Hey, hey friends! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. We covered a lot miles and ate a lot of salt and candy on our Spring Break Road Trip…and it was perfect. I hope to share some of it with you later this week. Today I’ve got another quick project I whipped up for the Home Depot Patio Challenge. Once I saw all the stellar bloggers participating, I panicked knew I’d better step up my game!
What’s the point of having amazing outdoor furniture, if you don’t invite guests over to enjoy it with you? I love colorful serving trays, and having several on hand is perfect for shuttling supplies in and out of the house…so I made my own to coordinate with our soon-to-be outdoor room!
I like the idea of writing messages, or labeling food on the tray, so I picked up this Ikea Klack tray for $8, which conveniently already has a surface suitable for dry-erase markers. If you aren’t near an Ikea (bless your heart), you could use any basic tray like this, and cover the bottom with dry-erase
or chalkboard
paint.
I wanted to keep the base in tact, so I covered it with painters tape and paper.
Then I gave it several light coats of Rustoleum Real Orange in gloss, followed by a layer of Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze to give the tray a lacquered look.
Of course I can never leave well-enough alone, and I attempted several different border designs. The only reason for this picture, is to show you Mr. Clean Magic Erasers make great stencil sponges…super easy to cut and shape, and a firm density. TWSS
None of the stencil designs were jiving for me, so I went with the fail-proof stripe. I just taped it off and used craft paint, followed by a glossy sealer. Make sure to peel the tape off while the paint is still wet for a smoother line.
Supposedly, my hand-writing is illegible, so I recruited Mr. Sugarplum to give it a whirl. We used dry-erase markers, and it wiped right off.
This cheery tray is going to see a lot of action this Spring…it’s cute, and adds a fun element of personalization for every occasion! (Thanks for the amazing cookies, Askanam!)
This also serves as a sneak-peek of the colors I’m using in our Patio Challenge….you didn’t actually think I’d go neutral, did you?! Have you started prepping things for Spring?
Wow, his penmanship is fabulous. My hubs kinda writes like a monkey. lol. ;-D
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Going on my Ikea haul list. Why does the closest Ikea have to be 3 hours away?? I can't wait to see your Home Depot reveal. Loving the orange 🙂 xo Kristin
Super cute idea! Can't wait to see what you do for the Patio Challenge!
So cute! Love this! And I am oddly excited that I too own this tray. Maybe she'll be getting spray painted once I have the baby…
Jenny
http://www.simcoestreet.blogspot.ca
What a cute idea! This would be great for doing a cheese tray, and identifying the different kinds. Yeah, I like cheese 🙂
I've been looking everywhere for trays like that. I wish we had a local Ikea 🙁
This tray looks so much better painted a fun color! Oh and an A+ to Mr Sugarplum for his penmanship.
Sarah
That is super cute! Love the bright orange color.
What a fun project – and love the colors you chose! http://www.styleoyster.blogspot.com
You would think of this, genius! One day when I have a deck, or a backyard, or anything really…I am doing this!
What a great idea! I have some of these trays already and I never thought about the fact that they are Dry Erase friendly.
Cute Cassie! I feel like you wrote me a note once and I totally could read your writing so I'm sure it's not that bad! 🙂
Such a cute idea! I have that tray and I think it needs a pretty makeover too!
Oh sweet!! Adorable straws too!
Very cute 🙂
More recently I have been looking to buy some rugs.. anyone know any sites?
I've heard about Rugman.com? Any experiences there? 🙂
Very impressive….:)
Android Developer
Like I mentioned on IG, I'm still not seeing where you put the vodka to mix w/ my Izze….oh, it's being chilled in the freezer? This is why I love you, always so thoughtful.
I LOVE this genius project. Like a previous reader said, it has so many uses (cheeses! dips!). You never disappoint!
xoxo
Seriously, so stinkin' cute! Love this idea, such a fun twist to an everyday tray. Brilliant you are!
xo,
Jen
Oh I love this.. and you can start praying me for since I don't have an ikea anywhere near! I have to call my sister and have her send me stuff!
http://www.foundafeather.com
Cassie..what did you place your tray on to spray it? Can I assume you turned it upside down and elevated it so you could spray it? How do you keep the inside from getting spraying off of the orange? Our dining room table has all of DH's diabetic testing stuff, plus small book that I record his BS amounts, also pain meds..Since he has to test 4 times a day plus use insulin twice a day, it is useless to put it away. This tray would hold it all in one place so it won't be scattered all over the D/R table. I have a tray like that the Grandchildren did for me one year for Mother's Day..I could rip off their coverings and probably have to sand everything so might as well buy another one and start from scratch. Will a craft store have these trays unfinished? Would they need to be sanded, primed first? Okay, this goes on my Projects to try list. Just want to wait till warmer weather so I can spray in the garage and not freeze and the paint will dry quickly in warmer weather…whenever that gets here! Spring and Summer can't come soon enough for me as those are my favorite seasons.
Hi Pippi — I just covered all the areas I didn't want painted with newspaper and painters tape, then put the whole thing on a drop cloth when I sprayed it. Since spraypaint is oilbased, you could paint over something with no probs. If you're not sure, just prime it first. Hope this helps!