DIY Holiday Trays!

I'm a Dollar Store freak shopper!  I like to go in now and again and check out what they have that I think I can transform.  And every holiday season they get in some cool goodies and they're all a DOLLAR...can't beat that deal!

And as you know I'm a huge lover of all things Christmas ...10 trees going up this year and I will start all that next week.  I always add a few new things to my holiday collection each year much to my hubby's chagrin. I love vintage style trays that can be used for decoration but not the prices so much. I found some at a store in Alexandria last year and they were $45 and up...whoa nelly.  So with those in mind I set out to make my own, easy to make and you can customize them to your heart's holiday desire!

I picked up three of these cookie pans from the Dollar Store...yup $1 each!  These pans measure 9x13 so a good size for a decorative tray.

And then I picked up these fabulous little trays/platters too, each $1!  I got oval, round and rectangle platters to use---had to have a few options ya know.  And I think they are pretty sweet on their own too...great for little platters of cookies or appetizers at a holiday party.  The Dollar Store is great for transforming decorative items on the cheap...remember my Ghoulish Goblets here?

Do you own a Silhouette Cameo?  I've had mine for over two years and I use that lovely machine a few times each week.  One of my best crafty purchases EVER!  I love searching through their extensive image library for cut files to use on my projects.  I've cut vellum, cardstocks, and vinyl with this machine..and it will cut thin chipboard and material as well for endless projects. 

For each of these trays I cut images onto thin cardstock to use as a masks for my trays.  Sorry I didn't get any pictures of my masks before I used them...eek...but the tree/sentiment file name is called 'joy hope peace believe' christmas tree and other one is Merry Christmas Flourish.  Size them to fit your project!

Then I used my trusty Crafters Companion Stick & Spray to add some moveable adhesive to the backs of each mask (just a light spray on the masks will do ya).  I also use this on my Cameo mats when they lose their stickiness...no sense in buying new mats...simply spray 2 coats on the mats and you are back in business.  They make a clean off spray as well that is useful for cleaning your mats and then spray with the Stick-n-Spray to revitalize. I've had the same two mats since I bought my machine.

I spray painted the base coat color onto each of my trays first and let it dry for a bit. The base coat is the color you want your mask/sentiment/decoration to be..so make sure you do it in the right order :)

The round tray got a coat of Krylon Flat Black spray paint and the cookie pan got a coat of Rustoleum Gold paint.  Then I laid the masks where I wanted each once the paint was dry, if you get it wrong you can easily pull it up (gently) and do it again.  The corner treatments on the cookie pan were cut from cardstock with a Memory Box die that I had in my collection.  You can make masks from most anything, even your punches...endless possibilities.  After I laid the masks in place I added two coats of spray paint of each color I wanted...in this case Rustoleum 2x Colonial Red and Seaweed Green spray paints I had in my collection...one coat at a time of course.  (I chose my colors to match my warm colored home decor...but you can of COURSE use any color you'd like)
TIP: Buy spray paint at your hobby/craft stores and use a 40% coupon to get a great deal

Once your paint is really dry...not tacky..but REALLY dry, then you can start adding details. I'm all about the little details as I believe they really finish off a piece.  For this red platter I dry brushed black acrylic paint along the edges and across the platter surface and then rubbed lightly with a rag to soften.  Once that was dry I went in with my Gold Leafing Pen and added gold around the rim of the platter and some dots on the decorative elements in the mask.  I love the little hint of gold on this platter.  You of course could use a Silver Leafing Pen if you preferred.

For the cookie pan the edges were too wide to paint with my little pen, so I grabbed my tube of Rub'n'Buff in gold (great for any crafts and lots of colors) and put a nice coat of that along the edges and buffed it really good with my microfiber cloth.  I bought this sampler set of Rub'n'Buff colors last holiday season and have used them A LOT!

Then the final step is to put on a coat or two of Modge Podge. I like to use Modge Podge Super Gloss because its super shiny and usually one coat is enough for a decorative project like this.  If you were coating something that was going to get used or banged up more, you may want to add an extra coat. Lots of different Modge Podge products nowadays so check them out and figure out which one works best for you.  Some may want a more matte finish so that's up to you on the final look.

REMEMBER: Modge Podge is NOT food safe so do not use it on things you may be serving food on!

So this is the final project all done!  A Dollar Store Platter turned into decorative tray for the holidays with some spray paint, a mask/stencil, and some gold detailing.  I love how it turned out!

And the $1 Cookie Pan transformed as well!  And yes you betcha I'm gonna do a few more with some other Cameo cut files I've already chosen.

An evening view with candles!  Add in some flickering candles and some Christmas greenery and you have a lovely holiday vignette for any spot in your house.  (my candles are battery lit for safety)

Just playing around with some sepia tones!

Project Costs:

Trays - $1 each

Cookie Pan - $1 each

Spray Paint - FREE

(on hand but usually $4-7 a can)

Black Acrylic Paint - FREE 

(I had already but usually $1 a bottle)

Rub'n'Buff in Gold - FREE

(I have a few in my collection but usually $7)

Masks/Stencils - 99 cents each

(from Silhouette Store)

Modge Podge - FREE

(I had in my stash, but usually $6-7)

If you buy any of these supplies remember they will come in useful for 

multitudes of projects :)

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My TOTAL:  $4 for both Trays

That's all for me today but stop back by this week for some more fun holiday crafts you can make inexpensively!

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Entering this into this fabulous Challenge & Party:

Holiday Idea Exchange 2013

Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
Suburbs Mama
Six Sisters Stuff
That's What {Che} Said
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty
Making Monday
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Cedar Hill Farmhouse- The Scoop
Awesome Things Tuesday
Commona-My House - Give Me The Goods
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Domestic Superhero
The Fun in Functional
Common Ground
Making Home Base
Thirty Handmade Days - Party Bunch
Get Your DIY On (Holiday Signs)

Petite Tray Time!!

Do you like searching for fun things to display in your home?  I know I do and I am usually looking for something specific and two things tend to happen 1) hard to find what I want and 2) usually way too expensive.  Sooooo that leaves me thinking up alternatives.  I have been loving these mini/petite monogrammed trays I've seen in magazines lately and wanted one for myself and for my daughter's room.  I plan to put my rings and nail oil/hand lotion I use every night before bed on mine...just a neat place to keep everything organized.  My daughter will use her's for her jewelry that she takes off at night as well.  But every beautiful tray I liked was super expensive...and well, I'm a crafter and a DIY kinda gal so I knew I could replicate them in my own way.  And you know what?  They would make AWESOME gifts too!!

These small ceramic trays from Jill Rosenwald cost $200 each..OMGEE I like them but I don't $200-kinda-like-them if you know what I mean!  Especially not for something that is 12"x9"!

And these acrylic trays go from $40 up to $100 on different sites...they are cool but not for that much of my money!

So off to AC Moore (it is like Michaels or Hobby Lobby stores if you don't have one) I went to get some small unfinished wood trays that I had seen awhile back (Darice is the brand name).  They came in a 3 pack for around $8 and then I got one by itself that had more fancy edges for $3.  And I had a 20% off coupon...SCORE!  So basically these 2 trays I made cost me about $9 total.  Picture below is similar to the trays I bought except mine had holes cut out for the handles.

Supplies Used:

-unfinished wooden trays

-sand paper or sanding block

-glossy paint in fave colors

-scrapbook paper or other decorative papers

-Modge Podge (I used the glossy version instead of matte)

-computer, printer, dies, Silhouette Cameo

And this is how mine turned out!  Not hard to make and at a total price of about $10 for both I think I got a GREAT DEAL! 

The black tray is for my bedside table...I love black and cream together...always elegant.  I painted my tray with a glossy black paint that I had on hand (FREE) and lined it with scraps of scrapbook paper I had on hand (FREE).  Since the trays were unfinished wood I sanded the edges really good anywhere there was some roughness...I like using a sanding block as its easier for me to grip.  The scrapbook paper was cut to fit and then glued down with Glossy Modge Podge and then another coat on top.  I created my monogram on Photoshop Elements and printed it out on cream cardstock.  I cut it out with my Spellbinders oval dies including a black mat for the cream monogram to lay on top of (remember at my core I'm a 100% paper crafter LOL).  Then I glued it down with more Modge Podge and then gave the whole thing another coat of Modge Podge to finish it off.  Ta Da!

This is Alexa's tray for her NEW bedroom (more to come on that very soon, waiting on a few things to come in).  The paint I used for this tray was the same paint I used on an accent wall in her room...its low VOC and satin finished so it worked well too.  I cute the letter "A" with my Silhouette Cameo machine (ooohhhhh let me count the ways I love that machine) and the swirls were done with a Spellbinders die run thru my Cuttlebug.  Same process done with Scrapbook paper and Glossy Modge Podge.  It matches her room and I think it turned out really cute...errrr she's almost 17 so I'll say COOL instead heehee!

So if there are some fun decorative accents out there that you are drooling over but you cannot find in your budget...think of some fun ways to re-create them.  You can usually do it easily and cheaply...these trays took me about 1 hour from start to finish.  Not bad at all!

I will have a few more DIY accents to create in the near future too...I have a lot up these crafty sleeves hee hee!

Linking this post to the fabulous blogs/Linky Parties as well:

PJH Designs

Life on Lakeshore Drive

Kathe with an E 
One More Time To...Celebrate!
Get Your DIY ON! (thrifty upcycle)

I'm linking this up to A Bowl Full of Lemons fabulous Linky Party!

Have you re-created something you saw at a store or online cheaper and perhaps BETTER?

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