Tried It Tuesday (Mod Podge mistake!)

Wahoo!!  Now that I am officially on summer vacation, I am getting to work on my summer to-do list!  Of course, I am relaxing a little more and my to-do items are mostly "fun" anyway:)
For my Tried It Tuesday, I want to share with you a project I tried last summer using
Mod Podge.    It is on my to-do list to "fix" and I hope you don't make the same mistake I did!

If you are new to Tried It Tuesday, read more about it here.

My Tried It:

Mod Podge Stool Project

Here is part of my original post from last summer:
So, I am extremely embarrassed to say that this is what my stool looked like for 12 years:

I started with my supplies (scrapbook paper, acrylic paint, mod podge, spray glitter, and foam brushes):

First, I lightly sanded the stool with 220 sandpaper.  Then, I painted the stool's legs and seat.  The legs took FOUR coats.  I didn't prime first though and I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me.

I used my Cricut Expression to cut a scalloped circled for the stool top, a center circle in a coordinating paper, and a black monogram "S".  My last name begins with S but I am also going to call this the Sharing Stool where students can share book reviews and adventures with Lilly, the classroom pet.  

I glue the S on the red circle and then mod podged each piece in place.  I mod podged the whole seat and as other people had stated in directions I read, the mod podge dries clear!  I had never used mod podge before and this stuff is amazing!

I sprayed the legs with glitter and then starting cutting scrapbook paper to wrap around the 8 rungs on the sides.  I made sure the seam was on the under side and held each piece in place tightly for 20-40 seconds.  It held firm!  Then I mod podged the whole stool 2x and the seat a total of 4x.  I also bought a clear varnish because I thought the mod podge might be tacky, but it really isn't!  I may still add it anyway.  Here is the finished project:

I love how the one piece of scrapbook paper says, "4th Grade". It makes me happy.  Can you see the glitter on the legs?

UPDATE AND WHAT I LEARNED FOR TRIED IT TUESDAY:
Do you see the part where I said, "I may want to add the varnish anyway?"
Yep, you definitely want to add the varnish!!
I don't know where I missed that little piece of advice when researching how to make the stool but the mod podge is so amazing that it seems you don't need the varnish when it is finished.  WRONG!

I had added a couple coats to the seats and some on the rungs with the paper last summer anyway though.  However, I didn't add any to the four main legs and the mod podge is starting to peel!  I need to lightly sand the legs and varnish them this summer.
Otherwise, the stool has held up beautifully where I applied the varnish.
The students absolutely LOVED the stool and it was a favorite spot in the room!  I had to limit when they would use it though because some would try to sit on the stool while working with a partner who was sitting in a chair and that did not work!
I used varnish like this from the craft store:

Reminder:  There is only ONE Tried It Tuesday for July!!  It is the second Tuesday of the month on July 9th.  In August, it will go back to weekly Tried Its!  Thanks:)