Custom Tile Table

When it comes to redecorating, it's amazing what you can accomplish with a can of black spray paint. I found this TV tray at a garage sale for a dollar. It had a super groovy retro fake wood grain but once I sprayed it black, it looked great, clean but with the retro lines. To make this project, look for a table with a small lip around the edges--they're not as hard to find as you'd think.

When you are Home Depot picking up that black spray paint, get some tiles (I used 4"x4"). You'll also need tile adhesive, grout, a sponge, and spacers. How you lay it out is up to you but I jazzed it up with a sheet of this stuff, which I found on clearance for about $7 a sheet. The 1x1" tiles not only finish off the look well, but also fill the space if your tiles don't fit quite perfectly. I'm not going to explain how to lay tile--there is plenty of info about that on the Web, plus I have to pee.

Now the boring part is over--look through your kids' drawings and choose as many as you want to put on your table. (I recommend using the one that Jr. drew of your husband with no neck, but not the one of you that makes you look really fat.) Scan them into your computer and resize them so they're roughly the same.

Now here's where my shameless plug comes in: if you want them to be totally permanent and scrubbable, contact me at sales@customsepia.com or through my Etsy site Custom Sepia and I'll fire your images onto 4x4 square white or cream tiles. (You can also use these tiles for your kitchen backsplash or in your bathroom shower or tub.) If you want to keep this project totally DIY, print your images onto these decals and affix them to the tiles. If you go this route, you will want to use a sealer to preserve the images.

You will be amazed at the compliments you get from this project, and your friends will envy how talented your children are, and isn't that really what it's all about?