Today we are sharing a Metal Embossed Tray Up-Cycle. Recently, my Dad gave me several metal trays that he had saved from multiple past family Christmas parties. I’m sure you are familiar with these trays as they are often used for holiday cookie platters and gift giving.
Back in the spring, I created some lovely copper and aluminium flowers using metal scraps, a scalloped paper punch and some very easy embossing techniques.
When I made the flowers for this project, I actually made several more of these little gems because they were so fast, fun and easy to emboss. I figured I’d find a use for them someday.
Well, today is someday. I decided that one of the metal trays was getting a makeover using the hand embossed flower scallops.
I spray painted one of the trays black. After I arranged the embossed scallops on the tray, I realized to fill the tray the way I wanted, I need to make a few cut pieces for the edges. I still have quite a few metal scallops that were never embossed, so I used a few of them to make these edge pieces.
I laid one of the scallops on a tray and just pressed it in so I would know where I needed to cut it off to get the size piece I needed and the curve I needed. I used this piece as a template to cut the 6 pieces that I needed. Below you can see where I was testing out the template to make sure it was the right size.
I quickly hand embossed a design on each of these newly cut partial flowers using the same technique that I used to make the flowers.
I laid the flower scallops out on the tray and moved them around until I was satisfied.
These pieces will be glued down with E6000 glue.
I love how this tray turned out! This tray would look beautiful on a table, displayed on a shelf, wall or mantel.
If you are unfamiliar with metal embossing, where to get supplies, or if you are just looking for some basic tips and techniques, be sure to check out our 4 part mini series for beginners: Metal Embossing Series. It is really a whole lot easier than it looks.
Thank you!
A backyard compost bin is the single best investment a vegetable gardener can make. It diverts a third of household waste from landfill, gives you free soil improver, and saves $40+ a year on potting mix. The right bin i
Galvanised steel raised beds have shifted from rural-feed-trough territory to mainstream urban garden gear in the last few years. They last 20+ years (versus 10–15 for cedar), don’t rot, and the corrugated profile give
Indoor plant pots without drainage are a polite way to kill a plant. The decorative ceramic with no hole at the bottom traps water against the roots, and even the hardiest pothos eventually rots. The real trick is findin
Once you start propagating seriously — cuttings, divisions, perennial seedlings — you need nursery pots in volume. Tip-out pots, square pots, deep pots for legumes — each has a job. Buying these in bulk packs is dr
A trailing hanging basket cascading off the verandah is one of the simplest displays in the garden — and one of the most-disappointing if the basket itself is wrong. Wire baskets dry out by lunchtime in summer; coco-li
Potatoes in grow bags are the most reliable easy-win we’ve ever planted. No digging, no scab problems from heavy soil, and harvest is just lifting the bag. The right bag breathes (so roots don’t circle), drains, and last
