Tray Transformation

So two weeks ago I'm at my very favorite place to treasure hunt these days -Wednesday half off day at the Salvation Army- I spotted this little nothing on the bottom shelf of the housewares dept. A long bamboo tray about 16" by about 8". No missing parts, no construction issues. Clean. Any time I find a little gem like this I am always happier if it has a function, which a tray certainly does. So at $1.99 I couldn't resist. (by the way, why can't stores stop trying to manipulate me by putting these kinds of prices on things? We all know it's 2 bucks! It offends me.)

Anyway, I digress... Back home "we" (the tray and I) spent time together in my studio getting to know one another and I began pulling together Asian inspired things that I thought I could use to pimp the thing and so after several layers of sponge painting, some decoupage of various papers and images, rubber stamping, as well as a sprinkling of ephemera, it is now transformed into something new, functional, and lovely!

Although I wouldn't put food directly on it, it does have a final coat of polyurethane to protect it from spillage and such.

Actually I think it would look super hung low on a wall just above a table top or set into a small black easle at the back of a side table in a guest bedroom, entryway, or hall. Its tall stature would make an excellent backdrop for an Asian inspired vignette.