A Table From A Tree Log

I stole the log from a pile behind a building…and the colored tiles I found on the ground. I must say…one of my more creative ‘upcycle’ projects! All I needed was some grout, a few more tiles, some stain, nails, and a WHOLE lot of time and patience.

Despite the container saying it would dry in 15 minutes, the grout took a good two hours to set. Frustrated, and ready to chuck the stool top out of my window, I looked around my room at the chunks of bark and grout all over the ground (don’t worry mom, it’s spotless now.)

[insert mild panic attack/melt down/laying on my bed with ‘my head in the sand’ for a good 10 minutes before finishing the entire project and cleaning my room top to bottom – a leading cause to a wonderful night’s sleep by the way; and the reason I don’t work out. Lifting concrete stool tops, hauling around logs and tires (this upcycle will come, patience) and frantically cleaning to avoid another mental break down – definitely breaks a sweat]

When I started this project, I was just going to attach the stool top to a log [as found-bark and all] and then paint the top, similar to the stool I hand-painted last summer. The issue was when I started moving the damn thing around while working on it.

Bark everywhere.

Where there is bark, there are bugs.

My room was slowly becoming a greenhouse [and my addition of a lemongrass plant and fushia cactus probably didn’t help either; but their here to stay. So whatever.]

I then noticed that there was a little chip in the top where some of the bark had come away from the wood, and that it was completely smooth; this was my ‘Milgram’s Point of No Return’ [if you will] – in other words, I thought back to this very moment during the hours of chipping away the bark from this stupid ass piece of wood, wondering why I thought this would be a good idea.

But once it was all off, the log was smooth[ish]. A few hours of sanding put together with what little arm strength I have (again-people ask why I don’t workout, cause if you want a good arm workout: sand a tree stump for 4 hours and tell me your arms don’t burn like hell!)

A little bit of some stain followed by spray modge podge because I have an a
ddiction to modge podge and want to add it into every project and because the stain was not shiny, despite it’s statement that there was poly already in it – dumb Lowe’s.

Once the stool top [pulled off of a wooden stool from a set I bought from Goodwill in KC – that’s right, these stools have traveled cross country] was mosaic tiled, grouted, and dried, I attached it to the base using nails and wood glue; basically whatever I could to get that sucker to be even and stay on-I mean, it’s not like it has to be the world’s sturdiest side table (just the world’s most crafty).

So without further ado~ Here’s the final piece