Ouija Board Coffee Table

Sometime around last Halloween I found this coffee table on Instructables.com and decided I needed one.  But I have no experience in building furniture outside of simple Ikea assembly, and I’m far too clumsy to start trying.  So instead months were spent scouring thrift shops for a coffee table large enough for the dimensions listed on the Instructable page, which is 24″x48″.  The one I ended up with was a bit longer, but I’m OK with that.

Unfortunately I dove right into the project and forgot about taking a before picture.  So instead, here’s the table after the dark stain has already been sanded away and I spray painted a couple of coats of primer.  While I like the aesthetic of the Instructable’s table better, I decided it didn’t match my living room and chose white instead of the stained wood.  I follow directions oh so well.

Still wet

After painting, I brushed on the acrylic gel medium and tried to work quickly at laying down the Ouija Board print.  Tip # 1: Have someone help you with this step.  I wrestled with a poster sized sheet that didn’t feel like cooperating and if I’d had someone help me lay this on I probably would have had far less creases in the paper when trying to work out all of the air bubbles.

3 hours in..

The acrylic gel medium has to dry overnight before you dampen the paper and wipe it away with your fingers and/or a sponge.  Tip # 2: What the Instructables how-to doesn’t tell you is that this takes forever, and you will want to commit murder long before it’s done. Also, this step is very, very messy.  Please note my pile of paper pulp on the floor.  If you scrub too hard, the black rubs off as well.  So you have to maintain the right pressure the entire time.  If there were any bubbles or creases, that will likely peel right off as well.  So, my end product is a very rustic or distressed ouija table.

The perfectionist in me is a bit disappointed in the flaws, but I put a lot of work into it and I learned a lot.

All that’s left is one or two additional coats of polycrylic after the current coat dries, and likely a sanding to make sure the surface is even.

Now that we’re two months away from October, Halloween planning is about to take over.