Smallest coffee table ever....

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are having a great Tuesday!  I will of course be working out in the shop this morning....but it's going to be warm today so I'll be moving the work inside the house this afternoon.  I wanted to show you what I did with the world's smallest coffee table ever built.  Okay, maybe not the world's smallest, but it is pretty small.

Do you remember this sneak peek that I shared with you last week?....It's made from reclaimed cedar that my grandfather had saved and stored in the barn.  Judging by the coloring, the tight grain and how dry it is....it's old.  Really old.

And this is what I ended up doing for the feet.  It's different than I had wanted to do because I gave it's new owner a choice and this is what she liked best....all straight lines instead of the curve I had wanted to put on the feet.  I'll save that look for a different table I'd like to build.

It's a very simple table that my client is going to use on her small deck as a coffee table.  But it could be used as side table or even extra seating for a taller person.

I have put a sealer on it to bring out the color and grain and then it will be going to it's new home in the next day or two.  Not what I had originally envisioned for it, but if it works for the client, then it works for me.  Now I really need to get out to the shop since it's already almost 70 degrees out.  I need to finish the bench I started last Tuesday and then I need to put together a couple more wood canvases and a couple of picture frames.  Don't forget the All Star Block Party that I will have the pleasure of co-hosting with four other great ladies.  Thanks for stopping by.

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Gift for my mom...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you all had an enjoyable Mother's Day.  I did some work out in the shop today and then I went to my parents to spend some time with my mom.  The first thing I did for my mom was to buy and plant flowers in her raised brick flower bed.

 They will look much better when they adjust to being there and grow a bit.  But it's a nice start.

At this point, Mom thought this was her gift.  But I had to borrow the pick-up truck and head back to the farm for the second part of her gift.

 This is what I made for her for in front of their house.  It is made entirely out of reclaimed/recycled cedar.  I didn't spend a penny on this.  The reclaimed cedar was in the barn (thank you Grandpa for saving it) and my brother moved it to my wood shop (the old wooden corn crib) about 6 years ago.  I've used some of it to build my sister-in-laws bench but I've been saving all of it for something really special.  I decided to use it for my mom since it was from the farm that my mom grew up on.

 I added the birdhouses to the end posts since my mom loves birdhouses.  The back looks like an old picket fence, but it wasn't.  I got the cedar boards from my aunt and cut them down to make this. 

 The seat is made thick and solid.  It's an actual 2" x 13" piece of board.  They don't cut them like that anymore.

 The birdhouses are removable so they can be painted a different color then the bench easily.  I didn't drill the hole completely through either since my mom doesn't want a bird to try to move in.  It's just indented so she has a place to glue the nesting to.

And here it is out in front of my parents home.  I gave it to her unfinished because I didn't know how she would want to finish it.  I didn't know if she'd want to stain it or paint it or what color.  I think she's going to paint it to match the front door.  And then paint the birdhouses a different color.  So I'll have to wait to show you the finished product.  And I can't wait to she how she finishes it.  Thanks for stopping by.

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Catch-as-catch-can-74 @ MyRepurposedLife

Garden bench....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Thursday!  I'm still working on my kitchen island in between spending time with my nephew Quinton and the projects we've been working on.  I'll share those when we get them done.  Today, I wanted to show you the bench I made for my sister-in-law (Quinton's mom).  It is made entirely out of cedar from the farm that my grandfather saved.  The seat is by far the best piece of cedar I've seen.  It's two full inches thick (not the 2" of today that is actually and 1-1/2") and it is 13" wide.  To find a piece of cedar like that today would cost you an arm and a leg!  So thanks to grandpa for saving it.  I have several other pieces that are just as great!  Sorry, I get so excited about great pieces of wood.

I would have liked to make it larger, it's only about 36" wide, just large enough to be able to sit down and put your shoes on, but it had to fit in the back of my parents SUV along with all their luggage since my brother's family doesn't live around here.  But it's just the right size for the space on their patio by the door. 

I didn't paint it because the cedar was just so cool looking and I knew my brother would prefer it this way,  plus, I don't think they'd want to repaint it and I know my brother doesn't like the whole chippy paint look.  He just doesn't get it.  But this is how it looked after my brother stained it to match the deck.  I also made them a different Welcome sign to go with the darker stain.  It looks nice and this goes with their taste, just not mine.  Which way would you have preferred it?  Thanks for stopping by.