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FEATURED IDEA
Making a Serving Tray
Do-it-yourself Rating: Intermediate
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 With
the season for entertaining upon us, what better way to show your
style than to serve your guests a beverage on your custom-made
Serving Tray.
Yes, that’s right, this month’s project takes the
frame off the wall and onto the table. This is a really clever
idea that puts your creativity to the test.
Our project uses a mirror for the center and a couple of stylish
drawer pulls we found at our local hardware store.
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Materials:
- 12"x16" Maple 78077 - Pecan frame
- 12"x16" Mirror
- 12"x16" Mounting or Press Board
- 12"x16" Felt
- 2 Drawer Handles
- Adhesive Transfer Tape
- Dust Cover Trimmer
- Black Marker
Need to stock up on any of these items? Click on the following:
Adhesive
Transfer Tape
Dust
Cover Trimmer
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Let's Get Started! |
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STEP 1
Use a marker under the lip of
the frame.
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the mirror is reflective, we need to apply a black color to the
underside of the frame’s lip with a marker. Be sure to keep
the marker off the face of the frame.
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STEP 2
Position the handles.
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|  Determine
the location, or position, of the handles, centering them on the
two short sides of the tray. Depending on the type of handles
you select, you may need to drill holes in the face or side of
your frame to accommodate the handle screws. Because our screw
heads are on the bottom of our frame we had to drill a larger
hole, 1/8” deep, to recess them. This will ensure a flat
surface on the bottom of our tray.
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STEP 3
Assemble the parts.
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the handles are attached, carefully lay the frame facedown on
a clean work surface and insert the mirror.
Place your pressboard into the frame. For our example
we used a Point Driver with standard points to secure everything
in place. The points give us a flat surface on the backside where
we will later attach the felt backing.
A word of caution: A mirror can be heavy, so it is important
to take care when securing it into your frame. We will be using
our tray to serve items that are lighter in weight so the use
of framer’s points will suffice.
Need a Point
Driver?
Click here.
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STEP 4
Attaching the handles.
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attach the handles to your frame. |
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STEP 5
Applying the protective backing.
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adhesive transfer tape on the back of the frame and place the
felt onto it. Using the Dust Cover Trimmer or X-acto knife, carefully
trim off the excess felt. Take care when applying felt to minimize
wrinkles. |
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STEP 6
Test it Out!
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| Put your
new tray to the test by serving your loved one his or her morning
coffee, or better yet, cocktails at your next holiday party. |
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Here are a few tips to help you when
framing a mirror.
- Mirrors can be heavy, so it is important take care when securing
it into your frame. We will be using our tray to serve items that
are lighter in weight so the use of framers points will suffice.
- Depending on the depth of frame’s rabbet, you may need to
use multiple pieces of mounting board to fill the area. That box that
the frame was shipped in can be used for this. We suggest securing
each layer to the frame with framers points.
- Artwork makes a nice replacement for the mirror. Maybe select a
festive print, postcards or photographs.
- You can also use corkboard in place of a mirror. Cork adds a nice
benefit in that it absorbs moisture from glasses. If using cork you
should make sure that pressboard is used as the backing to add strength.
Click Here for Framing
Ideas
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