We love mid century atomic type designs. And we love comic books. And we love cereal, which is somehow absolutely related to this post (you’ll see why). Anyway, we turned this boring side table into a cool blend of mid century and comic books, with the help of some Reese’s Puffs.
You guys know Big G cereals, right? General Mills? They make Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese’s Puffs, Lucky Charms… basically everything that is happiness in a box. Well, these guys are putting FREE Justice League comic books in their [specially marked] cereal boxes. Cereal box prizes! Remember those?? Here is the info. Anyway, [Disclosure] Big G was kind enough to sponsor this post, including hooking us up with boxes of cereal. <3
As we were staring at the empty cereal boxes (empty since we immediately ate the cereal. For dinner. Don’t pretend you haven’t done it) and flipping through the free comic books that came inside, we knew we wanted to make SOMETHING unique. And of course something relative to DIY geek decor. Enter our dented Target-clearance-section side table. And our desire to have more mid century atomic designs on things.
First we ripped a cereal box open, to use as a stencil.
Our atomic-inspired shape was just drawn with a ruler, then cut out.
After taping the stencil down and cutting the comic books apart, we started figuring out a layout that we liked. We have tons of comic book pages and clippings leftover, for future projects.
We decoupaged the comics directly onto the table, using matte Mod Podge. Make sure you push air bubbles out.
Yep, we Mod Podged right over the cereal box stencil shape, since we wanted a VERY clean line which requires it being cut away. We let this all dry for half an hour.
To get that clean line, we used an x-acto knife to cut the cardboard stencil away. Being careful to angle the knife so we didn’t cut the table. Much.
Once everything was cut, we slowwwwwly and carefully pulled the cereal box stencil up. There was a bit of Mod Podge on the table, but it scraped away easily, via fingernails.
We put the finishing/sealing layer of Mod Podge on top, and were pretty much done! We also sprayed ours with a quick layer of clear sealant spray, since our table sits next to a window and we don’t want fading. That’s optional.
Here’s the mid-century-comic-book-table in use:
We’re really happy with how this one came out! Subtle geek decor, by way of cereal. What do you think?
A huge thank you to Big G cereals for A) being delicious, and for B) sponsoring this post.
Stephanie @ Sandpaper and Glue says
March 21, 2014 at 8:43 amvery clever! I’ve cut out a few of the bat symbols from our cereal… saving them for a little project down the line. haha
ournerdhome says
March 23, 2014 at 6:58 pmOooh, can’t wait to see your project! I hope that this whole cereal-box-prize thing will stick around. That used to be the best part about eating breakfast!
usag1 says
March 21, 2014 at 8:55 amSuch a simple but great idea! I’ve been wanting to do something like this with the random comics I pick up at garage sales but haven’t found the right table yet.
ournerdhome says
March 23, 2014 at 7:01 pmThanks! We definitely lucked out on this little table – the last one at our nearest Target, AND on clearance. We’re trying to figure out a few more comic book crafts, since we have this stack of free cereal-box-comics. 🙂
Gail says
March 22, 2014 at 1:33 amThis table rocks! Love the yellow paint color..the atomic design really POPS!
ournerdhome says
March 23, 2014 at 7:03 pmThank you! We had been using the table as a bedside nightstand kind of thing, but now that it looks so much cooler, it’s found a permanent spot in the living room. 🙂
Lisa says
March 23, 2014 at 6:06 amAwesome! I love seeing crafts made from books and comics, but the thought of cutting up my precious stories makes me sad – but if I ever got a comic with my cereal I would totally craft with it!
ournerdhome says
March 23, 2014 at 7:06 pmI agree! I keep seeing these cute lamps made of old books, but I just don’t think I can bring myself to drill a hole into one! Same for comics. That’s why it has taken us so long to actually do a comic book craft, haha. I am finally started to acquire a little collection of books damaged beyond repair, cheap comics from thrift stores, and now free cereal box comics, to use for projects.
Skye Kilaen says
March 27, 2014 at 12:25 pmI may have to track down some of this cereal. I had not realized there were cutouts on the back of the box and those would be popular here with the superhero-loving six year old.
ournerdhome says
March 27, 2014 at 12:34 pmYes! One has a Batman mask, which is weirdly awesome and almost (ALMOST, kind of) fits my grown-up face. Pictures of that may or may not surface on our social media pages. 🙂 There’s also a Green Lantern mask, some Wonder Woman cuffs, and I’m sure more that I’m forgetting.
Michaela says
March 31, 2014 at 9:09 amHow cute! I did something similar with a plexiglass showcase/side table my mom left for me, I took the removable top it has and Mod Podged old Marvel trading cards to make a collage on top of it. I’ll definitely be trying this with my current bedside table 🙂
Dylan Martin (@owlman237) says
May 21, 2014 at 6:54 pmIf you ever want to avoid damaging your favorite comics for a cool craft you can always look on Google images for comic pictures and printing them off to use.