A polka-stripey tray and a giveaway.

Hallo! Introducing two of my favorite things, in one small Christmas tray - stripes and polka dots. If you met me, you would find somewhere on my person one of these two patterns. What's better than stripes or polka dots you ask? Both of them together. The reason that I made this tray actually stems from receiving this decorative image transfer kit from the wonderful people at Tilano.

My first project with this kit? The tray you see above. I transferred an image of polka dots. You too can have a chance to transfer images! Why? Tilano is giving a kit to a Mod Podge Rocks reader. Aren't they nice? This is GRRReat time of year for something like this - personalized gifts are big. Big I say! Each kit comes with enough goods to make several projects. Projects like ornaments, coasters, magnets. . . any little gifties your heart desires. I tested the kit with this tray and it works wonderfully, which means that I am now ready to mass produce magnets with my pugs' faces on them. Anyway, here are the giveaway rules:

1. Comment on THIS blog entry this week. Mention what you'll do with this kit.

2. Do it sometime before December 5th at midnight.

That's it! Now here's the dealy on the Christmas tray, which now sits on my coffee table with little Christmas yummy candies in it.

Supplies & Tools:

FolkArt Acrylic Paint - Calico Red, Grass Green, Titanium White
Mod Podge - Glitter Silver
Tilano Decorative Image Transfer Kit
Wood tray, no larger than 8.5" x 11"
An image to transfer - I based mine on the Martha Stewart Moneybags template
Small square of green felt
2 red buttons
Stencil tape - 1/4"
Flat Paint Brush
Beacon Fabri-Tac
Scissors
Pencil or pen

Paint your tray. That includes the bottom - no arguments. White on wood takes a few more coats.


These instructions are in your kit, but I'll give you the short and sweet version. Print the image you would like to transfer onto the computer paper provided. Prepare the tray and the image for transfer by coating with a thin layer of the included medium. Allow to dry (time specified in the kit) and cut out image.
Tip: if there are words on the image, print BACKWARDS. The image flips when placed down on a surface.


Coat the tray with transfer medium. Make sure you cover throughly. There's a sponge brush included in the kit but I couldn't find it for this part. Whoops.

Place the image face down. Spread thoroughly (spreader included). Wipe the spreader off after each swipe - you don't want to get medium on the back of the image. Let dry for time specified (I believe it's 3 hours).

Once the image is dry, wet the back with cool water. You'll see the color start to come through. Cover the entire image and then peel the paper away. Image transferred! Pretty cool and easy, huh?

Now time to dress up your tray! Notice I hit Starbucks before beginning this part. Needed energy.
Use the stencil tape to section off the stripe pattern. Secure down and paint your stripes. I did the top green stripe first, allowed to dry and then did the bottom red stripe. Peel the paint away and touch up if you need to. I'm going to give you my biggest stripe secret - I ALWAYS have to do some touching up. So don't feel bad if you have to.
Allow the stripes to dry and then coat the entire tray with Mod Podge. The silver glitter shows up nicely on the white. Allow to dry and give a second coat.

Trace four holly leaves with your pen or pencil and cut out. I just freehanded them.
Use your Beacon Fabri-Tac glue to adhere the felt pieces.

Add the button in the center and press down. Do the same thing on the other side and allow to dry for a few hours before using.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to Tilano for the giveaway.