Hazel Eye Gazer: July 2011

I *Love* woodworking. I am a follower of 'Not JUST a Housewife' it's a DIY blog that features links to cool blog posts from other DIY-er's. While reading through back posts, I came across the bloggers instructions for making a simple side table. I thought to myself "Hmmm, I could do that!" and so I did. I borrowed tools from Chris's dad and I set to task. I had to go to the Menards and purchase supplies. That was very nerve-wracking as I wasn't sure what I was doing. But Chris came along to help give me direction - but stood back and let me do it myself! (How else am I going to learn!) After a short tutorial on how to run the power tools (My dad was a woodworker so I have a basic idea!) I set to work.

Here I am sanding my table after we put it together. Now I have to be honest; I was a little (a lot) scared. But I love learning new skills and when I was finished I felt so empowered. Chris grabbed a shot with his cell phone. Look at my cheesey grin. I was so relieved that the table didn't wobble.

The table turned out fabulous. I was going for a worn, barnwood look. I stained the top and then I sanded the middle to make it look worn. The next couple of coats I did around the edges and I used a wadded up paper towel and I went around the edges in a circular pattren. I wanted to slowly fade it into the darker outside edges ...