Quick & Easy Way to Make a Footed Tray!

Do you have a tray that needs a quick makeover for the holiday season?  Follow along with me while I give a wooden tray a new look for the upcoming holiday season!

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The Challenge

Last month, I was invited to participate in a Blogger DIY Challenge involving making a footed tray and styling it to reflect our own holiday style.  The finished vignette could be for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

This wooden tray had been on our lanai since July.  It was a little tired looking and very dirty.  I used a spray cleaner that was safe to use on wood and let it dry completely before painting it.

The Supplies

 

The tray was already painted in beach themed colors.  In order to keep things as easy as possible, I decided to stay with the same color scheme.  I also wanted to use items that I already had.  I had several cans of spray paint left from my days as a florist so I decided to use them.

Kim’s “Tool Box”

Here are a few tools and products I recommend if you don’t already have them on hand.  Design Master has many, many , many colors to chose from.  One of my favorite greens is Basil.   Dresden Clear Glaze is a good product to have on hand as it can be used in a variety of ways to give a quick update to an item.  One can of Dresden Clear Glaze will go a long way.  I have used it on wicker baskets that need a quick refresh as well as a way to add a bit of protection to a painted piece.  Rust-Oleum makes a great chalked spray paint that I have used on several projects.

Bolt cutters and wire snips are handy when working with silk flowers and different kinds of wire.  The Rejuvenate product is a great cleaner.  Please read and follow the directions for using it.

Ready to Paint

The use of painters tape helped keep my lines straight as well as protect the different areas from the spray paint.

In hind sight, I should have painted the darkest stripes first and worked my way to the lightest.  I started with the linen white chalk paint.  Then went to one of the green colors.

I allowed the paint to dry between each color.  After the tray was dry, I repeated the process of protecting the other colors by using the painter’s tape.

After all the base of the tray was painted, I then used the celadon green paint and rubbed the paint on the rim of the tray to give the wood a very light green color.

The picture below is after the painting was all finished and the tray was dry.

Ready for the Wax

In order to protect the paint , I used the clear Annie Sloan wax.  I used a clean cotton cloth and gently rubbed a coat of the wax on the display area and the sides of the tray.  After the wax was dry, I was ready to take it inside and start the really fun part!  The decorating!

Oops! Almost Forgot the Feet!

Deciding what to use for the feet provided a bit of a challenge.  While the tray is made of wood, it is rather thin.  I had a set of glass drawer pulls that I thought about using but I was afraid that the screws would be too long.

I searched through my “cave of wonders” and finally decided to use these tiny flower pots.  They originally had little bitty succulents in them .  I pondered how I would attach them and finally decided to try Velcro.  By using the Velcro, I wouldn’t damage the tray and if I decided I didn’t like the feet, I could easily change them.  I cut the strips of Velcro to fit the corner of the tray.

Shopping Links

Here is a link to the type of Velcro I used if you are interested in trying it.

Getting the Elements Ready

Another piece of my potential display needed a bit of a face lift.  This hurricane light had been on the lanai since January and the metal had started to rust.  I used the painter’s tape to wrap the glass in order to protect it while I sprayed the metal with gray primer paint.  Once it dried, I used Dresden Clear Glaze to give it a bit of a sheen.

Sneak Peak

To see another way  I used the lantern, please go to this post: Let’s Refresh The Lanai for the Holidays with a Retro Feel

One more tip

Before I show you the finished display, I wanted to share a quick tip on how to add whimsey to your silk arrangements.  If you have silk pine picks that are individually wired, you can use a pen or pencil to twist the wired pieces to add cute curly pieces.

 

Where to Put It

The above spot was the second place I tried to display the tray in order to decorate it.  While the color schemed worked with the colors in the batik on the wall, I couldn’t get the rest of the area to look right.

The area above was the 3rd spot  I tried.  I decided I liked this spot the best.  I did end up not using the long footed box in the back.  It took up too much of the table and wouldn’t have been seen once I had the display done.

The Finished Vignette!

The finished vignette reflects my love of worn wood, shells, barn tin and architectural salvage.  More about my fondness of those things can be found here:

and here:

This is definitely the earliest my house has had a Christmas decoration on display!  I am pleased with how it turned out!  It was fun coming up with a creative way to update the tray and then to stage the tray in a holiday vignette!

Ways to Add Sparkle to Your Vignette

Strands of battery operated lights are a quick way to add a bit of sparkle to your vignettes.  I use them year round, not just at the holidays.  I also seem to always run out of batteries so I am planning on ordering a pack of 40 AA batteries so I won’t run out as quickly!

Blogger Challenge Participants

A baker’s dozen of bloggers plus myself and one other lady participated in this Blogger DIY challenge!  There are many, many talented ladies in our group!  I have included links to the other ladies’ projects.   These ladies are all quite creative and not afraid to use tools!

I hope you will take the thyme to check out their projects!

Links to my friends’ posts:

American School of Charm

Chalking Up Success

Feet Under My Table

J Dubby Design

Modern on Monticello

MTB Home Living

The Ponds Farmhouse

Sydney and Co

Cottage on Bunkerhill

Cottage in the Mitten

Shop At Blu

Mrs Coleman

Sonja Burgess

Faith and Farmhouse

One Last Look