Our Made from Scratch Picnic Table: A DIY

Last year, the hubby made this table above using the left over pine wood from when we had our shed built. He purchased (from Lowes)pretreated wood that was thicker than the wood we had to use as the legs. I think he did a fine job as a first timer.

sorry about the distracting flip flops. I had just washed them and was drying them in the sun.

Anyway, this is what the table looked like after being left out in the elements without being sealed. I was determined to get it sealed this past Memorial weekend as long as there was no rain in the forecast. Mother Nature cooperated and I set my plan in motion. I decided to use supplies that I already had to complete this project, i.e, paint, etc. I did have to succumb and purchase a sealer that was for exterior projects. It’s called Ultimate Spar Varnish and was purchased at Lowes.

The Process

No, Zion didn’t do any sanding. I had already completed sanding the table (with a 120 grit sanding paper). He wanted to know why I was outside in the scorching sun instead of sipping on some nice ice cold beverage inside. He’s always curious about how things work, so I showed him how the sander worked and sent him back inside because it was time for priming.

Since I was using primer I already had, I was short a bit to completely cover all the table. However, I had enough to prime the top and the legs. Oh and yes, that’s Baby Ian in the background… They just wouldn’t let me complete this project in peace.


I have been meaning to do the dip dye look on a project for some time and decided to have some fun with our picnic table.

For the main paint, I used left over paint that was used on the exterior of our house and to achieve the dip dye look, I used left over paint from when our front door was yellow.

After the paint dried, I used the Spar Varnish to seal the table and let it dry thoroughly before use. I wanted to use wood filler to fill in the cracks in the table(prior to sanding) but couldn’t find the one I am sure we have here. I was determined to reuse or use materials I already had, so there was no going off to buy any wood filler. What do you think about our “green” and budget friendly table? Happy Wednesday my friends. XX