Art Should Be Made Everywhere!

I've recently made a lap desk so that I can do my art while watching movies and TV with my monkey.

I am SO SO SO excited about it. It has just the right amount of kitsch, femininity and usefulness!

Here it is in all its glory. The tray has sentimental value for me, so I thought that using it for my lap desk would mean that i could see it every day! Much better than hiding it away for just once-in-a-while use.

I chose to use a tray so that I could have my pens on it while I'm working. The tray edges prevent my pens from rolling away and getting lost in the chair cushions!

I added some nice conservative fabric to the base. This is the part that will rest on my lap. I wanted it to be cushy, so I filled it with a full bag of polyester filling, the same stuff you would use for a cushion.

I tucked the corner edges in neatly to give the whole project a clean, more professional appearance. 

Materials (all on hand):
- a full sized serving tray (mine is a vintage metal one)
- a yard of scrap fabric
- a good amount of polyester filling
- a glue gun

Although I didn't take photos of the stages of this project, I can tell you that it's truly easy as pie:

1. Glue one edge of your fabric onto one of the longer edges on the underside of your tray. I glued right side down so that I wouldn't have any fraying or unfinished edges.
2. With your tray upside down on a flat surface, place the poly filling "flat" onto the middle ridge of your tray.
3. Wrap the fabric around it, pulling fairly tightly so that the end result is a nice, clean cushion.
4. Glue each of the sides, again, right side to the metal so that you get a little lip - it looks nice this way.
5. You should have three sides glued now, and you should be able to see your stuffing from the fourth side. This is the last side that you will glue, and it's the trickiest since you will have to glue and then fasten your fabric down quickly before the glue cools.
6. Pull the fabric tightly and fold under so that the "seam" (between the tray and the fabric) is neat and tidy. Once you are sure you know where to glue, go ahead and put down a few inches of glue. Hold the fabric while the glue cools. Do the same thing until the whole side is finished.
7. For the corners, you'll have some tidying up to do. Again, use your glue gun to make a nice fold. Think about wrapping a gift - fold, glue, hold.

Voila! Stand back and admire your fancywork!

Since these instructions don't have photos to go with them, please feel free to email me or comment for clarification. :)

Enjoy your new lap desk!