Hey there! The DIY Star Spangled Rustic Tray is a fantastic project for adding a touch of patriotic charm to your home decor. By painting stars and stripes on a plain wooden tray, you can create a beautiful and unique piece that's perfect for serving drinks or displaying your favorite items. It's a fun and creative way to add a little bit of rustic flair to your living space while also showing off your American pride. So grab your paints and get crafting - your guests will definitely be impressed!
Supplies for Star Spangled Rustic Tray:
wood board (7 1/2″ x 30″)
bamboo garden stakes
Americana Decor Color Stain in White, Navy, and Real Red (alternatively you can use paint and sealer)
2 drawer pulls (mine are from Hobby Lobby)
adhesive vinyl
On a 12×12 sheet of adhesive vinyl, I cut out stars using my Silhouette machine.
I was able to fit sixteen ~2″ x ~2″ stars on the vinyl
Firmly press the stars into place on the board.
Save the leftover vinyl.
You will need to use it soon.
Apply the blue stain to the board.
I used a foam brush to apply 2 coats.
As with any other stain, rub with the grain.
This was my first time using the Color Stains and, I have to say, I was pretty impressed with them!
They look like paint in the jars because of their thickness, and can be brushed on like a paint.
But they most definitely adhere like a stain.
It is this thickness that makes them great for stenciling on wood!
Regular stain is so thin that it just runs under a stencil.
But you can see how crisp the lines stay on the stars are when you remove the adhesive vinyl!
Cut the remaining negative stencils of the stars into squares and line them up over unpainted stars on the board.
Press firmly then apply 2 coats of the white stain.
You’ll find you have another perfect stencil job when you remove the adhesive vinyl.
I arranged the handles where I wanted them to be on the ends of the board and traced the screw holes with a pencil.
I drilled some pilot holes for the screws and screwed them in.
The screws were a shiny silver and obviously not a good match for the look of my rustic handles so I decided to paint them.
I didn’t have a matching paint color on hand so I made one up by mixing Dazzling Metallics in Bright Brass and Black Pearl.
To finish off the tray I simply gave it a light sanding to add to the rustic look of the star spangled rustic tray.
I could not be happier with how it turned out!
Using a foam brush, I applied two coats of the red stain to the bamboo garden stakes, leaving the bottom inch unstained.
These will make great food labels when entertaining.
Simply take a blue Sharpie and write on the stakes.
Wouldn’t they look great on a cheese platter served up on the rustic tray?
