There are those people who don’t buy anything unless it’s never been touched by another human’s hand.  There are those who never buy anything unless it’s been used so much, it’s hardly recognizable.  And of course, there are those who never buy anything at all.  :)  I fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, depending on the item or my mood at the time of the (potential) purchase.

If you’ve read a few of my earlier posts, you know that I’ve recently become very interested in sewing (again).  In our current home, there isn’t a dedicated space for me to use for this purpose, so my junk ends up sprawled all over the kitchen table until my projects are finished.  However, a couple months ago, I discovered the perfect spot for a small sewing area when I rearranged my office (that’s technically supposed to be a formal dining room) because Ryder was able to reach some dangerous-to-him objects.  Since then, I’ve been searching high and low for a sturdy, compact sewing table.  I started my search on Craigslist.com.  I happened to find a lovely table for sale for only $30… but the ad said it had to be reassembled (which for some reason made me question its sturdiness), and on top of that, I’d have to drive into the city to pick it up.  UhUh… NOT gonna happen!  So I thought I’d do an online search and see what new sewing tables looked like and what they cost.  HOLY COW!  Not only are they ginormous, but so are their price tags!  I tried working up a “But Honey, wouldn’t this make a great Christmas present?” speech in my head for a few days, and just couldn’t justify it.

Then, on a whim last week, I decided to stop in at Good Will.  I’m not one for shopping at consignment stores, or even places like Marshall’s or Ross unless I have something extremely specific I’m looking for and have scoured all of creation with no luck.  But I decided it was worth a shot.

I walked in amongst all the Halloween costumes and fake cobwebs, and almost gave up right away… and then “it” caught my eye.  I knew it needed a face lift, but certainly seemed like something even someone with my lack of refinishing experience could handle.

I made a bee-line toward this beauty (hardy-har-har!), and noticed that it was only $20.  SCORE!  It was even less than the one on Craigslist, it was already assembled, and I wouldn’t have to drive more than 10 minutes to get it home.  But then I realized that the bottom half of the tag was missing, indicating that someone else was intending to purchase it.  FAIL!

I perused the other furniture for a while, and kept an eye out for anyone who looked like they might be preparing to pay for “my” desk.  After about five minutes, I saw no one.  So I flagged down an associate and asked for advice.  They led me up front where a cashier made three pages over the intercom for the person with the tag for that item.  No one responded, so they gave it to me… SCORE AGAIN!!!

It barely fit in the back of my Escape, but I got it home easily.  Now I just had to figure out how to make it look nicer.  I knew we had some extra paint, and figured I’d just choose something from our stash.  We painted one wall in our family room a really pretty shade of navy blue, and since it would be up against purple and brown walls, I figured that would be the perfect choice.  I lightly sanded it, quickly painted it, and left it in the garage for a few days till I figured out how else to modify my would-be sewing table.

I’ve never decoupaged before, but I figured it would be fun to give it a shot.  So I bought a big jar of ModPodge, a couple of sponge brushes, and some on-sale wrapping paper from Michael’s.  If you looked closely, you’d notice that it’s not perfect.  I didn’t bother to take the time to make sure every last air bubble was smoothed out, and some of the edges aren’t perfectly straight.  But after three coats of ModPodge and some antique-looking silver knobs, I’d say she’s a far cry from what she used to be.

Ok, I’ll admit… it may be a little much.  But I like that it’s funky, and I’m proud that I did it all by myself.  Now all I need is a great chair, and my little sewing corner will be complete.  When I get it all in place, I’ll add more pictures…