Ballard Inspired Spool. But smaller. And cuter. Maybe.

Am I the only one who signs up for catalogs from Ballard, knowing that I'll never be able to afford buy anything from them, but just want to see what I can copy be inspired by? Today I'm showing you how to make this.

The latest thing to catch my eye was this table. I mean, cute, right? But at $199, I don't think so. Plus, even though it's supposed to emulate a spool of thread, I get a nautical vibe from it. Doesn't work in my casa.

So I wanted to see if I could make one on a smaller (and way cheaper) scale. I hit up Hobby Lobby. The wood was $1.50 a piece, and the cylinder was $3.47 (but use those 40% off coupons). I already had the rope stuff.  I took the lid off of the cylinder, poked a hole in the bottom along the edge, threaded the rope thru and tied a knot in the rope (I didn't want the cut edge of the rope to be visible)

And then started wrapping. I would put on some hot glue, wrap, hot glue, wrap, rinse and repeat.

Then I used my Silhouette and made the stencil for the top out of vinyl. I just tried to keep it as close to the original as I could.

Pretend I have a picture of the wood after it's been stained (I used a dark walnut color). Place your vinyl on top and spray paint it black. I used the transfer paper to cover the areas that I don't want painted. Just like I did with my UFC pillow, I made sure to not spray at an angle. Don't want it bleeding underneath. 

When it's dry, peel away the vinyl, and bask in it's loveliness. Looks like it was stamped on there, huh? Booyah.

Then say a few curse words when you realize that you should have had your hubby drill a hole in the wood BEFORE you stain and paint.

Next, anxiously wait in the garage and remind your husband 4,763 times to please be careful while he drills out the holes.

Then carefully stain the inside of the hole. I did do a few LIGHT layers of cream colored spray paint on the rope since I really liked the contrast of the dark and light on the inspiration piece. I also cut out a hole on the bottom piece of cardboard so you can see through the spool. Then bust out your trusty E6000 and stick them all together.





I heart it. It's right outside of my bedroom door. Final size is just under 7 inches tall. But I did see larger sized discs there if you want a bigger spool. Instead of using the store bought cylinder, you could use an oatmeal tube, a concrete form, etc. Your options are even greater if you have a router and a way to cut a big circle out of wood.

• Yeah, I know you'd think that if your stain is too dark, that you can just add water to it. Ummm, yeah, it didn't work. Take my word for it. 

• Make sure you check your wood before you buy it. I've bought one before that was warped. One of my pieces had a huge knot on the top, which wasn't a big deal since I just used it on the bottom. But just something to keep in mind. 

• Unless you really like cursing, don't use a baby wipe to brush off the sawdust after drilling. It was not fun having to try and pick off all the fibers that clung to the wood. 

Love it? Hate it? If you hate it, please lie to me. I'm fragile.




Party up in here...