple of long ends at both points.  I drilled two small holes in the boards and put the ends of the wire through and covered them with hot glue to secure and to stop them from scratching the wall.  I was very disappointed with this one as it didn’t stand out very well.  I decided to put white glue on the board and covered it with some sand we had.  This improved it, but it does look better in person than in the pictures.

For the last board I laid out shells on the template and then slid them off onto the boards, adjusting as necessary.  Using hot glue, I attached them to the board.

To hang them I drilled pilot holes (I actually made a template with paper to show where to put the holes and to speed up the process) and put in ¾” screws and tied string to them to create something to hang on the wall hooks.

I am so pleased with these and they look great in our master ensuite.  Total Cost:  $0.00

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Funky Junk Interiors #173         Crafty Scrappy Happy #21            French Country Cottage
The Pin Junkie                           Tater Tots and Jello                       Sunny Simple Life
The Dedicated House #35         The Francis Family                        A Pinch Of Joy

Debbiedoo's                                Fox Hollow Cottage                      The Thrifty Groove #94

Common Ground #125               A Little Knick Knack #31             I Gotta Create #37
Lamb Around                             The Chicken Chick #19                 Someday Crafts
Homemaker On A Dime #97      Alderberry Hill                              A Humble Creation
An Original Belle                        Or So She Says                             The Rustic Pig #20
Elizabeth & Co. #55           A Bowl Full of Lemons                 If It's Not Baroque #5
Serendipity and Spice                Savvy Southern Style #104            Someday Crafts
Embracing Change                     Made In A Day                              The Shabby Creek Cottage
Diana Rambles                           Sassy Little Lady #3                       The Creative HomeAcre
DIY Showoffs                            Costal Charm #150                        Not Just A Housewife
Fluster Muster

 

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Power of Paint

I was so exicted to open an email this week from Maryann at Power of Paint and find out that my Union Jack trunk was selected as one of her features!  She has so many super projects from such fantastic bloggers that I'm honoured to be chosen.  If you haven't been to her blog yet, do stop by for a visit, you will be amazed at what you see.  Off to do my little happy dance now...

 

 

Read more about My Take On The Union Jack Craze 

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Top Furniture Projects for 2012

Having only started this blog in November I don't have many projects to choose from, but I wanted to look at the best of 2012.

 

Bird On A Stool which was made and finished by my 12 year old son, Justin is a favourite.

 

And My Take On The Union Jack Craze as I was so pleased with how it turned out and it had the most views of any of my projects.

Wishing you and your family good health and great happiness in 2013.

 

 

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Fox Hollow Cottage Power of Pinterest Party
I Gotta Create Wildly Original Link Party
Diana Rambles -Best of 2012
Feathered Nest Friday
Embracing Change

Bird On A Stool

My 12 year old son and his brother, Matthew, both made a stool like this at a wood working course a couple of years ago.  (See Matt's stool HERE).  It sat in our basement unused until now.  He has been watching me refinish furniture and blog and I finally convinced him to work on it.  I Googled some pictures for inspiration and he set to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First he sanded it smooth.

Then he stained it using Special Walnut colour.

 






Then we found a bird image online, enlarged it to the size we wanted it and printed. We cut the bird out and he put in on the stool and traced around using chalk.








We were going to use homemade chalk paint, but we found the exact colour of paint he wanted in artist acrylic paint and it only took one good coat to cover it.  After we left it to dry overnight two coats of polyacrylic were applied with a light sanding with 220 sandpaper in between.

I hope you agree the finished product is something to be proud of. 


Before

 

  

 

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Linking to:

The Rustic Pig                                                                    The Pin Junkie

A Pinch Of Joy                                                                     The Shabby Creek Cottage

Sarahndipities

Kathe With An E

Coastal Charm

Homemaker On A Dime

Primitive And Proper

Between Naps On The Porch

Home Stories A To Z

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Funky Junk

Crafty Scrappy Happy #19

Debbiedoo's Newbie With A Twist Party

I Gotta Create #36

 

My Take On The Union Jack Craze

Can you take another Union Jack project?  I know I am late to jump on the band wagon, but my excuse is that I've just gotten back into refinishing furniture and to justify the Union Jack, my husband is English and I did live there for three years so I think it's okay.

I found this trunk in the garbage and managed to cram it into the back seat of my car to haul it home.  My husband is great, but he is fed up with me sending him out in his van to pick up garbage which I have "discovered".

 

 

We pulled out so many nails and tacks I thought we would never be finished, but finally it was no longer a dangerous weapon, instead just an ugly old wooden box.  I sanded it all over, stained the sides with Colonial Oak coloured stain and then did a lot of research to make sure I had the Union Jack right.  I measured out the size of the top onto newspaper and drew out my Union Jack.  It took a few times to get it right, but doing it on paper made it so much easier later.

 

 

 

 I painted the entire top white with homemade chalk paint and when dry I placed my pattern on top and I traced it out.  The newspaper print came off just enough so it left a mark to show me where I had to put my tape (I use Frog tape because although it costs quite a bit more, it doesn't bleed).  I mixed some red and blue homemade chalk paint using the little bottles of acrylic craft paint from the dollar store and then painted away.  When it was dry I distressed it a bit and then covered it with two coats of polyacrylic on the sides and three on the top.  I added some Special Walnut colour stain and urethane all in one to the top and rubbed it off to age it.  We also removed the small, old wheels which I thought might damage our soft pine floors and replaced them with locking rubber ones from Home Depot.  I'm so pleased with the result, now we have a great coffee table with storage for my husbands record collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Linking to:  The Rustic Pig , Primitive & Proper , Thrifty Decor Chick , Red Hen Home A Pinch Of Joy

 Debbiedoo's Newbie Link Party, The Dedicated House-Anything Blue, An Original Belle

Savvy Southern Style Wow-us-Wednesdays, Embracing Change, Diana Rambles

Funky Junk- Crate Party, A Humble Creation, Made In A Day, All Things Pretty Thursday

Crafty Scrappy Happy

 

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A Great Crate

Sometimes you just get lucky.  You're walking along killing time while your son's at swim practice and suddenly when it's not even garbage day, you see an old crate by the curb!  An old crate which is exactly what you have been looking for and have been to auctions trying to buy to no avail and there it is, plain as day, waiting for you to haul it back to your car.

Now to make it look pretty. First I scrubbed it and used wood cleaner on it and then I lightly sanded it just to get rid of any rough spots.  Then I stained it with special walnut.  A couple of coats of polyacrylic satin finish and it was ready for it's new job of holding my husbands records.

 

 

Here is the Before and After together...I hope you like it as much as I do!

 

 

 

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Funky Junk Interiors                        Crafty Scrappy Happy #22              I Gotta Create #38

The Rustic Pig                                 Common Ground # 126                   The Pin Junkie #3
French Country Cottage                  The Thrifty Groove                          A Little Knick Knack
Debbiedoo's                                      A Humble Creation #9                    Lamb Around
Nifty Thrifty Sunday #95                The Chicken Chick #21                   Alderberry Hill
The Dedicated House #36               An Original Belle #65                      A Pinch of Joy
Life On Lakeshore Drive #22         Homemaker On A Dime #98           Serendipity And Spice #211
If It's Not Baroque #6                      Elizabeth and Co                              Savvy Southern Style
Embracing Change                          Made In A Day                                The Shabby Creek Cottage

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