Trash to Treasure for the Science Table
I found this little wooden bowl at a garage sale. I grayed it out for privacy but the rim is unfinished tree bark, the rest of the bowl is carved and shaped. I couldn't see the inside of the bowl when I bought it. It was filled with raffia and enclosed in plastic. Still, it had enough that I knew it would be a great bowl for my science center.
I have to say, it stayed wrapped for a few months because I had a lot of things I was already working on but one day I unwrapped it and to my dismay, there was a family name engraved in the bowl and a family crest. It commemorated a family reunion. I'm not sure the people even knew what was inside the bowl and by this time, I could not tell you where I picked it up. What to do? I didn't want to leave the bowl the way it was. And, I did not want to remove the natural finish of the bowl.
My solution: fill the etching in the bowl, sand it and paint it, leaving the rest of the bowl in its natural condition. Let's get started.
Materials:
-Dry Dex Spackling Walmart
-Sand Paper #80
-flat paintbrush size 2
-craft paint in a warm white
-spray on modge podge (I got mine at Walmart)
Directions:
1. I used this filler. You can also get it at Walmart. It starts out pink and turns white when it is dry. Nothing simpler than that! I spread it thinly, just enough to fill in the engraved markings.
2. Next, I lightly sanded the spackling. I just wanted to sand all the edges so that the surface was smooth and even.
3. I wiped any remaining dust and moved on to painting. I used a small flat brush, # 2 and craft paint from Acrylique, the color name is Warm White. Starting at the very edge, I outlined the bowl and moved the paint down toward the middle of the bowl. This was the trickiest part because I didn't want to get paint on the bark. It took 3 coats for me to be satisfied with the look.
4. Then I finished it off with a spray sealant. The modge podge didn't leave any overlap. It blended into the bowl and left the natural look I was going for.
I love the look of this bowl and will be changing out the nature objects throughout the year for children to explore.
I'm not thinking that everyone will find a bowl like this, but think of things you might have passed on in a sale because there was a name on the front or some other symbol you didn't want. Perhaps, a little carefully placed paint might save the project.
Happy hunting.
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