How to make a functional children's coloring table

We have a two years old daughter, and she loves to draw. We found it hard not just to clean up the pieces of paper after her, but also to keep her involved in drawing without getting frustrated every time the paper slips away, or the crayons fall off the table. Children's  tables can run up to $500 and more, so I decided to make my own table under $50, using mostly ready made objects.This table creates a fun environment for my daughter to draw, write and play! It's a great addition to any kid's room or play area.
 
Materials I used:
One Ikea Lack table ($7.00)
One 24" x 24"x1/2" sheet of plexi glass ($9.99)
One roll of 3M double sided tape (1" wide) ($6.99)
Two 3/8" wood dowels from Michel's ($0.59ea)
One roll of banner paper 30" X 52' from Michael's ($2.99)
Scotch tape
Crafting glue(any brand) 
Two plastic 3/8" knobs

Step 1 Step 1

For this project I decided to go with the Lack table that Ikea sells for only $7.00 It's cheep and durable, but you can apply this method to almost any table. I chose plexi glass because it doesn't draw the child's attention to it, but you can use a variety of materials. The job of the plexi glass is to keep the paper from moving on the surface of the table and to keep the crayons from rolling off.

Prior to starting this project please use proper safety gear!

First I measured the top of my table: 21 5/8" x 21 5/8".

Then I measured the distance in between the legs of the table: 17.5"

Comments

[clgonsal]

I was at Ikea today and discovered that they have rolls of paper that are 18" wide. It's $5 instead of $3, but the roll is about twice as long so I think the price is comparable, and you wouldn't have to cut off so much.

It may even be possible to avoid cutting the roll entirely by instead shaving a little more than 1/4" off the inner parts of the legs where they meet the roll.

To find the roll look for "MÅLA" at Ikea. It's for a child-sized easel, which could be a nice complement to this drawing table.

[Eh Lie Us!]

Neat! Great for kids and big kids alike. I made a very simple version of this for my garage when I'm kicking around design ideas. I get my roles of paper from the local newspaper company. They have end rolls of news print 2ft (0.6meters) across. They practically give them away. The only challange is with cutting it once i'm done with a sketch. I'd like to be able to rip it down like a piece of tin foil but unfortunately, it's more cooperative being cut lenght-wise. Haven't installed 'teeth' or a clever (safe) blade to it yet.

[Parabola949]

Hah funny enough I bought this exact table the other day at wal-mart. This is brilliant! I know what I'm doing this weekend...

Good work!

[primadiana]

Where did you get the table?

[BADMANU]

I got the table from Ikea. It's a "Lack" table. They also make a wider version of the same table...if you have twins :) Check it out!

[digitalmonkeyman]

Definitely one of those projects that makes you say, "Why didn't I think of that"?
Superb, I'm grabbing my 40% Coupon from last weeks paper and I'm going shoppin'!

[BADMANU]

Thanks for your comment! It's true, it's an easy project and fairly cheap to make. Good luck!

[srsantafe]

I´m gona have a kid in 2 months and this is a cool thing for her, thanks for the instructable

[BADMANU]

congratulations on your baby! This is a great table. We move it around the house so our daughter can be in the same room with us, it's great!

[clgonsal]

Very nice! My son is 2, and we've been thinking about getting a craft table for him. I may end up building one of these instead.

[BADMANU]

thanks a lot clgonsal! It's really easy to buid. Once you start, you get creative as you go.Good luck!

[dreliuhernandez]

I'm diggin' the paper-holder/roller idea. Well done!

[BADMANU]

Thanks! the thing with the roll of paper is that nothing gets waisted, your child can color on every inch of paper, and when on side is done, you can turn it around.

[canida]

This is awesome!

[BADMANU]

Thanks so much canida!

[BADMANU]

THANK YOU ALL

GOOD IDEAS IN A BAD ECONOMY :)

[l8nite]

thats GREAT ! when my kids were growing up we had a coffee table covered in white formica, even "permenant marker" washes off with a little elbow grease and as somewhat of an artist myself I was always doodling or sketching right on the table along with the kids. I hope your kids have years of fun with your project

[craftyv]

Great instructable and very good idea.

[DELETED_jorgegunn]

wow so easy and very adorable i think its way better than the expensive ones its just the right size for smaller spaces and keeps it simple. Amazing. That one used your Noggin.

[ChrysN]

Nice!