Reclaimed Gym Floor Dining Table

Yes you read that correctly- GYM FLOOR DINING TABLE FINISHED!!!! Excuse me if I'm a little excited about this particular project because I've only been working on it for well over a year.

TA-DA!!

If you're not up to speed on the fabulousness that is the table see these posts:

The Find

Progress

Reclaimed Wine Barrel Stopper Coat Rack

Phew! Say that title 3 times fast- Reclaimed Wine Barrel Stopper Coat Rack, Reclaimed Wine Barrel Stopper Coat Rack, Reclaimed Wine Barealekfja andivaowjtlajldj 


Ugh I give up. Seriously I wasn't sure what else to title this besides the obvious so there it is. And, you may be thinking- "Geez how many coat racks does this girl need?" Truth: I sell most of this stuff in a little store here in Town- Dora Lou's Place. If you're ever in Altus, OK come check it out!


Anyway I found these guys while we were in California a few weeks ago. While the Hubs was off wine tasting my preggo self and and the Con-Man hung out outside. That's when I happened upon these wine barrel stoppers:

I asked someone who worked at the winery if I could have a few. Maybe he felt sorry for me in my pregnant state because he said "Sure take a few." Mmmm- Ok! (See you can have fun wine tasting while preggo.)

I have a few ideas for them, coat rack is the first up! Check it out!

I started by sanding them down just a little. I like the rough look; I mainly did this to smooth out any splintery edges and get any excess dust off.

Then I went to the hardware store and bought some 2" Dowel Screws. I figured this was a good length to securely fasten my stopper to the wood and leave some room for the decorative metal rod.

Then I kind of eye- balled the depth for the pilot hole. I needed something deep enough to secure the dowel into both the stopper and the wood backing and leave room for the metal rod. I used painters tape to mark my drill depth and used a drill bit slightly smaller than my dowel and drilled away. 

 I centered my pilot hole on the stoppers and measured out equal distance on my wood backing.

The next step was painting and sealing. Then I screwed my dowels into my pilot holes.

The next part was a bit tricky. I wanted a decorative metal surround to go in between the wood backing and the stopper. I checked out our local hardware store for metal piping and rods. It seems like if metal rods are going to be hollow the smallest they come is 1.5" thick- to big. Anything smaller was solid. 

I thought I had hit a wall. But  a trip to my local Walmart saved the day. Curtain rods! Of course! They are thin and hollow- yay! I bought the smallest tension rod I could find and it was only $2. Score!

I cut it down to the size I needed. This took a bit of guess work; my first measurement of 1" was to long. Second attempt was 3/4" and that seemed to work fine. I measured the rest out and cut them down to size with my scroll saw.

(Bad picture of me working in the garage)

Finally I screwed on my stoppers~

And the final product:

What did you work on this weekend? Did everyone have a happy Mother's Day?

DIY Salvaged Mirror

Oh Monday- you come to quickly. I can't complain to much thought because we had a very full weekend. A rare miracle happened here in Altus, Ok over the weekend; almost a rare as seeing a unicorn. Wait; those don't exist and having a date night with a The Hubs hardly ever exists either so I guess it's partly true. 


We actually had 2 date nights! Con-Man's M.D.O. group had parents night Friday so we caught a movie. We watched Safe Room (I wanted to see The Vow but the Hubs wasn't interested, but watching Ryan Reynolds was fine too...)

Hello!!!!

And then on Saturday we went to the first Annual Altus Chocolate Festival! This is a big deal for our small town- they've never done anything like this before.

We managed to score free tickets and I devoured way to much chocolate. Definitely hit the gym Sunday and going again today! It was a nice Pre- Valentines treat though.

Anyway- lets get to what you really came here for. Check out this cool circle mirror that I made!

Would you believe me if I told you the frame started out as this:

A rusty steel ring from one of our planters. It had come loose and I thought it looked neat- a nice patina of rusty and worn smooth. I yanked it off and got to work. 

First I had to make it usable. I needed some kind flat hanger that I could attach plywood to my steel ring. I found these, they seemed sturdy enough but had a lip on them, so I used the cutting wheel of Dremel to cut the lip off.

Voila Flat hangers! Sometimes they just don't make what you need at the hardware store so you have to invent your own stuff...

Then the fun part- welding! I welded the hangers onto my steel ring.

The next step was to cut a piece of plywood that would fit inside my ring. I had half a sheet of 3/4" ply lying around so I traced a circle and cut it out with my jig saw.

Like my "workbench"?

I had a little trouble with this part, the ring itself had a slight slant inward and turns out it's not a perfect circle. So I had to finagle my plywood a bit to get it to slide in. But in the end it fit and I screwed it in place.

Thankfully one mirror and glass place here in town said they could cut a circle to fit. I called the one other place and they said they didn't cut mirror or circles- what gives? They adhered it to the plywood for me and my mirror was complete!

I love it because it's unique. It had a modern flare but the rustiness makes it kind of natural and relaxed feeling. And the overall cost wasn't to bad- $40 for the mirror to be cut and glued. The clip/hangers were $4 for all. The ring was free!

Have you ever used a material for something other than it's original purpose? 

Linking Here

Salvaged Barn Wood Sign

Thanks for all the great replies to my Design Trend post! I myself try to do my own thing when it comes to decorating- I like to think my style is unique. But I love to look at what other people are doing and see what cool new trends come along each year. It's neat to hear how other people feel about it too.


Today I wanted to share a fun project I made out of some salvaged barn wood. I scored it a few months ago when I was searching for some salvaged wood for my coffee table project. I was at my favorite salvage shop when I saw these guys sitting out front:

I asked the owner about them- he said it was pieces of wood from an old barn. I asked how much he wanted for them- and he said I could just have them!! SCORE!

This was back in October and I finally did something with one of the pieces. They are both pretty large and I thought the rectangular one would make a really cool sign I could sell on consignment. I wanted to keep them as rustic as possible because I really like the character it has. So I gave it a light sanding and cleaned up any cobwebs and junk on it.

Then I smeared a bunch of Gorilla Wood Glue on the back to fill in any crevices. I did this to to try and make it more study and strong.

Once the wood was all prepped I used my Silhouette to create a "HOME" cut out and painted it white with some DecoArt paints.

Next I sanded the wording down a little to give it an aged vintage look.

Next to add a little whimsy I again used my Silhouette to cut out a Fleur De Lis and painted it gold.

Then I used some clear sealant and sealed the whole thing. It gave the wood a rich look.

I think it turned out pretty cool and hopefully someone else will too!  

Oh Oh OH! I almost forgot- this past weekend I started work in Con-Man's new Big Boy Bed! I got a lot done in the short amount of time I was there. Check it out!

Those 2 boxes are the bottom part of this:

Oh and guess what else! I'm super pumped because we're are leaving for a family vacation to Disney World tomorrow! The hubs and I haven't been since we were small, and it will be Con-Man's first time going. I can't wait! But not to worry- I have lots of posts lined up in the meantime. So if I don't respond to something right away it's not that I'm ignoring you; it's because I'm schmoozing it up with Mickey Mouse. :D

*Due to the large amount of spam comments have been disabled*