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Garden Tray Tutorial

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So many people tell me that they can never find anything good at the thrift stores in the areas where they live.  I don’t think my thrift stores are any better than anyone else’s but I do think that if you go with an idea in mind of what you’re looking for you will eventually find it.  Take a peek at my most recent thrift store transformation. 

Now take a look at the before.
What do you think of this lovely swan tray that I found? 
I think she has lived a full life and is ready to be put to rest!
 I must admit that I feel kind of bad saying that because I could tell  from the way it was put together that this was some other eager DIYer’s very own craft project. 
Here is a picture of the bottom with the peeling faux wood contact paper.  Yup, it is definitely time for a change.
As soon I saw this tray it made me think of an ad I’d seen in Grandinroad catalog for these beautiful Monet Garden Trays.  

I loved the colors and the flowers and the fact that they looked old.  However, a set of two for $199 was way beyond my budget! 
So I set to work with my Home Made Chalk Paint 
(Recipe #3 right HERE), applying an off white base coat and then two coats in a custom mixed color made from leftover Valspar paint samples. I couldn’t tell you what they were and wouldn’t likely be able to reproduce the exact color again, but it turned out similar to Annie Sloan’s Antibes green (I have such fun mixing colors that I often forget to keep track of what and how much).
I applied a base of aged looking parchment paper to the top of the tray with ModPodge, and added some pictures of flowers, printed off from The Graphics Fairy website.  I thoroughly covered the back of each piece of paper with the medium.
 Once all my flowers were in place I applied a couple of coats of ModPodge over the top everything, allowing the it to dry between each coat.  Notice the wrinkles in the paper?  No, I wasn’t being sloppy.  Honest!  I actually crinkled up my parchment paper before placing it to get the look I was going for.  When it was thoroughly soaked with ModPodge I smoothed the wrinkles with my fingers, to push out the air bubbles.
After my tray dried completely I distressed the wood, allowing both bare wood and white paint to show through, and applied a dark wax (ASCP).  I was careful not to touch the top of the decoupaged area with wax as I later applied a couple of coats of MinWax Polycrylic to protect the surface from water.
  Though you can’t see it in the “before” picture the swan tray originally had shiny brass hardware on the corners. I took the hardware off and painted it with Rustoleum’s Metallic Oil Rubbed   Bronze spray paint.  This is a new favorite!
What do you think?  
Okay, so I know it doesn’t look like a $100 tray, 
but then neither did the $100 tray!
 

 Right now I’m enjoying using this tray as a base for different vignettes on my kitchen island.  In September she will go along with me to the French Flea Market.

  I wouldn’t have given this tray a second glance if I hadn’t seen an ad for beautiful trays in a high end catalog.  I actually get excited about my junk mail when it contains catalogs! I pull them out and put them in a special place to enjoy when I have some quality browsing time.  Then I search for ideas and tear out pages for my inspiration file. I make sure to go back to my idea file often to remind myself of what to be on the lookout for.  I also find great ideas in various Flea Market and Cottage Style magazines and from the Internet via Pinterest, Etsy and, of course, my fellow bloggers.

So, keep hitting the thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales, but go often and go with a purpose!  With a little practice, you too will begin to see the potential for Old Things becoming New.

     Blessings,


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Comments

  2. This turned out great!! I always find treasures at the thrift store!! Sometimes it’s tough to see the potential in something, but if you can, you will end up with something beautiful for very little money…just like this beautiful tray!
    XO,
    Christy

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  9. You did an amazing job! You have a really good eye and great vision. I love that tray, you have totally inspired me to make one of my own! I have to start a thrift store project file~ that is a great idea!
    ps- how do you keep your nails looking so good through all that crafting! 😉

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  12. Patti, how gorgeous your turned out. Isn’t it great when you just know at a glance in GW what you can fix! I love that moment, too. I’m next to you on Maria’s party this week.

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    See the latest BeBetsy Brag About It post and get an ‘I Was Featured’ button for your blog.

    We would love it if you would create a link back from your post to to BeBetsy. Thank you.

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