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I'd get a custom piece of glass to cover the whole thing. It's a great indestructible work surface, and you can put your beautiful artwork underneath to inspire you
I have a friend who put a whole sheet of plexiglass on her desk. She had it cut to size. She put some little rubber grabbers (not sure that's the right word) under it so it wouldn't move. She used sandpaper to soften up the edges of the plexiglass.
__________________ Teri
Retired Paper Craft & Scrapbooking magazine Go-to Gal & Contributing Editor
Retired Moxie Fab World Hostess All-around lucky girl
Last edited by teristampsalot; 09-13-2010 at 08:00 AM..
I have a friend who put a whole sheet of plexiglass on her desk. She had it cut to size. She put some little rubber grabbers (not sure that's the right word) under it so it wouldn't move. She used sandpaper to soften up the edges of the plexiglass.
I did this in my kitchen to the desk there. I love it!
__________________ Denise
"If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron.�
― Spider Robinson
I use the Martha Stewart oversized cutting mat. I love it! I stamp on SU grid paper, but when I need to cut something I just shift off the pad and onto the mat. It's perfect. With a 50% coupon it wasn't overly expensive either...
I have a friend who put a whole sheet of plexiglass on her desk. She had it cut to size. She put some little rubber grabbers (not sure that's the right word) under it so it wouldn't move. She used sandpaper to soften up the edges of the plexiglass.
I did the exact same thing 'cept for the rubber thingies! (I have so much on my table that it won't move or shift at all :oops I went to a local home improvement store and had them cut it to the size I needed. Works great for me! I went with Plexiglass because if I have to move it to clean it's a much lighter weight than glass, and I can do it by myself.
I have a friend who put a whole sheet of plexiglass on her desk. She had it cut to size. She put some little rubber grabbers (not sure that's the right word) under it so it wouldn't move. She used sandpaper to soften up the edges of the plexiglass.
You beat me to my comment!! This is exactly what I would do as well, and as an added bonus, you can even slide pictures underneath the glass!! Hope you find what you want to do soon so you can start to craft in your new area!!
__________________
~Rebekah~ My mind works like lightning - one brilliant 'FLASH' and it's gone!
I have a huge quliters self-healing cutting mat as the base on my big white table. It serves several purposes - keeps the table top clean, protects the tabletop from nicks & cuts while providing an don't-have -to-think-about-it cutting surface, and also has grid measurements so everything from ribbon to paper size can be quickly determined.
As a plus, it's super easy to clean with a baby wipe (non-alcohol type) and keeps looking nice even after it's been used a lot.
I like to repurpose things. My work had some of last years wall calendars (the kind you use to plan vacations and mark with dry erase markers) so I brought those home and covered my table with them. I used two. They're really great and I can use a dry erase marker to mark down things on them if I need to keep a quick note about something (like supplies used on a project or to remind myself to pick up something I'm running low on). The best part is that they were free.
I had some tile left over when I did my kitchen floor. I thought it would be great to use
and a it cleans up really good with alcohol or staron cleaner
hhmmm.....I hate to break it to ya......but in order to keep it pristine.......you'll need to take the beatufiul white desk apart, box it up and send it UPS to MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!
__________________ We cannot do great things, only small things with great love.
My crafting desks are from Ikea and have glass tops-super easy to cut on clean etc. My large island that I use when stamping in groups is just regular white laminate. As long as you don't cut on it everything cleans off easily with Simple Green cleaner (also works really well for cleaning stained rubber stamps).
Another one for the oversized quilt cutting mat...I do both paper and sewing crafts. And, i can use my Creative Memories cutters and exacto knives without changing a thing!
I made a scratch paper holder for my desk out of pvc and it holds a roll of art paper from an art supply. I just pull the used portion down and rip it on the edge of my table and them I have a nice clean surface to get all inky and gluey again! I have a pic on my blog stampapotamus.blogspot.com
I also have a custom piece of glass on top of mine. My husband actually made my work station. It is really fun also to put some of your treasures underneath so you can see them. I have had a flag which accompanied one of our hero pilots in Iraq under mine for a while and I put pictures of my "grandchildren" - I have no children but gobs of grandchildren! - underneath also. Helps me pray for them.
__________________ ShariW
Trust in the Lord with all thine Heart-Prov.3:5a
My husband made me a beautiful Oak Craft Table. I went to Taps Plastic and purchased 1/8 inch Plexiglass custom cut to cover the entire top of my table. Love it! :- LM
My "desk" is the maple table with two leaves that belonged to my parents when they married in 1936. I painted it bright green...it goes with stuff in my stamping room. I don't know what it is that I have on the table, but one of my friends gave me a piece of it. It is approx. 15x20. It seems like some sort of light weight plastic, with a smooth matte finish. The reason I like it so much, is that nothing sticks to it. I can clean up scraps in seconds. I suppose I should take it to my local print shop and ask what it is.
I have a brand new beautiful huge white craft desk - I need suggestions on how to protect the top so it stays white and beautiful. Ideas?
We measured the desktop and then went to lowes and bought a piece of plexiglass and had it cut to fit. Brought it home lightly sanded the edges because they will be rough and its held up for years now..easy to wipe clean too and it was inexpensive
I use the Martha Stewart oversized cutting mat. I love it! I stamp on SU grid paper, but when I need to cut something I just shift off the pad and onto the mat. It's perfect. With a 50% coupon it wasn't overly expensive either...
That's what I use and I love that I have a cutting mat ready and waiting.
Funny that so many people recommend covering the table with glass or a cutting mat with paper on top. Not that I disagree but my table top is glass and I still protect it with a cutting mat and the board from the back of DP packs!
I'd never dream of cutting on it. While glass might seem to be an ideal cutting surface, it dulls your blades super fast. Cutco knives reminded me of this when their recent catalog says not to use glass but plastic or wood for cutting!
BTW, IkEA has plain glass but mine has the word love all over it in different languages. Not that I see them often because my desk is cluttered but I LOVE it just the same. It sits a top two white trestles and looks really cute
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
I work on my Dad's Antique drafting desk, I laid it flat and put a sheet of table top Glass on it. Wasn't that expensive at all, had it cut to size and round the corners when they cut it. Super durable, and I can cut on it with my kraft knife with no problems or damage. And when time to clean up - easy!
Paint it black and then you won't have to worry about it??? LOL! Just kidding. I thought about a white table top too because they look so lovely but I gave up on that idea when I realised I would just end up ruining it by accident. I use some giant plastic mats from the dollar store to protect my surface which is a plywood table I made myself and stained and varnished myself too. I joke that this is the only place in the house that you have to use a coaster! LOL! The mats are really ugly colours and I wish there was something prettier but they are inexpensive and work well. Your new desk sounds lovely and I hope you enjoy it and come up with a great idea to protect it. I actually liked the shrink wrap and hire security guards option! LOL again!
You can never go wrong with a craft mat of some sort (self repairing) no matter what surface you have. Glass and plexiglass will both get scratches and scores on them, no matter what, but the craft mat will protect them. I have one with Inch squares which I find helpful as well. The quilters ones are best, as they are usually high quality, even if you pay an extra dollar. they are easy to clean, which I love, even with glue and glitter all over them. They have that little bit of give in them for stamping as well. The main requirement is that they are stored flat when you are not using them. HTH.
I've used various mats in the past but they are limiting in size. I like to spread way out! For now I got the biggest piece of plexiglass I could, doesn't cover it all but enough for now. As soon as I can I'm going to get a custom glass top - local place can do it for $105. That price is a little much since I just spent so much on this desk.
Thank you all for the ideas! And for the laughs. Shrink wrap, guards, ship it to you, paint it black, LOL
__________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
How do you protect your craft area?
