Patriotic Service

You can decorate a serving tray with a flag for your Independence Day cookout.

Patriotic Service

Impress your family and friends by serving refreshments on this serving tray with a flag motif. You might want to make one of these for a hostess gift for that upcoming Fourth-of-July barbecue.

Holiday Hints

You could customize a hostess tray by cutting several designs out of fabric and using decoupage finish to attach them to the tray. You might want to consider adapting this tray to other holidays by using the appropriate holiday theme. For example, you could use material with bunnies and eggs for Easter, pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, or four-leaf clovers for St. Patrick's Day.

Level: Moderately easy

Time involved: Three to four hours, plus overnight to dry

Materials:

  • Newspaper or plastic
  • Unfinished wooden serving tray (You can find this in the wood section of craft stores.)
  • Red craft paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Red, white, and blue bandana or material
  • Pen
  • Scissors
  • Decoupage finish
  • Varnish
  • Thin white ribbon or trim
  • Glue gun

  1. Cover your work area with newspapers or plastic. Paint the entire wooden tray red. Add a second coat if necessary. Allow this to dry.

  2. Place the bandana or material on a flat surface. Lay the tray on top of the material, and trace around the tray with a pen. (If necessary, iron the bandana or material before using it.) Cut the tray shape out of the bandana or material.

  3. Place a light coat of decoupage finish on the wrong side of the material. Place this on the inside of the wooden tray and smooth in place with your fingers. When this is completely dry, brush a light coat of decoupage finish over the entire project. Repeat with a second coat. Allow this to dry.

  4. Paint the wooden tray with a coat of varnish on the sides and inside of the tray, covering over the fabric. Allow this to dry and then repeat on the bottom of the tray. Allow the tray to dry overnight.

  5. Cut the ribbon or trim to form a border inside the tray around the fabric design. Using a glue gun, glue the ribbon onto the tray. If desired, you could glue a border of ribbon around the painted outsides of the tray.