Stumped.

So I've been working on this project for a while. And, its been done for a while, but I'm a little slow per usual. I'm married to MountainMan, right? So I have to have outdoorsy, mountainy things in my house, right? Right. Entre, my new end tables! We were driving through the woods on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when I spotted them. There was a part in the trees and the light shown through illuminating them as if it were a sign from above that those stumps were destined to be mine. Ok, the whole fancy light description thing didn't really happen, but it sounded fun. Anyway, I made MountainMan pick up the not-so-light stumps and throw them into the truck to take down the mountain with us. I had to call in help from my trusty father-in-law, but only because I didn't have an electric hand sander and he did. If I had do all sanding by hand it would have probably been 2031 before this post would go up. All in all it was a super easy and super fun project. And I love that I have somewhere to set my glass of wine at then end of the day. Did I ever mention that MountainMan got me 9 bottles of wine for 9 months of pregnancy?! He's a keeper. I digress. Here are some photos of my project! 

 Step 1: Find an awesome stump in the woods and make your husband take it home with you. 

Step 2: Remove bark. This part takes patience, and the right tools. 

Step 3: Call your father-in-law and tell him you will bake him cookies if he will use his nifty little sander to smooth this out for you. (Cookies ALWAYS help projects go faster.)

Step 4: Seal with a base coat. Polyurethanes typically work well.  

Step 5: Stain to the color of your choosing and after stain has dried appropriately seal with a top coat. Emphasis on the word seal. This is to help prevent sap from leaking out of the log later. MountainMan had left over seal for his wooden oars so I just used that. Also, I cut out a circle of thin carpet and nailed it to the bottom as an extra barrier against sap or anything else. (Not pictured.) 

Step 6: Drink wine, and set it on your awesome new end table. 

Step 7: Return MountainMan's stuff to the coffee table since the photo shoot is now over. 

I love this new addition to out living room! I might be into making furniture now. One problem, I am seriously lacking in the tool and shop department. We're working on it. 

Happy almost Tuesday! 

-Emma