Tutorial: Floral Wooden Tray

You often find old wooden trays at car boots, I even managed to pick some up myself a while back. The ones I had were a bit dreary, and the wood in a bit of a poor state, so I decided to jazz them up. This is a really simple thing to do and makes a lovely addition to the kitchen side.

HEALTH & SAFETY:
In the method I have used an iron. I realise this is stating the obvious, but if you do use an iron please be careful. We don't want any burns.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Wood tray
• Oil-cloth material
• PVA glue
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pen
• Brush
• Beeswax
• Soft cloth
• Liquid gold (optional)

METHOD:

1. First of all you need to sand down the wooden tray. I used my small detail sander, but you could do this by hand. Might be best to do this bit outside as it can get messy. Once sanded make sure you clean the surface down with a damp cloth and leave to dry.

2. I then needed to treat my wood as it was in a bad condition. I rubbed on some wood feed called Liquid Gold. It helps to clean the wood and give it a better condition. This is purely an optional thing and if your tray was actually in a good condition before hand you can skip this stage.

3. The next thing is to wax the wood that will remain exposed to help seal it. I used beeswax as I feel it gives a great colour and soft finish. Apply a thin layer of wax with a soft cloth, leave it to dry and then buff up with a clean soft cloth. Only apply the wax on the sides and the underneath, the interior of the tray needs to be left raw so that the adhesive will hold.

4. Measure out the interior of your tray and cut out your oil-cloth. You might want to make it slightly smaller than the measurements so it fits in the tray without lapping up the sides, only by a couple of millimetres though.

5. To ensure your oil-cloth is nice and smooth I would suggest ironing it. To do this make sure you you protect the surface of the oil cloth with a thin tea towel. The heat from the iron could melt the plastic so please be careful.

6. Then smother the interior of the tray with PVA glue. To spread it evenly use a brush.

7. Then lay your oilcloth on the inside. Weigh the oil cloth down with some books until it has dried to ensure it does not curl.

Your trays and now ready to use! The great thing about oil-cloth is that it is wipe-able so no need to worry about any spills. And lets face it, these trays look so much more fun and attractive. Great for your summer parties!
xx