Hand carved wooden trays. Irreplaceable helpers: How to make a tray with your own hands? Old picture frame
An aesthetic tray is not just a stylish attribute of decor, but also a practical everyday item. And if this accessory is made with your own hands, then it also turns into a priceless family relic.
You can transport food and drinks on it, install hygiene products in the bathroom on it, and also use it as an element of the decor composition.
And in order not to spend money, we bring to your attention several non-trivial ways to make an interesting tray with your own hands.
For important events
In order to make a stylish tray for festive occasions and important events, you will need a cutting board without a handle and a pair of furniture drawer handles.
Of the tools you will need: a drill, a drill, screws for fastening handles, a regular pencil and a tape measure.
To begin with, we take the handles from the drawers and mark with a pencil the places where they are attached to the board. We drill holes for the screws at the measured places.
After that, we strengthen the handles well in the prepared holes. You can attach rubber feet to the tray, which will turn it into an even more elegant and practical tool.
From an old painting
Another fun idea is to make a tray out of a ruined picture frame that looks amazing. For this we need some things: fabric; stain, varnish; brush, glass, stained glass handles, hot glue, picture frame.
Firstly, lubricate the frame with stain, a paint that is pleasant to your eye. Then, with self-tapping screws, we fasten the selected handles on the sides of the planned tray, and the protruding screw heads also need to be painted to match the homemade.
next step there will be a fitting of the frame with a selected piece of fabric and fixing it with glue.
Final stage This is to protect the fabric from wear and tear.
Therefore, to save charm, we cover the bottom with glass, which, in a similar way, we fix in the corners with the same method.
Remembering school
If you want to really surprise your friends with your needlework, then a tray with an imitation of a blackboard is exactly what you need. Moreover, this can be done with the help of a spray paint that has the desired effect, and a roll of a masking strip.
Ordinary wooden tray is cleaned and completely, with the exception of the bottom, wrapped in tape. Then the necessary area is painted - half an hour to dry everything is ready.
From simple boards
For connoisseurs of eco-minimalism, you will like the product made of planks. Just pick up a couple of boards in size and connect them with glue or just nails.
If possible, they must first be painted, but in their natural form the tray looks very interesting. The main thing is to attach handles for practicality.
We reincarnate the old attribute
You can simply refresh a long-familiar thing. So, not a small tray will be an excellent basis for decorating with wine bottle corks.
Therefore, when an opportunity arises to get an extra, do not rush to neglect it. Simply attach the corks to the hot glue and then confidently serve drinks on the original tray.
Mosaic
Did your beloved vase break or did the tiles crumble during repairs? Not scary! Even this waste can be used. Using glue and tile grout, you can create wonderful mosaic dishes.
In this article, we will tell you how to make an unusual wooden pallet tray, which is also convenient to use for decorating a festive table.
Materials and tools for making a wooden tray:
16 thin sticks for mixing paint
light stain or matte varnish (optional)
hot glue gun 
How to make an original wooden tray
Pre-coat the planochki with stain or matte varnish. You need to choose a color so that the tree looks as natural as possible. 
Glue the two planks together. If there are inscriptions on the planks, it is advisable to glue them with these sides inward. Such blanks from two strips need to be made 3 pieces.
Connect three double planks with three crossbars. Use a hot glue gun to fix.
Spread the remaining seven strips evenly over the surface of the tray. Glue them on with hot glue.
Tip: if there are inscriptions on the planks, place them so that they are not visible. 
That's all. A simple and stylish wooden tray is ready. It can be made even more authentic by using a burner to apply all sorts of carrier stamps and serial numbers, just like on real pallets. 
Among the offers of modern furniture stores there are interesting coffee tables with a soft top, if you can call it that. They look interesting in the interior, but they are never practical. Juice or coffee stains are not as easy to wipe off as from a regular wooden or glass countertop. For all owners of such a miracle and just those who love breakfast in bed, we propose to make just such a tray. It is stylish in appearance and not expensive at cost.
materials
Before you make a tray with your own hands, make sure you have:
- boards from a pallet or box;
- hardwood boards;
- white paints;
- varnish based on polyurethane;
- masking tape;
- saws;
- sandpaper;
- brushes;
- chisels;
- clamps;
- wood glue;
- roulettes;
- self-tapping screws;
- drills;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- pencil.
Step 1. Decide on the dimensions of the tray and, based on this, cut the boards you have from the box or pallet to the length. In this case, I wanted the boards to look like a single whole after gluing, without joints, seams and other irregularities. To do this, the boards had to be adjusted to each other and in thickness.
Step 2. With the help of clamps and wood glue, all the boards should be glued together, carefully pressing them together so that none of them stand out from the row. After the workpiece has dried, all excess glue should be removed, and the surfaces should be carefully sanded.
Step 3. From the boards of light woods, you will need to make the sides of the tray. In this case, poplar was taken.
When cutting wood, consider the perimeter of the base and your desired tray height.
In the side walls, be sure to mark the cutouts for the handles. Consider the height at which the base will be attached so that the slots do not go to the bottom.
Step 4. After cutting the holes, sand them thoroughly. They must be perfectly smooth.
Step 5. Using wood glue and clamps, glue the sides to the base.
Step 6. Self-tapping screws can be used as additional fasteners.
Step 7. After the glue dries, remove any excess. Cover the holes formed by the fasteners with wood putty. After letting it dry, level the surface with sandpaper or a grinder.
Step 8. Seal the bottom of the tray with masking tape. Apply two coats of paint to the sides. After it dries, remove the tape and leave everything until the surface is completely dry.
What to give for a holiday to a woman who has everything? Of course, the atmosphere of the holiday. And you need to start from the very beginning. We give only what we have made especially for her. What woman does not want to start her holiday with a fragrant cup of coffee in bed? And only the closest people know the lady's preferences - vintage luxury or expensive simplicity. A tray is a simple detail that can emphasize your attitude towards your beloved woman.
What is a tray?
Of course, in the store you can easily buy any tray - expensive and not very expensive, for everyday use or special occasions. But making a tray with your own hands will be much more interesting. First, let's figure out what it is.
This is a kind of surface on which you can put several items and move them to another place. Trays must have sides. There are also products without them, but this does not add practicality to them. It is undesirable to serve a tray without sides in bed, since the unstable surface of the bed can contribute to spilling liquid on the linen, and this, you see, will upset any hostess. So, a tray is not just a board with handles, but always with sides.
Photo frame tray
How to make a tray with your own hands? There are several ways. The simplest ones suggest taking almost ready-made trays. For example, you can buy a cutting board without a handle. The board can be wooden, plastic, plywood. The main thing is that it does not bend under a small weight and that it can be worked with.
Choose a photo frame according to the size of the board. You should not save on glass, because you can hide any decor under it, for example, a photograph that will remind you of a pleasant day for a long time.
The frame should be screwed to the board with screws or nailed. If the material does not lend itself to this method of fastening, it can be glued. To make it easier to take a tray, we attach furniture retractable handles on both sides. Previously, everything can be painted in the desired color or decorated in any way.
Old cabinet doors
Many craftsmen suggest not throwing away cabinet doors, but using them to create a tray with your own hands. To do this, take the door, which has sides. We disconnect from it all hinged fittings. We clean the existing irregularities, eliminate the flaws. If required, we overwrite the places where the hinges were screwed with putty.
Do not leave flaws in the hope that when decorating they will be covered. It is better to eliminate them and then do not sculpt the decor where the hole or chip is. decorative elements it is better to place where the sense of beauty suggests. We decorate to taste. Next, screw on the handles. The tray is ready.
Old picture frame
If the house has an old frame in which there was a mirror or photos were stored, you can also use it as a beautiful side for a tray. Cut the bottom out of plywood according to the size of the frame, decorate the resulting plane with a piece of fabric. The bottom can also be painted or decoupage using patterned paper napkins.
If there is glass along with the frame, you can use it as an additional decoration. It is possible that the picture kept in the frame could be used to decorate the tray. You can screw the handles to the frame from the side so as not to disturb the pattern.
The frame itself can be updated with golden paint. good decision will use varnish or resort to a burner to enhance the beauty of the drawing.
Boards in action
If you want to make a tray with your own hands and get something original, you need to take a board and a rail. It's good to polish both. Cut the board with a saw or electric jigsaw into identical pieces. At the edges, connect them with a rail, nailing it to the end parts of the boards. It can be washed or varnished, painted in any color or decorated to the taste of the future owner of the tray.
To make a wooden tray with your own hands, you do not need special skills. Next, we fasten the finished furniture handles or make them from thick ropes, having previously drilled holes in the right places. If you make the rope handles longer, then the tray can be used as a hanging shelf, and you can adjust the length of the handles from below, using special clamps for this.
Beauty from plywood
You can make your own plywood tray. It has long been known that plywood is a very malleable material. If you have skill, imagination and a minimal set of woodworking tools, you can make an amazingly beautiful tray with a unique design.
Of course, it will not be easy to call it practical, but as a decoration for the kitchen, any hostess will definitely like it. The main thing is patience and desire. You can think over the design yourself, or you can just peep on the Internet and make something that has already been invented by a real master.
Trays with legs
Some models of trays suggest the presence of legs. It is not difficult to make a tray with legs with your own hands. Currently, you can purchase ready-made legs, which will only have to be attached to a homemade tray.
If you want to think through everything yourself, then in stores building materials you can find a large number of tubes that are suitable for a do-it-yourself table. In addition to the tubes themselves, there are all kinds of connectors that can act as decor. If you have the skill, attaching them to the tray will be easy. If there is no skill, you can just watch a video in which the masters share their best practices.
We decorate trays
Making a tray is half the battle. It needs to be decorated. Several ways to decorate for trays:
The easiest is to varnish. If the tray is made of wood, its texture itself will become the most pleasant decoration. You can purchase a tinted varnish that will give liveliness to the pattern.
If the tree in the decor is not of interest, you can do decoupage on the tray. Always original, fashionable and attractive. Plus, it's pretty easy to do. Choose the pictures you like, stick them to your liking, varnish them - the unique tray is ready.
You can paint the tray with stencils.
Mosaic will also be a worthy solution. Only for the realization of this idea skills are needed. If a lot of small coins have accumulated in the house, they can also be used to decorate the tray.
The main thing to remember is for whom the tray is being prepared and what are the tastes of the one to whom it will be presented.
