Got some old table legs? Maybe some old rail spindles? Have no use for them? Well now you do! Re-purpose them into Winter Decor! Yes you heard me! I came across a pin about using table legs and spindle as a craft base. They can be used for a lot of things....but we will only do one for today.
Items I Used That You Might Need!:
- Table leg, Chair Leg, Stool Leg, or Spindle (I used an old one I had laying around but you can buy them at Menards or at a Habitat Restore.)
- Craft Paint (Black, White, and any other color you might want)
- Wood Primer (Optional)
- Snowy Glitter or any Glitter
- Paint Brush(s)
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue
- Embellishments (Buttons, Beads, Etc)
- News Paper
- Paper Plate or Foam Plate or a Paint Palette
*Note my table leg is 4-5 inches thick. It is flat on the bottom so it will stand on it's own and it has a good weight to it. If your's isn't like this you might want to get a small piece of a 2x4 or a 2x6 to screw it to to give it a sturdy base*
Prep your spindle and work space! Take your News Paper and lay it out on your counter, table, or surface you are crafting on. This will help with the clean up. Don't worry about your hot glue gun just yet. Can't use it while the paint is wet so just set it aside right now.
If your table leg is dirty like mine was you will want to wash it off. I used a damp wash rag and sprayed some 409 on the cloth and then wiped the spindle down.You don't want any dust or dirt on it while you are painting for it will clump your paint and will look a bit messy and dirty.
Got that done? Good!
Step Two:
Once your spindle is clean and ready to go you are gonna want your paint, paper plate, paint brushes, and the primer I mentioned.
If you are choosing to Prime your piece first obviously you will want to do this first. I chose to not do this for I liked the stain of the wood to show through my paint a little.
Once your piece is dry you can start to paint it. Decide what part you want to be that hat if you choose to have a hat. Paint the part for the hat black or what ever color you chose. Then take your white craft paint and paint the body. Be careful to not grab the wet paint areas of your snowman if you need to turn it while you paint. Doing so will leave finger prints in the paint and get paint on your hands. If you happen to do touch the wet paint do a quick touch up and wash your hands for you don't want colored paint on your white parts of the snowman. If you do happen to get black on the white you can take a damp cloth and wipe it away the best you can and do a touch up.
Let this coat dry. If you didn't use primer you might see the stain of the wood start to show through. The darker the stain the more visible it will be. I decided from this point to do a 2nd coat of white paint and the paint for the hat. Let that coat dry. From this point make the decision if you need to do a 3rd coat of just paint.
I ended up doing 2 things at once. I wanted a snowy feel on the snowman. I wanted to used some snow glitter to give it texture. I first tried brushing craft glue on it and putting glitter on the glue. Unfortunately the craft glue I was using wanted to dry yellow on top of the white paint. So I quickly scraped it off using a razor blade and a wet wash rag. I was able to get most of the gooey mess off.
So I decided to do it differently. I mixed my white craft paint and the glitter on a plate. It will look kind of clumpy like cottage cheese. Start brushing it on. It will look very speckled. This was what I wanted. So coat to your liking. So not only are you getting your 3rd solid coat but you are also adding texture. Now you don't have to add the glitter if you don't want the cottage cheese look. Let this dry fully. I let mine dry over night for I was working late. But an hour or two should be good.
Step Three:
While your piece is drying you can take the time to pick out your embellishments. I used various buttons for the mouth and the buttons down the front. I was doing button eyes but once I put them on I didn't like them and took them off. I used a orange bead for the nose. And picked a green fabric for the scarf.
If your piece is going to be outside you can use an acrylic spray sealant on it to weather proof it. It still may fade with time, but it's worth a try. I didn't do this step and realized I should have before I glued the buttons and other items on.... Oh well shoulda coulda woulda....
Step Four:
Get your Glue gun hot and ready. Once hot you can start adding your embellishments. If you decide you don't like a button or an embellishment that you have glued on you can pull it off. But be advised that this can and most likely will pull the paint off with it. If you are just going to put a new embellishment over that spot don't worry about doing a touch up, but if not you might want to get the paint out again for that spot.
I used the black paint from the hat to make his new eyes since the buttons didn't work out for them. See Creepy eyes >>>>>
For my snowman's hat I wanted a bit more definition on the lip of the hat. Depending on your spindle or table leg you might need or want to do this if there is not rim there in the wood already. I took my hot glue gun and made a long line around the spindle at the bottom of the hat. I let it harden and then painted over it with the black paint. You can get a wood piece or card board or something else to glue on and paint over to get this look
but I didn't have anything so I just used the glue.
Step Five:
Place your piece where you want it to be. Outside, inside don't matter. And enjoy!
Remember to make it your own!
Happy Crafting!
Jenny
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