Thanksgiving Sign from a Bamboo Serving Tray

 A bamboo serving tray is not exactly a rarity at thrift stores these days. They vary in cleanliness and condition, and when I spotted a stack of them at Habitat Restore, I decided to give one a makeover as my latest project for the Charlotte Region ReStore blog.

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

My upcycling plan was simple and straightforward: Paint and stencil the tray.

But the best part is that it would be a double duty DIY, as both a serving tray and a Thanksgiving sign! Aside from this pilgrim hat craft (ALSO from a Habitat ReStore find), I haven’t done too many Thanksgiving-specific projects.

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

But, it seemed like this was a ripe opportunity to rectify that. So, let’s get crackin’ (and crafting)…

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience, and was also sponsored by the Charlotte Region ReStore(s). All blue, bold, and underlined text is a clickable link, either to a product or to a related post.

Double Duty DIY with a Bamboo Serving Tray

Here’s a better view of the bamboo serving tray. I selected the cleanest of the lot, but even after some careful scrubbing, a few stubborn stains wouldn’t go away.

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

Those stains made it easy for me to decide to paint it, though! And I selected a creamy off-white shade of spray paint to give me a fresh and clean surface for stenciling.

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

Next, I gave it two full coats of paint and was quite pleased at how it turned out. Clean and bright and ready for further embellishing!

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

I loved that the herringbone pattern of the woven bamboo was still visible through the paint!

Anyway, it was then time to transform the tray into a Thanksgiving sign. I selected and sized the perfect stencil, which I purchased it from this online shop.

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

Next, I carefully stenciled the word and willow branches in two different colors to complete my Thanksgiving sign.

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

Lastly, I made sure the stenciling was completely dry before giving the entire tray and light topcoat with a clear satin spray. And that was it! Ready to see how it turned out?

Thanksgiving Sign from a Bamboo Serving Tray

When all was said and done, I was left with a fresh and elegant makeover. It has a bit of a farmhouse look (which I’ve been moving away from doing), but I love how it turned out nonetheless!

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

I actually thought about finishing it up by wrapping the ends (where you’d consider the handles to be) with jute twine. But, in the end, I went without and left the handles as they were

I think it’d be a fine embellishment, though, don’t you?

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

Either way, it’s hard to beat such a simple project that has two potential uses.  It could be a tray set out on a coffee table for drinks (in lieu of coasters) or snacks. OR you could prop it up against the wall as a Thanksgiving sign.

Which way do you think you’d use it as?

I think I’m partial to it as a sign. But maybe that’s because I’m selfish and don’t want drinks or snacks covering up my stenciling work!

I hope you enjoyed this super simple, but very effective upcycling idea for a bamboo serving tray!

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

And don’t forget that my first book, “Crafting with Flannel”, is now available! It even contains its own tray project- with a touch of flannel, of course…

Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.

Plus, I have an entire blog post dedicated to other upcycling ideas for Thanksgiving– a few of my projects, as well as others’, too!

Craft on!

S

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