Dollar Baking Tray With Handles

 

We all love updating dollar store items! And the cookie pan is a popular item to use in craft projects! And it's definitely fun turning plain old cheap stuff into decorative, useful household items! Just take a look and see how I updated this cookie pan! It's so easy to turn a cookie baking pan into a decorative tray with handles! Perfect for this month's Upcycled Project Blog Hop Challenge!

Materials:

Cookie Pan

White chalk paint

Paint brush

Paper Napkins (2)

Scissors

Matte Mod Podge

Ziplock Bags

18 gauge tarnish resistant wire

E6000 glue/hot glue 

Instructions:

Begin by removing the label on the pan. Then wash and clean off any residual glue, dirt and grime. Let dry. 

Once thoroughly dry, paint the pan using white chalk paint. You will need at least two coats.

Next, remove all of the white paper backings of the printed portion of the napkin. I always dampen my forefinger with a light dab of mod podge and tap together my thumb until sticky and then touch the corner edge to take apart the paper layers.

Next, size up napkin placement on tray and decide what you need to cover and what needs to be cut off. The design of the napkin had the same pattern on each end, but the height of the napkin was too large for the tray. And the width fitted perfectly and not adjustments were needed. 

So I cut the napkin off to allow enough space to add the same border.

This is how the napkin looked after cutting.

To decoupage the napkin, I applied mod podge on the tray in sections - to keep the wrinkles at a minimum. The napkin was not of a good quality - quite thin and was wrinkled beforehand.

Once the decoupage was applied, I smoothed out the napkin using a ziplock plastic bag that I cut the top and bottom off to open full.

Once the napkin was smooth out, I let the decoupaged napkin portion dry.

Then I used the other end half of the napkin to match the plaid lines 

And applied that piece the same way (in sections) and smoothing out using ziplock plastic and let dry.

Since you could see the straight lines of the added piece, I decided to cut out decorative trim pieces from another piece of napkin and decoupage them on .  .  .

for a seamless look!

To make the tray handles - for each handle, I cut three 24" lengths of 18 gauge wire and folded each piece in half, wrapping the wires with one of the wire loops.

And began braiding the wire until reaching the end. Sorry, I somehow didn't take pictures of the completed braid.

But here is the completed braided handle - hand shaped and glued on first with hot glue and then E6000 for a permanent hold.

I'm loving how this turned out!

It's the 2nd Monday of the month and time for another Monthly Challenge Blog Hop! I've joined a group of creative bloggers to bring you this monthly challenge blog hop!   The theme for March is to create an upcycled, repurpose, remake, reuse project!

Meet the participants:

Across the Blvd

Sew Crafty Crochet

Purple Hues and Me

Domestic Deadline

Stone Cottage Adventures

Comfort Spring

Sum of Their Stories

Vicky Myers Creations

Be sure to click below to see more great upcycled projects!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

DIY Soda Can Dogwood Stem

When you think of spring, the flowering dogwood tree pops into mind. Who doesn't love seeing the dogwood tree's profusion of beautiful spring floral displays almost every where you go after what seemed to be a long, dreary winter! 

To welcome spring, have I got a fun upcycle project with a dogwood theme you have to try! Can you imagine creating a beautiful dogwood stem using soda can aluminum and a craft flower punch? Yes, that's right! I'm going to show you how to cut, punch, paint faux dogwood blooms out of soda cans using a flower punch! How cool does that sound! Here's how!

Supplies you will need:

• Clean Aluminum Soda Cans 
• Utility knife/craft knife
• Craft Scissors
• Flower Petal 3" punch
• Needle nose pliers
• All purpose quick dry adhesive
• White Chalk, pink acrylic craft paint/brush
• Skewer stick
• Green faux stamen 
• Floral wire
• Coat hanger
• Floral tape 
• Shadowbox

Instructions: 

Carefully cut off the top end of a clean soda can using a utility knife. Be careful! You may want to wear gloves for this as a precaution, but I've cut lots of soda cans and thank goodness, I have never had an accident with the sharp, jagged edges. 

Once the top end is removed, cut off the bottom end the same way. Be sure to start the cut pass the curve of the can. Leaving the curve portion on makes it difficult to lay the aluminum flat.

Then make a vertical cut with scissors across the can to open the aluminum. . .  .

Smooth out the curve of the can by rolling the aluminum in the opposite direction or rolling on the edge of a table or countertop. 

Insert the aluminum piece into the flower punch so you can see that the aluminum is completely under the shape and then punch the flower out. Once the flower is punched, adjust the aluminum to punch another one. You may need small needle nose pliers to  pull the left over aluminum out.

Then paint each flower with white chalk paint .  .  .

using the end of a skewer stick to hold the flower while painting and let dry. Turn over and paint the opposite sides and let dry, too.

Since the dogwood bloom is composed of four bracts (petals) each petal on the punched out flower must be cut into separate pieces .  .  .

to form the dogwood flowering shape.

Then cut out the leaves using a free-hand design.

Use the tip of a small metal screw drive or ice pick to add veins and .  .  .

then paint them green.

Gather faux green stamen, doubling it around stem wire and wrap in floral tape for the dogwood flower center. Cut off the excess stamen thread .  .  .

and continue wrapping the stem wire with floral tape.

Once the stamen is wrapped add Quick Hold glue around the base .  .  .

and begin adding on the bracts. one at a time .  .  .

in a cross design .  .  .

until all four bracts are glued on.

Make four more this way.

Add floral stem wire to center back of the leaves using glue. Then connect the leaves to the stem wire using floral tape  .  .  .

Cut thicker pieces of wire from a coat hanger for the main stem. Wrap with floral tape adding the smaller leaf stems and dogwood blooms .  .  .

for a decorative look!

Welcome to our monthly DIY Challenge hosted by Terrie @Decorate and More with Tip! On the first Wednesday of the month, Terrie hosts a DIY Challenge with a group of talented bloggers who love to create budget friendly décor for their homes. For the month of March, we were tasked with creating a Spring Upcycle DIY. 

If you're coming over from Liberty @B4 & Afters, welcome!  To see more upcycle ideas click on the blog titles below to check out their awesome upcycle creations!

                                     

DECORATE AND MORE WITH TIP             Blessings By Me                              JUNK TO GEMS

                                   

Cloches And Lavender        PATINA AND PAINT                      PALLET AND PANTRY 

                                    

B4 And Afters                        Purple Hues and Me              SWEET SOUTHERN GRACE