Try a Tray... or Three

I went shopping with my neighbor Jami one fine morning. 

She likes the same things I do so we hit a few thrift shops and found some awesome things.

We found some baskets, some picture frames, some vintage pyrex, a cool table cloth

and some other fun things.

She convinced me to buy this vintage cooky book and it it so much fun. 

Can I tell you how my kids eyes lit up when they saw a whole book of cookies.

And the recipes are great. I'll have to post my favorite sometime.

It was voted the best cookie of 1915 or something like that.

I also bought some greenish/blueish candle stick holders that I had no idea what to do with.

But then I had an idea. Sort of... This is not an original idea, I have seen these all over pinterest.

But here is my take on it.

And heres how I did it.

#1 - I bought 2 pie tins and 2 pizza pans at wal-mart. They have them this time of year for 97¢ each

       I found some round scrapbook paper at Roberts. Score! I won't have to try and cut out a circle.

       I had the Envirotex epoxy, Mod-poge, and E6000 glue here at home.

       But you can buy those at Hobby Lobby.

#2 - Coat the bottom of the plate with Mod-poge and lay down the paper.

       I used a play-dough rolling pin to smooth it down.  

       Then once that dries for a little while coat the top of the paper with mod-poge also.

       I did 2 coats here and I especially made sure I sealed the edges well because if any epoxy gets under 

       the paper it will discolor your project. Let that dry overnight.

#3 - Mix up the Envirotex epoxy according to package directions and pour it over your trays.

       Cover it and put it on a flat surface. Let that dry for 3 days. I put it in a dark corner of my basement. 

       The epoxy isn't hard to use but you can really screw things up if you don't follow the directions.

       I talk more about using the epoxy here.

       I like the epoxy because it gives it a smooth, glass-like, food safe finish.

#4 - After everything is dry find the center of your trays and begin to glue. Glue one layer at a time

       and then glue those layers together one at a time.... You wait for a lot of glue to dry with this project. 

       I glued the extra pie tin to the bottom of a pizza tray to give it some height. Then I glued a candle 

       stick to the other tray. Wait for that to dry overnight and then glue the other things together.

       This glue has to dry for another 2-3 days.

It holds together pretty well. It's strength was tested by an 8 year old even.

I told mr. B that I would pay him $2 for cleaning the fridge.

So he took everything out of it and he stacked almost all of our salad dressings on this tray

before I could rescue it. It didn't topple over or anything, but I think it bent the middle tier a little bit. 

Here are some close ups.

I can't wait to fill this with goodies for Thanksgiving!

Thanks - RM