Today I wanna tell you how I "got took" and then turned my crappy table into a cool lil piece of furniture anyways.

Ya see, I've only purchased 2 things off of 'swap shops' on Facebook. The first was a cute sweater from a friend I knew from church. The second...well the second purchase was a little less cute. Ya see, this women posted a picture of what she called a "black coffee table". As I read through the thread of conversation happening under the odd angled picture I learned that the table was "tall enough for a preschool chair to fit under" and that "the table legs where 2+ feet tall and the top of the table was at her knee".

Sweeeeet! I'd been looking to replace our pre-children coffee table purchase with one that was less sharp-angle and more simple and round. I compared her description to our per-existing table and decided this was a Score. this was a simple, round, tall enough to be a practical coffee table, table! I messaged the women to see if it was still available and when it was we arranged to meet so I could purchase the table for a steal of deal- $20!

The day came to meet and we all loaded to head out to meet the stranger. As we waited and waited passed the set time, our daughters ended up needing to use the restroom. Matt chose to take them and allow me to have the awkward incounter with the women I had been dialoging with. She came like 2 seconds after they were out of sight. Having my baby boy in the backseat of the van, our conversation would of course be short and to the point. She rolled up in a Chevy Cavalier. 2 Door! You know where I'm going with this don't you. As she waffled her way out of the tiny car she began apologizing for being last, quickly retrieved the itsy bitsy table from Her TRUNK and placed it in my already open van, said a wierd, "Thank you, God used you to provide money during a hard time" spill after seeing scripture on my t-shirt and sped off in her lil bitty car.

What just happened? I stared at my new treasure with confusion. There is NO stank'n way a preschool chair could fit under that. That women was way taller than me and the top of that table doesn't come to my knee. The black paint was crazy scratched up and I'm pretty sure some good 'ole boy hacked these legs off something else and hooked'm to this "table top" using the wierd metal bracket thingies on the bottom. I think I would have been okay...if I'd paid like $5 for it. The worst part? Matt was gonna tease me about this for years...

As Christmas approached and we began pulling decorations and stuff from the basement, that table sat their laughing at me. Suddenly, I saw the leftover chalkboard paint we'd been given by a friend setting next to Sir Ugly and it hit me! Chalkboard table!!! It won't be tall enough for the kids to sit at but it will make a cute artsy play table. I did it!

Chalkboard Table

• find a crappy {hopefully cheaper} table at a yard sale, swap shop, or somewhere random
• get some chalkboard paint
• clean the table well, sanding if necessary {I didn't...I put in as little man hours as possible}
• paint at least 3 coats letting each coat dry really well before adding the next one
• purchase some dust free chalk to appease the hubs who didn't want nasty chalk funk inside

We gave the table as a gift to all our kids on Christmas morning. It made a big statement next to the tree and has seen lots of scribbles, little people play, and even hand-drawn game boards in just a week!

Have you ever been "taken"? How can you turn your embarrassing moment around? Share!

EXTRA RESOURCE:
homemade chalkboard paint {ANY color}, all the tutorials I've found have these same 2 basic ingredients:

• Dry Non-Sanded Grout
• Acrylic craft paints