I Just Had To

This past Tuesday I had one of those I-really-need-a-mini-project-to-make-me-happy days.  Ever have one of those?  It wasn't like I was in a bad mood or anything but me, being who I am, just have these urges sometimes (okay, maybe "sometimes" is a little under-exaggerated) to change something from not-so-pretty to wowza!  So, to handle this little mood swing, I made my way over to a local Goodwill after a few hours of babysitting to see what I could salvage.  Here's what I found:

An old, brass tray.  Perfect.  Except you must think I'm crazy...  :)

This is the detail in this little soon-to-be-beauty that had me at hello:

I love cut-outs but the shape of these had me at the register with $1.99 and on my way home in little to no time.

So, since everyone loves a little tutorial once in awhile, here's the play by play:

Step 1:  Thoroughly clean seemingly "ugly" tray.  Scrub, scrub, and scrub with an abrasive sponge to make sure all dirt and grime is gone, gone, gone.

Step 2:  Prime time.  I sprayed on two light coats of Rustoleum's white primer and said "bye, bye brass", watching my project come to life.

Step 3:  Out came the spray paint.  The color I chose?  White by Krylon.  Two light coats of this went on also.

Meanwhile...

While my two thin coats of spray paint were drying, I was going through some scrapbook paper I grabbed for a few bucks on clearance a few months ago.  The plan was to cut out a round piece to fit perfectly inside the bottom of my new tray.  This is the pattern I chose:

 

To get a perfect fit, I simply traced the (completely dry) tray onto the opposite side of the scrapbook paper I was going to use...

...and cut it out.

The great thing about using scrapbook paper is that I can switch it out whenever my mind fancies a change.  :)

Back to the play-by-play though.

Step 4:  Cover painted tray with one coat of clear (make sure it's non-yellowing!) acrylic for extra protection against scratches, scrapes, husbands, and children.  :)

Step 5:  Bring completely dry tray back inside, set it upside down on dining room table, and notice that it would make a great cake stand with a little piece of round wax paper to separate tray from cake.  (This step is optional.)

Step 6:  Use felt furniture protectors to protect tray further by

a) cutting out small pieces (the less noticeable, the better),

and b) placing them on the bottom of the tray.

Last, but possibly not least, introduce the tray to it's new little round scrapbook paper friend and enjoy!



Ours is a sweet little place to hold decor in our guestroom bathroom.  It would also be a great spot to place apothecary jars filled with cotton balls, q-tips, soap, and whatever else a pampered guest might need.  :) 

And so you have it, my need-a-project predicament solved in a few hours and our guest bathroom all the better for it!  (Aunt Sue and Grandma, you can't get here fast enough!)  :)

In other bathroom news, we finished our master bathroom floors!  I hope to have a post up on that project next week but until then, here's a sneak peak:

Also, the loveseat saga is about to come to an end since I FINALLY found fabric.  It's been a little bit of a whirlwind with that, but I'll explain that too in a soon-to-come future post.  We're crossing our fingers in hopes to get the fabric on this weekend!  :)  Oh projects!  Will we ever get enough?  Nope, I don't think so!  Any other project-tacklers out there?  What have you been working on?  I know we're not the only crazy ones!