Old Atlas Tabletop Make-Over...



 

Well, friends, today is the BIG DAY...Justin closes on his house this afternoon! Mike and I are so excited and proud of him! I spent some time over the weekend making and freezing several casseroles to put in Justin's freezer so he won't have to worry about cooking for a while. :) 

 

Last weekend I had Mike haul down a couple of old end tables out of our attic so that I could give them a face-lift for Justin to use as bedside tables in his new home. Mike built these shaker-style, pine tables about 22 years ago:

Through the years, the tops had dried out and cracked. I had first thought of filling the cracks with wood filler and then painting them, but then I had a better, more creative idea...

I have some old books that I rescued from the dumpster...I knew that someday I could put them to good use for crafty projects. One of those books happened to be an atlas from 1943. The pages were kind of yellowed, but I KNEW they would be perfect for this project!

The hardest part of this project is deciding page placement for the table tops! Simply begin by tearing out the pages that you want to use and play around with arranging them on the table tops until you decide on the perfect placement. (You might want to take a photo of how you lay them out on the tables to refer back to...just sayin'...if you're anything like me, you'll get distracted if the phone rings or something on TV catches your eye, and you might lose track of how the pages are supposed to go on your table! LOL!)

Wipe down your tables with a slightly dampened cloth to remove any dust. Using a sponge brush, paint on a nice layer of Mod Podge and begin placing the pages on the tables. If any of your pages overlap like mine do, be sure to put Mod Podge on the bottom pages before overlapping them with the top pages:

Once you've gotten all the pages stuck down, brush a nice layer of Mod Podge on the tops and allow to thoroughly dry. Make sure that you get the edges coated really well, so they won't peel up. (Waiting for the tables to completely dry was the second hardest part for me, because I am an impatient sort of creature and I just wanted to see how they were gonna turn out!! If you are working in a room with a ceiling fan, turn it on for Pete's sake! It will make everything dry faster!! LOL!!)

 

When the Mod Podge completely dries, you can distress the tops even further if you wish. The options are endless...you could lightly sand and ink the edges; rub coffee grounds over the top and then wipe off; or....my friend Cristi O. told me that she recently read where a lady used soy sauce to age/distress stuff! I LOVE that idea, and although I didn't use it on this project, trust me, I will be trying that idea in the near future!

 

I had first thought that I would sand and ink the edges of the table, but after sleeping on it I decided that I kinda liked them just the way they were, so I didn't do anything else to them. A good idea is to spray the tops with a clear sealant to protect your work. (Valspar clear lacquer in a spray can, which can be purchased at Lowe's, is a good choice!)

 

Here's a close-up photo of one of the table tops, with a few accessories added of course!

 

Lastly, here's a full shot of one of the tables...yes, complete with accessories! ;)  (Remember the faux rawhide lampshade tutorial from a previous post?? If not, click HERE for instructions on how I made it.)

 

I really love how these tables turned out, and so does Justin! They are gonna look TERRIFIC in his room at his new house!

Thanks for dropping by today! Wishing you a SUPER blessed day!