EMILY GRACE KING
  • ART
  • CURATORIAL
  • ABOUT

In Love of Craigslist's "Free" Section

7/22/2013

7 Comments

 
Picture
We all know it: Craigslist is awesome. I'm sure there are people who use it to make a good amount of money or sell really expensive things, but I pretty much just use it to sell stuff for cheap, to drool over local puppies and kitties (and pet monkeys), and to get free stuff. I've been combing the free listings obsessively lately. 

Since moving, my brain is constantly updating and revising my list of future house projects, and while I realize that things like adding a patio and a chicken house and a pantry and an office and another bedroom are best done slowly over time, I want them to all be done RIGHT NOW. 

One of the larger future projects we want to do is a sizable paver patio and walkway (with fire pit) in the backyard. Ignorant me was like, "pavers are probably super cheap, duh." This turned out to be an enormous lie. Since we are in no rush to spend hours a day laying pavers out in the height of Florida's summer sun, my plan is to slowly collect free pavers from craigslist until we have enough to cover the entire area. Then I will fashion a glorious mosaic from the array of variously sized pavers, and we will install the whole patio in the Florida Winter.

Two problems: 
1. I am awful at math.
2. Apparently pavers do not have a standardized thickness.

In true Emily style, I have decided to ignore both of these issues until I have enough pavers and I want to kill myself due to my enormous oversight of the thickness problem. I will also probably start laying the pavers and then realize that my calculations were totally botched and that I in fact do not have enough pavers, and then I will cry. So get excited for THAT blog post, coming to you this Winter!
Picture
Instantly transform your vehicle into a Low Rider!
The paver collection is going quite well, and if my terrible math skills have any merit at all, I am already halfway to the needed amount. YES!

While checking out the ol' Craigslist, I also grabbed this table for free.
Picture
Before

I know, right? Super ugly. Another DIY-er had rattlecanned the chairs in a weird, textured brown paint, and I am not a fan of glass-top tables. But I wanted a table for outside, and it was free, and it was metal. After getting creative with some old fence wood, spray paint, and outdoor fabric, things took a delightful turn in the right direction.
Picture
After
The whole project cost $20 for outdoor fabric and spray paint, and the rest of the supplies were all freebies. I may add some edging around the top and do a resin pour so that the tabletop is totally flat and sealed while preserving the look of the old wood. Craigslist FTW!

A few other projects have been complete as well: the kitchen is all decorated and beautiful, but I keep forgetting to take photos during the daytime! I will post some soon, I promise.

My fingers have been aching to get back to doing some serious artwork, and so this news is the most exciting for me: The shed that will soon be my epic art studio now has electricity! My bestie Linden's boyfriend Eric came out and performed electrician magic while Dave and I marveled at his wizard-like powers. Now all we have to do is put in a window, AC unit, insulation, drywall, some shelving...and then I will be able to unpack all my favorite things and get back to painting.
Picture
Before
Picture
Now with Electricity!
7 Comments
Sher Hopkins
8/18/2013 02:44:21 pm

I like the wood on the glass table! That looks great! I don't know I would put edging around.....maybe just sand it so it is smooth. It looks great! So creative. Love it!

Reply
Emily King link
8/18/2013 02:49:49 pm

Thank you Sher! I love your ideas.

I agree--something needs to happen with that edge. I think I am going to edge it and pour epoxy over the wooden top so that I can preserve the rough coloring and aging in the wood but also have a flat, wipeable surface.

Reply
June
11/28/2013 06:07:48 am

I really love the chevron design of the table top. Was there a lot of woodworking/power tooling involved? Would it be possible to make this if you don't have much experience with carpentry?

Reply
Emily King
11/28/2013 12:46:08 pm

Hi June--the way that I made the table took very little know-how. If you can operate a handheld saw (electric or not) and a drill, you will be able to make the tabletop. I just took an entire fence board, lined it up with the center pattern I wanted, screwed it to a scrap piece of plywood (cut to tabletop size) so that the end of the fence post stuck off the edge, and then cut the end of the fence off flush with my plywood. Repeat until the whole table is covered.

Reply
Ranya link
5/2/2014 01:27:48 pm

Great table top. How did you attach the top to the metal frame? We have the same metal frame and can do some woodworking.

Reply
Emily King
5/3/2014 12:35:20 pm

Hey Ranya! The table top is quite heavy, so it is just sitting on top of the metal base--just like the glass was.

Reply
Kentucky Girls link
11/9/2022 12:04:57 pm

Godd bless

Reply



Leave a Reply.

emily@emilygraceking.com
Artwork Archive Portfolio
Blog Archive
  • ART
  • CURATORIAL
  • ABOUT