April 18, 2012

'Antique' Ottoman Tray



After trading my over-sized, glass topped coffee table in for an ottoman, I gained living room seating and more space for Rowan to play.  In turn, I lost a place to put stuff.  Like coffee.  And coffee deserves a good place to sit.


I saw this dynamite wood serving tray at a thrift store.  I loved the colour of green and simple design.  The flowers just screamed "PAINT ME!!"


So I did.  One coat of spray paint in 'antique white'.  If you're looking for a cleaner finish instead of my 'antiquing' method, you'll want to sand the entire tray before painting.  I'm looking for imperfections, so I skipped that step.


Sand with a fine grit sandpaper.


Another coat of spray paint.


Another round of sanding.


The last sanding I really dug into the paint, so I had a lot of dust.  I made sure that the tray was completely dust-free with a paint brush before I coated it with spray-on Mod Podge.  The Mod Podge acts as a sealant, you don't want to skip it!


My happy accident.  A little heavy on the first coat of Mod Podge and you'll get bubbles from the paint.  I liked it, so I went with it.  I lightly sanded over the crackles after the first coat had dried and sprayed on a second coat.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out!  Since I already had the spray paint and the Mod Podge, this project only cost me $6.00.  Love me some cheap DIY!

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