How to upcycle a photo tray with Farmhouse charm

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Prep the wood tray for paint

First, remove the wood photo mat from under the glass. Unfortunately, the glass cannot be removed from the tray so you may want to run a strip of painters tape along the edges of the glass for easy clean up when it's finished.

Because of the glossy finish, the tray needed some prep in order for the paint to adhere. Normally I lightly sand first to give the paint some bite but with the dark stain finish, I was guaranteed to get some paint bleed through the white paint. Instead, I opted to prime the tray with a clear shellac-based primer.

To give the tray that rustic charm, we'll be adding layers of paint, starting with a coat of white. Each layer of color is dry brushed, meaning that you dip a chip brush into the paint and offload it onto a paper towel until very little remains on the brush.

Brush the first coat with white chalk paint in long random strokes, not being concerned about full coverage because we want some of the stained wood to show through the paint.

Once the white paint is dry, dry brush a layer of dark grey. The color is used is called Rocky Mountain by Country Chic paint.

Once the second layer is dry, move onto the third color. I used Louis Blue by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. You can see the subtle layers in the photo below.

Here it is stenciled. If you look closely you can see that I filled in the bridges on the letters using a script liner art brush. Once the stencil is dry, slip it under the glass and reassemble the tray without using the wood photo matt we removed previously.

Embellish the hands with twine

Wrap jute twine around each handle and hot glued it in place. This is totally optional but I dry brushed a little of the rocky mountain gray and white chalk paint over the jute twine to make it look aged.


You may be wondering about my handy Pringle container. They are perfect to store twine, string, ribbon, or rope. Simply use a hole punch in the center of the plastic lid and run the rope through it (like pictured above).

This isn't my first upcycled Umbra tray rodeo. I gave this one a Valentine Shabby Chic Tray makeover. For more upcycled tray inspiration visit my Upcycled Trays page.

If you have any questions about this coffee tray makeover, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

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