Trash to Treasure: Kids Activity Lap Table

It was just too gorgeous to be indoors today {can I get an amen from those fellow Texans}.


I dug through my "treasures" and found a perfect project to complete while Kyah played in the backyard.  I have had this piece for almost a year. It made it through the move and then sat in the get-to-someday-pile some more.  After looking at it today I decided that it could not sit any longer.  It needed to be made into a little pretty. Well, in this case made into a Kid's Activity Lap Table. 


When I first spotted this tacky ole' thang I knew what I wanted it to become. It was just a matter of deciding exactly what I wanted it to "look" like. 

Since I had everything on hand, this project costs me a total of $3 {what it costs for the tray}. Now, considering it has set for a year, I'm going to even out that $3 and just round down to Free! When things sit that long, they become free... in case you didn't know. 

Here are the steps at a glance: 

Steps in Details: 
1- I went through my paint and chose blue. Since I have a little boy that will be the current user of the tray, I wanted to keep it boyish. 
2- I chose two 12x12 sheets of scrap paper from my stash. I had two choices out and let Kyah choose. He was so excited about the circles that he smiled, pointed and said "ball". Therefore, circles it was! How could a mommy resist that!
3-  I sanded it down. Not completely, but enough. 
4- I gave it a good coat of spray primer and let dry. 
5- I then took my can of Blue and went to town!
{here's where it gets fun}
6- After it dried I sanded it down to give it a distressed look and to expose the underneath wood {cause that's the cool thing to do}. 

7- I mixed a green shade of paint {that I bought in the "oops paint" section a Lowes a while back} with a bit of water to dilute. 
8- Laugh if you need to, but I have tons of burp cloths from when Kyah was an infant left over. We never had to use them... ever.  I took a handy burp cloth {similar to cheese cloth} and dabbed it in my green paint/water mix. I rubbed over the entire piece going in sections. I gave it a nice heavy coat, let it sit for about 10 seconds and then wiped off. 
9- Once dry {which happens quickly} I took my scrap paper and cut it down to size. 
10- Using Modpodge, I adhered the paper to the top of the table and smoothed out the bubbles... some were just so stubborn so they won. I was not in the mood to fight with paper bubbles. I then applied a coat of Martha Stewart's High Gloss Modpodge to the top and let dry. 

Now, we can eat snacks, color, play games, etc and do it in style! 

Have you completed a Trash To Treasure lately?