DIY Pottery Barn Anchor Paperweight/Bookend

I was reading the most recent Pottery Barn catalog a couple of days ago when I saw this photo:

Honestly, I'm not a giant fan of the idea of covering a couch with denim, and that coffee table has too much glass for my preference. But... do you see the cute anchor on the second shelf of the table? The little cast-iron bookend-looking one?

I certainly saw it, and I was taken with it immediately. It isn't for sale, though (and it would be out of my price range if it was). So, I had to come up with a way to make a copy for my own space. It worked out so well that I figured I'd share the how-to with all of you!

The Pottery Barn version isn't even for sale, but I can't imagine it being cheap. My version isn't quite as sturdy as cast iron, but it only cost me about a dollar.




As far as materials, all I used were hot glue, black paint, gaffer's tape and camp pad. We buy this stuff by the roll at Wal-Mart for $5.88 apiece for projects of Mr. Scrimp's and we had a big pile of extra and scraps.

We had the gaffer's tape on hand and it really wasn't necessary. I just used it to save paint and smooth the cut edges out. Given that everything I used was on-hand, this was actually free for me.

This was a very simple project. Seriously.  Here are the steps involved:

1. Draw an anchor on paper and cut it out. I folded a piece of paper, drew half an anchor, and cut it out still folded so it would be even on each side.

2. Trace the anchor onto the camp foam and cut it out (I suggest using a craft knife. Cutting foam with scissors is definitely not easy)

3. Cut a rectangle for the base, not quite as long as the anchor itself

4. (Optional) Cut thin strips of gaffter's tape to cover and smooth the edges around the anchor and the base.

5. Paint black and let dry

6. Glue the anchor in place on the base and.... done!

If you wanted, you could cover the whole thing with gaffer's tape to get a slightly smoother texture. Personally, I liked the rough texture of the camp foam because it makes the whole thing look more weathered. 

I think I may go back later and stipple it a little bit with rusty red and perhaps a bit of copper green, to give it an aged, antiqued look. And then it will be up on a shelf in my living room.