I was looking for a small wooden tray to uses for vignettes.  I was a little shocked at the prices of wood trays at the local craft stores.  $10.00 was the cheapest price I could find.  I didn’t have a coupon, so I waited.  Then I stopped in at the local thrift store on a whim.  I found this for under $2.00.

It wasn’t in the best shape, but it wasn’t the worst shape either.  I know what a little sanding & painting can do.

I sanded the tray’s surfaces lightly with a foam sanding block.  It’s easier to use because I can bend it in and around corners if needed.

I re-glued the corners with wood glue to strengthen it.  When that dried, I started to prime it with acrylic paint.  (I could have used spray paint, but it’s been raining for days here)

After I added 2 coats of white paint to it, and the paint had dried, I added some rubber stickers to the corners.

They don’t raise the tray too much, and they’ll help to protect surfaces.

Once it was dried, and the weather had cleared, I took the little tray outside & gave it a coat of Krylon clear glaze paint on all sides.  This will seal the wood and the paint.

Once the clear coat was dry, I cut a piece of fabric a little larger than the base of the tray.  Then I tucked the edges of the fabric under.  I didn’t want to glue the fabric to the tray, because I want to be able to use it for any vignette, and to glue the fabric to the tray would limit its possibilities.

All it needed now was to add some items to create a little vignette.

This will be used for so many vignettes, as well as serving a lunch or two on it.

Don’t overlook an item just because it doesn’t go with your decor.  A little sanding, priming, painting & fabric does wonders.

Happy Creating everyone!