Stumped

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Quite a while ago I was out shopping and came across this cute ceramic owl. I fell in love with it and had to have it, thinking to myself this would be so cute one day in our nursery. It sat on my vanity for a good long time before making its move into our almost completed nursery. So when my husband and I found out we were expecting and my brain started to envision the space it seemed natural to go with a more rustic, outdoorsy feel – organic and fresh so to say. (See my inspiration post to get a feel for the whole room.) When we were at the cottage over the summer I noticed a stack of tree stumps my father-in-law had started when he had to cut down a birch tree. I immediately thought to myself one of those stumps would make a really neat side table in the babies room and rather then spend the money on a store bought stump I figured I must be able to come up with something myself... and so my project began!

Tree Stump Table – how to:

Pick a stump, any stump – Whether you have access to trees which have been cut down or can solicit someone to help you locate a suitable stump you’ll obviously want your stump to be fairly flat so it sits properly.

Sand off initial dirt and other gunk found outdoors.

Place in direct sunlight to dry out.

Once all moisture appears to be gone bring inside to dry out as well.

Depending on the type of wood you use you may either choose to remove the bark completely or sand the first few layers down. Since we choice a birch tree I wanted to sand the initial layers off so not to lose the “birchy” finish.
 
We choice to white wash the whole log so as to give it a more whitey/grey look rather than golden brown look. We simply watered down white paint and layered until we achieved the look we wanted.

We were going to cover the stump with an epoxy which you pour over a surface and it provides a thick shiny layer but in the end we decided to go a more natural route and simply seal the service with a high gloss stain. The result is a glossy and finished but still very natural look.

Some may choose to have their table sit flush on the floor but we wanted a little height and therefore added small legs which can be found at Ikea. These are great if your stump or floor are a little crooked as you can adjust the height on various legs to allow the table to sit straight.

All in all a simple project with a terrific outcome. Happy DIYing!