Something Old Made New

Just last Saturday I went on my weekly jaunt to the local garage sales. It was later in the day when I happened upon my bargain. The lady hosting the sale was tired and had marked everything down to rock bottom prices to get it gone! I picked up a lovely side table for a mere $2.00. The top was distressed but I was not discouraged.

 I brought it home and the cat promptly claimed it as his. Gotta love my Mister! : )

After removing the cat I cleaned it off and got to work. I decided that I would use decorative stones to make a sort of mosaic. Since my decor is mostly '70s I wanted to use orange and green stones with a few clear ones thrown in for an accent. I didn't have enough stones so I had to jot to Michael's for more.
While there I found some awesome M&Ms that I just HAD to try and I have to say that I highly recommend Birthday Cake M&Ms.

Once home I laid out my stones but the brown table did nothing to show off the loveliness of the stones so I took them off and painted the top of the table white.

I wanted the stones in a random pattern so I put them in a bin and then dumped them out on the table and set about turning them to the flat side. I tried very hard not to let my ocd get in the way of leaving them randomly placed.

I think I did pretty well. I will be using a two part resin (epoxy) to finish it off. I haven't been able to do it yet because of the rain. I don't want to risk having it bubble or warp in any way. When we go back to our hot as hades Texas days I will put the resin on.

Necessity Begets Creativity

They say necessity is the mother of invention. I also say necessity is the mother of creativity. 

For example; I have a lovely area next to my building that is used for potting, painting and anything else that needs doing. It is handy but unsightly.

Fast forward to a trip to ACE Hardware for items to restore the family farm house. As I walked down the isles looking for the right kind of caulk what do I spy but a marked down screen door! It was originally a $100 dollars but was marked down to the bargain price of $25 because of a crack. While in the store I looked for the crack and couldn't find it. It had to be pointed out to me, that is how inconspicuous it was. Aesthetically it was fine but for continued use it wouldn't have stood up. 

I wanted it to hide the junk on my bench so I added extra layers of screen. I put silver first and then a darkening kind. I don't remember the brand but I bought it at Lowe's.

I added a "doorknob" that is actually an outdoor faucet handle. I added some bricks to make a little porch and voila! A cute way to hide the junk!