Decoupaged Bird Tray

I just got some beautiful decoupage papers from Decoupage Queen and wanted a simple project to try one out. I have a big idea coming up, and I needed to see how the papers and my new Redesign Decoupage Gel worked together.

I decided to make a tray, so I started with a large wood round almost 18″ across.

I gave one side and the edge two coats of Garden Wall from Behr paint. It’s the same color I used as the base on my antiqued candlesticks. I then sealed it with Minwax Polycrylic.

I had some beautiful cast iron handles, but they had a silver cast and I wanted them straight black, so I used Black Frost Royal Stencil Creme to change the tint.

I painted the front side with a single coat of paint. After it dried, I chose the Birds on a Branch paper and did a rough cut around the wood.

I used a thick coat of the decoupage gel to adhere the paper to the wood. It looked wrinkly at first, but dried nice and flat. I put two coats of gel on top to seal the paper.

After letting it dry overnight, I used a sanding block to cut the paper at the edge of the wood. It makes a beautifully smooth edge.

The screws that came with the handles were too long, but I subbed in 1″ wood screws and they worked perfectly.

Now I have a beautiful tray that will be perfect for tea time at the cottage.

The finish is tough and smooth, and this tray will be around for a long time.