Country Tray

When I saw this wall paper border I knew I wanted to make a tray.

As we were arranging the sides I thought it might be different to have over lapping corners.

So we glued it together one side at a time and used the brad gun for more security. Then we clamped it and let it dry overnight.

We drilled holes for rope handles.

I did several samples of crackle finish and chose the red with a light tan base coat.

Here's the tray with a crackle finish. After it dried I applied the wall paper border with Mod Podge. I used the brayer to smooth it out. When I put a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the picture, the crackle paint started coming off and it made a big mess. So, I had to sand all of that down, put painters tape on the picture and re crackled it. Then I used a spray varnish to seal it. I inserted the rope handles and tied in knots.

If I did this again I would apply the picture first, then tape it and apply the crackle finish around it.

Here it is finished. This tray is 20"x 10 1/2" with 1 1/2" sides.