Winter’s over…
And I find myself wanting to throw the doors open so I can breathe in that very moment when winter gives way to all-things-spring…
While I’m waiting, I think I’ll freshen up the inside of the house with a few spring touches- this Easy Frame Tray is the first of many. It has all of my favorite soft colors in one sweet little project…
Here’s What You Need…
Ingredients:
*Frame (Look at your local thrift store for super cheap frames)
*Foam Board cut to size
*Tiles (I got mine at a local tile store-but check your local home improvement store)
*Mosaic Tile Adhesive
*Americana Chalky Finish Paint
*Hardware
Instructions:
*Paint your frame…After the paint dries, sand the high spots to give it a little character…
*If your frame doesn’t have a sturdy foam board already in place, you can add one- just buy a pice of foam board, cut to size and use a staple gun to hold in place…the tiles can go directly onto the foam board…
*Lay your tiles onto the foam board to get your pattern down- then take up the tiles and spread the Mosaic Tile Adhesive in sections – also adding the Tile Adhesive to each tile before you press it into place…
*If your frame isn’t flat, use a file to flatten the places on the frame that the hardware will be mounted…Use small screws to mount the hardware to the frame…
ENJOY!
I always keep my favorite colors of Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint on hand…(Sometimes DecoArt sends me paint, but often times I buy it myself (at Michael’s) because it’s become one of my go-to art supplies)
And I like to mix those favorite colors when I’m in a mood 🙂 My favorites are Vintage, Serene, Everlasting and Yesteryear…
For this project, I mixed Serene-Vintage and a drop of Everlasting to get this gorgeous blue… In case you’ve never tried Chalky Finish paint…it covers like a charm with one coat (and no sanding!)
After the paint dried though, I sanded the high spots to give it a little character…
If your frame doesn’t have a sturdy foam board already in place, you can add one- just buy a pice of foam board, cut to size and use a staple gun to hold in place…the tiles can go directly onto the foam board…
I did run into a dilemma …I wanted to keep the pattern of the tiles but I didn’t want to cut the tiles! Soooo, easy won out and I peeled the tiles off the backing and arranged them in a way that I didn’t need to cut them! (Also, my arrangement allowed me to forgo the grout!)
To adhere the tile to the foam board, I simply spread some Mosaic Tile Adhesive on sections of the board and then on each tile…then pressed them into place…
I had some bright white hardware…to tone it down a little, I dotted on a little paint with my fingertip. Since my frame was a little bit ornate, I had to use a file to flatten some of the raised up areas of the frame so the screws would go in flush…
The moment I saw these dreamy color washed tiles, I knew I had to bring some home…color is a powerful mood lifter…
So while I wait for gray skies to dissolve into blue…
I feel a little happier looking at these colors everyday…
~Happy March my friends~
xo
Other Projects You Might Like!
Vintage Book Page Inspiration Board w/ Chalky Finish Paint
Easy “Fishing Floats” w/ Chalky Finish Paint for Glass
Painting Cushions w/ Chalky Finish Paint
Chalky Finish Farmers Market & Beach Bags!
I used: 
for this edition of My Year of Reckless Crafting & I absolutely will be doing another project with this mosaic adhesive!
Linking with:
I’ve been meaning to do this for years. I saw the idea in one of my decorating books a long time ago. I still have the book somewhere — thank you for reminding me. Now, all I have to do is go to Goodwill and find a pretty frame that needs a home. Your frame looks beautiful.
Marisa, I love going to Good Will with a specific item in mind! Looking for the just-right frame will be fun! xo
Robin this tray turned out so beautiful. You are so creative and talented. Thanks so much for coming over and linking up today at our Something to Talk About Link Party. have a great week, Lisa at Concord Cottage
Lisa, you’re so sweet…thanks for hosting my friend ox
Walking through Hobby Lobby Saturday, (yes! I finally did it–finally went to H.L.!) I spotted trays like this and thought, “hhhm I bet Robin could do the most amazing thing with trays.” And then look. You did!~!
xoxoxoxo
Gorgeous, Robin. Simply Gorgeous!
Julie…soooo happy you went to HL! I love trays 🙂 xo
I love what you did with the tile. The whole project just screams spring! I’m going to be on the hunt for some frames.
Cyndi, the tile is so pretty…I was dying to use it somewhere 🙂 Thanks for stopping by my friend ox
I love this project too! I’ve been wanting to do this for so long. Thank you for the instructions!
Darling project! I’ve wanted to try making a tray from a frame for the longest time. Thanks for the good tutorial:)
Robin this is the cutest tray! love the mosaic along with the handles…I have those exact handles on a tray I made they are so cute!
Tammy, you and I think alike 🙂 I love my handles even more knowing that you used them my creative friend xo
Such a lovely tray. Serene is my go-to blue paint.
Donna, I love Serene…really, how can you go wrong with a name like Serene? 🙂 Senidng love my friend ox
Can’t wait to make the tray’s! I have several old books belonging to my father and grandfather, written in Arabic that would look so good with the pages in a frame! And rather than of using tiles I want to attempt to use broken dishes from a few plates that have a special meaning..And I recently discovered chalk paint and I love it!!
Christiann, your ideas are AMAZING!!!Please email me a photo when you make your tray! If it’s okay, I’ll put it up on this post showing everyone another way to put this together! ox
It may take me some time to accomplish this! But I am so hoping it works, and you will be the first to see it!Thanks for the encouragement!
Christiann…I can’t wait to see yours! xo
I so want to try this and love the colors that you used. Pastels and white are colors I am drawn in to. What color are the tiles? They look gray and white. Did you purchase the handles at a store or were they perhaps antiques/vintage that you already had? Just lovely. I went on your home tour and had some questions. Are your kitchen cabinets painted by you and what color/paint did you use? We are going to have ours painted, but I would rather paint them myself (good luck to me convincing my husband!). Also, the granddaughters play room is so beautiful! You and your husband did an excellent job. Do you mind sharing the wall color? This is the first time reading your blog and already in the short time of browsing I have found 6-7 projects I would like to do! You are a wonderful inspiration to those of us who love to play house! Karen in NC
Karen! I’m so happy to meed you!I couldn’t be happier that you’ve enjoyed hanging out here..pastels are my favorites too…the tiles on the tray are so pretty-they are creamy white and soft green…the handles came from Hobby Lobby and I added a little paint to them…
We painted our kitchen cabinets and the color is Behr Irish Mist…it’s not a bright white and not a yellowish cream. Instead it’s a white with a touch of gray. The cabinets look white, but with our kitchen color (which is Behr Dolphin Fin) they blend really well since they have a hint of silver or gray. (honestly though, you’d never ever know that by looking at them.)
The playroom (and my master bathroom) is Behr Pensive Blue…so far, that’s my favorite blue- it’s soft and (depending on the light) it’s very just a subtle blue…if you like subtle blue, ck out Behr Doplphin Fin & Behr Rhino…I have Rhino in the Laundry Room and Powder Room and Dolphin Fin in the kitchen and Master Bedroom! I’m so excited to get to know you in the coming months my new friend~ enjoy your beautiful weekend xoox
Robin, Your Easy Frame Tray again is so beautiful and love the creativity of using the tile. Thank you so much for linking up again to our Something to Talk About Link Party and I hope you’ll join us again tomorrow morning at 6 am est. Have a wonderful week friend, xo Lisa