Wow! Can you believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving already? This fall as flown by… its going to be Christmas before we know it! As much as I love the holiday season, I don’t think I am ready yet!!
Here is a little project I have been working on, if you have any toddlers on your Christmas list, this was a cheap & easy project, that turned out FANTASTIC!!
I thought Bubs would like his own “toddler size” table, his best friend, “N”, has this one, and he LOVES to sit at it!
Ikea Table
BONUS – It costs only $19!!
I thought it was such a great deal, and Bubs seemed to love it, but it was pretty boring… so I decided to “spruce” it up a bit!
I had a leftover paint sample I bought at Benjamin Moore, one I thought I wanted for Bubs bedroom, but didn’t like once I tested it on the walls. Of course I did not get rid of it (because I don’t like to waste things!), so I dug it out of the basement and decided to use it for the table!
Benjamin Moore Blue Lagoon
Then I thought, how fun would it be if Bubs could draw ON the actual table top?? Obviously a toddler would LOVE to draw on the table, who needs paper, right? So I thought I would use chalkboard paint!! I already had some on hand, from another project I did (more on that project later!).
FolkArt Chalkboard Paint
Since the ikea wood is untreated, it absorbed the paint like nobody’s business…
I am really liking the Benjamin Moore Blue Lagoon as a table color (even if I didn’t like it as a wall color!).
After I did the first coat on all the wood pieces, I decided to paint a coat of chalkboard paint on the table top.
One Coat
Ahhhh!! That looks BAD!! I remember when I used this paint before that it did weird things and turned out ok, so I tried to relax a bit…
I let the first coat (on both the wood and table top) soak in overnight, then put a second coat on.
Second Coat
Ok, everything looks pretty good with the second coat! Now time to let it all dry…
I put one coat of polyurethane on the wood pieces, and “seasoned” the chalkboard…
I let the poly dry overnight, then put the chairs together…
Bubs Approves!
After wiping the table top off and drawing on it a bit with the chalk, and wiping again, I realized the paint was chipping off! (I was worried about that happening, since the table top has a shiny white finish on it.) Ugh!
So I flipped the table top over and used the “raw” side, I lightly sanded it with an extra-fine sanding block, and then started over with my chalkboard paint…
Ok… it looks better and seems more durable (always important when making things for toddlers!). I “seasoned” it… no chips this time!
I had already taken the chairs home, so here is the table, Bubs LOVED it!!
First snack at his new table!
Here it is all done!
Austin’s Table
Austin’s Table
I am sooooo happy that I took the time to paint it, it looks FANTASTIC! And for $19 and some leftover paint… who can beat that deal??
What do you think?
