DIY: Updating a Goodwill Tray

For a while now, I've wanted a cute and colorful tray. You know, one you put on a table or desk or something to style with pretty things. We had a leather tray once. It got the job done, but it wasn't very pretty. I saw this red Moroccan tray at Target a couple months back, but couldn't justify the $25 price tag. I was seriously close to buying it though! 

I'm proud of myself for refraining ((pats herself on the back)) and I'm so glad I did since I found this little gem for $2 at Goodwill. Throw in about $2 worth of fabric, some spray paint, and some Mod Podge I had on hand, and I have a totally new tray for under $10!

The wooden tray started out with a lovely cabin scene. I thought for a quick minute about keeping the cabin scene and just painting over it, but the design got lost after a little spray paint. 

Here's how it looked after a few coats of spray paint (Valspar Gloss in Marine Blue). This pic makes it look more electric blue, but it really is more of a true navy, which is what I was going for. As you can see, the cabin is gone. :(

Back to plan A though! I had purchased lots of fun fabrics for some other projects, including an old navy and white striped sheet from Goodwill (that I washed a lot of times - don't worry!), and had the idea to line the tray with a fun print.

I was very indecisive with my fabric choices. If I was at Mood on Project Runway, I would have gone back to the workroom with nothing (are you watching the new season, by the way? My early favorite is Sonjia!). I settled on two and then had you guys help me on facebook and instagram (@mykane) decide between these two.

The results were very interesting, but the clear winner was #1! Thank you so much for your comments. It helped a lot! I was still pretty torn about them both (because we all know that I love a good stripe), but I decided to go with... drum roll please... #1! In the end, we already have a lot of stripes going on in our living room (where this guy would end up) and I didn't want it to be a stripe overload. Plus, I am really in love with the first print. It's a little bit Southwestern but with a modern color palette (I'm in love with the aqua + navy + coral), which is a nod to our time in Arizona without getting too Southwestern-y. But fear not! I maybe kind of have another project in mind to use the navy + white stripes! Stay tuned!

The next step was to cut the fabric and apply it to the tray. I measured the inside edges of the tray and then cut with my roller.

I applied the fabric to the tray with Mod Podge. It's great to use with fabric on the top and bottom since it dries clear. I painted on one even coat on the bottom of the tray, applied the fabric using a piece of cardboard to smooth it out as I went, and then placed some books on top to help it set. It dries pretty quickly. Then I applied a thin even layer on top of the fabric.

After letting it dry overnight, I was so excited to make it look pretty! Here's how it turned out!

I'm digging the tray. It's perfect for our twenty three remotes, too. I've never really used trays before, but I'm realizing they are a perfect way to create some organized chaos. Confine the mess to the tray! Not that there will be a mess...

Do you have any fun trays in your house? What have you used Mod Podge for lately?

(Target tray source)