Be Cheap... Do It Yourself DIY - Dining Table Serving Tray

Ever walk past a store and see a pricey home decor item and think, "Wow! I really like that, but it's too expensive?" It happens to everyone at one time or another.

Well, I was looking to find a nice, simple and reasonably priced, yet had a farmhouse feel to it, centerpiece for my table. What I liked was too expensive. What was cheaper looked, well, cheap.

So using what little creativity for crafts that I had, I made my own centerpiece using a scrap piece of pine board (1"x 12") I had from another home project and some purchased items for VERY reasonable prices.

List:
1 - 1"x12" piece of pine board
Sandpaper
4 - wood knobs from a craft store
2 - containers of chalk paint (the most expensive items on the list)
2 - Cupboard handles purchased from local home improvement store
Variety of fake flowers from Dollar Tree
sponges and paintbrushes- had on hand
E6000 adhesive- had on hand
Glass jars - free, had on hand
Twine- had on hand
Glue gun and glue stick- had on hand

1. Sand the pine board edges until smooth and rough up the surfaces a little.
2. Using the chalk paint of desired color paint both sides and all four edges of the wood. Let dry according to the chalk paint manufacturer's recommendation. (I did two coats of the main color and did quick strokes of the darker color chalk paint to add depth to the top of the tray.
3. While you have the chalk paint out and brushes/sponges wet, paint the four knobs, handles and bottles or containers that will be on the tray.
4. Pre-drill holes for handles' screws now. Using E6000, glue the knobs onto the bottom of the tray and let completely dry (about 24-hours).
5. Once dry completely, flip over and screw in the handles. (I squeezed a little E6000 into the screw holes for added adhesion).
6. When dry add your other items to the top of the tray. I added some twine to one of the mason jars I painted and used a glue gun/stick to keep the twine in place.

Finished Tray

Deco Art- Americana Decor has a WIDE variety of colors.