The waiting game

The waiting game... I've never been good at playing!



You may remember this coffee table I painted a while back.

When I finished it looked more like this:


It had a nice robin's egg blue color patina finish and I was really happy with it. I put it in the Mercantile and had a great response. Everyone seemed to really like the design and especially loved the color.

I think I had it in the store for over a month and then pulled it out. Even with all the great response, I was frustrated that it didn't sell quickly. And, since I am impatient - and overly analytical... I started to think that maybe it was the fact that it was a coffee table. Maybe the design would sell better if it was something else!! So...

I removed the legs and knocked out the sides,


drilled a starter hole in the center routing detail,


and started to cut out the middle panels of the table! It was so much fun. I had no idea what any of it would turn into. But it was fun just to dive in!

So, there it was - a table top with a hole in it - and a painted center panel.

Of course, I cut out the other panel too.

And started thinking about what I would do with this frame-like piece. I grabbed some scrap board from the scrap pile and stapled it to the back to cover the panel holes. I thought some screws in the corners for strength would help too.


The piece was starting to evolve as I noticed my huge roll of cork in the corner of the studio...


I filled each panel opening with cork. Then I went searching through my fabric to find the perfect cover... something that would work with the bird or garden theme.

I came across some white burlap fabric. I had painted the burlap with colorful bugs and moths to sew into pillows. But, for this project, they would be perfect!


The painted moths and insects work great with the table top color.


I made some sparkly blue push pins...

and it was ready to go! Instant message board.

The panels were fun too.

I attached some hinges to the panel and used the decorative trim from the table to give it some added detail.

I painted the edges a warm red with a brown glaze patina to age it up a bit.


And, I am done. We'll see how these do. I don't think I'll be too impatient if these don't sell quickly! I am willing to keep these if they don't. I'm really happy the way they turned out and it was so much fun turning something that didn't work for me into something that I can really use (if they don't sell first, that is).