Sharing an easy DIY beverage tray makeover, perfect for serving summer drinks in style!

Today’s post is really exciting – I was invited to join in on a summer diy/décor blog hop, which means there are some other amazingly talented diy-ers who also have some creative summer ideas to share with you. Their links are below!

As some of you know, I have a love for anything and everything that resembles a tray – see this post dedicated solely to decorating with trays . I love incorporating them into our home décor because they’re dual purpose – not only can they serve a mean beverage, but they also look cute just sitting there.

This quick and easy summer-themed DIY is all about turning a bland wood tray into one with summer charm. First, who doesn’t love bright and fun fabric? Second, everyone needs a drink tray. It’s kind of up there with the beverage cart.

Imagine bringing one of these guys outside to your patio, loaded with all the fixings for margaritas. Ah-mazing.

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DIY Beverage Tray Supplies

• wood tray(s)
• chalk paint
• paint brush for chalk paint
• chip brush for mod podge
• fabric
• fabric scissors
• tape (optional)
• polyurethane spray
• mod podge
• rubber gloves (nobody likes painted, gluey fingers)

How to Make a DIY Beverage Tray

To begin, find some trays. I found these at the Goodwill by my work for $3.99 each. I held myself back and only bought two. It was tough, trust me.

Then, give them a quick sanding and a good cleaning. Mine were very dusty from being subjected to our basement for the past two months and needed a good wipe down.

Once they’re all dry, paint everything except for the base, which is where the fabric is going to go. I used my trusty Dutch Boy paint. I also didn’t tape anything off because the fabric would cover any of the paint. With that said, if you’re going to use sheer fabric, I would make sure you don’t get any on the base because you don’t want it to show through.

After the paint dried (you could do this before painting too), I put the fabric upside down in the tray and traced the outline with a pencil. Then I cut out the piece of fabric and re-measured to make sure it was a good fit.

Then I poured a generous amount of mod podge onto a paper plate and started from one side of the tray and painted enough so the edges would stay in place. Then, I worked my way down the tray, adding some glue and then pressing down more fabric.

After the entire base is covered in mod podge and the fabric is glued to the tray, I went back over the top with another coat – just to make sure it sticks!

Finally, after that is dry (I just left mine out overnight), I did a spray down with polyurethane for protection (spilled drinks are inevitable) and viola, done!

If you need me, I’ll be enjoying a drink on the patio 🙂

 

Be sure to check out the other summer craft/diy projects that also participated in this great blog hop!

9 Creative Summer Ideas
Summer Matching Game – Free Printable // Wellies and Lemonade
Simple Summer Farmhouse Centerpiece // Making Joy and Pretty Things
Summer Mantle Inspiration // Sunshine and Munchkins
Summer Coffee Table Styling // Flourishing at Home
DIY Summer Wreath // Checking in with Chelsea
Front Porch Summer Decor // Restyle It Wright
Farmhouse Style Summer Tablescape // Craftivity Designs
Summer Entertaining Tablescape // W. Collective

 

All our best,