Cruddy Old Box Turned Charming Vintage Tray

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great week-end. I had fun attending a few sales with my sweet daughter on Friday (after we slept in until 11 am). Surprisingly, we did quite well. I’ll tell you all about it on Tuesday. Then, my sweet husband and I drove down to Schoharie for their annual “Drive About,” a ten-house historic tour. It was fantastic. You’ll hear more about that later in the week, too.

But today, I’ve got a vintage wooden tray to tell you about. It received a makeover I think you’ll enjoy, and it’s perfect for fall decorating.

I’m so pleased to link this project up with the Home for Fall blog hop, along with a highly creative group of fellow Hometalk bloggers. At the end of my post you’ll find links to loads of other seasonal projects that you’re going to love.

So, a couple of week’s ago, while at a garage sale, I spied a set of croquet balls, something which sells quite well for me. I told the home owner I wanted to buy them, and he kindly put them in a bag for me as I continued to shop. As I made my way back around to where I had found the balls, I noticed the box they had been sitting in and decided it had some potential.When I asked the price, he replied, “Oh, take it–it’s the croquet ball container.” You don’t have to offer me free twice. Into the back of my van it went.

Because of its low, long shape, it seemed like [with a little upgrading] it would make a great centerpiece. After giving it a good cleaning, I decided rather than painting it, I would simply stencil one side. I used my Walmart “Farmers Market” stencil, some black acrylic craft paint, and a make-up sponge for application. I’ve written about the make-up sponge trick before–it’s pretty amazing. Just dip the wide, flat end into the paint, pounce it off until it’s nearly dry, then apply in an up-and-down, pouncing motion onto the stencil.

Since the wood surface appeared dry, and I wanted to protect the stenciling, I applied a coat of Howard’s Feed-N-Wax the next day.

Then I filled it with all sorts of pumkins–“jack-be-littles” and “boos.”

It adds a rustic quality to a fall table, perfect for holding pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, and other fall decoratives.

It has small handles on the side that make it easy to lift and move around.

It pays to look at cruddy, dirty old things twice, because others will often overlook these pieces, but we creative types can find potential in almost anything.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

This post was featured (along with 38 other Home for Fall posts):

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{Check out the Home for Fall blog hop below or view them all at Hometalk.}