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Everyone loves having those handy and convenient trays to serve drinks to guests, set your children up for a craft, and as a decor piece to display trinkets across your home. With the help of your DIY skills and a dash of creativity you can assemble and decorate one yourself instead of purchasing one. The best part is making one is really inexpensive and you can add your own style!
Start by finding a cabinet door
We suggest finding one at a thrift shop, garage sale, or in your own kitchen (or maybe a neighbor who’s working on a remodeling project). Don’t worry if it still has the hardware attached to it. You can fix that easily.
Gather your hardware
The first thing you need to take care of are the screws. Grab your trusty screwdriver and detach the remaining hardware from the cabinet. Once you’re finished, sand the door down.
Next, prime the door
Prime both sides so that your tray will look great from all angles.
Let it dry and then get creative
Take a walk around the local craft store for some paint to make your own design. You can use a a stencil if you’re afraid to use a free hand or go for a splatter paint method. This could be a great point to get the kids involved and let them use it as a blank canvas. Try applying lace, or another similar fabric, across your cabinet and spray paint over it to creative a beautiful pattern. Applying chalkboard paint to one side can make a fun way to keep score during a family board game or write notes to your loved ones. After all that is done, apply a few coats of wipe-on-poly (not to the chalk board paint) to give your tray a more finished look.
Get a hand on it
Head out to the store (again you can use recycled methods here) and pick out different handles to put on either side of your tray. Colors that match your design are great, or go with a bold contrast! For a more vintage feel, spring for some iron handles. Whatever you want! The choice is yours. Use the hardware to mount these handles on either side of your tray. It’s easy really easy to do, and make sure that you line them up evenly. Now you can use your tray as a serving dish for breakfast in bed! It also looks great as a decorative piece for your kitchen or lounging on your coffee table. There are plenty of places you could display your latest DIY project.
This project can be accomplished within a few hours and ready to enjoy. Your friends will wonder where you bought such a unique and cool tray. Now you can brag to your guests that you have now become a regular crafter.
