Refabbed Teaset Tray

I usually blog over at Rumbles and Roars, but it is a true pleasure to join y'all here at Modern Earth Design today.

Disclaimer: oh my stars, I am NOT a designer.

I just played one on TV.

(well, once upon a time on a "Trading Spaces" episode...)

So, today's little project goes something like this:

pick up a small tray at a thrift store for around $10. 

Now, y'all, did I need this? 

And does scratched wood and faux wood grain on paper turn me on? 

Not so much. 

Potential, folks, is the name of the game.   

Now, while I do not claim to be a designer

(ha!  I am a speech-language pathologist/business owner by day and mama/wife/zookeeper by night),

I am something of a DIY-er. 

So I knew immediately what I wanted to do with this piece:

refinish, recover, REFAB!

My plan was to recover that hideous-faded-yellow/black/white-faux-woodgrain cardboard background with some fabric. I really considered the napkin on the left (from World Market) for a while.  Sadly, the colors weren't quite right for my aqua/taupe/seagrass green (don't laugh! it's pretty!) dining room . 

Enter my $1 fabric remnant on the right. 

Not quite as flashy, but she is perfect in her own way.

And no worries on the napkin. 

She's totally going to be used with another napkin

to make a pillow one of these days.

But before I could get to that step, I had to use my ole trusty needle nose pliers to pry out the nails holding the back.

 Oh. My. Word.  Do y'all SEE how ugly this is?  Good heavenly days.

 So, I took a square of 220 grit sandpaper and went over the whole thing.  This was so easy - took me about ten minutes to get the whole thing sanded, and then I wiped it down with a damp cloth.  Which is maybe not completely the right way to go about it,

but you know, it did remove the dust. 

That and my trusty Dyson Animal which got the dust out of the grooves.

 I already had a small can of Minwax Mahogany Red (which is not actually as red as it sounds) in the garage,

so I pulled that out and started applying it with a small sponge brush after the frame was thoroughly dry.

Don't you love using stain?   It goes on so easily and covers well. 

You just need to remember to wipe it off after a few minutes so it doesn't stay too thick or sticky or goopy.

Goopy is a technical term, you know.

And then, all that's left is wrapping up the cardboard

backing with the fabric. 

And painting tape seemed like an acceptable way to go to make sure it was stuck on there. 

I could have gone with fabric glue or something more permanent,

but I figure I will probably change out the fabric at some point

when I decide that seagrass green is so yesterday.

That's not true yet, is it?

I ended up using these picture holder thingies (again, please pardon my use of technical terms) to keep the back on.  This isn't a tray that's going to get super heavy use, so I think the hold factor will be fine.  And the small felt circles should keep the tray raised enough so that the metal hangers won't scratch what the tray is sitting on.

And then flip it over,

and here's the finished project on the sideboard in my dining room.

Rocking my vintage teaset.

Now, I know what you're thinking:

"But Julie!  I don't have a Wooden Hideous Pictured Tray to refab!" 

Don't fret, my new friends!

Don't you see how easy it would be to repurpose a wooden picture frame by adding two handles on the sides and some fabric over the back?

Make me proud, people.  Make me proud.