Antique-Finished Tray

This Antique-Finished Tray post & its shop have been compensated by 

Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. 
#LoveAmericanHome #cbias #CollectiveBias

This antique-finished tray was fun to put together...it's made from a wooden canvas and cabinet drawer pulls. With a fun little paint technique, it looks right at home in my kitchen now. It's perfect to organize kitchen goodies and for entertaining...especially in the busy fall entertaining season.

Do you decorate with trays? I just love how they can, literally, tie a lot of random goodies together...for a pretty vignette. I also love to stack dishes and silverware on trays like this when we entertain. They're great for organizing, too. I have a lot of things on my bar area and they were in need of a good tidying up. This worked out perfectly.

This finish is a layered chalk-style paint, hemp oil, and milk paint for an antique look.

This product started out with a large wooden canvas. 

These can be found at craft stores or even with a simple online search. 

I used two drawer pulls as my handles for the tray.  

I used two different kinds of paint to complete this. The first layer is a dark red chalk paint. This will be the color that peeks through my top layer of aqua-ish blue. I love this type of canvas because they're totally sanded and ready to go. 

I only did one layer of the chalk paint. Coverage isn't really important with the chalk paint...it's purely a "show through" layer and will just be a part of the weathering process. After the chalk paint dried, I added a layer of hemp oil to the entire piece. While it's normally used to finish a piece, hemp oil can also be used between layers to cause a reactive finish to the final coat. 

I mixed up a custom color of milk paint with some colors I already had on hand. After the hemp oil was soaked in, I painted the milk paint on, kind of thick. When you're looking for paint to react (in this case, to the hemp oil), only one coat will work. A second coat could kind of botch up a reaction. 

The hemp oil caused the milk paint to loosen and pull up easily for a fun weathered look. I sanded to pull even more off of the piece. I didn't add anything else to this antique-finished tray, paint wise. I didn't want to seal it, but allow it to age even more with the wear and tear I put on it. 

 I measured out and marked where my drawer pulls would go.

I predrilled the holes for the drawer pulls where I marked them.

The hardware went in easily with the predrilled holes.

I left the bottom the red color (I added a second coat), just for an unexpected touch! 

I'm liking the vintage finish with the dark drawer pulls. 
It's ready for its stuff!

The tray is great to serve off of...or just to style with pretties.

These kind of pieces are great for seasonal decor...

they're easy to switch out with each holiday.

I love adding layers of items to trays like these...in the kitchen, it's perfect for favorite cookbooks. And I love adding a fall-fragranced candle to spaces like these! American Home™ by Yankee Candle® has some of the best fragrances this season...my faves are Creamy Pumpkin Cupcake and Homemade Pumpkin Pie. They're completely making my house all kinds of fallish, y'all. I just love a good candle, y'all. And the American Home™ by Yankee Candle® brand does not disappoint.

I lit this Homemade Pumpkin Pie one the other afternoon and my son thought I had been baking (may need to use that trick a little more often). I've loved Yankee Candle® brand since college and this line of American Home™ by Yankee Candle® is just as fabulous as ever!

When I entertain, I love to layer scents throughout the house. From the food cooking in the kitchen, to nice hand soaps in bathrooms, to a lovely fall candle...I think scent plays a big part of setting the mood for an evening or holiday meal. My mother always entertained that way, and I love doing the same. Using a Homemade Pumpkin Pie fragrance will help the house smell like a pie is still in the oven...even when I just picked up a pre-made one at the store to save time (wink)!

The American Home™ by Yankee Candle® brand fragrances are perfect alongside holiday desserts. These candles are high quality, rich fragrances that last a long time. They also have a clean burn from the first time they're lit to the last. Be sure to follow the user instructions to a tee when using American Home™ by Yankee Candle® brand products.

Always burn your candle on a heat resistant surface, keep it out of drafts and NEVER leave it unattended while lit. Make sure the candle wicks are cut 1/8 of an inch to ensure your flame isn’t too large. Each time you burn your candle, allow the entire top layer to become a fragrant pool of liquid wax and you’ll get the biggest, boldest fragrance possible (that's where the good stuff is at!).

When only ½" of the wax remains, it’s time to let your candle go. I often place an almost-empty candle jar in the freezer. It makes the remaining wax just pop right out. Then I can reuse the jar for something else.

I love that I can grab these candles at my local Walmart, while I'm there for groceries.

They have a great selection...check it out here.

What would you use a tray like this for?

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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