Altered Printers Tray

THRIFT STORE SHOPPING ROCKS!!! I seriously cannot get enough! When my husband is off on the weekend and when the kids are tucked snuggly into their beds for their naps, I'll sneak into town, grab my Starbucks 'grande dark' and just delite in the joys of thrift store shopping. I LOVE it! There are so many amazing things to find from vintage books, trinkets, embellishments, frames, doilies, etc. I have three stores that I visit every weekend in town and every now and again I'll make a venture out to Value Village to see what I can find.

It was a few weekends ago that I came across this amazing wooden piece. (you'll always find the best treasures when you aren't looking for anything in particular).

To the naked eye it looked like a large, wooden tray. It measured approximately 11 inches x 21 inches so it was at least double the size of one of those fancy 'scrapbooking printer's trays'. BUT the best part.... it cost me only $2.00!!

Join me below to see how I transformed this simple wooden tray into a totally cool keepsake using one of Graphic 45's newest releases: Curtain Call.

Here is the 'naked' wooden treasure I found!! It is quite large and as I mentioned above, measuring 11 x 21 x 2 inches. TOTAL SCORE!!!

Time to get DIRTY!! Oh yea baby!! You can totally leave your piece 'naked' if you wish but to coordinate with the colours in the Curtain Call collection, I chose to alter the tray to black. I've previously altered printer's trays and wooden 3D calendars with paint and found this SUPER time consuming so I opted to mist my project. MUCH quicker but also MUCH more messy (as you can see from my hands!!) I actually spritzed my project outside and would recommend the same should you decide to alter your project this way

Next you will need to 'finish' your project and seal in the ink so that it doesn't transfer to other mediums. Mod Podge is a fantastic product that acts as a waterbased sealer, glue and finish. I chose a glossy finish but this product also comes in matte should you prefer.

I squirted a bunch into a small disposable cup or you could also use a paint tray. It looks very much like and has the consistency of tacky glue. When you apply it to your project it will be opaque and white - do not worry as it will dry clear. Apply liberally with a sponge applicator to prevent streaks.

The 'finished' product. Looks horrid eh!? LOL! Notice all the ink that came off during the finishing process? Let your tray dry completely and then you are ready to 'decorate'!!

Depending on your tray, there will be several windows with varied sizes. Rather than use a ruler, I simply held up my paper to each 'opening' and marked with a pen the length and width and trimed accordingly with my paper trimmer. Continue this process until each of your openings are covered with patterned paper. You can use varied papers and patterns for your window backgrounds.

I wanted to add a funky twist to this project - a secret door!! I opted for the amazing Ornate Metal Door Plate and Knob by Graphic 45 which I knew would look fantastic with this altered project! BUT... I really wanted to keep a monotoned look to my project and the metal pieces had touches of blue to them. Solution: Paint the blue away!! I took my metal plate and proceeded to paint over the blue parts with black acrylic paint.

Next, I took a tissue and wiped off the access paint to reveal the embossed metal - no blue - just black remaining!!

Here is my project with all the windows covered in various pieces of patterned papers from Graphic 45's Curtain Call collection as well as the door plate and knob where I envisioned it to be in my final project.

And here is the finished project - with the secret door closed. I also added some of Graphic 45's metal hinges to the door - how wonderfully they complimented the door and knob! There are bits and pieces, odds and ends that just make the project look unique - which is what I love most about it!
Here is the piece with the door opened. The glass bottles were found in a package of 4 at the local dollar store. I easily transformed them into cool trinkets by adding some Curtain Call tags and fussy cut elements. The largest bottle was actually a mini 'Crown Royal' bottle that I added a metal brad to for the cap and some Curtain Call tags to the sides.

Here are a few close up shots as well.  I totally enjoyed transforming this thrift store find into a totally cool keepsake (probably for my little sister!!)

Thank you soooo much for the visit today!! Be sure to stop by the Graphic 45 Blog for more amazing creations using their Curtain Call collection! I'll be back tomorrow with some Bo Bunny lovin'!