I’m in love with monograms. It’s true. It might be my secret, subconcious mission to incorporate one into every room on our house. I’m well on my way to acheiving that goal and here’s one more.
Remember this cutie? My 70-cent little kid side table (in pieces) from the clearance racks at T.J. Maxx?
I wasn’t crazy about the (potential) silohuette of the table, so I thought the MDF circles would be better used as foundations for wall art.
I took the table top (approximately 16 inches in diameter) and painted it a nice blue-black with artist acrylics. I brushed each coat of paint perpendicular to the last, which gave it a nice cross-hatch linen-like texture.
I wanted to trim the circle to give it some dimension and started looking for something around the house to use. I found a leather belt that didn’t fit me anymore, but it wasn’t long enough. (I should be thankful for that, right?)
I tried a number of random objects and had almost given up when I found some extra slats for our window blinds. They are wood-look-a-like, inch-and-a-half slats made out of plastic. The extra pieces were in the basement when we moved in and I’ve held onto them for whatever reason. I didn’t think the slat would be flexible enough to bend gracefully around the circle, but it worked perfectly.
The slat was white, so I spray painted it black and then attached each end with a small nail hammered into the edge of the circle. I drilled some small pilot holes through the slat and into the circle to make the process go smoother and it worked perfectly.
The piece itself needed to be bold and graphic to contrast the paint chip art, so I took a papier-mâché letter H (our last initial) and painted it a bright yellow. I got this H at Hobby Lobby; the regular price is $2.47 (so, you know, less with a coupon or sale). These papier-mâché letters are hollow and super-lightweight, but they look solid and hefty once painted.
While I like the H, I’m not in love with it. I have a sneaking feeling I might find something better to mount to the circle in the future, so I attached the H with a 3M Command strip instead of glue. That should allow me to take it off and attach something else without damaging the paint.
I hung the H and my new stained glass window over the space where my bench is going to go (when I get finished with its makeover). I may have created a weird negative space to the left of the H, but I’m going to have to wait until I get the bench in to see if I need another piece of artwork to fill it.
The total for this project came under $2, if you don’t count the paint I had on hand. That’s $1.25 for the letter and 35 cents for the table top (half of the table price!). These “trash to treasure” pieces are some of the most fun for me. Are they fun for you?
