thrift store value meal {unit of measure}

greetings! today's post highlights an item re-purposed from a thrift store discovery. originally my thrifty features were to be off the "dollar menu". but it seems i am having a tough time hitting that dollar mark often enough so i am expanding my horizons to include a "value meal" price point...thus giving me a few more dollars to work with!

i happened on a table in the not so distant past that had clean lines + just the right amount of rust on it's industrial-like steel frame. so for less than the price of a fast-food value meal...i had me a project in the making! here is where i started {below}...not terribly exciting with it's ho-hum "faux" wood features. but those legs...they have potential!

 

out comes the bucket of vintage yardsticks {below}. and i honestly mean a bucket-full! i have collected them for years for various projects. and it was time for something different! 

 

next - the layout. should i run them all in one direction? maybe a collage? what shade works off that one? blonde...dark...honey...highlights of red? i sat for a     L O N G time contemplating. after the wheels of invention turned for awhile i got out my arsenal of trusty power tools & went to work. and the end result can be seen {below}. are you loving it as much as i??

 

a bird's eye view of the assemblage {below}

 

i will have a hard time parting with this creation. but my house is pert near full. i did shuffle things around a bit to stage a little photo op for you all so you could see it in a home setting {below}.

 

now those of you who have bought vintage yardsticks know that they can well reach beyond "value menu"...but the foundation was a bargain & inspired me to create this one of kind work of art! a fine unit of measure if i do say so myself! i hope i have sparked you to scour a favorite thrift store in search of your own item of value to put a spin on! 

go forth and create & make it a great day! 

Comments

[Sue Day]

How did you attach the to the table?

[Shelley]

What a great idea!

[Lori]

Love this! Have a question tho...
I see in the photo of how the table originally looked, the wood was flush with the legs.
After you finished the project, the yard sticks are also flush with the legs.
How did you do this?

[Daniel]

hello Beth

from Spain, sorry my english.

i like the second image from the top "don't kick the bucket" and i would like to use in a little book or manual that i am writing. The book is about "programming and production control in construcion", and this image is perfect.

I can't pay nothig or anyting, but i will write into the image:
courtesy: Beth Schaleben - "don't kick the bucket"

Thanks for all.