A DIY Mandala Meditation Table Sponsored By Wayfair

Sometimes I just love a good project, even if I don't have the time or even need to create anything. When Wayfair was like hey you guys, do you want to take the Maginnis End Table and do whatever you want to it? I was like heck, yes, send it on over and I am going to DECOPAUGE it! I've always loved decopauge, which simply put, is like gluing all of your favorite paper cutouts to something you love and making it all awesome by laquering that bad larry like it was going out of style. I taught myself the art of decopauge myself and it's really very easy. Some great tutorials are around the nets (like here and here) but what I really think should be your deco-P inspiration is an amazing piece of art or clippings that you adore. What inspired me was art created by my long time internet friend, Kristen Fagan. We "met" in our early days of blogging back when and have been following eachother's creative adventures ever since. She has been creating some amazing mandala and meditation art as of late and one of her pieces "Be Brave, Love Deeply, Shine Brightly" really spoke to me. I purchased the digital image and I've been sitting on it for over 6 months. *Light Bulb Turns On*- DECOPAUGE!

What You'll Need to Decopauge:

• Glue- I use Modge Podge because if a glue was my soul mate, MP would be it.
• Medium Sized Paint Brush
• Paint Scraper or "Smoother"
• Clear Varnish (optional, you can also use your Modge Podge)
• Art- Be sure you have enough to cover your surface area. I printed mine at Staples on 8x11 multipurpose paper so the quality would be crisp!
• Scissors

The process is really quite simple. You are covering the surface area with your papercut outs, gluing them, then sealing them for a smooth finish. It can take some getting used to and get ready to have "gluey" fingers for the duration but once you get into a groove, you really start creating something amazing. I did all the pieces of the side table unassembled to ensure that I wouldn't be missing any nooks or corners. Starting with bigger pieces to cover the wider surfaces of the table was easy and during a break, I cut different shapes from the art work (flowers, quotes, mandalas circles) to create the vision I wanted for the visible surfaces. When decopauging, it's important not just to glue but to smooth as you go, hence the need for the paint scraper. If you don't smooth your paper while the glue is drying, you may end up with air pockets and bubbles which can be hard to smooth out once dry. The beauty of using a print like this is that is was very forgiving in this area and lended to a more worry-free creative process. I said to my husband as I was decopauging, watching The West Wing on Netflix, that this table was going to be friggin' awesome!

Sure, the process can be tedious and time consuming when you're working on a piece of furniture but when the outcome is awesome, it's totally worth the committment! I am EXTREMELY pleased with the outcome. I think this is the perfect addition to a room where I often take some time to just "be quiet", though those moments are few and far between, it's important that I take them.  The table itself is super affordable so the project was  "low risk" but boy was it high reward. I absolutely friggin' love the outcome!