Tabletops.......

These pine rounds are available at Home Depot and Lowe's for under $10.00. They are sturdy, thick and need just a little sanding on the sides to make them smooth. There is so much you can do with these pine rounds including:

• hand-paint designs on them


• mosaics-tile or glass


• decoupage


• stenciling


• faux finish-an example would be marbling
  

I love creating tabletops out of these pine rounds. I recently decided to make a "coffee" table- a table created just for having coffee. Here is what I came up with using the following techniques:

Hand painting

Wallies prepasted cutouts

decoupaging

small glass tiles

The Wallie cutouts I purchased at http://www.wallies.com/

They have a great selection of cutouts that you can use. If you don't feel like you can hand paint, Wallies are a great substitute. In this case I used the coffee cups and the Cafe sign in the middle. Here are step by step directions:

1. I lightly sanded my pine round.

2. Using three colors of acrylic paint (gold, tan and darker brown) I used a paint brush to create a sponge like paint finish. Basically I just blended the three colors together.

3. I hand-painted the colored boxes around the perimeter of the circle. Although you can't really see it in the photograph, the squares are not perfect (believe me). I just used a square brush and painted boxes...one stroke and then the next. I don't like perfect! It's hand made and the imperfections make it look that way.

4. I applied glossy Modge Podge onto four areas of the table (where I would place the coffee cups) and then carefully applied the coffee cups. I then put Modge Podge on top of the cups and applied a layer onto the entire table. That gives it a glossy finish.

5. I drew out a circle in the center of the pine round. Here I placed squares of red-checkered tissue paper and applied Modge Podge. The design is so random that it's hard to imagine the tissue paper was red checks orginally, but I like that look.

6. I glued small glass tiles around the perimeter of the inner circle. I found a little bag of these at Michael's Craft store. I used Mosaic glue for this step.

Here is the little coffee table all finished. I purchased four ready made legs at Home Depot and just painted them with acrylic paints to match. The entire table was given a coat of polyurethane when finished, just to protect it.

Check out www.wallies.com for some interesting cutouts that you can use on furniture, walls, ceilings and tables. I especially love the tree frogs!

My table will go out onto the screened-in porch right next to the chair where I have my morning coffee. I have just purchased two more pine rounds and plan to make some "classy" glass mosaic tables. Stay tuned...........

Future post: Decorating for Mardi Gras. I spent four wonderful days visiting New Orleans. I had never been there before so it was a real exciting trip for me. I loved the people, the place and the atmosphere. Now I just have to celebrate and enjoy Mardi Gras in my own home and I'll show you how I do that.

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Decorating With Wood Cutouts.....

Most craft stores have an aisle that contain wood cutouts in every conceivable design. They are fun to use, decorate, paint and add to furniture, doors or walls. In this bathroom a cabinet was needed for storage. The cabinet was purchased in Target, on sale around $24.00 but was plain white. Since the decor of the this bathroom is animal prints and the room is basically for a teenager some needed changes were made.

The white cabinet was painted using a sponge technique involving two colors together. The little fish that swim across the drawers were hand painted and glued on. The fish were placed so at least one of them would hang over the drawer when it is open, just to make it flow even better.

I replaced the ceramic knobs with wood ones and painted them as well. This all adds a whimsical look to the cabinet.

I often find things in the store that just don't work in my home in terms of color. Many times I purchase the item, take it home and change it so it does match. Here is just another way to use your imagination and change the look of something.

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Decorating With Wood Appliques

Decorating with wood medallions also known as wood appliques or gingerbread, can be so interesting and creative. You can add these embellishments to:

• Cabinets


• desks


• furniture


• wood boxes


• fireplaces


• picture frames
  

They can be stained, painted or decoupaged onto any of the items I listed above and more if you just let your creative juices flow...

I have purchase them at Lowe's Home Improvement, Home Depot, Michael's Craft Store and JoAnn's. They really vary in price and sometimes can be quite expensive. I purchased the one to the left for about $2.95 at Joannes. I plan on hand painting it in soft colors and adding to a headboard.

Just looking at this photograph I'm thinking you could drill a hole in the middle and insert a knob. Wouldn't they be a great addition placed behind knobs of a plain desk or dresser? They could be hand painted, painted a solid color or stained to match the wood of the furniture.

I found an Internet site that carries a pretty good selection at very reasonable prices. If you don't spend over $50.00 they will charge over $10.00 for shipping, still not a bad price considering how high they are sometimes in retail stores.

http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/gingerbread.html

If you only need a few I suggest you check out the retailers I mentions above.

This is what I have done with some of them:

These flower medallions are placed on the upper columns of my fireplace. The medallion is glued onto the fireplace with wood glue. A sponge technique is used on the fireplace and the wood medallion. I sometimes apply caulk around the piece so it really looks like it's meant to be there.

To the right is another flower medallion placed on the upper column of an entertainment unit. Applied the same way as the fireplace.

Here is one larger wood applique placed under a kitchen cabinet, directly above the microwave.

Above is a close up of the larger applique. I added this to a very plain board to give it some character and interest. This applique was caulked all around to create a smooth transition onto the cabinet.

To the left is a smaller applique mounted onto a coordinating kitchen cabinet above a sink. Same thing, just a little smaller.

To the left is the top of a small box with a tiny wood applique on it. This box was decoupaged using Modge Podge.

These little wood appliques come in a variety of designs, shapes, sizes and they also have decorative corners. They can turn a plain piece of furniture into something elegant and unique. They can also hide flaws, cover holes and serve as a back plate to a plain knob. Use your imagination and come up with great ideas to incorporate these wood appliques into your decor.

Stores I mentioned in case you need any information:

http://www.lowes.com/

http://www.homedepot.com/

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home

http://www.joann.com/joann/

In my next posting I'll show you something I did in a kid's bathroom using small wooden fish and a cabinet I bought at Target.

Also some more teen room decorating to show you.......

and............

I have just finished a "coffee" table. You'll see what I mean-this is only a table for coffee! Stay tuned........

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