upgrade a serving tray with a dollar store placemat!

spring is arriving, summer is on the horizon...
and hopefully this year, those seasons will bring opportunities to entertain again.
you can never have enough serving trays, that's for sure!

this idea makes use of a simple, cheap material to give any tray a refreshed look.

continue reading to see how easy this is!

what i used:

a vinyl placemat from Dollar Tree ($1) - and they have MANY different designs!
a white plastic wicker-look tray from the 99 Cents Only store ($1.99)

plus a large piece of paper, a pencil, scissors, and a ruler.

what i did:

upper left: i laid a piece of paper on top of the upside-down tray,

and creased it where the edges of the bottom of the tray were.

upper right: i laid the paper so that two edges lined up with the tray edge
to help me get an accurate rectangle shape.

lower left: i cut the paper along the creases to create the pattern
that i would use to cut the vinyl placemat.

* somehow i forgot to take a photo of how i laid the paper pattern onto the placemat,
and traced the edges with a ruler and pencil.
NO idea how that happened. *

lower right: i cut the placemat along those traced lines.
(pssssst..... don't miss THIS POST that shows you what i made with the scraps!)

and then.....

i laid the placemat inside the tray.

that's it! (told you it was easy!)

if you want to use the tray as a decor piece, standing up on a counter or shelf as seen here,
just use a bit of regular tape (cellophane, packing, or even electrical tape)

to hold the vinyl placemat on the tray when it stands up.

not only does this add easily-changeable style to a tray (new or old),
but it also makes cleaning up a lot easier -
just pull the placemat out and give it a quick wash.

this idea came to me one day recently as i was helping a dear friend
make her home more 'her'.
she had some existing trays that were plain white,
and i thought they could be a bit cheerier...

the placemats i found at her local Dollar Tree were in her color palette
AND had this very appropriate message, too:

it was a perfect way to use what she had and give it an inexpensive refresh.

in the coming month, i'll be sharing projects and ideas
that she and i completed to give her home her personality & style - on a TIGHT budget.
there's one or two that are gonna' knock your sox off!

links to previous related posts:

build a snowman using silver trays!

make a tiered tray using dishes 


shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #573

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna!


this is not a paid post. links to resources included for your convenience.

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