Tricked Out Train Table

It’s tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time,

It’s Tricky!

Tricky, tricky, tricky…

Thank you Run D.M.C.

I love you, and your fabulous song that is now stuck in my head.

{Seriously. Watch this video. It’s hilarious. Penn and Teller are even in it.}

Your head too, now? Awesome. You’re welcome.

OK. Let’s talk about my favorite 5 letter word:

C H E A P.

Yep. I love it. {My favorite four letter word is FREE, FYI. }

So when my little train-lover George turned 3 last year I really, really wanted to get him a train table.

But those things are EXPENSIVE, yo. And I’m, uh, ~~CHEAP~~. Thrifty.

So I stalked Craigslist for a previously loved version. And I scored. $60 for the table and a bunch of trains.

But it was definitely beat up. There was Sharpie involved.

See:

I know. The girl I got it from was so nice, too. I think she apologized about 20 times for the dings and dents and packaging taped map. I knew George wouldn’t even notice, so I didn’t care.

Plus I figured I could work on it later if I wanted to.

Fast forward to around his birthday this year.

That thing was getting a makeover! Yep. And he looks handsome now. See:

Here’s how you can trick your train table out, too!

First things first.

Train Table Oct '12-7

No more fake maple “wood.” You are not working in my playroom, and you have Sharpie on you. Sorry. Hello, American Accents Espresso. Meet your new friend, train table. Let’s get together.

We {and by “we” I of course mean Joe} took the table as far apart as we could. It was really easy, since it probably needed to be assembled in the first place. Then we primed and painted all the pieces. When we tried to use a mini roller it didn’t do a great job covering, so stick with a brush. And expect to do at least 2 coats. In some places we needed three for good coverage.

{Yes, I’m wearing my workout gear and Tevas. No, it isn’t January. I did this in August. Give me some credit, peeps! And no, I’m not positive I showered after my workout and before these were taken. Fist bump.}

Anyways, after it dried REALLY WELL we put it back together.Next we needed to tackle that awful map. The map wasn’t awful, but the fix job was. Luckily my fab mother in law had given us a couple of awesome maps she got for free. {FYI this map was laminated, and I’ve seen similar ones all over, like at Wal-Mart in the book or calendar department.}

So we peeled the old map off of the three table top boards.

Then we used spray adhesive to apply the map. We found that pushing the three boards together and adhering the entire map at once worked best. We put the map on the floor face down then put the boards on top. After it dried we used a utility knife to trim the map and separate the boards. We popped the boards into place and brought it up to the playroom.

The kids totally approve! And we’ve had it since August and there isn’t a scratch in the paint or a rip in the map. And this sucker gets played with EVERY DAY. For realz. {Sometimes while wearing a cute conductor hat and smock. Adorbs.}