Picture Frame Serving Tray

Happy, happy Monday to you!  I hope you had a super lovely weekend.  Mine was relaxing and very low key…just like I like ‘em.

I’m slowly but surely marking off the items on my “to do” list to complete my kitchen and breakfast area.  My table has been bare for far too long, so I decided it was time to make a colorful centerpiece.  Want to see what I made?  It’s a serving tray that I made from a frame.

 

Do you remember what my table used to look like before I tamed it down with wood veneer and stain?

 

I loved that table.  Matt…not so much.  But I figured maybe in a smaller dose, the patchwork paper design would work better in the room.  And Matt actually likes it!

 

The frame I used was an 11 x 17 (a size I’ve never heard of before), which I thought was the perfect size for my table.  The handles are the cabinet hardware that I put on our kitchen cabinets when we first bought our condo.  I’ve had them piled in a drawer since I remodeled the kitchen, thinking I would find a use for them.

 

I love how the design plays off of the stripes in my hand painted floor cloth.

 

It’s getting there!  This area is almost finished.  Oh, what a glorious day that will be!

 

 

I’m definitely going to have to find something other than flowers to put on the tray because of this sneaky little booger.

 

As soon as I walked in the door with flowers, she was hot on my heels.  As I trimmed the stems, she was sitting right at the edge of the sink sniffing the flowers.  And as soon as I put them in the vase and put the vase on the table, she was on the table nibbling the petals.  Uugghhh!!!!  So frustrating!

I told her to stop several times, and she finally left.  I thought she had lost interest, but when I went into the kitchen later that night, I noticed the vase tipped over, the flowers scattered on the table, and the water poured all on the tray, the table, and running off onto the floor.

I cleaned it up, put the flowers back in the vase, filled it with more water, and put it back on the table.

The next day, she did it again.

I cleaned it up…again.

She did it…again.

I just can’t have fresh flowers.  It’s very sad.

Anyway, back to the tray.

 

Want o make your own?  Here’s how…

 

Tools & Materials:

1. Picture frame,
2. Piece of 1/4″ MDF cut to fit the frame opening,
3. Spray primer,
4. Latex paint in your choice of color,
5. Four or five pieces of scrapbook paper,
6. Mod Podge,
7. Wood glue,
8. Four wood doll heads, approx. 1 1/2″ in diameter,
9. Polycrylic clear finish,
10. Two cabinet door handles,
11. Screwdriver,
12. Paint brush,
13. Foam brush,
14. Paper cutter.

 

Instructions:

First, I removed all of the hanging hardware and staples from the back of the frame.

 

Using wood glue, I attached a doll head to each corner of the frame back to create “feet” for the tray.

 

Once the glue was dry on the feet, I turned the tray right side up, marked where the handles needed to be, and drilled holes for the handle screws.

 

Then I tested to be sure that the handles fit the holes I just drilled.

 

With the handles removed, I used spray primer to prime the frame.

 

 

I also used spray primer to prime the piece of MDF that fits inside the frame opening.

 

While those were drying, I cut five different sheets of scrapbook paper into strips approximately 1.25″ wide.

 

Using Mod Podge, I adhered the strips of paper onto the primed MDF. I applied the strips randomly, but a specific pattern could also be used.

 

When the paper was dried to the MDF, I applied two coats of Mod Podge to the top of the paper strips.

 

I then painted the frame with latex paint. A sample pot of paint is more than enough for this project.

 

When the paint was dry, I used wood glue and ran a very thin bead of glue around the lip of the frame where a photo and glass would generally go.

 

Then I inserted the decoupaged MDF and used small nails to secure it in place. I turned the frame over immediately to wipe away any wood glue that oozed out on top.

 

Using 150-grit sandpaper, I lightly sanded some of the raised areas for a slightly distressed look.

 

Then I applied two coats of a water-based clear coat over the entire tray, concentrating especially on the area where the decoupaged MDF met the frame.

 

I set it aside for about an hour to let the Polycrylic dry completely.

 

And then I re-attached the handles.

 

And there it is! A completely custom decorative tray.

 

 

 

Variations:

You could use just about anything to decoupage onto the MDF, and in any configuration you want: Sheet music, handwritten letters, candy wrappers. The possibilities are endless!

 
This project was for my condo breakfast room makeover. Click here to see the whole before and after of the breakfast room makeover.

Or click on the thumbnails below to see other DIY projects that I did for my condo breakfast room makeover.

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