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| I have a thing for card tables. Easy to hide under a bed, ready to work when you need it to.... Just always can use another card table it seems. So when I saw this the other day........... |
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| of course I snatched it up! |
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| When we were in Dallas over spring break, I found these table clothes on sale for just $2.99 and new they would be perfect for recovering stuff! Since I recovered my dining room chairs in flannel back vinyl, I've been in love. My kids spill something on their chairs about fives times a meal and FINALLY it's easy to just wipe off!! To buy it by the yard is a lot more costly and there really aren't that many selections out there so I bought five table clothes (which ended up being about $1/yard) and I'm pretty sure that's why my suitcase was over it's weight limit when it was time to fly home. :) |
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| I laid the table top on the table cloth and cut around it. Then stapled it down with my staple gun, just like the previous dude had done. Then I happily went on my way to spray paint the table, completely unaware of the huge mistake I had just made!!! |
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| After going over the metal table frame with a metal brush (I'm drawing a mind blank at the moment - WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS CALLED AGAIN?!) and scrubbing it down, I painted it with some FREE metal primer that I picked up at the same garage sale as the table! After applying a couple coats of that, I finished off with the light bluish gray. Muy perfecto! Or so I thought.......... |
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| I was so excited to see how the finished product would look. I quick laid the table top on top of the frame and rubbed my hands over it. OUCH. Ow, ow, ow! Dag Nab IT. The staples were longer than the thickness of the table. I tried pounded them over with a hammer.... nope, didn't really do the trick. So now what?!!!!! And of you brilliant folks out there got some ideas for me?!!! |
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| She's just too pretty to not go on my front porch... what to do, what to do!!! Man I make myself mad sometimes!!! It's rough being a blond. |
the solution depends on the height remaining from the staples. Can it be fixed with extra padding? Or is there enough metal to grab cardboard? Lovely idea. Super steal and great eye. you'd make a savvy buyer at Anthropologie.com (my vote).
ReplyDeleteSuper cool idea.
ReplyDeleteWould it work to cover the staple points, with several thicknesses of duct tape?...No one could see it and it would be a quick repair?!
ReplyDeleteMy bad!!!!!...I just answwered your dilemma, replying, to use duct tape! I didn't realize the staples were protruding on the table top! Scratch my answer!
ReplyDeleteSounds like something I would do! Pull them out and start over girl.
ReplyDeleteI agree with, Jamie. You're gonna have to pull 'em. I feel for ya... Totally something I would do too. ;)
ReplyDeleteAck! I've had similar happen to me Kammy. Try those pliers - the short nosed ones and snip off the pieces popping through. I use those when I want to snip the backs off buttons to use in some of my projects.
ReplyDeleteI love the tablecloth idea! I had the same staple problem with the little stools I made using wire spools. I finally settled on sewing a casing (blanket binding) around the edge of the fabric, then using a drawstring to cinch it up. Unfortunately this solution will require you to pull the staples. There's a photo of the casing in my post http://restyledjunk.com/2012/05/cool-spool-stools/ if this doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteYour table turned out lovely, sounds like you're going to have to use smaller staples... I know all that hard work... Hmmm, I wonder how spray adhesive will work? I'm sure you'll come up with some workable!
ReplyDeleteYou can buy staples in different lengths to work with what you need. Unfortunately, you'll have to take out the staples you have now, but you should be able to find shorter staples to fit the depth of your project.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any thin plywood that you can trace and make a thin layer to attach to the top of the table?
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of covering the table. I guess you could recover it and use smaller staples. Or if that's not an option what about snipping the sharp ends of the staples off with wire cutters so they'll be flush with the table surface. If you try that be sure to wear safety glasses. One of those sharp pieces of metal in the eye would not be fun!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty before and after. When I have a piece that I cannot staple or use nails (or they will go thru) I have used hi-temp hot glue and it holds perfectly with materials like this. Love your blog, you are very creative!
ReplyDeleteTanya :)
So fun!!! love the graphic top!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love the vinyl. Great idea to re-cover! I make dumb mistakes ALL the time. I just get in a hurry to see the finished product and I don't even realize what I've done to mess it all up!!
ReplyDeletep.s. I'm having a giveaway right now for $50 to a great site. I hope you can join!
Why didn't I think of doing that to my ugly old card table? What a great idea! I have chairs that don't match the table too and I could make them match!! I would love for you to share this (and any other creations) at my Pin It and Win It Party-- where you can win free ad-space on my blog!
ReplyDeleteLove this! At first, I thought you had stenciled the top =) I love it though! To solve the staple dilemna, have you tried clipping the staple ends off with pliers or some kind of cutter? If you could get them cut flush enough to the surface you could put a small piece of duct tape to cover any more small sharp points and then recover it with your tablecloth.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from NOT Just A Housewife
Using table cloths is a great idea, easy cleanup :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the staples, I'm sure you can find shorter staples and all will be well again.
I never thought of making over a card table. I have one in my craft room and boy is it an eye sore. What a great idea. Question though - is the top still usable (minus your staple problem)? I'd be crafting on mine and need it functional and not just decorative.
ReplyDeletesorry for the long staple maybe cut them off from underneath, lots of good advice above
ReplyDeleteit looks amazing from far away!! totally something I would do! I agree with those that are telling you to start over again though :( what a pity!! I love your idea of using table cloths! How smart!
ReplyDeleteLeanne
pretty!
ReplyDeleteouch, been there done that... in fact just yesterday with screws. I had to remove them and use shorter ones...
good luck!
post from long ago, but does anyone know how to remove the top to re-cover it? can't figure mine out...
ReplyDeletehow does the top come off? can't figure mine out....
ReplyDeleteyou spelt blond (blonde) wrong! :) the table looks great!
ReplyDelete