DIY Tray for Spring

I have many many projects around my apartment and the weekends are a great time to get them done. I found this great wooden box (below) at a thrift store for ONE DOLLAR. Obviously when I saw it, I had big plans for it.

This is the box I got, except without the yuppie wooden toy fruit.

I wanted something fun and bright because Spring is coming! I can feel it, I don't care what that little varmint says about his shadow.

I got this pink called "Heart to Heart" at the hardware store for $3.99. Perfect.

I painted the whole thing even though I knew that I was going to put fabric down on the bottom. I gave it two coats.

I got this fabric about 2 years ago at Mood and I've been wanting to use it FOREVER. I thought that it would really make the pink pop. I cut it to fit the little wooden tray and....

Voila! I took a little spray adhesive and did a light layer before laying the fabric down in the bottom of the tray.

I replaced the other wooden tray I have with this fun poppy little one on my coffee table. I'll probably change the display on the inside but we'll see. That's what is fun about a little tray like this: It cost me about 5-6 dollars in the end and if I don't like it after a few months, I can a) carefully repaint it or b) switch it out and bring it back another time. For now I really love it though, it's brightening up my living room and making me think of Spring.

Have a Happy Monday!


Alicia B.

DIY Grasscloth Tray

Over the weekend, I ventured over in the freezing cold to the Hell's Kitchen Flea market. Among other things, I found an adorable wooden tray! It had nice holes with slight curves on the sides and then ducks on the actual tray part. The only problem was that the ducks were ridiculously silly looking! As you know, I love DIY and I had recently read a very inspirational post by Eddie Ross HERE about fixing up a bland looking tray to make it look chic. Check out my project:

Since I'm not an 85 year old woman (or my older sister), the ducks didn't really appeal to me. I had bigger plans for this tray.

I took some grasscloth that I bought at Kate's Paperie and measured out the inside area of the tray.

Cut it.

And then I fit it inside the tray and voila I have a cute wooden tray! No ducks!

I know mine is quite different from Eddie's but they are different trays. The mahogany wood in mine wasn't conducive to a ultra chic croc skin finish of Eddie's. I can't wait to use it in my new apartment for serving drinks, bringing dinners from the kitchen to the dining table (2 feet away), or for vases/candles etc.


Alicia B.