Friday, September 11, 2009

Fun Friday #2: Tray Table Redo

I know how awful this looks.
It's not my fault.
My husband and his dad made beautiful bookcases about three years ago for our office/den, and this is what my husband used to set the cans of stain on.
Yep. It is a mess, and it used to be pretty nice.
I used this in my classroom to set out all of my treasure chest items every Friday until it met its fate.
I guess it's fitting that I feature this project for "Fun Friday." Well... I've been wanting to use a different surface for all of my crafts, since I've been using our dining table. Mind you that table isn't looking as great as it used to either. I guess we're all pretty rough with surfaces in our house. Anyway, this TV tray table just made me sad every time I looked at it.
What I Needed:
a new surface for my small crafting projects & even a surface for my sewing
What Materials I Used:
scissors
leftover pieces of scrapbooking paper
old TV tray table
Mod Podge
sponge brushes
What I Did:
First, I pried off the thicker globs of stains from the table.
I wiped the table as clean as I could with a damp cloth.
I'm too lazy to sand it.
Next, I cut as many 4" x 4" squares of leftover color-coordinated scrapbooking papers that would cover the entire top surface.
I used a sponge brush to spread a thin layer of Mod Podge over the entire top surface.
Then I took a paper square and spread Mod Podge to its back side, applied it to the center of the table, and spread another layer of Mod Podge on its front side.
I did that until I covered the entire top surface of the table. I used scissors to trim the edge pieces of the table. Notice that there was a pattern in the beginning, but it became more random as I got to the edges. I told you they were just left-over pieces!
After the top dried, I applied two more coats of Mod Podge to seal it.
The Result:
Yay! It has come back to life in a big way! I love its clean surface once again! It just goes to show that you don't necessarily need to buy "new" to get "new."
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
Now go and Mod Podge something.
By the way, I have a folding table that might meet the Mod Podge fate as well.
The table has really seen better days.
We'll have to see!
my signature

15 comments:

LacyHolly said...

I LOVE this!!! I just purchased my first ever bottle of modge podge for a tray I'm going to redo. This almost makes me want to go garage saling and Goodwilling to find cheap not-so-perfect tray tables to do this with! I have all kinds of scrap paper!

You're a genius!

Renanda said...

Love it! I made a tray table into a portable ironing board. If you have a free minute, check it out on my blog. I have another table that I think I am going to try your trick with. Thanks!

Jennifer said...

Adorable! I love the colors!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

those colors POP! Great makeover!!!

Beverly said...

Great idea!!! WOW much better after. I am stealing this idea!

Anonymous said...

Great little project! I love it!

The Fab Miss B said...

Cute!

Xazmin said...

FABULOUS! You know how I love Mod Podge! I hope you'll come link up to September's Mod Podge Mania on the 30th!

RootsAndWingsCo said...

Oh I love paper! So, this project is a big hit with me. Amazing what paper can do for things, hu!? Great job with this, I love the papers that you chose.

Rebecca

Lacie @ Creative Attempts said...

i love love love your blog and i am going to become a follower for sure!!

Xazmin said...

Thanks for linking up! I LOVE this project!

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you posted this at Mod Podge Mania - it's really delightful!

Tanielle said...

So, so cute!!! I loved how this turned out!!!

Small House said...

This turned out wonderful. SO CUTE!
Sandra

Katie said...

Great redo and so nice that it's found a new cute life!