4th of July Tray

4th of July Tray

 Materials

Tray 

White Spray Paint

Mod Podge (I used homemade; half glue, half water)

Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray

Paint Brush

Brayer (optional) 

Ruler

Rotary Cutter or Scissors

Festive Cloth or Paper

Decorative Foam Stickers

     I got an ugly (in my opinion) tray from Goodwill for $0.99!  So I decided to jazz it up for the 4th of July so that I would have something patriotic to display my desserts on for the upcoming holiday. 

     I started by wiping it down with a wet paper towel to get any dirt and dust off.  I took it out to my yard and used white spray paint to cover it.  I needed a few coats since I was going from a darker to lighter color.  I didn't worry about covering the bottom too well since I would be covering it with cloth anyway.  

     I measured the bottom of the tray, length and width.  I used some leftover cloth that I had from another project, but depending on the size of your tray you could use paper as well.

  I cut my cloth to match the length and width of my tray. I used a rotary cutter to get a nice straight edge but you could use scissors as well.

     I then applied a thin layer of homemade mod podge (equal parts water and white school glue) to the bottom of the tray.  I carefully laid the cloth to cover the bottom of the tray and then covered the top of the cloth with mod podge as well.  I used a brayer to make sure it was smooth and there were no air bubbles.

    Once the mod podge was completely dry, I used a ruler to help guide me in applying some decorative foam stickers.  I put them along both sides, inside the tray.  You could also decorate the outside of the tray if you wanted.

    Finally, I took the tray outside and applied a coat of Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer.  Let it dry completely...

   And voila! My tray is ready for the 4th of July!