Materials:
- An unfinished wooden tray
- Gesso (a primer)
- Craft paint in white and other colors of your
choice
- 1-inch painter's tape
- X-Acto knife
- 1-inch paintbrush
- Cutting mat
- Water-based polyurethane (all available at craft
or art stores)
Directions:
1. Cover
the interior sides of the tray with painter's tape (we wanted to leave
the sides unpainted, so the tape protected them from paint). Apply a
coat of gesso to the bottom of the tray. (Gesso is a primer that allows
the paint to adhere better to the surface of the wood.) Once the surface
is dry, apply a coat of white craft paint. (Allow both base coats to dry
completely -- at least an hour for each.)
2. Use
painter's tape -- which can be pulled up and repositioned if needed --
to create a striped pattern on the white-bottomed tray, leaving
uncovered the areas where you want the color. By varying tape thickness
(use an X-Acto knife to cut the tape on a cutting mat) as well as the
distance between the strips of tape, we created a fun, irregular-stripe
pattern.
3. Once
the tape strips are positioned, press down firmly on the edges to
prevent the paint from bleeding. For our paint colors, we chose tropical
hues of turquoise, orange, and yellow, but you may want to take your
cues from your outdoor dinnerware or furniture fabric colors.
4. Paint
carefully between the tape strips; once the paint is completely dry
(again, wait at least an hour), remove the tape slowly.
5. Apply
a final coat or two of a water-based polyurethane to seal and protect
your paint job.
Tip: Take your color cues
from outdoor dinnerware or furniture fabric colors.
