colossal modge podge fail (aka the football toss)

Two of my dear friends coordinated our annual "Trunk-N-Treat" at church this year and they asked us (well, really they asked my husband) to make a Football Toss.

I was picturing something a few feet tall with a hole in the middle.  Right?

Then my husband comes up with this.

It is almost taller than the basketball goal :)

Seriously, it is 8 feet tall.  And has not one, but five football holes.

Once it was built, it was my turn ~ to paint it.  The green was obvious- green like a football field.  I added a brown trim all around the sides & a white stripe down the center.

Then it started to fall apart.

I had the brilliant idea to label the different holes as touchdown, field goals & extra points (touchdown being the smallest hole and extra point being the biggest hole).  So far so good.

So I cut the letters on my Cricut and modge-podged them on.  Super cute.

They looked like this at the beginning, which is what all of my modge-podge projects have looked like right at first.  But then they dry clear.

Then comes the problem... that night, we finally had real fall weather here in Atlanta and the temps dropped into the 50's.  I'm still not sure if that is why the modge-podge didn't dry properly.  But no matter the cause, it dried like you see above & below... white.

Not gonna work.  So I painted over my carefully cut & modge-podged letters.  Sad.

And I started over, but this time adhered the letters to some paper first, and attached the entire thing to the board.

Much better!  Here is the final product, pictures taken with my iphone.

And here are some better pictures...

 SLPC Field... for St. Luke's Presbyterian Church Field :)

In the picture below, you can see the rest of the original word 'touchdown' where I painted over it!

 With all the bracing on the back of it, this piece is not going anywhere.  "Over-Engineered" is what my engineer husband calls it.

Here are some of the fun decorations that all the kids had to look forward to.  We missed it, since my 6 year old was still sick & my husband was stuck in Orlando waiting on a delayed... delayed again... and then cancelled flight.  (Oh, and then the new flight was delayed, too!)

 Here is the haunted maze/tunnel for the little guys.  I took my own little guy up there that afternoon before anyone got there to try it out :)  It was a series of cardboard boxes linked up together with bubble wrap to crawl on, spiderwebs & lights strung throughout & the whole thing was covered with black felt so that it would stay good & dark inside.

 CA, K & L... you did a fabulous job with everything!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Kathie

Linking to:

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Ca

coffee table & your opinion, please

Voila!  My new coffee table!  And, in the interest of 'keeping it real' it already has crumbs on & around it :)  So there.

I found this pedestal table base (with original casters) at the Last Chance Thrift Store in Chamblee for a whopping $2.99.  Although no one else seemed to be giving it a second glance, I snatched it up & carried it around the store with me.

I primed it & painted it with Heirloom White (the spray).  Already loving all the details.

Then I used Valspar's antiquing glaze all over it, and added a round table top that has been waiting patiently for a new friend.  I had already stained the tabletop in dark walnut and I also did a very slight whitewashing over it.

 As I said, there are crumbs on the floor.  Sorry.  You can't see them in 'real' life, and I promise I vacuumed yesterday (although anyone who's ever had small children certainly understands.  Right?)

 You'll see my sick 6 year old in the background on the couch.  He's been home all week, poor guy.

 Stools are from Ikea, we've had them for ages.  It is the boys favorite place to sit with a snack & watch a movie.  There are 3 stools because my 4 year old niece often joins us as well.  (We have one more stool waiting for my nephew, who at 8 months can't really sit on a stool yet!)

Total cost:  approximately $26, mainly due to the cost of the solid round tabletop (from Lowe's).  I'm replacing the two drum tables we've been using for quite a while, as this table gives the room a much more open feel.

Now, I need your opinion...

I found these chairs at a garage sale on the way home from a soccer game on Saturday.  Of course, we weren't in my SUV.  We were in my husband's car.  So, you can imagine what we looked like on the way home with 4 chairs stuffed into the trunk & one sitting next to the boys in the backseat.  Thankfully, it wasn't far!

UPDATED TO ADD:  My indignant sister just called to remind me that SHE actually spotted the chairs first, and called me to alert me about them.  Later, on our way home from soccer, we pulled over & got them.  Sorry, sis!  Credit where credit is due :)

The problem is that I can't decide what to do with them.  Strip & stain, strip & wax, paint... I need your opinions!

Help!

Thanks for coming by!  We are nearing 300 followers & we'll have to try to top the last giveaway when that happens.  Yay!!
Kathie

Linking to:
Stories of a House Project Diaries
Hooking Up with House of Hepworths
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell Wednesday
Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party
Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday
Sassy Sites Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 linky party

the perfect piece

When I initially saw this piece at My Favorite Place, I really liked it.  I didn't love it, but I liked it.  You know the difference.

When I purchased it at the counter, two of the men working groaned.  They said "We've been dreading the day someone bought this piece, because it is heavy as *#@*!!"  This, from people who move furniture all day, every day.  Yikes!

One redeeming quality is that the piece is on it's original casters so as long as you're on level surface, you can just roll it around :)

Here's a peek, then I'll tell you how I did it.

It started like this...

 I stripped the top...

 Discovered some gorgeous woodwork (always a nice surprise!)

 Primed, filled all unnecessary holes with wood filler...

 Finished coat, ready for staining the top.  Now you can see the gorgeous wood!

 Stain before I wiped off the excess...

 First coat of stain...

Doors ready for action

And finally:

I'm in love with it.  I really think it might be my favorite piece so far.  But I have to show you what is hiding behind behind those doors...

 Three solid drawers with the original plastic covering in them!!

 A fully lined silverware drawer in perfect condition!

A gorgeous, flawless cover on the silverware drawer!  (Don't judge the pictures, I was waiting to get the piece inside to do the deep cleaning on the inside drawers).

Sigh.  I might be able to sell this piece one day, but today is most definitely not that day :)

Thanks for visiting!
Kathie

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can
Hooking Up with House of Hepworths
Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell Wednesday
Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party
Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday
Sassy Sites Trash to Treasure Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Cottage Instincts Make it 4 Monday
House of Thrifty Decor's Show Off Sunday
Stories of a House Project Diaries
Motivate me Monday at Keeping It Simple
The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday