DIY Coffee Stenciled Wooden Tray

Add personality to a wooden tray with a coffee-themed stencil. Nothing is better then coffee on the porch in the morning. Use this wooden tray to serve your early morning (or afternoon) brew in style!

Earlier this week I showed you how to make some fun felt travel accessories, but it’s been a while since we’ve crafted something for the home. So today we’re getting our craft on with a DIY Coffee Stenciled Wooden Tray.

I’m not sure what it is about trays, but I seem to be obsessed with them. Weird, I know. I guess I just find them handy. They are great for corralling items and serving guests when entertaining. They’re also helpful with photoshoots for IBC, and they’re usually easy to store. (I’m trying to get you obsessed too so I don’t feel so strange. Ha!)

Anywho, I was recently talking with my blogging pal Donna of Funky Junk Interiors. In case you didn’t know, about a year ago Donna introduced Old Sign Stencils. I’ve been watching and admiring her creations as she’s been stenciling up a storm. (You can see all of her designs, projects, and stencils here.)

How to Make a Stenciled Wooden Tray:

When we were chatting, Donna offered me the opportunity to try one of her stencils. Since I’m always down for a DIY challenge, I quickly accepted.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to tackle this project until I saw this round wood tray at HomeGoods. Priced at less than $20, it was begging for a little personality.

Luckily, Donna’s coffee stencil was the perfect fit. With that, I got to work on my DIY Stenciled Coffee Tray.

For this project I used Fusion Mineral Paint. Why? That’s what Donna uses. (My decision really was as simple as that.) However, I later found out that Fusion Mineral Paint is great stuff. It has a built-in primer and no top coat is required. That alone would have sold me had I done my research in advance. Plus, it’s also self-leveling which minimizes brush strokes.

With all of my paint and supplies at the ready, I put my stencil on the tray and used washi tape to keep it in place. (Painter’s tape or spray adhesive would also work.) What’s really cool about these stencils is that they have center markers which makes positioning them on your surface super simple.

I used more washi tape to cover up those markings so I didn’t accidentally get paint into them.

Then I started painting. I used a combo of coal black and ash paint to give it depth and interest.

When using the stencil, keep your brush very dry to ensure sharp lines. Load up your brush with paint and then tap most of it off. (I used a scrap piece of wood as a paint pallet.) Apply the paint by tapping up and down rather than brushing back and forth. This will give you the best results.

Literally, within 5-10 minutes, my stenciling was complete!

I let the paint set up for a few minutes; then I carefully peeled off the stencil and let the paint dry completely.

In the meantime, I grabbed some mugs, made a pot of coffee, and plated up a few pastries. (You knew I’d have to try out this tray, right?)

Tada!

DIY Coffee Stenciled Wooden Tray

Really cute, right?

I’m so excited about this tray, especially with Memorial Day and summer just around the corner. I’m picturing early morning breakfasts on the deck. Whether I’m alone or with family and friends, I can pile this stenciled wooden tray full of goodies and enjoy a beautiful start to another day.

What’s not to love?

If you liked this tutorial, you’ll love these too:

• DIY Wood Picture Ledge
• Mounted Staghorn Fern
• Modern Painted Serving Tray
• DIY Bath Bombs
• Vertical Herb Garden

I’m hoping to find more of these trays. Because the stencils are reusable, I’d like to DIY a few for gifts. I can already picture them packed with gourmet coffee and mugs and tied up with ribbon.

Side note: Speaking of mugs, yes, I found cat mugs. Cat faces and sleeping kitties for the win. They truly are the best part of waking up. You can find them here.

Thank you again to Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors for allowing me to try her Old Sign Stencils. There are over 20 designs to choose from. You can stencil until your hands cramp or you run out of paint.

I hope you enjoyed this quick wooden tray project. I’ll meet you back here on Tuesday. Have a fabulous weekend and a safe Memorial Day!