Potting Bench Makeover

Remember this great bench Steel and I garbage picked found??  Well, it got a makeover!

It was in pretty bad shape and needed some cleaning.  I found this wood cleaner in the garage that would do the job.  I hear that vinegar will do the job as well but might as well use up the wood cleaner.  I mixed with water in a bucket.  I didn't pay too much attention to the directions of measuring out 1 part clear to 5 parts water.  I just poured.

Just a few strokes with the nylon scrub brush and I could see that it was working and working well.

I scrubbed down the whole bench and let it sit for 20 minutes and hosed it off.

I gave it a few days to dry...

Then...
I grabbed some Krylon Watermelon...

and sprayed away, following up with a hand sander...

My plans were to stain over top of my freshly painted and sanded project.  This would stain the bare wood.  

I had to put my project on hold due to time constraints and other time consuming demands.  My project sat on the top of our hill for a couple weeks and the more I looked at it, the more I DID NOT like the color watermelon!  I think watermelon is a nice enough color and all but not for this particular Potting Bench.

I decided to grab some Krylon Ballet Slipper and White...

I sprayed and sprayed...  

I can't tell you details of how I sprayed but I tried to give the same effect as I got when I sanded (using the watermelon).  This took a lot of trial and error.  This was more of an experiment than anything else.

Having the watermelon underneath was a nice effect, as it showed through in lightly sprayed areas.

I am over all pleased with the way it turned out.

Potting Bench

We were driving down the street and saw this great weathered bench 4 or 5 houses down sitting on the side of the road.  Well, we were on our way out and I hoped that it would still be there on the way home.  It was!  However, the hub was no longer with me.  I told Steel that I wanted it and hoped that Daddy would be home soon so he could help me grab it.  Steel told me that he could help me carry it.  (Steel is 6.)  Well, after I thought about it, I decided we could walk down and see how heavy it was.  Not too bad!  Yes, I had my 6 year old help me garbage pick!  Technically, it wasn't garbage picking because it wasn't garbage day, right?

I am so excited.  I plan on putting this behind the garage and using it as a potting bench.  I'm kind of  thinking that, that is what it is supposed to be used for?  I just need to decide if I should stain it, or possibly white wash it.  What about turquoise blue washing it to give it a nice blue hue?  Should I see if I can clean the grayed appearance of it first?  Some help with ideas would be greatly appreciated!  I would like to protect it in some fashion so that I can use it for a few years.  It's a little wobbly and needs a little TLC but I think it will be great!!!

Thrift Store Find - State Quarters Map - Fun Kid Activity

I found this State Quarters Collector's Map at a thrift store for a buck...

Steel had a blast, matching the states' names on the quarter to that on the map.  He especially enjoyed using the hammer to help the quarters fit better.