Vintage Lap Tray Makeover

I hope y’all are having a great week!  I’m so excited to share this little makeover with you today!  I went to a yard sale just down the street on Saturday and spent all of $1 on two vintage lap trays.  Let’s just say that they were so vintage that they were rusty and the paint was chipping and peeling off. Not-so-cool.

After I worked a bit of magic including spray paint {of course!} and Modpodge, I had them looking better than ever!

I used a sanding pad to smooth out the rough, chipping, rusty tray on the top and the bottom.

See how bad the underside of the trays looked? Ick.  After I smoothed everything out, I wiped the trays down with a damp rag and let them completely dry before spray painting.

I used Valspar’s Black Gloss for the bottom and legs of the tray and then Rustoleum’s Fern Gloss for the top.

Oooo, they are already looking so much better!

Just fyi, this spray paint is soooo close to Benjamin Moore’s Huntington Green that I used on my apple green desk.  The spray paint is just slightly darker and slightly greener.

Supplies I used to decorate the top of my trays:

• 3 sheets scrapbook paper {50% off at Hobby Lobby}
• 1 scrap piece of brown cardstock
• Scissors
• ModPodge and sponge brush
• Silhouette machine {you could definitely use stencils}

I trimmed the scrapbook paper to fit in the tray..  There will be a seam, but don’t worry, I’ve gotcha covered.  It’s not going to look tacky, I promise.

Once I had the scrapbook paper cut, I cut two thin strips of brown cardstock to cover the seams.

Then I broke out the ModPodge and covered the tray using my sponge brush.  After gluing down the scrapbook paper, I left it alone and let it completely dry.  {This is the trick to successful ModPodging…ask me how I know.} While the ModPodge was drying, I worked on cutting out “his” and “hers” lettering for the trays – as if my husband and I ever eat breakfast in bed…ahem. We’re more likely to use the trays for guests or for a rare midnight snack.

Once the ModPodge was dry, I glued down the strip of brown cardstock over the seam and the words on each one.  Then I gave everything a nice top coat of ModPodge.

Awwww…

Can I just say that I adore these lap trays?  It’s all about seeing the potential in something that doesn’t look so good at first because those trays looked hideous.

I think that it will be fun to serve guests with these new trays, so I pretended today with my easy homemade banana bread and fresh orange slices. After I shot some photos for this post, Ridley and I had a snack.

Isn’t the scrapbook paper fab?!

Wouldn’t you like to come over and be our guest? I’ll serve you breakfast in bed.

Before & After

An amazing change that cost me less than $2!

Trays are usually easy to find at yard sales and thrift shops, so be creative and customize a tray or two for your house! Decorating and accessorizing your home frugally is quite obtainable with time spent looking for treasures and a little creativity.

Need more inspiration? Check out the Tile Tray by Just A Girl and the Greek Key Fabric Lined Tray by Centsational Girl. Pure awesomeness!

Have you spray painted anything lately?

I’m linking up to: I’m Lovin’ It, Weekend Wrap Up Party, How To Day, Before and After Party and Funky Junk Interiors.

XO

*****

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