Garage Sale Find - TV Tray Makeover

I love shopping garage sales.  You never know what you’ll stumble upon that you can use as is, upcycle or simply throw a fresh coat of paint on and create something new.

For the last several months, I have been keeping my eyes open for TV trays.  Remember back to my post on creative seating for guests when space is a problem?   Using TV trays can make entertaining easier when you can’t fit all your guests at the table or simply want to give your guests a spot to put their drinks when out and about in the yard.

However,  TV trays alone do not excite me . . . unless they look fun and cute, of course.

Let’s get started on a little TV tray makeover.

Paint base coat

I took my $8 pair of like-new TV trays and spray painted a base coat of red.  At this point, I hadn’t decided what I was going to put on the tray, so I painted the entire top.

cut stencil material

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With my cameo, I cut this phrase and this shape on stencil vinyl.  If you don’t have a Cameo or cutting machine, Amazon has a great assortment of stencils to check out and inspire you.

Follow the stencil instructions to cut, weed and transfer your stencil.

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tv tray makeover

 

Once the stencil was in place, I painted the top coat.  I cannot get enough of this turquoise.  It started with my daughter’s Little Mermaid party and has continued since!

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Take note of where you spray paint.  For the above picture and spray painting up into the air to get the tray legs covered, I accidentally left a mist of turquoise beyond my cardboard on my mom’s drive.  Whoops!

And the best step for last:  peel the vinyl and reveal the phrase or pattern.  Mine did require a bit of touch up, but overall came out great.

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TV Tray Makeover - Garage sale find

What has been your favorite garage sale transformation item?