Cricut Tabletop Makeover
by
Pat Ruge
6 Materials
$10
4 Hours
Medium
I found this cute little table at a garage sale and thought it perfect to hold my Cricut and store my PC underneath at the same time. My Cricut Explore Air is a bluetooth, however the distance and wall were preventing a reliable connection. It needed to be relocated closer to the PC.
A small drawer provides even more storage when needed, albeit a little bit of storage. At first, my intention was to simply give it a fresh paint job and put it in place. Boring but functional!!!
A light sanding, cleaned off the dust and painted it with Valspar black chalk paint that I had on hand.
While perusing Pinterest one day, I happened on this inspiration piece. Eureka!
Although it is shorter and being used as an end table, the features are pretty much the same. At first, I thought just to buy the letters and continue on. Then I saw the prices of the letters and figured out it would cost me over $200 to come as close to the inspiration piece as possible. The letters are sold individually and each ranges from about $5-7, plus shipping. Ouch!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/25cm-Large-Wooden-Letter-Words-Wood-Letters-Alphabet-Name-Wedding-Home-Cur/253082703365?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Db4b8cab8fd8b46ed93be6737f5b49c85%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D253082703365%26itm%3D253082703365&_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042
Since I already owned the Cricut, and afterall, this table would be for Cricut to sit on, it occurred to me that Cricut should participate in the project. None of the fonts I had, nor any that I could find free online seemed suitable so..... I broke down and purchased the "Disney Tangled Alphabet" from Cricut for $7 (the price of one letter on the internet.) I will also be using my MomPodge recipe as I decoupage the letters onto the tabletop. Mom Podge recipe is linked below.
I already owned this Haberdashery cardstock selection. The color palate is pretty much same throughout, even though the patterns vary. As you will see later, the pattern doesn't matter so much as the color palate.
This mat is shown after the letters have been removed to indicate that you can use a variety of sizes within Cricut. Also, it doesn't matter the order you put them. You can actually pile them in on top of each other. Cricut will rearrange the layout just prior to cutting in order to maximize the use of the cardstock. Don't waste your time trying to arrange them. Every character on the standard keyboard is represented in this project. Randomly resize the letter without trying to figure out how it will turn out. Trust me, you will go crazy. It takes about 3 or 4 mats to get enough letters.
Arranging the letters on the tabletop is somewhat random where the only real consideration was for the edges.
- Working in small sections, (maybe 4x4). put down a healthy layer of Mom Podge on the table, lay down the letter, and then add a top layer of Mom Podge.
- Once the large and medium letters are in place, I fill in the spaces with the smallest characters.
- When all the characters were in place and allowed to dry, go over the entire top a couple more times with the Mom Podge with drying time in between.
- Finally, spray on the Valspar clear top coat, about 4 coats drying in between. This is a flat indoor/outdoor metal or wood finish, to be safe, should you inadvertently set down a drink.
Tip: I did discover that a small amount of Mom Podge on the tip of my finger, helped me not only lift the next letter, but allowed a little more accuracy and control when placing it down.
I estimated my cost to complete this project to be about $10 since I already owned everything except the $7 font from Cricut and the $3 I paid for the table. If you had none of these products on hand, the total cost would be closer to $250. It is IMO, an excellent Cricut beginner project.
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Comments
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2 of 44 comments
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Love it and also that you are able to make a treasure out of nothing.
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Exquisite!
Frequently asked questions
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How do you keep coming up with these wonderful ideas? Do you look around your house and say, I can make this better? Or do you look in your garage and say, I can make this into something I can see? I’m an imaginative person, but you see whole creations, where I just see improvements. Congratulations! I loved your project when you gave us a preview. ☺️
Pat, I LOVE the table! In the post it said you would give us you recipe for MomPodge but I didn't see it. Could you share? I just dilute white glue with water but I don't have a proper ratio. I am curious as to how YOU do it. Thanks!