11.02.2011

Tray Makeover: Inspired by the Peacocks at West Elm

I am Pinterestless, having not yet taken that particular social media plunge. However, as I continue to sift through bookmark labels that I don’t understand (like “Jarrod Carved Wood Mirror Pendant Light Art” and “Suburban Home Ramsden Aqua”—are these reminding anyone else of the random keywords I mentioned here?) I am beginning to see the value of sorting these finds by category and picture, for us visual learners.

But Pinterestless or not, I can still participate in the Pinterest Challenge, right, since the general idea is to actually make something that you say you can make and have even gone so far as to bookmark it in your “I can make that” bookmarks folder? Hence this tray …

DSC_0523

…inspired by the design on this West Elm soap dish that, forever ago, I mindlessly added to my disorganized list of someday projects bookmarked.

peacocks

You see, the problem with having a fabric ottoman for a coffee table is that when you sit down with a beverage, you have no safe place to put it. And with three zany cats around (okay, two zany cats, and one cat that just likes to drink out of your glass of water and/or milk), nothing fragile/liquid is safe for any length of time.

To solve this problem, I first spray painted this beat up tray that I bought at Marshall’s a while ago. It was only $1.50, and I knew that it could potentially see better days.

DSC_0531

Then, I drew the peacock image on a scrap piece of paper with pencil before tracing it with black marker for optimum scanning purposes.

DSC_0532

After scanning my drawing, I imported it into Sure Cuts a Lot (for any and all Cricut owners—this program is a must-have), traced it, and set the Cricut to work cutting out the image on outdoor (and therefore waterproof) adhesive vinyl (using low pressure and blade depth of 6 so that it didn’t cut all the way through the vinyl lining).

peacock2

The last step was to peel off the image and stick it on the tray. I decided to leave some of the pieces solid just to change it up a little bit.

DSC_0526

At this point, I was pleased with my feathery bird, but not with the edges of the tray. Like I said, the tray was beat up, so it didn’t spray paint perfectly.

DSC_0504

There are a few ways I could have fixed it, but I decided just to cut strips of the adhesive vinyl and trim the edges with that.

DSC_0527

All done!

DSC_0529

DSC_0522

And oh, if you’re wondering about my choice of pink, A) it’s my favorite color, today and B) I’m on a quest to make that the accent color in the living room. So far, Rick isn’t resisting too much, but that might be because I let him buy expensive cookies at Wegmans.

Linking up to the Pinterest Challenge here, here, here, and here.

23 comments :

  1. Wow! When I saw the first picture, I thought that was the west elm one... Great job! Thanks for linking up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That looks fantastic, totally professional! Great job. Pinned :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, I love that!!! I've never heard of Cricut, am I missing out on something? Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. erin this is adorable--can i place an order? ;) and..im am not a fan of pink but this shade is delightful! i absolutely love it! great job :) happy weekend to you!

    katie@little things bring smiles

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awesome job! I thought it was store-bought too...but Cricut, what is the meaning of this strange word?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oooh fancy! I thought your after pic was the inspiration shot!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pinned! You're decorating my house someday, right? :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm with Kelly! I thought your after pic was the inspiration shot! Beautiful - LOVE the pink, too. LOVE IT.

    ps you forgot to put what you are thankful for. :-)
    pps I can't wait unitl you join pinterest so i can follow you

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is fantastico!!!

    Want me to send you a Pinterest invite? You know you want to.......

    ReplyDelete
  10. You know Erin S...M...S...MSMSM (I don't believe I have ever seen either of your last names on your blog...so that is my attempt at keeping your anonymity...and I apologize to the English teacher part of you if I spelled/used anonymity wrong...it looks correct and incorrect at the same time....) this post furthers my strong opinion that you need to take a trip to OKC and help me turn trash into treasure. So far I just collect trash...which never turns into treasure...which Adam sees as the true form of trash and returns it to the trash. Sad face.

    Of course I would love you to visit without making you work while you're here. I miss your face.


    And...in reference to your Halloween post (because for whatever reason my home computer will let me comment but my work computer will not...and whatever post I try to comment on at work my home computer also disowns...) I also know ' derelict ' from your Madre. And I had aa bunch of derelicts come up to my door this year (but sadly..more were under age 12 then I liked to count). I gave them candy anyway...in my area you never know who is a derelict and who just couldn't afford a costume. I could afford the candy...I put my derelict bowl on hold this year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11/03/2011

    Love the tray! Great work!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous11/03/2011

    That looks fantastic! So... apparently this Cricut thing is pretty awesome? And also your drawing skills?

    We have a tray on our ottomans for the same reason, but Fievel still drinks our water and puppy still seems to knock the whole kit-and-caboodle over, so we're working on a plan B.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is SO freaking cute! I just love this idea :)

    xo Catharine @ Your Modern Couple

    ReplyDelete
  14. WOW! WOW! WOW! It looks amazing! I too, am on a pink kick. I just sprayed a lamp!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous11/03/2011

    How cute! I have a Cricut, but I don't have this computer program. I definitely need to check it out. Thanks for sharing =) I love the color and your drawing is too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great job! Love the peacock on the tray! Oh, how I need a Cricut!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is beautiful! Great job. I love it!

    Elizabeth - hemshaws.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. You have a Cricut??? I'm so jealous. What an amazing job you did. I am totally inspired to copy you but I don't have a fancy cricut. Loving the pink as well and I will support you if Rick gives you a hard time:)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ooops, forgot to say that I'm giving you and your lovely blog an award on Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm pinterest-less, too!

    I LOVE this tray. The design is gorgeous and your solution for pretty-ing up the edges is genius.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm new here, thanks to Karen! You two are adorable and are creating an amazing home together! Keep up the great work and enthusiasm!
    Best wishes,
    Barbara, The Treasured Home

    ReplyDelete
  22. This looks amazing!!!!!

    I can't believe you drew that bird -- gorgeous.

    Great job. And by the way, you should join pinterest. It is the best :)

    Jenny
    www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. errr I need a cricut! Looks awesome. And I love the colour!!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from my readers, so don't be shy. :) Thanks for being here!

Want to read more?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...