Apparently the Lowes near me has caught on to the painter-stick DIY fad because I went there to get about 6 of them to use for a project. But when I went to the paint dept. they were moved to behind the register. I asked the guy behind the counter if I could have a few but he wouldn't give me more than three! Even when I asked again! AND i bought paint! incredible.

Nice project! I like the color the paint sticks took on with some stain.

I'm not a big fan of projects that encourage you to essentially steal the supplies from a store. It would be one thing if you went to the craft store or the art-supply-store and bought this wood, but there is a cost associated with those "free" paint sticks.

With the amount of stir sticks you need, it would be more efficient to buy them. I don't know how cheap someone has to be to camp out at the home improvement store to ask for dozens of stir sticks. No one would give so many away for free.

I once had a project that involved getting the sticks, I went to home depot and told them i need about 50 and that I would be willing to pay. The guy brought the manager over and they said I could just have them.

I feel like as long as your being honest about them (when needing more that a couple) then its up to how nice the employees are

You can buy them for about $.50 a pop. Or $1 if you want the five gallon size. If I were doing a project with these I'd spring or them.

@SkippingDaisies - Where does it say that they encourage you to "steal" the paint sticks?? You can buy them at plenty of places, so I don't know why you'd assume they got them for free.

Great look but I agree the materials should be purchased.

I agree that it is a bit sketchy to get a bunch of free paint sticks from the paint department. That said, neither the post nor the original blog claim they got it for free (although it's possible).

Agree that materials should be purchased or obtained honestly for free. That said...who knew paint sticks could finish up looking that nice? Creative!

What kind of wood is underneath? I think the table would look the nicest completely stripped down and then covered with a clear varnish.

Thanks so much for the great comments about the project! I actually purchased the stir sticks from Wal-Mart for .25 each in the paint department. I used about 25 paint sticks for the project....so it ended up costing me about $6.25 for the table top.

Thanks Beth....it actually was extremely damaged and chipped veneer. The new tabletop looks so much prettier.

Why isn't anyone commenting on the project and are all in a huff about the paint sticks..come folks...
Brillant job..nicely done and so smart to think of stir sticks...

come on folks...jeez...sorry.

I imagine you could do this with other types of scrap wood as well. It looks beautiful!

You can buy really long strips of poplar lattice moulding if you have reservations about using paint sticks. I keep my scraps, in fact, to use for stirring paint. They're about 1/4" thick and get the job done much easier. A mitre/chop saw would be ideal for this as well. I like the result - really do. I dumpster dove for some teak flooring my office had to remove recently. Since it is rape-the-rainforest teak from the early 1970s, I felt it was my duty to salvage as much as possible. I intend to do a herringbone or similar pattern using the strips to resurface the mid-century particle board/laminate cover dining room table my parents used in my childhood.

Absolutely stunning, I love the contrast between the stain and old paint. What a wonderful solution!

You could also use Contractor Shims which are very affordable and would create a cool affect.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100082960/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=wood+shims&storeId=10051#.USOxi1rF38c

You can simply use popsicle sticks from the craft store....

Looks terrific!

OMG just buy them on amazon. Geez!

12.95 for a pack of 100: http://amzn.com/B00397Q6F4

whoa nelly - that is supercool!!

I like it, and who cares, if you are buying stain for the sticks you are giving them money. Any wood would work, reclaimed etc.

I love it! I didn't know that Walmart sold paint sticks so thanks for the heads up!

This is so cool!! I can't believe those are just paint sticks! Great creativity and outside the box thinking!

Very clever! Im in awe of people who think like this!

Ha! You got me with the before photo. Didn't know what to expect and wow! What a great idea. Love it.

I completely agree with you. Just like people who go and steal paint chip cards for crafting. People who actually want to buy paint need them to help decide on a color.

I really love how this turned out! I would definitely use this to transform a table that i have. Thanks for the inspiration.

Admittedly I am not much of a DIY-er but why wouldn't you just use some thin wood pieces you didn't have to cut down instead of the paint sticks?

Buy pine lath. Less waste since you don't have to toss all the shaped handle ends.

We've made a lot of wood patterned dining table tops and art and we use 1/4" plywood and cut it into strips and stain in varying colors. Check them out here if you are interested: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BuiltConcrete