01 May 2012

May -- Chalk Paint Tray!!

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather, as I have been. I’m quite excited to share with you all the wonderful project I've been working on.  I have been so excited about doing this for the last   month, since I found this little treasure at the Goodwill…
It made me wonder through. What is about the vintage? The Old French Country?  The Antiques, that we find that excites us and makes us want to restore or remake them to into something beautiful, something that feels as if it’s from days Gone by?I have in my home a beautiful little floral tray with handles and an edge. I love it!!!

I prepare my noon meal, snack or an early supper and place it on my old floral tray, along with my napkin, my drink, the salt and pepper and butter and take it to wherever I feel like dining. Whether on the front porch, on the couch, down to the garden, or even here at my desk.   Did I mention, I love it? 
I don’t know if it is so much the tray or the joy of preparing it and then feasting from it as if I was Jane Austin’s “Emma” in the garden and the cook had just brought it to me. I believe it is that feel of yester year that is so simply and  elegantly irresistible.. That for those 15-30 minutes were transported back in time… Maybe it’s just me!! But if sounds like you too, you’ll love the project I’m sharing with you today!

So here it is!  I happened upon this rather tattered , well-used wooden tray at my favorite thrift store.  It had wear, some water mark a few scratches, but over all the bones of it were quite good and I believed with a little chalk paint and some work it could be possible my new little favorite luxury.. Did I mention the price? Oh yes, it was a little more than I usually pay, it was $2.99, but I decided it would be worth it.













So as much as I would love to have some of Ms. Annie Sloan’s beautiful Chalk paint and wax, I simply can not afford it.  So, I searched for alternatives to achieve the same type of finish and found that Lowe’s carries Behr’s version of Chalk paint, a sample container for only 4.99!!! Everybody has told  me a little goes a long way so I decided to test the theory. And, I am pleased to say I was very happy with the results.. What do you think?
So here’s what I did;
Sanded the tray and wiped clean with damp cloth
Applied 2 coats of Behr’s White Linen Chalk Paint (only took 1/3 of the sample)
Sanded the edges....(distressed it) to my liking
Applied regular wood wax for light woods rubbed it in then wiped of any excess. Waited  for an hour then applied Clear Polyurethane That’s it!!! 

Used it twice already.  I hope you enjoy making something that speaks to your heart today!
The best part of my little tray Re-do;  total cost for this project approx. $5.50, given that I have two-thirds of the chalk paint left.  What fun I am going to have deciding how to use it!
 I hope you all have a Heavenly day!  








24 comments:

  1. You can check out Shoestring Elegance on Facebook and see more pictures of the finished tray!!

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  2. Theresa,
    It turned out beautiful ........ I want to try one now !!!!

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  3. Thanks, Pam! You should totally do one the way you like!! As a matter of fact, I forgot to mention, that Michael's Crafts has some bare wood trays back with there wood shelves and boxes for painting, I think you could buy the bare wood one if you aren't able to find one @ your local thrift store and make a new, old-looking treasure!!!

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  4. This is great! Wonderful work again, of course. The tray is lovely.

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  6. Anonymous6:37 PM

    Hi, Theresa, Love this!!! Beautiul job!! xoxo, Mom

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  7. Anonymous6:45 PM

    Hey it's Dad, It's looking great!

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  8. Well done it's lovely, love your other rosy one too. I can see why you enjoy it so much.
    I am visiting from French Country Cottage xx

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    1. Thanks so much!!! Yes I do really enjoy them BOTH now, but I'm using the new one more for Tea! The whole meal still goes on the Floral one...lol...Don't you just Love Courtney @ French Country Cottage?! I do. If you haven't seen it yet, there's a previous post here on my remake of her Double Ruffled Tablecloth, I hope you'll check it out!

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  9. Trays look beautiful! Thanks for sharing :)
    Greetings from Australia♥
    ~Pernilla

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind words, Pernilla! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Greetings back, to you from California, USA!!

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  10. I love your new tray and what a great idea! The thrifty part is even better! The shape of the tray shows more after your makeover. I do like the flowered tray and now you have a choice. Thanks for sharing the information about the paint.
    Pam

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  11. Thanks, Pam!! I know what you mean I do still love the floral one and really am just kind of using the new one for Tea or coffee..It amazed me just how much the detail ended up showing up..Thank you for your Kind words, they are very much appreciated!

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  12. Hello theresa, thank you so much for joining in Tea Cup Tuesday! It gave me the opportunity to come over and "meet" you : )
    Your post is fab! I love what you did to the tray...and I love that you did it in such a thrifty way too. The tray itself was a real find. I love the shape of it. And you totally shabby chicked it up! Yay!
    Hugs,
    Terri

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    1. Terri, Thank you so much for hosting our "Tea"..nice to meet you, too! I'm so glad you like the tray..I knew I had a good find with that one!! I'm just so thankful to be able to share what "we" do with others..Love your blog as well. And yes, the tray is now one of my new faves. I look forward to seeing more of you and sharing more with you. I appreciate your time to come and leave such a lovely comment.
      Hug back,
      ~Theresa

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  13. Hi there Theresa,

    Fabulous tea tray redux!.., I want to try my hand at one now. Thanks for sharing.
    Pop by for some tea and a visit sometime.


    Hugs, Wanda Lee

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  14. The tray looks beautiful! We loved having you link up to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." We hope you'll be back soon! -The Sisters

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  15. @Wanda Lee, Thanks very much glad you liked it, I love tea, I'll be over. You should definitely do one alot easier than you think! Cheers!

    @The Sisters, I love your name so much and your site, I am the baby of 5 and know what it's like to have sister's, and then later built in friends!! Thanks so much for your time and kind words!!
    ~Theresa.

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  16. Great tray presentation. You are using them well.

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  17. Love what you did with your chalk paint. I heart my chalk paint so much, I think I'll marry it! ;-) Thanks for stopping by my blog at crazythriftycrafts. I just subscribed to you by email. Pop back to my place soon cuz I have a whole mess of furniture redo's comin'. I'm gonna chalk paint the town!

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    1. @ LV, Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it!

      @ Peggy, Thank you for your kind words and I have and will pop back to your place! Great projects! See you in the parties. ;)

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