Refinished Craft Table

I bought a little craft table for the kids when Hunter was a baby, probably 7 years ago or so. I found a cute pottery barn table at Down East, a designer outlet store, that only had one ding in it. The table has served us well over the years but it seems like the kids have been giving it a beating the last couple of years. This is what it looks like now.

I've been wanting to sand it down and restain or paint it for a little while. I finally got up the energy to do it. I thought I would just have to sand off the paint and finish, but I soon found out it was going to be a little more work. Where the paint and pen had been I had to sand it down to the wood. So I ended up having to sand the entire table down to the bare wood. It took a little more time but it was worth it in the end.
After a good sanding, two coats of Ebony Stain and a couple of coats of varnish it was a brand new table. I so love this new dark finish. Hopefully this will be able to hide a little more wear and tear.
Now I just need to sand down the little chairs and make them all red. That project might have to wait for a little while. :)