Secret Project Revealed!

I've been eager to finally share the project I was doing as an anniversary gift to Levi, so now that I've downloaded my pictures and edited them a little bit....here it is!! It's a tree stump that I turned into an end table for our living room! It fulfills all the requirements I had for a "for him" anniversary gift:

  • It must be something related to paper (per traditional 1st anniversary gifts)
  • It must be something he will be able to use, because after all, Levi is a practical man.
  • It must be unique.
  • And most importantly, it must be "him." Manly, strong, and rugged--but not TOO rugged.

So I got this idea from a friend from school who posted it on her blog (which you should check out by the way - it's fantastic), and decided to give it a whirl. It took a lot longer for me (three weeks, actually) than it did for her (one afternoon I think?) because the stump was very wet, but that' ok, because there's a great story behind that.

There was a magnificent thunderstorm about a month ago that struck down a massive tree just down the road a town over. This tree was at least a couple centuries old, and its huge - as in at least 6-7 ft. in diameter - remaining stub of a trunk is pictured here:

Once I found the stump I wanted, my boss graciously rode with me to help load it into the trunk of my car. Not knowing how I would get it out (and planning to roll it into the recycle bin and then drag it through my yard and into the shed--which Levi remarked was "cute"), I drove it home and left it in the trunk. A few days later The Tree Experts (yes, an actual company) were in front of our house cutting back limbs from the power lines, and instead of watching me drag it across the yard, carried it into the shed for me. Perfect timing!

Anyway, enough talking on my part. Here's how to do it:

Procure stump. Chisel away the bark with a chisel and mallet. (In my case, it was the outer bark because the tree was so old and there was SO much bark.)

I hadn't gotten the stump into the basement yet while I was doing the chiseling part, so this is what I looked like every time I went out to work on it:

(Not too attractive, I know. It's hard work!)

Then sand away, using varying grits of sand paper. (You may also have to use an electric sander, especially for the top. And if that electric sander is very big and bulky, you may also have to employ a strong man to do it for you. And if you do, I recommend Jacob Parrish.)

The staining was my favorite part! I used Benjamin Moore's "Golden Oak" color - it's very warm and...golden.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to polyurethane it yet because I found out it was still too damp. When I do, I'll just use a clear satin finish Minwax fast-drying poly. But here is what it looks like now, complete with my special engraving. :-)

So there you are! I'll definitely take a shot or two after it's completely done just to show it off one more time. ;-) And...need I add...Levi loves it. Win!

More coming soon on other anniversary surprises - such as how the top of the wedding cake held up for a whole year. Or did it...?