Creating an Heirloom Glamping Table

Did you ever repurpose something you own that you did not know the value of, and it became priceless?

Well, that is exactly what happened when I created my Heirloom Glamping Table to bring on camping trips in my Casita.

A little Padilly background information:

In addition to my passion for the subjects of this blog, I’m also into genealogy and have lots of vintage family photos, including many of my mother and her family taking road trips out west during the 1940s. These family photos do a wonderful job of capturing the time period, and all deal with outdoor travel activities.

Then one day, it occurred to me, what better way to bring their memory with me on camping adventures than to make a table with all their photos glued on top!

But I couldn’t decide what table to use (I didn’t want to buy one), and then I remembered an old table in our attic; it was left there by the previous owners when we bought the home.

It was a PERFECT size, and the legs folded inside, making it easy to store and bring camping.

Creating my Heirloom Glamping Table

The previous owners left a table in our attic, so I used it to create my heirloom glamping table.

I then printed many of my family’s travel photos using my inkjet printer (from scanned originals).

With photos printed, I trimmed them with my pinking shears, added Mod Podge to each photo’s back, and randomly placed them on the top of the table.

Once I completed that task, I took some alphabet stamps and started stamping words that reflected some of the images using white acrylic craft paint.

Finally, once I was certain the pictures and paint were dry, I put a little Mod Podge on the top of each photo to seal and protect them from the varnish.  I then applied several coats of varnish to the top of the table to protect the photos and table from damage resulting from being outdoors.

Feedback

I was so happy with my heirloom glamping table results that I posted a picture of my new table on “Lou’s Glamping for Beginners” to receive feedback.  

As I hoped, I received lots of praise…until one comment took me by surprise. One woman didn’t comment on how wonderful she thought my table was but instead said that the table looked like a Singer Featherweight Folding Card Table and that they can be worth a lot of money (I also think she may not have liked that I repurposed this rare table, as there is now a reproduction market to meet demand).

Since I had no idea what a Singer Featherweight Card Table was (which, if I did, I might not have modified it), I immediately went to eBay and discovered some of these tables are going for well over $200!

Amazing! To think this old table was left in the attic of our home by the previous owners, and I too was unaware of its value, and I turned it into something priceless!!! Seems like the perfect glamping table to me.

Happy Trails,
Mrs. Padilly

Okay, if you read this far, you MUST indulge me a little.
I can’t do a post that includes family photos without sharing with you
some of those photos glued to the top of the table… Wait! Where are you going?

Mrs. Padilly’s Family Photos
that appear on her
Heirloom Glamping Table

This is one of my favorite photos from their trips.
It is a little hard to see the woman in the convertible,
but I find it shocking that the bear is literally at her door.
Not to mention someone in my family nearby taking the photo!

Left to Right: my aunt, mother, and grandmother, and their car.

I traveled to Willow Creek Pass for the first time last summer,
never knowing my mother once traveled there, too.
Left to right: grandmother, aunt, mother

My family seemed to enjoy taking two kinds of photos; standing by their car and road signs!

This place is on MY bucket list!

Padilly’s mother on her mother’s second favorite animal (dogs are her first).
Note to parents: You cannot have your own horse when you were young,
then expect your daughter to understand when you say NO to her request for one of her own!

This one accomplishes BOTH of the family’s photo goals: a sign AND a car!
(Left to right; Grandmother, Aunt, Mother)

Don’t let my Great-Grandfather Herpich’s and Grandfather Minnes’
long, lean bodies and sloping shoulders fool you!

My great-grandfather was an Army Ranger in the 1890s and even had the honor to guard the Spanish Exposition during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. My Grandfather, Minnes, was a Chicago Police Officer in Al Capone’s neighborhood. These were two tough guys!

Imagine traveling from Chicago to Mexico on old gravel roads, in a car with no air-conditioning,
carrying your wife, your wife’s parents, and your two daughters?
Is there any wonder why Mrs. Padilly likes to travel! 😉

Okay, now you must really indulge me a little more
as I point out something, I think it is totally cool!

The picture below is another road sign taken by my grandfather, but this one is in TEXAS! 🙂

This is the spot on Google Maps where Mrs. Padilly is 95% sure
my family took the photo over 70 years ago!

This Google Map shows the location in proximity to Houston.

Note near the top of the map the town of Conroe, which is about 15 miles from Mrs. Padilly’s home (I am a big believer that everything is connected). I find it very cool that my family traveled to this area 70 years ago, on a road trip from Chicago to Mexico, and then 40’s years later, my parents moved to this region. I’m pretty sure my mother did not know she traveled these same roads as a child… 🙂

I will take a Padilly trip to this spot REAL SOON
and see if I was right about the location. Photos coming soon!

UPDATE! UPDATE!

I took a trip to the spot pictured in the 1940’s photo and confirmed it is indeed the same place!

Here are a few photos from my visit. The bend to the right is for Old State Hwy. 35, and was probably closed off when rerouted (slightly) to bypass a train bridge.

It was very cool for me to stand in this isolated area knowing my family from Chicago stopped to take a picture, back in the 1940s, at the point where Texas State Hwy. 71 begun, heading north to El Campo and Old Texas State Hwy. 35 made its bend to Bay City.

This image shows where Hwy. 35 bends right and the beginning of Old Hwy. 71.

This image shows the section of Hwy. 35 closed due to rerouting around train tracks.

This is the old (still active) train bridge, which was probably the reason for the reroute.

Having a little fun comparing and merging the old 1940’s sign into a modern-day site.

Present Day Signage (not as photogenic)

Note, I’m parked on what would have been Old Hwy. 71 (now Route 442), which use to end where it and Hwy. 35 met in the photo above.  Now it “T’s” into the Hwy. 35’s rerouting, and you must go right and then make a quick left onto Hwy. 71 (Yeah, that made sense…)

Mrs. Padilly’s Casita Travel Trailer’s Glamping Makeover Series:

Introduction:

• My Casita Travel Trailer’s “Before Glamping” Pictures

Casita Glamping Makeover:

• Chalk Painting Cabinet Doors
• Adding Teal Paint to Accent Surfaces
• Installing a Tile Backsplash
• Installing Wood Vinyl Flooring
• Decorating the Screen Door
• Window Treatments
• Dressed for Glamping