Thursday, April 25, 2019

DIY Decoupage Metal Tray Stand

It's that time again for The Thrift Store Upcycle Challenge on the fourth Thursday of each month! Here, a group of creative bloggers come together to share their lovely transformations of a thrift store item. Who doesn't love thrift store upcycle projects - whether it's actually creating one or admiring how an item from a thrift store was transformed!

The Rules:

Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.

There's no monthly theme.

There's no budget to stick to.

One of the fun things about shopping at thrift stores is that you never know what you're going to find that day - like this embossed aluminum tray ($3) and a tumbler ($1) that actually matched - omg, just by luck! The guy at the checkout said the tray looked like a giant soda cap - I guess because of the curved ridges! Too funny!

Anyway, my idea was to combine the two items into a lovely decorative accent piece or accessory using napkins to decoupage onto them. Perfect to hold just about anything you can imagine - like appetizers, baked goods, decorative fillers, or holiday knick-knacks, to name a few!

Materials used:

Tray and tumbler (stand)

Decorative paper napkins

Mod Podge - matte

Soft paint brush

Scissors

Sandpaper

RapidFuse All Purpose Adhesive

Let's get started by cleaning and washing the tray and tumbler with mild dish detergent like Dawn to remove grease and or stains and dry. Then separate the design layer of the napkin from the plain white layers. To separate, I lightly dipped my finger in Mod Podge and tap my thumb and finger together, placing the corner napkin edge between them to separate the layers.

Then lay the napkin design down on the outside bottom of the metal tray for fit. Since the tray is round, cut slits around the bottom of the napkin for a smoother adherence. The napkin doesn't quite cover the bottom, but I'll work on one piece at a time.

Next, apply a layer of matte Mod Podge onto surface. Place napkin on top smoothing out from the center to edges using a soft brush.. Apply additional MP while smoothing out wrinkles. I like to dip my finger in MP to also help smooth out wrinkles, too. Sometimes I use plastic wrap to help smooth wrinkles out but this napkin seemed too thin and would probably lift up or tear, so I didn't use it this time.

Also, since the napkin didn't cover the bottom completely, after the first portion of napkin dried, I matched up the pattern with an additional piece of napkin covering a little bit on top and on the side, and let that dry, too. The best part, you can't tell where it was pieced together!

Once the napkin was completely dry, it was easier for me to cut off the excess napkin using scissors first before using sandpaper on the edges.

And finally, apply additional layers of Mod Podge to seal.

Next, decoupage the tumbler following the same steps, as before.

And don't forget to seal the tumbler with additional layers of Mod Podge, too!

The tumbler edges seemed too narrow for a good seal so it was easier to glue the bottom of it onto the center of the tray. I use DAP RapidFuse Adhesive to glue the tray and tumbler (stand) together. It sets up in 30 seconds and has a permanent seal. Hot glue does not!

Don't you just love how the metal shows through the floral napkin - as if the flowers were handpainted on! Too cool!

What a lovely thrift store find transformation!

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This post also contains affiliate links. I may receive a very small commission. It does NOT result in additional charges to you or cost you anything extra. The affiliate money I earn per month helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

Check out more thrift store challenge creations!