Silver Leaf Tray

Last week, I showed you a tray that I bought at Salvation Army (for $4.99)-

I wasn't crazy about the color and design - but I thought I could dress it up a bit.  And I thought I could try something I had never done before - silver leaf.  I went out to Michael's and bought my supplies-

Silver leaf, adhesive size, brushes, and sealer.  I did use coupons to help keep the cost down.  And I ended up needing more than one package of silver leaf for this project (I did have extra - and I can't wait to show you what else I covered...).  I spent about $20.  So here's the process - I started with the back first-

I brushed on the adhesive size-

It goes on white but clears dry.  I had to let that set up for about 30 minutes (I did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and checked out some of my favorite blogs while I waited...).  Then I got started.  I picked up a sheet of silver leaf and set it down in the middle of the tray-

I used a clean brush to smooth it down-

I repeated this process until the back was completely covered.  I did overlap the pieces slightly so it would completely cover the tray-

Then I rubbed the brush over the whole tray to get all of the loose pieces of silver leaf off-

I flipped it over, and repeated the same process on the front-

The last step was to seal it.  I used a spray sealer - I just gave it a couple of coats.  Then I cleaned up the mess-

There were tiny pieces of silver leaf everywhere...but now I have a beautiful piece for my dining room table-

Here's a before and after-

It's really interesting to see all of the 'squares' of silver leaf on the tray.  It's a fun piece - and it was fun to make!  It'll look great when I host Thanksgiving dinner!

I've linked this project here -

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