DIY Network

Serving Tray Serving Tray From "Ask DIY Decorating & Crafts" episode DADD-101

Q: I'd like to make a housewarming gift for a friend. Can you show me how to make a serving tray?

A: (Debbie Stapley) I can't think of a better way to celebrate a new home than by giving your friend a serving tray for breakfast in bed or lemonade on the patio. Take a look at these two trays, one I've used paper napkins and decoupaged them to make a tray and the other has stained pieces of veneer. Both are easy to do, and if you are like me, you already have an extra picture frame lying around the house waiting to become something important. Let's get started.

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Materials:
1 picture frame, large enough to serve as a tray (no glass is needed)
1 piece of plywood, cut to fit the inside of the frame (1/8" to 1/4" thick should work just fine)
Light-grit sandpaper and tack rag
2 decorative drawer pulls
Liquid Nails
Paper napkins, white glue or decoupage glue and brush
Roll of 1/2" veneer
Colorful stains and lint-free rag
Chip brush (any cheap paintbrush will work fine)
Polyurethane

Start with a piece of plywood about 1/8 to ¼ inch thick that will fit inside the frame. Luan is also a good choice and is about 1/8 inch thick. Measure your frame and go to the home improvement store where they can cut it down for you. Sand the plywood on both sides. Clean away all the dust with a tack rag. The smoothest side should be the side that sits on your lap.

Steps:

1. Finish the bottom side of the plywood (the side that sits on your lap) with paint or stain and let it dry.

2. At this point, I want to show you how we made the decoupage tray using paper napkins.
   First we painted the board with acrylic craft paints to go with the color scheme. Let that dry. Basically, we arranged pieces of torn-up or cut-up napkins into a pleasing pattern on top of the wood. To get a smooth finish we used only the top ply of the napkin. If you want the colors and patterns of the napkins to be more distinct, use all three layers of the napkin pieces.

3. Using watered-down white glue (or decoupage medium), paint a layer of glue onto the board, then add your napkin pieces. Follow that with another layer of glue, being sure that the napkin pieces are totally saturated. Be careful, especially if working with only one ply of the napkins at a time; use a dabbing motion rather than a stroking motion or your napkins may tear.

4. Let dry. Coat both sides of the board with polyurethane and let dry.

That's one way to make the inside of the tray, and here's another. We're using veneer tape that you get at the home improvement store. It comes in rolls and varies in widths and wood types. We're using 1/2" oak veneer.

You can sketch out design on graph paper first if that helps you with your own particular design.

1. We're going to stain it using these colorful stains and lint-free rag. Rub stain in direction of wood-grain. Make sure stain is dry. We're going to use a box cutter to score the veneer and then a scissor to cut it into our desired pieces to create our design.

2. Lay out your veneer pieces on the tray in the desired design.

3. Use an iron set on a cotton setting and a thin cotton towel over the veneer to secure it to the plywood. Heat one small section at a time pressing down firmly with the iron. Remove the iron after about fifteen seconds. Press down with your hands.

4. When done, use a couple coats of clear varnish to seal the veneer.

5. Run a bead of Liquid Nails around the inside of the picture frame and gently press the board in place. You may have to use some weights (heavy jars or books) to really press these pieces together until they dry.

6. When dry, attach the drawer pulls using a drill or screw driver directly to the decorated board. To clean, just use a damp cloth.