I've been blogging for a year and a half now. So I'm kind of a veteran. I have learned a couple of things as a blogging old timer.
1. Use the word tinkle a lot. Tinkle is a funny word that always gets a laugh.
2. People do not want to tackle any project that takes more than 15 minutes unless the end result is covered in icing.
So ... because of this, I've decided to offer you an alternative to one of my more time consuming tutorials. The Tree Stump table has proven to be one of my most popular and passed along posts.
It's a truly simple project, but it does take time. There's waiting for the stump to dry and the finish to dry and the finish to dry and the finish to dry. There are several coats of finish. Plus there's some power tools involved and you have to go out and buy legs, and ... well ... it just takes a lot longer than 15 minutes. Tinkle.
So, it occurred to me, that if you reallyyyyyy wanted, you could get the same basic look as my tree stump table, without all the fuss or muss.
And here's how you do it.
Table of Contents
Instructions for ...
The Tree Stump Table
The lazybones version
1. Get stump, let it dry out, bring it inside.
2. That is all.
This is a stump the fella and I found while walking home earlier this summer. Originally we were going to make a stump table to bring up to the cottage, but realized there probably wasn't room for it. So ... it sat in the backyard with a fern on it looking quite beautiful. One day whilst looking at the beautiful, natural stump with the beautiful fern, I thought to myself. "Hmm, myself ... I bet that would look beautiful inside, just as it is."
So before frost had a chance to get at my fern I dragged the whole lot inside. And guess what? It does look great inside. Myself was right. Other than taking the bark off, which basically just fell off ages ago, this stump table took no effort at all. I like the dull finish of the natural wood and it's perfect for a plant. If your plan is to use this as an actual table, be warned that if you spill anything on it like wine or salsa or whatever, it will stain.
That's what's great about the original stump table. The finish on it makes it close to indestructible. The drawback to it of course, is that it's not covered in icing.
Laura
In case I haven't said it yet, I love your smiling suitcase & pretty much all the stuff you do. There's a high chair in the nook where my fern was. Once my baby is sitting in a booster, I'll try a fern again...on a stump, so the cats can have another place to scratch that isn't the couch! :)
Beth
I love the the tree stump table.....BUT really...I just want to sit in the chair beside it, where your kitty is sitting.....wow that looks so comfy, what a great place to sit and read!!!!
Karen
Beth - It is a comfortable chair! Probably even easier to do than the tree stump table. ;) Take a look ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/before-after-how-to-recover-a-chair-in-5-minutes/ ~ karen!
Beth
Oh Thanks Karen...you are wonderful!!!
SG
Our city has a lot where they pile firewood and wood chips free for the taking. I look for interesting stumps that no one wants to cut up and burn. You can call your local or state park department and ask what they do with the trees they cut.
Rob
Great idea. I also wish my luggage was pretty enough to store in my living room. :)(left of stump)
Jerrica
I stole a tree stump from a pile by an abandoned Blockbuster -- I was so freakin stoked about it too (about having the stumb, not the stealing, well, yeah that was fun too!), it was the perfect size, and it had been cut evenly. But then a few weeks later while it was "drying" we noticed some white stuff had sprouted on the bark, and come to find out they were termites, we could hear them inside! Needless to say we chucked it. So, I'm thinking I need to be a little more picky about where I get my stump next time!
Carole McGinnis
I found your blog searching the internet on how to make a tree stump table. I have been hooked on your blog ever since. I have almost read every archive you have. I have made your tree stump table, globe lights, globe feeders, mirrored boxes, chicken curry salad, bbq pizza, cesar salad and more. Everything I make comes out great and I love everything. You have inspired me so much to make things, repurpose things and create. I wuv you. I look forward to you every day - I hope you never stop. (I am from Southern California)
Patti
WHERE THE HECK DO YOU PEOPLE FIND STUMPS!? Karen!! I live in Canada! I live in Ktown, actually! And I have family on the Bruce Penninsula and in the Muskokas. But TRY AS I MIGHT - I can't find a stump! AND I WANT SOME! Lots! And I want branches so I can do this:
http://www.diyideas.com/quickprojects/Windows/windowgallery_ss6.html
Help!
Donna
Love it and I actually have one....it came from a tree we had removed from our front yard. So many people loved them I started selling them to others. Now I look for wood and take it....because we do that around here as well!
Nancy
Very nice Karen..I like the natural look..also I'm lazy..tinkle..
Marie
"the fella and I found while walking home earlier this summer" I sure hope the owner wasn't waiting for this stump to dry so they could make your original table! Karen, what is the secret to growing a Boston fern? I just can't figure it out and I'm FROM Boston for goodness sakes!
Karen
Marie - LOL. I once took a table that was on someone's front lawn which I thought meant it was out for anyone to take. (we do that around here ... if you don't want something you put it on your sidewalk and within an hour it'll be gone) Anyhow ... I took the table and then the next morning we noticed the house I took it from was having a garage sale. So ... oops. Anyhow ... the Boston Fern. It likes a lot of natural light and the right amount of water. They're deceiving because they'll live with a small amount of water for agesssss, and then one day they'll just up and die from it. So even if you think, Hmm... looks perfectly healthy, I don't need to water it. You do! This fern hasn't lasted too long in the house so we'll see how it goes. My sister has a Boston Fern that's lived in a fern stand in her front hall for years. It has skylights over it and windows in front of it. And *that* is about all I know about Boston Ferns. :) ~ karen
Robbin
Karen:
Where is the best place to find a stump when you live in the suburbs? I really like this natural approach to the stump table - easy and more rustic.
Karen
Robbin - Well, we grabbed this one from a tree that was cut down on our walk home. If no one's cutting down a tree nearby just find a place that sells firewood. They'll have a stump for you. ~ karen
AllThoseThingsILove
I just asked for one on freecycle and had 2 replies in 12 hours. Just be warned, ifyou ask for a tree stump it will probably still be in the grond.
Someone else contacted me and said she had large pieces of firewood that exceeded my dimensions (I asked for at least 10 inches diameter and 15 inches tall) so, that's the route I'll go...
Jules
Love it- my stump is still in my bulkhead drying out! have a spot waiting for it..I have some nice wood shaped legs just waiting for it!
Laurel Alanna McBrine
Now that's my kind of project :)
Rosalie Davis
My stump is sitting in the garage drying out and waiting to be brought inside.
Larua
My stumps (I hauled 3 home) sat in the garage drying out all last year. Then I decided to use them as seats in the garden...now this summer they were COVERED in firebugs - thousands, millions and that's a conservative estimate.
I want to bring at least one back into the garage to start the drying process all over again but I am so worried about those #@#$%* firebugs taking up residence in my garage over the winter.
Advice? Comments?
teresita
I like the lazybones better! And you don't feel bad if you eventually get tired of it.
Bev
I love them both! But the original one I think is worth the wait and the time - modern and rustic all at once! What is so funny is that growing up in the 70's we had a tree-cross-section coffee table thing. I always thought it was hideous (and it was not cool like yours) and told my mom she was a hippie - oops! I'll have to hide the tree stump at Thanksgiving ;)
pve
now I shall call you "stumpletinklestilskin" - you are too funny showing us your logs. my dog would tinkle for sure on it if I ever brought one inside. my dear husband would mistake if for firewood. tinkle.
pve
Karen Eggleston
Yes, but you could cover it in icing.
Alyson
That is an exceptionally good blogging tip you just casually dropped in there and it's so true! I do so many projects spotted from blogs, but they're always the quick gems...the ones that take longer go in my bookmark and get interwebdust. And 'poo' is the 'tinkle' of my blog.
Marti
Yeah, nice, but I still LOVE that finished stump table and intend to make it as soon as I have a pot to pi... um, a better living situation.
Cindy Marlow
I love the natural stumps. I think they know I love them 'cause they seem to gather here. They get repurposed as plant stands, plant pots, plant sleeves, plant mulch, etc. Plants and stumps go very well together.