Bringing a table back to life

We have a table that is perfectly functional but has lost a little of its former charm. The main problem is that it has been moved one too many times and has started to chip. It wasn’t an expensive table in the first place but it seems a shame to chuck it out if we can still use it. So I decided to come up with a way to bring it back to life. We could have just painted it but that seems a bit boring. The curtains in our sitting room are made from some lovely material featuring flowers and birds and I thought it would be nice to produce something to match.

I found come lovely wrapping paper that was in the right colours and had some nice shapes. Having cut out the individual plants etc. I used some permanent adhesive spray (you can get this in any good craft shop) and sprayed the table. The spray should hold the paper cutouts in place and due to it having less moisture doesn’t create the bumps and wrinkles you would get using PVA. Then I stuck the cut out wrapping paper in place. This was harder than I had envisaged (as these things tend to be) as I kept sticking my fingers to the table instead, but eventually I got there.

When I get around to it (or Nick gets fed up of tripping up over it every time he goes to the fridge) I will apply a layer of varnish over the top. This should seal the table so that we can use it again. This is a very cheap way to update a piece of furniture – just some adhesive spray, some wrapping paper and some varnish. Instead of wrapping paper you could use old glossy magazines and make beautiful mosaics or just random swirls of colour. If you are using thick paper you can usually get away with PVA but for anything thin it is best to use adhesive spray.

Top tips:

• Remember to clean your table carefully first – dust caught in the glue is generally not a good look!
• Lay your design out before you start so you know where things are going.
• Shake the adhesive spray well and don’t hold the can too close to the table (it is a good idea to experiment with the spray first so you can get as smooth a result as possible).
• Seal your final design in some general furniture varnish (any good craft shop or DIY should stock varnish).

And in other news ....

The winter garden experiment - an update

We have the first signs of life :-) - the rocket, spring onions and salad are just starting to show. Pots that started in bags need to come out as soon as any seedling come up but if you are using a propogator then leave them be. The soil needs to be kept slightly moist (but not wet!).