Mermaid Lap Desk

Hi there, Crafters!

For today's project, I decided to follow the old adage of "waste not, want not" and use the materials I had from last week's Mermaid Art Journal to create a project I've been itching to try; a fun and functional lap desk. I'm so in love with this Voyage Across the Sea collection, I was thrilled to be able to work it in to another project.

I started off by choosing an 11"x14" frame. Any frame will do, (the 11" x 14" is a great size, although you could also go a bit bigger for a roomier desk,) but since I had already decided that I wanted to use Krylon's Sea Glass spray paint in Aqua I went for one in white. Technically, the sea glass spray paint is made for glass but I'm a crafter, and rules are meant to be broken when it comes to crafting.

While my frame was drying, I started working on the collage that serves as the decorative top to my desk. The best part about this project is the fact that anything you can think of can be added here;You can display family photographs, art work or if use a shadow box, you can even glue in small objects. It will all be protected by the glass or acrylic sheet that comes with the frame! In my case, I used the left over pieces of card stock from last week's project, a couple of coordinating pieces of card stock and finally accented it all with the same BoBunny glitter paste and pearlescents and a few self adhesive rhinestones. My collage went in to the frame just like it would if I were planning on hanging it on the wall, and the pillow bottom was created by using a couple of our fat quarters, pillow stuffing and hot glue.

Here are a few pictures of how it looked while I was still working on it:

After my fabric was glued and pillow stuffing stuffed, it was just a matter of braiding my handles and adding the decorative accents I had decided on:

I wanted to stick with a nautical theme, so I tied in (pun intended) rope and twine. I wrapped the rope around the entirety of the frame twice using hot glue, and created a 'knot mat' on either side. This is totally optional, but I do think it added a nice touch to my finished product. The extra fabric at the end of each braid was made in to a bow and wrapped with a piece of twine. How cute is that?

When all was said and done, the finished product was a gorgeous, light weight and shockingly comfortable lap desk. I'm so pleased with it, I'm already working on two more; one for a gift and one to keep! 

Want to make one yourself? Drop on in and we'll get you all set up! Talk to you soon :)

- Chelsea @ Mapunapuna