Saturday, August 4, 2012

Makeover Madness Part 3

 This past May, my country minted it's last penny.

Inspired by Epbot's penny desk and the fact that pennies in my country are going the way of the one and two dollar bills, I decided to make my own penny mosaic. I just happened to have an old end table that was in dire need of a little attention and a piggy bank full of pennies that I had put off rolling for over a year.

I am glad I chose to do this project without the kids around.  Every step was rather time-consuming, but I am really, really happy with the end result.  I followed Epbot's instructions (posted above), but I started at the center of my table and worked outward. I polished my pennies before pouring the epoxy on as they became very tarnished as I handled them during the gluing process.  I laid my pennies out in a random fashion, trying not to pool the different colours too much, except for one spot where I clustered six pennies, one with the birth years of everyone in my family plus one for our wedding anniversary.  There are mostly Canadian pennies, a bunch of American pennies, and three 20-cent Euros. The years of the pennies range from the 1940s till now.

The edges are a bit wonky where the epoxy dripped off a couple of sharp penny edges, but the table is in a low-traffic area so I am choosing to believe the wonkiness adds character.

OK. You came for the pictures, didn't you?

 Before/During...
 After!


Products I used: Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint in Satin Black as a base for the pennies, 3 in 1 Advanced Craft Glue for gluing the pennies down, and Varathane Bar and Table Finish to finish the top.

August Photo a Day keywords: Somewhere you sat.  The table is resting beside my living room sofa.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Makeover Madness Part 2


 Here is part two of Makeover Madness.  Stay tuned for my last installment when I will show you the most ambitious project I tackled while the kids have been gone!

Here is a preview, which will also be my Photo of the Day:
Keyword: Coin
Want to see today's makeover?

Thursday, August 2, 2012

August Photo-a-day Challenge.

Inspired by Laughing Lady and enjoying her pictures and stories all through July, I have decided to do a Photo-a-day challenge for August.   I don't have an iPhone. I don't Instagram.  I decided to do this challenge anyway, with my point and shoot camera and share my pictures here.  You might not see them every day, but I will try my best.

Fat Mum Slim is hosting the challenge and has come up with the prompts. Check them out and play along if you'd like!

I decided to participate late in the evening last night so you get a two-for-one today.

Yesterday's prompt was OUTSIDE.  Today's prompt is ONE.

This brave little sunflower is the only ONE I have growing OUTSIDE. It popped up in my rosemary pot, which is right under my bird feeder. It is the lucky survivor of regular weeding sessions. 

If you decide to play along, leave me a comment so I can see your picture, or put it on Twitter with the hashtag #photoadayaug so everyone playing along can find it.

Stay tuned for more Makeover Madness.  I have two more projects to show you!