DIY Raised Tray

I love using trays to display items in my home. It is fun to create a grouping with a specific theme, and they add visual interest.

Here are a few examples from my home. The picture of the kitchen utensils is next to my stove. All I used was a cutting board that I had and added things that I use often when I cook along with some greenery in a cute little container..

I found this little wooden tray at TJ Maxx for $2.50. It measures 8” x 5.5”. I had the wooden beads leftover from another project. I bought these at Hobby Lobby, but you can also find them on Amazon. You can find the beads here by clicking the link. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086Z2XJD6/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_glt_fabc_W8D3Y9CR4MDZ44ASDG1V?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 These are natural and come in a variety of sizes. You can also buy them in different colors.

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I used hot glue to attach the “legs” to my tray but you could also use wood glue or E6ooo. I chose to use hot glue because it dries a lot faster and because the tray was small I didn’t need the stronger glue to support anything heavy. I just eyeballed the placement of the beads, but once I decided where the first one was going to be I tried to keep the other three in line with the first one.

I decided to keep my tray natural because I liked the way that it looked in the bathroom. You could add paint or stain to match your own décor.

I know that you can go and by these trays in a lot of different stores, but the purpose of this post is to inspire you to look around in your house to see what you already have. Do you have a mirror, cutting board, or plate charger? How about a pizza stone that you bought but don’t use? Look in your kitchen for a cake stand or a serving platter. There are so many options!

If you don’t have anything at home check out your local Dollar Tree. They have a pizza pan that works great! What I love most about the pizza pan is that you can paint it, Mod Podge cute paper or napkins to it, add beads, the ideas are endless. Garage sales and thrift stores are another great place to look.

So have fun and be creative!

woven tray with greenery.JPG