Star Spangled Rustic Tray

A Star Spangled rustic tray is a great way to serve up guests for summer cookouts!

This is a sponsored post for DecoArt for whom I am a Core Blogger. As always, all ideas and opinions are 100% my own.

You guys, I am so in love with my new Star Spangled Rustic Tray!

Do you know when you picture something in your head and when it comes to fruition it’s even better than you imagined?

That is this tray!

At this year’s Country Living Fair in Nashville I saw many amazing vintage and rustic items that I would have loved to own… if it weren’t for the price.

One of those things was a beautiful rustic serving tray that was basically a long piece of wood with handles and stained beautifully.

I knew I could make one!

And customize it for myself, of course.

I love patriotic projects so there was little doubt that I would incorporate that theme in my version of the serving tray.

Supplies for Star Spangled Rustic Tray:

wood board (7 1/2″ x 30″)

bamboo garden stakes

Americana Decor Color Stain in White, Navy, and Real Red (alternatively you can use paint and sealer)

2 drawer pulls (mine are from Hobby Lobby)

adhesive vinyl

On a 12×12 sheet of adhesive vinyl, I cut out stars using my Silhouette machine. 

I was able to fit sixteen ~2″ x ~2″ stars on the vinyl

Firmly press the stars into place on the board.

Save the leftover vinyl.

You will need to use it soon.

Apply the blue stain to the board.

I used a foam brush to apply 2 coats.

As with any other stain, rub with the grain.

This was my first time using the Color Stains and, I have to say, I was pretty impressed with them!

They look like paint in the jars because of their thickness, and can be brushed on like a paint.

But they most definitely adhere like a stain.

It is this thickness that makes them great for stenciling on wood!

Regular stain is so thin that it just runs under a stencil.

But you can see how crisp the lines stay on the stars are when you remove the adhesive vinyl!

Cut the remaining negative stencils of the stars into squares and line them up over unpainted stars on the board.

Press firmly then apply 2 coats of the white stain.

You’ll find you have another perfect stencil job when you remove the adhesive vinyl.

I arranged the handles where I wanted them to be on the ends of the board and traced the screw holes with a pencil.

I drilled some pilot holes for the screws and screwed them in.

The screws were a shiny silver and obviously not a good match for the look of my rustic handles so I decided to paint them.

I didn’t have a matching paint color on hand so I made one up by mixing Dazzling Metallics in Bright Brass and Black Pearl.

To finish off the tray I simply gave it a light sanding to add to the rustic look of the star spangled rustic tray.

I could not be happier with how it turned out!

Using a foam brush, I applied two coats of the red stain to the bamboo garden stakes, leaving the bottom inch unstained.

These will make great food labels when entertaining.

Simply take a blue Sharpie and write on the stakes.

Wouldn’t they look great on a cheese platter served up on the rustic tray?

I can’t wait for our next cookout so I can use my new Star Spangled Rustic Tray!

In the meantime, it will make a pretty amazing centerpiece on my rustic farmhouse table.

Now… what to stain next???

 

>> See where I party! <<

 

This post was originally shared June, 2016.