A thrift shop re-design

Recently, I spent an afternoon (alone!!) shopping. I found myself at a thrift store and snagged a ton of great deals! This tray was one of them.

It was in decent shape, besides one of the handles being cracked, and was a very sturdy piece...just not my style. 

I know from experience that Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) covers ANYTHING, so I thought that I would try an experiment. You see, that black and gold pattern was actually a paper covering. Seeing that I have no patience...NONE, ZERO...when it comes to crafting, I want something done fast! So ASCP it was! I used Old White, it is my go-to color for everything. I just painted over it all. 2 coats and it looked like this:

It looked too plain, so I came up with an AZTEC-Y design on paper

After cutting it out, I couldn't decide what I wanted to dominate, the black or the white, so I laid out both ways

And ultimately decided I liked seeing the white more. I traced the pattern on

I did this project while drinking a pot of coffee, so my unsteady hands and black paint were not a good combo, but think it turned out alright anyways. Perfection is never my intention! :) 

I just used black craft paint, then I did put clear wax over the whole thing to help seal and smooth the chalk paint.

Next, I used some black leather strapping that I had on hand, this can be purchased at any craft store. And just hot-glued those things on...super simple!

I love how this tray turned out! Aztec designs are so popular right now, and I like how they look in our home. 

And just because the inside of my home doesn't have good photo-lighting, I tried to prop it outside, you can see that my paint job isn't perfect...who cares, right? It just adds character! :)

Did you see that little arrow in the photo above? I had aztec/Indian on my brain and happened to find the perfect feathers in our yard yesterday! 

This is where it ended up....for now

I'm sharing this on: Jennifer Rizzo and Liz Marie Blog 's Linky parties