Upcycled Thrift Store Penny Table

I’ve said it several times, and I’ll say it again: One of the best parts about blogging is the relationships; the connections you make along the way.  I have fun everyday posting DIY inspirations, projects, and tutorials on my Facebook page.  I get a lot of questions and emails from FB fans, and on great days I will even get a sneak peek of a project that they did themselves.  Today’s post is written by one of those amazing FB friends I’ve made.  She is going to share her Upcycled Thrift Store Penny Table!

Written By: Lilly Meehan, Ventura, California

I went to the local thrift stores in search of a project and found this funky little table.  It was clearly someone’s shop project; it had a terrible paint job, and lots of blemishes.  Having recently become aware of the trend of covering table tops, counter tops, and even floors with pennies, I realized this was the perfect little piece for the penny treatment.

After filling in the nicks and dents and sanding it lightly, I spray painted it.  A trip to the bank brought home about $10 in rolled pennies, it was a little bit hard to estimate how many pennies were needed.  First I sorted through the pennies to find the especially grungy ones; in a project like this you want the variety of clean, dirty, shiny and dull.  Some of the pennies had greenish copper residue and were set aside so they would not be cleaned.

Half of the pennies were washed in Tarnex, which surprisingly yielded an unexpected irregular rainbow tarnish pattern. All the pennies were washed with soap and water.  Using Liquid Nails adhesive in the small tube with the fine point tip, each penny was applied one at a time, much like applying tiles.  In the very center of the table a group of shiny 2012 pennies were placed, all facing the same direction, to denote when the project was done.

All of the directions for doing penny projects had an additional step of applying an epoxy layer over the pennies, making the surface smooth and waterproof, but since this is only a small occasional table I found that step both intimidating and unnecessary.  It was finished off with a clear sealer.   As is my custom I always write in a hidden area the date of the project and my name.  This project was a lot of fun.

Lilly Meehan, Ventura, California

Check out my trash to treasure guide for why you should buy furniture secondhand. It also includes a list of trash to treasure tips and project ideas.

 

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