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! :)

Recipe: Taco Pie

My mom got this recipe out of a magazine years ago -- maybe even before I was born, but I've made it for so many people and they all love it.

Ingredients:

• 3- 8 oz packages of crescent rolls (you can buy seamless ones if you want, but I never have)
• 1- 1.5oz can of tomato sauce
• 1- 1lb package of Velveeta Mexican
• 1lb of ground beef (or venison or turkey depending on your preference)
• 1 package of taco seasoning

First, preheat the oven to whatever temperature is on the crescent roll package.  It usually is 375 degrees.  Then to make the crust, roll out all of the crescent roll dough onto a large cookie sheet.  I usually have half a roll left which I use to make the edges raised and fill in any seams.  Make sure all of the seams are closed.

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Once you have all of the crust laid out, you have to poke the crust with a fork so the middle doesn't puff up and rise.

Once you've finished poking the crust with a fork, put the pan in the oven for the lowest amount of time in the directions on the crescent rolls package.  Mine said 11 minutes.  You want the crust to be a light golden brown because you're going to put it back in the oven to melt the cheese later.

While the crust is in the oven, it's time to make the meat topping.  Place the pound of burger in a 10 inch skillet and cook the meat until it's browned.  If you're using a fatty burger, you'll have to drain the meat once it's browned.  If it's a lean meat, like venison, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

If you had to drain the meat, return it to the skillet and then add the taco seasoning and the can of tomato sauce.  Let simmer on medium heat for a couple of minutes until the sauce is thick.

Once the crust is done, take it out of the oven and pour the meat sauce onto the crust and spread it all over.

 

Then slice the cheese and place on top of the meat sauce.

If you haven't invested in one of these awesome cheese slicers, I highly suggest you get one.  They're great especially for this recipe.

As you see, the cheese will start melting as you're placing it on.

Once the pie is covered in cheese, place it in the oven for about 5 minutes to let the rest of the cheese to melt.

This is the finished product:

Now generally the toppings I put on this are taco sauce and sour cream, but my parents would always put shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes on theirs.

This also makes great leftovers

ENJOY!

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.