Makeover Monday –Tea cart

 

Todays makeover makes me think about garden tea. There is nothing more refreshing on a summer day than a glass of cold garden tea. Everyone in this family loves it so we can barely keep enough in the fridge. Thankfully our tea garden is doing quite well this year. In fact, it’s producing more than we can use. I like to keep it trimmed down so it grows out fresh all the time.

I’m sure many of you have made tea already, but I will share a brief method on how I make it before going on to the tea cart.

I cut off what ever amount I need, just guessing I imagine filling the kettle I’ll use to cook it, about full. I’m the type that doesn’t bother sorting and washing it too much. I check it for bugs and give it a quick rinse.

I heat a kettle of water to boiling. Turning the burner to low, I put the tea in, stems and all. I like to keep the water hot for 15 to 20 minutes, but not boiling. It has occasionally boiled, so don’t panic if it does. It doesn’t ruin the tea, it just seems unhealthy to boil it too much and it may taste a little extra strong. I usually turn the burner off after 15 to 20 minutes and leave it set for another half hour or so. I can usually tell by the color of the tea when it’s ready.

I pour the tea into a large jar and add sugar to sweeten it. When pouring it into the jar, I run it through a cloth to make sure no dirt or pieces of leaves gets into the tea.

After it’s cooled it’s ready to drink! Oh and it’s best when it’s enjoyed outside amongst the summer breeze, the birds and a good book!

 

Now, on to this ugly tea cart that I rescued earlier this year from a house that was about to be demolished…

Pretty homely looking, right?

I gave the frame part a coat of hammered gray paint.

 

I wanted the word “TEA” stenciled onto the top tray but unfortunately it didn’t go quite as planned. :(

I cut out letters and taped them to the center of the tray. I thought I’d see how it looks with brown letters, the original color of the tray.

I then painted the tray an aqua color. After taking the letters off, (which I had taped on with double stick tape) I saw that the brown wasn’t going to work with the gray and aqua. I then used masking tape and outlined the letters, allowing me to paint the letters. I covered up the rest of the tray and painted the letters white. This all sounds fairly quick & easy but trust me, it took so much more time than I would have liked.

Again, the before…

The after…

It’s amazing what paint can do, isn’t it? :) The cart will also be at the vintage fair June 25th, as are most of the makeovers I’m posting these days. I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for visiting!

-Mary