Ikea Tray Mod Podge Makeover

I've had this IKEA tray for a while now.  It's pretty basic and not very pretty. So, yesterday I decided to finally spruce it up with the help of some Mod Podge.  This is my first Mod Podge project and I'm so excited it went well. Here's some pics to catalog what I did!

Original Tray - $7.99 at Ikea

Can of spray paint in Jade

Mod Podge Matte, Mod Podge squeegee and disposable foam brush

2 Pieces of Scrapbook Paper from Michaels (your choice of design)

So, all I did was do a quick sanding of the entire tray and dry wiped it off to get rid of any dust.  Then I used some painters tape and some paper to protect the bottom of the tray so it stayed white while I spray painted the wooden part of the tray the Jade color.  It took me several coats.  I may try to do a base coat first next time. 

Once it was dry I removed the paper and tape from the bottom of the tray.  Then I worked to arrange the scrapbook paper on the tray in the most flattering way possible, cutting it to fit as necessary. Once I had it the way I wanted I started to adhere it. I began with the smaller paper pieces and used the Mod Podge Matte to adhere them to the bottom of the tray, making sure to line up the edges with the tray.  It only takes a thin layer of Mod Podge applied with the sponge brush to adhere. As I did this, I was careful to remove any bubbles using the squeegee. I continued this process with each piece of cut paper until I was finished. Then I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the entire top of the paper, using the squeegee and some paper towels to wipe it off the painted wood part as needed. Then I let that coat dry for about 20 minutes, reapplied, let dry and reapplied again.  I think I ended up doing 3 coats. 

Here's the finished product! 

  

So much cuter than the bland IKEA tray I had originally! 

This was so easy! I'll definitely be doing it again! In fact, I already have a project in the works using fabric on a bookshelf for toy storage that I hope to be posting not too long from now. 

Happy crafting!