By AmySO, if you caught my Home Stylin Post, you know that since middle school, I've been collecting globes. (I'm a geography and world culture nerd.) All of a sudden, in the past couple years, globes became cool and trendy to vintage-y decorators. Therefore, old globes are snatched up at thrift shops like skinny jeans on sale.
I jealously guard my own, like a grumpy troll, grumbling, "I liked globes before they were cool." Ha!
So, anyway...I have one that I particularly cherish. It's big with nice teals and oranges, and it sits on a tall stand. I LOVE it. It makes me happy, cause it gets me one step closer to the SWEET library I will someday have in my home: built-in shelves and sliding ladders, dark wood paneling, comfy arm chairs, and....yes, globes. My fellow book nerds, are feelin me, right? Heavenly. Just being in that room will make me more intelligent; my thoughts will suddenly be scholarly and profound...which will be a nice change from my normal: "Aw, what the crap am I gonna make for dinner?"
Since my dream of a library is MANY years away, for now, I make due with my happy little bookshelf in the living room, filled with toys and board books on the bottom shelves, and my tall globe sitting proudly nearby.
That is, I DID, until Hayden started messin with my globe! (insert gangsta girl accent) ...And, I was like, "Oh no, you DID-NT!" And, with globes as a scarcity right now, I can't have him breaking it--it would NOT be an easy replacement.
For a long time, he didn't notice it much. Then one day he discovered, "Hey, I can knock this down and it makes a glorious crash!"
The first time he did it, I ran from the kitchen where I was washing dishes. There was my son and globe down on the floor. I swooped to my bawling baby, and while kissing him, my eyes darted over to the globe to make sure it was ok. (I'm ashamed that I was worried for my globe's well-being while my son was crying! Bad mom award! Ha, well, at least I checked Hayden first....) So after kisses and hugs, (Just to my son, I didn't kiss the globe) I put the globe back in it's place, hoping that because he got hurt messing with it, he'd be scared to touch it any more. Yeah right. A while later the stinker pulled it back down, jarring the globe and making the tape around the equator rip. I must admit I was a little bugged. I marched off with my globe and set it on my bed.
After mulling over solutions for a base heavy enough that Hayden couldn't tip it over, I came up with a plan...a tree stump! I'd seen tree stumps used in decorating on Pinterest, why the heck not as a base of a globe!? Wood is heavy and beautiful! I excitedly told the idea to Patrick, who thought it was kinda weird, but he was willing to try. Love him! And, serendipitously, my dad had a stump he pulled out of our yard about a year ago, that had been sitting in his shop.
So, after a lot of sanding, several coats of polyurethane, and a little engineering genius by my husband, father-in-law, and neighbor across the street--the globe is secure and back in the living room!
The best news: Hayden already tried to yank on the globe, and....it didn't budge. Booyah, little man! (haha....Sorry, I really do love my son. It's just, babies just get in to EVERYTHING! )
Here are pics of the process. Patrick, you da man. Thank you for all your help! (He told me he likes this kind of stuff cause then he can put off his homework for grad school...hmmmmm.) And, just so you know I helped with every stage, but, you can't tell cause I'm behind the camera in every pic. :)
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| Sanding...Hayden is "helping". |
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| First coat of clear coat. (It was cold outside, so we're in our kitchen--don't worry the windows are open for ventilation!) |
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| Second and third clear coats outside. |
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| His drilling action pose! Ha! |
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| The base is on! |
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| Screwing on the globe... |
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| The finished product! Woo! Didn't the wood turn out nice? |
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| "Oooh, look, I'm gonna yank that over!" |
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| HAhaha...your plan is foiled, little man! |
Hope you enjoyed, friends!
-Amy
P.S. What do you think? Would you ever decorate with a stump?
What an awesome idea! Not only did you show me how to do something cool, but your post was SO funny! I want to do some wood decorating now!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah! Yeah, wood is so cool!
DeleteI love all of your posts. Your decorating style is awesome. I've been half-heartedly looking for a globe for Oliver's room that didn't cost me a whole bunch and you're right, they're all gone. Very cool collection you've got going there.
ReplyDelete:) You are so cool, Erica! And your baby is beautiful, by the way. Good luck with the globe; you may have to get aggressive at the thrift store! Ha!
DeleteWhen I was waiting for a mission call five years ago, I reallllly wanted a globe. Even then, they were hard to find. But I really really wanted one. I ended up finding one at Kmart, which was super random. And it's been one of my most favorite things ever since. I see why people like globes now, but we liked them first :)
ReplyDeleteHa, you know it! :)
DeleteHeck ya I would decorate with a stump! This is so cool! Peter just started crawling and is starting to get into everything as well sooooo it's time for me to get creative!
ReplyDeleteYeah, holy cow, baby-proofing is no joke! Good luck! :)
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