Mod Podge

Once I got past my fear of messing things up, making this postage stamp table top was great fun. Here’s how I did it:

I started with a pre-made plywood circle. While I like the idea of using power tools, I find them intimidating. When I took scenery design as one of my required theater courses, the horror stories of lost digits and visits to the ER put me off of them for good. I have ten perfectly good fingers and plan to keep it that way. I headed to our local Home Depot instead and bought a round plywood table top for about $20. I wanted a round surface to suggest stamps from around the world.

I sanded the edges to smooth out the roughness, then added a coat of paint. Taking a page from Keeping Up with Mrs. Smith, I used left over touch up paint from our living room walls. It’s great using what you have on hand, and since the finished table goes in that room, it will coordinate beautifully.

Plywood table top with a coat of green paint

The following day I sanded the painted surface a second time, then froze with indecision for another few weeks. Once I started applying my dad’s postage stamps with Mod Podge® there would be no turning back. Originally I planned to use sections of the pages, but I didn’t like how it looked.

My dad’s postage album

When I realized the album had four triangular-shaped stamps I knew I had a plan. It was December by now, so I put the unique stamps in a small wax envelope for safe keeping. The stamps ‘disappeared’ and I was sure I had inadvertently sent them off in the mail. It took a thorough tidying up of my crafting boxes to locate them once again.

postage stamp table top with triangle center

I had exactly four triangle stamps for the center.

Then one Saturday afternoon I just went for it. Using the surface of the kitchen counter, the only working space high enough to accommodate my Amazonian height, I got to work sorting Dad’s stamps. Page by page and stamp by stamp, I removed the postage, sorting them in piles by color.

Now I was in the zone. My back was aching from standing so long, but I didn’t want to stop.

I placed a pencil dot in the center of the circle, brushed on a layer of Mod Podge, and placed the first four stamps. From there I moved out in rainbow order.

Stamps from around the world

Once I reached the outer edges, I changed the stamp’s orientation. Brown, black and multicolored stamps circle the border, completing the table top surface.

I saved the multicolored stamps for the table border

With the drama of the table top finally behind me, I went in search of a base. I really like the way it looks on the little outdoor table we have, so searched high and low for something similar. Several visits to vintage and thrift stores turned up nothing. Then I learned that I could order the same table through Pier One Imports. It should arrive this week.

Plywood table top

Day Eight: Be a Good Neighbor via Blogging 101

Today’s assignment: leave comments on at least four blogs that you’ve never commented on before. It’s all about engagement. So once I press the publish key, I’m off in search of a few (more) good blogs. Should be fun.

In the meantime, check out these DIY blogs. They make it look easy and fun. And guess what? None of these women are afraid of power tools.

It took forever to get around to this project. Funny how you put things off, then end up having a good time. Does that ever happen to you?

I wanted three coordinating pots for the kitchen window, but could never find anything I liked in the right size.

Then last fall I picked up a couple of hydrangeas for the garden. They came wrapped in the pretty watercolor ‘paper’ you see below. So…why not buy inexpensive clay pots and try my hand at Mod Podge®? I could use the watercolor paper to spruce them up. It has a smooth texture on both sides and it’s waterproof. In fact the Petra Paper™ is 80% rock. Cool beans!

The three pots and the Mod Podge came to less than $20. The paper was free. The fun was priceless! Okay, I’m just being silly now, but I did have fun trying something new and I’m happy with the way they turned out.

I had two sheets of the Petra Paper to work with. One sheet was *exactly* the right size for the largest pot. Serendipity. The second sheet covered the two smaller pots

Materials for the project

Once I determined the dimensions of each pot, I cut the paper into several strips, leaving it attached at the top.

After applying two base coats to the pots, which dried clear, I applied a third coat to the back of the Petra paper. I wrapped the paper around the top, then overlapped the strips as I went along to allow for the angle of the pot. Once dry, I applied one more coat, then trimmed the bottom edge with a sharp knife.

The layers give the pots a bit of texture and work well with the blended colors.

Strips and glue

Pauline at The Contented Crafter suggested a coat of car wax to give the finish a bit of luster. That too was fun.

Today I made it to the store for a bag of fresh potting soil, and the plants are now re-potted, watered, freshly showered and back in the window doing what they do best. Grow.