BEFORE & AFTER: Look What I Found Next to the Dumpster!
I’m not ashamed to pull something from the trash (as long as I don’t have to climb INSIDE…). If someone is throwing away something good, and I can salvage it with a little bit of paint and creativity, why the hell not??
Some of you might remember this commercial-style outdoor table that I posted on my Facebook back in August. I peeped it on a Friday while leaving work, sitting next to the dumpster. WHOA…..And there were 3 of them!! I rolled back the next day, with my new minivan (thank God for it!), and one of them fit PERFECTLY in the back! Too bad I didn’t get all 3, but scoring one was just as good.
I’m sorry that I was slow to get this project started, because now it’s FALL and this is totally a SPRING table, but again–who the hell cares? I’m going to rock it all season, and I dare someone to say something about it 🙂
So anyhow, I took it home and this is what it looked like while it sat in my garage for 2 months:
Two months later…..a big blue flower on top (using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint)…..and some Apple Green spray paint on the legs……and this is my new FREE table! 🙂
I’m not in any way a floral-painting artist by trade, so excuse the free-hand imperfections. But I love it, and hell, for it being FREE– all the better! And what’s even better, is that in a year or two, if I totally want to repaint it something else, I can do that without any guilt or hesitation! WOO HOO!
Okay, so here’s a few pics of the process I had to go through with this table.
THE PROCESS:
The last step that I will need to do is to WAX it, using the Annie Sloan Clear Wax. Supposedly this paint is suitable for outdoor use, so we shall see, huh?
This was a fun project! Next time, I would definitely not trust my “whimsical” calling and attempt it free-hand. I would buy, or make my own template. But again, who cares? When the kids have all their food stuck to the top and their are plates and/or wine glasses covering the top, no one will notice it’s not drawn to scale! HA!
Did you enjoy this project? Here are some of my other tables:
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I think I like the free hand flower better than if it were all “perfect”. It gives it a much more light hearted feeling. And I really like the shading with the different blues in the petals. Thanks for the inspiration!!!
Bee you t full!
Hi Serena,
I love that patio table. I try to keep up your projects and I don’t know how I missed this one. I may try this. The only thing is that I’m not that good artistically to draw a flower, but I’ll give it a try.
This is beautiful!
Oh, wow, DeDe, thank you!! It was definitely a fun project!! 🙂
Found you through Roadkill Rescue! What a great find. You did a fabulous job on the painting.
I found one just like it on the curb in my neighborhood. Raced home to get the truck before someone else snagged it. I love what you did. Gives me inspiration for mine. I am a painter and I think you did great on your free hand flower. Liked that you used a different color for some shading.
Janet, your opinion means a lot to me, considering your talent! Next time, a ruler will be my friend. LOL. So glad you got yours before the trash truck come! Be sure to let me know when you’re done yours. I would LOVE to see it!
I LOVE IT! I wish we had people dump stuff like that around here. I may need to take a trip into the city one day and see what I can find. Inspiration! Thank you for sharing……and making it look soooooo easy. The flower is awesome by the way!
Thank you, Kris!!! HAHA, I could see you cruising the streets now looking for “trash.” LOL. I sometimes have to WALK.AWAY.IMMEDIATELY, otherwise I would bring everything home! What city do you live near?
We live in the Texas Hill Cuntry. We are closer to San Antonio. I had cervical spine fusion two weeks ago so I can’t drive but my wonderful hubby took me out garage saleing this weekend. I found a few things I can play with. I can’t wait to get back out in my shop and work on the “trash treasures” I have waiting for some TLC. My blog has even been neglected. I love seeing what you do. Thank you so much for sharing.