How to Redo your Coffee Table for $3

When registering for my wedding, I decided to register for a new coffee table.  I've had my current coffee table for over 5 years.  It's moved with me twice and been through two boyfriends.  I've dated smokers all of my life and people were allowed to smoke at my old house.  We also didn't have coasters at one time.  So you have a combination of water damage, cigarette ash and just general wear and tear.  I think the final straw was when I was wiping down the table and got a splinter through a Pledge wipe.

This is what my coffee table looked like

Unfortunately, I did not receive the coffee table I registered for at my Bridal Shower and I highly doubt anyone is going to buy it for me as a wedding gift.  I don't want to buy a coffee table for myself so I had to figure out some other way to fix the top of my coffee table.  The obvious way to fix it would be to sand it down and refinish it, but that just sounds like a lot of work -- a lot of work that I don't want to do.  I'd seen someone use marbled contact paper on an old kitchen table to refinish it so I tried it with my coffee table and I'm very happy with the results.

What you'll need: scissors and wood grain contact paper from the dollar store that is a similar shade as your coffee table.  I bought three rolls but ended up only using two.

First- clean off your coffee table.

Second- unroll the contact paper and lay it across your coffee table.  You'll want the first sections that you cut to be the exact same length as the coffee table.

I have no clue why this picture is at such a weird angle -- I think I was standing on my couch.

Third- make a small cut on the contact paper at the length at which you'll need to cut it.  Flip the contact paper over and you'll see that it has very convenient grid lines for cutting.

Fourth- cut the contact paper at your desired length

Fifth- cut the contact paper in half lengthwise (hot dog style).  You're going to use these pieces to cover the edges of the coffee table to the old wood finish doesn't show on the sides.

Sixth- place one of the pieces of contact paper at one side of the coffee table with about 4 inches hanging over the edge of the table.

Seventh- remove one edge of the contact paper and stick the contact paper on the edge of the coffee table.  Then slowly peel the backing off of the contact paper and use your hand to smooth the contact paper onto the table.  I didn't have a very big problem with air bubbles, but we'll discuss how to remove them later.

Eighth- repeat this step on the other side of the table.

It will then look like this

Ninth- cut a piece of contact paper that is long enough to cover the left and right edges on either side of the coffee table.

Tenth- line up the piece of contact paper with the bottom edge of the coffee table, remove part of the backing and cover the table in the same manner as above.

Eleventh- at this point, the entire top of my coffee table was covered.  If you want, you can do step 10 again on the top half of the coffee table in order to completely cover the coffee table.  OR you could cheat like I did.

A small section of the edge of your coffee table is exposed on either side:

Just cut a a small piece of contact paper the size of the exposed wood and cover the edge with it.  It's as simple as that.

When you're done, it should look like this.

Yet again -- I must have been standing on the couch for this one.

If you experience air bubbles, just take a pin and poke the bubble gently then rub it out with your finger.

Another awesome part about this is that now the table is water proof and you don't even need coasters! :)

Dollar Store Floral Centerpieces

I'm getting married later this year and there are hundreds if not thousands of inexpensive centerpiece ideas floating around the internet.  Here's something I've come up with that can be made with items found at the dollar store.  I usually just go to the local Dollar Tree.  They're quick, easy and can be made for under $4.00 per centerpiece.

What you'll need:

• A round glass vase
• A bouquet of artificial flowers
• Clear Hair Gel
• A Mason Jar
• A round LED Light with an adhesive bottom
• Batteries for the LED light

For the first centerpiece, take the round glass vase and fill it about half way full with the hair gel.  Luckily this hair gel smelled like Swedish Fish so it didn't smell bad when left in an open container.  You should probably smell the gel before buying it to make sure it has a scent you like.  Next, slide one of the flowers and two of the leaves off their stems.  Place the leaves down in the gel wherever you think looks good.  I used the remaining stem of the flowers to press the leaves into the the gel a little bit so they'd stay put.  Once you have the leaves where you want them, put in the flower and position it how you want to.  Once again, I used the stem to push it into the gel a little bit so it wouldn't flop over...AND THAT'S IT.

I think this would be a great little centerpiece for you dining room table.

The mason jar centerpiece is very similar, but it has a LED light stuck under the lid to make it glow even when there isn't sunlight.  This is a 24oz wide mouth mason jar that I just had laying around the house, but the dollar store does sell mason jars as well.  When you buy a case of mason jars from the store, it does round out to be about $1.00/ jar.

So the concept is the same.  Fill the mason jar about half way full with clear hair gel and then strategically place your leaves and flower with a chopstick, a straw or the stem of the flowers.  Then take your LED light and put batteries in it, remove the paper from the adhesive back and stick the LED light to the inside of the lid of the mason jar.

Push down the light so that it's on and place the lid on top of the jar and screw it on.  That's all there is to it.  You can add other different sized jars to make a wedding centerpiece or just use one in the middle of a patio table for a barbecue.

They glow beautifully even when it's light out.

And when the lights are low, the light creates a beautiful pattern on the table.