Serving Tray

My sister is coming to visit and when we get together we like to get our "craft on". Yeah, I don't usually use terms like that but yeah! We love to craft. 

Mission: Finish a project in a long weekend. Leave time to shop the West Bottoms, antiques, treasure hunting galore! Take in a Royal's game. Yep, they are my team. Always have been, always will be. Watch some fireworks! And enjoy the rest of the family.

What we did...make your tray and bring it with you. This is how I made mine.

Materials/tools:

I felt my paneling needed a backer so I also used plywood.

Trim if you choose.

Finishing nailer

Construction Adhesive

I used a table saw and miter saw.

Handles of your choice.

Screws for the handles

Paint for the tray.

Paint for the handles.

Drill to predrill handle holes.

Screwdriver

Go to the basement and pull out those scraps! This is my stash.

Decide how big you want your tray. I plan to make a coffee table/ottoman out of pallets and want this tray to sit on it, so I went large. 18X24. I chose some of the tongue in groove paneling I removed from the family room walls a few years back. Cut to size. I also cut a thin piece of plywood the same size.

And here is the paneling I cut to size. I love my big girl tools!

This is how I  decided it should look.

I didn't have any trim I liked to go with this so I made a trip to Lowes. Cut my trim so the corners were mitered. A more professional look I think.

I sanded down the paneling to get the stain off so the paint would adhere better. Believe it or not this was alot darker. (That's why I wanted it off the family room walls)

Time to put it together. I used construction adhesive to bond the plywood to the tongue in groove paneling.

Then I used a finishing nailer with a little more adhesive combo to adhere the trim.

It truly is all about the tools. Makes life so much easier. Now let it sit to dry. I didn't want my thin plywood to warp so I set a cinder block on it. Meanwhile, I hit my local Habitat ReStore to look for handles. I chose the bigger one for my huge tray. After sending a picture to my sister, she wanted the smaller one. These were $1 each. You may find them cheaper or even have some old ones sitting around your house you could use.

I went to my paint stash and brought this up.

Next I soaked the handles in vinegar. Cleaned them up, took a wire brush to the big set as the finish seemed to be peeling, we don't want any of that business. 

I laid the handles bottom side up protecting my table with wax paper. Give them a couple of light coats.

You noticed the shoe box in the background. Grab some toothpicks. Poke them in the shoe box. This holds the handles in place while you paint them so they don't tip over. Give the top side a couple of light coats.

After thinking about what color I wanted my tray to be I decided to splurge and buy a sample of paint. Lowe's has samples of Valspar for $2.98. Pretty good deal. My color is Valspar Sea Seeker. A couple of coats and add the handles.

I felt the color I chose went well with my big ugly chair I made a slip cover for with matching throw pillows.

OKAY!!! Now what my sister Brenda did. (Abbreviated) 

She has a supply of pallets. Her hubby helped her cut some up. Chose a size she liked. Cut 3 pieces of equal length. And cut 2 pieces to sit perpendicular at each end. She used a finishing nailer and tacked them all together. Her paint sample is also Valspar. The color she chose was Heirloom Red. I love it. And she'll have leftover to make a valentine project!

Another aspect she chose to do was to dry brush it. Awesome!!! It looks like she just took it off a barn. A couple of coats of Minwax Polyurethane to protect it. Add the handles and this is what it looks like. I think it is super cute!!!

What fun sister time we have. Love you Brenda!