CRAZY WONDERFUL

I am so excited that Shelley from Crazy Wonderful is guest posting for me today.
I can't remember how I came to befriend Shelley, but I am sure glad I did.
She is hilarious, she has fabulous style, and an adorable little girl.
Take it away Shelley.....

Can I tell you how excited I am to be guest posting for Andrea today!
WOOHOO!!!
When she asked if I'd be interested in it I jumped on it (and around in my seat for a while too).
I LOVE her blog, and the chance to be a little part of it totally made my day :D
THANKS FOR HAVING ME OVER ANDREA!
So, here's one of the many things I've been obsessing over lately...
Trays!!!

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Surely, I'm not the only one.

And, these photos make me think every room in my house needs one.

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I wanted one in a BAD way for my living room coffee table.

Something big like this one.

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But, these big bad boys are EX-PEN-SIVE.

I don't get it... but, I still wanted one.

Look how sad my coffee table is?!  Blah.

Me - "Why don't you make one?  It's just a box!"

Me - "This is ridiculous... just pony up the cash woman!"

(Yes, I occasionally have conversations with myself)

Me - "Uggghhh!!!  (Caught a glimpse of those prices again)  Looks like I'm heading to Home Depot."

Glad I did though!

I now have my own big ol lacqure tray, and I don't even think I spent $10 on this project.

BINGO!!!

What I used (the wood was my only purchase):

• 2'x2' thin plywood cut down to 18"x24"
• 4 thin precut strips of wood 1/8"x2"x24" (2 of them cut down to 18" long)
• Brad nailer and brads (or) small finishing nails and hammer would work
• Wood glue
• Wood filler
• Sand paper
• Primer spray paint
• White lacquer spray paint
• Clear coat spray paint

What I did:

• Glue strips of wood along the outside of the plywood (overlap edges) and nail into place
• Fill in nail holes and any gaps with wood filler and let dry
• Sand entire piece and wipe clean

• Spray with primer and let dry
• Spray with lacquer paint (approx. 2-3 coats - let dry fully between coats)
• Spray with clear poly and let dry

I was a little irritated when I put this together (probably because it was well over 100 degrees that day... AGAIN), but I'm sooo thrilled with the result and even more thrilled with the savings.

My table is pretty happy with it too ;D

So... if there's a size that you can find, a color you're dreaming of, or if you're like me and you just don't want to go broke on a tray - BUILD IT!

I actually picked up two trays in the past few weeks from Goodwill and had big plans to transform them.  Shelley has inspired me.  Hopefully I'll have some fantastic trays to show you next week.  Be sure to check out Shelley's blog, Crazy Wonderful.