We are back again with another Dollar Store craft idea! This Serving tray craft idea only requires a few supplies and an afternoon of your time. The results are stunning! Read the process below.
To do this craft you only need a tray from the dollar tree (the one pictured or any with the crystal cut back), a paint pen in your color of choice and paint in a color of your choice. You could also use some Mod Podge to seal it when you are finished, but it's not necessary.
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Start by removing the price sticker and any residue. Then give the tray a good wash with soap and water. You need to make sure you remove any dirt or residue because it will show through if you don't!
Next you turn the tray over and, using a paint pen, start coloring in the crystal cut indentions on the back. We used a Sharpie brand metallic ultra fine tip paint pen in gold. You may be able to use a wider tip paint pen for a thicker line. Go slowly! the indentions are not that deep and it is easy for the paint pen to jump out of the groove and mark on the tray. If this does happen don't panic! you can remove any stray paint marks with some nail polish remover and a q-tip.
We painted every crystal cut line on the back, but if you want the design to be less busy you could also only paint some lines to achieve the geometric shapes you want. After you are finished put the tray over a solid color background to check for lines that need additional paint. Make sure everything looks uniform and you have removed any story paint lines. Make sure you check it good! We're harping on this point because we did not check the tray as well as we should have at this point. So our final product has some totally avoidable flaws. In all, its still a cute tray and we will definitely be trying this again!
Once you are sure the lines are uniform and there are no stray paint marks, its time to paint. We used a white chalk paint and covered the entire back of the tray. This really makes the gold lines pop. We have love pairing white and gold (see our China Cabinet makeover post below), but next time we try this project we will probably test out some other color combos.
Once the paint is dry you can use a sealer of your choice, but its not necessary. Now turn it over to reveal a beautiful tray with an inlay design. All for less than $5! Since the paint is on the underside of the tray, it is food safe. This could also be used as a decor tray or jewelry tray. Let us know what you would use this tray for!
