I love to refinish trays. They are so useful in any room and I never seem to have enough. I don’t pay full price for a tray–way too expensive! I don’t even like to buy them on sale; I either get them at a thrift store or on the clearance rack. No matter how ugly they are, they can be beautiful.
I posted about this tray back in December. It’s probably my favorite and I picked up it for $10 and made it beautiful by cleaning those lucite and brass handles and spraying the tray gold.
I found this tray on clearance in a shop at an outlet mall. It was already on sale then marked down 70%. Yippee! I wanted to do a stained glass mosaic on it but I was in a hurry. Plus I’m afraid to get any little cuts on my fingers on the glass grinder right now. It could ruin my career on the banjo!
Since color blocking is the trend, I painted the tray cream and a shade of blue that matches the guest bedroom. It’s now a place for my visitors to place their personal items.
Before I developed the phobia of cutting my fingers on the glass pieces, I made this mosaic tray.
Another finish I like to do with trays is decoupage. I either create a design or buy a small poster then use modge podge. These also make nice gifts–put a bunch of goodies on the trays and wrap it up like a gift basket. Fun, easy, and a personal gift.
So I’ll be on the lookout for trays while I’m browsing Renninger’s Antique and Collectors Extravaganza this weekend!
