Serving tray by own hands – ideas and master classes

This material is for romantics who like to arrange surprises and themselves are not averse to having breakfast in bed or just to have a snack sitting on a soft sofa. We have already talked about how to make a serving board of polymer clay, and now it’s time to make a serving tray – and this time from wood. We picked up the easiest and most accessible ways, so you will not need a carpenter’s talent.

Master-class № 1. A tray from a framework for photos for 1 evening

The easiest way to make a tray yourself is to transform into it the usual picture frame.

Buy or remove from the wall a wooden photo frame of the appropriate size. Well, if you find a frame with a strong bottom and reliable attachments, then you do not have to change the substrate, and you can update the decor of the tray in the mood.

So, let’s get started. Remove the cardboard substrate, remove all unnecessary and put the glass in place.

Now the cardboard from the photo frame needs to be decorated, as you like. You can paste or simply decorate from a variety of materials. It can be: bright fabric, a piece of wallpaper, postcards, yellowed pages, a herbarium, etc. In our master class, the substrate is simply covered with a cloth and glued with a glue gun. Instead, you can use PVA or any other glue. After the decor is ready, put the substrate on the glass and fix it (turn the photo to the right).

And now you need to tie up beautiful furniture handles of the appropriate size. You can tie them either on the side or on top of the frame. For this you will need the actual handles, 4 screws, a drill with a small drill and, of course, a screwdriver. First, attach the handles to the frame, align them, then mark the holes with a pencil, drill them with a suitable drill, and finally screw the handles onto the screws using a screwdriver, as shown in the photo below.

Well, that’s all, your serving tray is ready! Or … almost ready.

• For the reliability and gravity of our tray (that it stood exactly on a soft surface) it is better to further strengthen it from below. To do this, you need to take plywood, attach a frame to it, circle it around the contour and cut it with a jig saw. The resulting workpiece should be sanded around the edges, and then painted in a suitable color (pre-primed). As soon as the plywood dries, you will only need to attach the plywood to the frame with small screws, carnations, screws or a furniture stapler. Such a tray will stand even the heaviest breakfast in bed.

Based on this master class, you can make beautiful trays with a variety of decor. For example, you can make such a serving tray with a slate bottom, on which you can write romantic notes with chalk.

• The substrate can be dyed with either slate paint, or covered with crumpled wallpaper.

And here are other decor ideas for both the frame itself and the substrate. As you can see, you can come up with a variety of designs – in a vintage style like a provence or a chic chic, in classical style or in modern, using fabric, photos, colored paper, wallpaper, pages from books (scroll right).

Also this master class is useful to you for the manufacture of interior trays for coffee or toilet tables, where candles and books, or decorations, cosmetics and perfumes can find their place.

Master class number 2. A tray from the kitchen door for 2 pm

To make a serving tray yourself, you can not only from the photo frame, but also from the old kitchen cabinet door, chest of drawers and other furniture. This tray is a little longer, but it will be much more reliable, practical, durable and accommodate more deliciousness for breakfast!

The procedure is as follows:

1. Delete all loops.
2. We remove the old coating with emery paper of large grain.
3. At this stage, the outer part of the tray, if desired, can be cleaned with a metal brush to remove soft fibers from the tree.

• this technique will make the surface of the door even more “old” and rough, but, on the other hand, the decay effect in the style of the shebbie chic and Provence can be achieved without it.

4. We clean the door and from its underside, we fix the holes from the hinges with putty for wood or polyester putty. We also grind the scraps and again clean the entire door. In principle, this stage is not necessary if the holes from the fasteners do not bother you.
5. Clean, dry door covered with a primer for wood in 1-2 layers. Each layer must dry thoroughly.
6. Now we need to take the sandpaper again, but already of medium grain size and walk it over the entire surface.

7. Again, wipe the door clean and dry, and then start painting our future tray. With a small brush (non-casting!), Cover the surface 1 with a layer of paint. And here it is necessary to note a couple of nuances:

• if you want to make a tray Provence style or Shebbie Chic, then the first layer of paint should be dark, and the second and third – light;
• if you want to paint the bottom of the tray with slate paint as in this master class, then, before applying a dark green paint, glue the bottom contour with paint tape (see the photo above);
• if you do not have a brush, a clean cotton rag will work.

8. When the first coat of paint dries completely, cover the door with the finish paint, the one that is lighter.

• To make a “chalk” tray at this stage (or after it), it is necessary to apply, in fact, the slate paint first in 1 layer, giving it time to dry, and then 2 layers. After the 2nd layer has dried, we again stick the borders of the slate with tape and start painting the door with the finish paint (you can reverse the finish paint first, wait until it dries, and then apply the slate).

9. And now the surface of the tray needs to be ground with fine-grained sandpaper, in some places revealing a layer of dark paint (again, if desired).
10. And, finally, we fix the handles: mark the fixing points for them and tighten the screws. Wu-ala, a serving tray for breakfast in bed is ready!

By the way, if you painted the bottom with slate paint as in this master class, then the resulting tray can be used not only as a serving tray with messages, but also as a board for menus and home notes.

And here are other ideas for making beautiful trays with your own hands from old wooden doors (look!).

Pay also attention to our guide to the site in the section Design and decor of the kitchen – a guide to the site.