decoupaged tray

I've finally finished one of my 'unfinished projects'.

I think one of my favourite crafts is decoupage and I used to do quite a lot.
These are just a few.

I don't remember where the shells came from, but the 'brown' kitchen things were actually from a paper bag.

I sometimes gilded the tops of the insides and the handles, then used a crackle glaze or antiqued them.

I often found the best things to decoupage from wrapping paper, as with these great fruit pictures.
I did a lot of gilding then as well !

As you all know - blogland provides an almost infinite source of things to decoupage and for a long time I had admired the lovely graphics and layering techniques of other bloggers.

When I found this tray for £2, I had the perfect piece to try out my idea. I wanted a tray to look as though I just thrown things on it. Sort of like an in-tray that has stuff waiting to be sorted out !

And it would be so great if I could show you the before shot, but I can't find it anywhere - sorry. The tray was a pale yellow with a floral picture stuck in the middle.

So the after shot - I painted it with a few layers of cream paint, then after sticking everything down and varnishing, I rubbed in raw umber artists oil colour, to age. 

The plain postcards on the right are from Knick of Time Interiors  

The letter and the french postcard are from the The Graphics Fairy 

The stamps are real - my brother and I collected them for a while. Not that we had a clue what we were doing, so hopefully they're not worth anything.

The keys and coins are  photocopies of actual items I have. The keys I have been collecting to frame, and the coins are not old - just left over from trips abroad. I simply laid them in the old geezer's printer and photocopied them. 

I love the folds in the letter, that make it look more 3-dimensional.

I blame the cutting out of that key, on my failing eye-sight - I've been in denial for about 6 months.

The reason why this remained unfinished for so long was because it went wrong the first time around. 

I was impatient and glued everything down at the same time, and of course it all puckered up.

So I had to glue all the larger pieces down separately and leave each one to dry properly.

Patience is a virtue (it's just not a virtue I possess !).

Linking up with

Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm

Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch

Knick of Time Tuesdays @ Knick of Time

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays @ {Primp}

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Inspiration Friday @ At the Picket Fence
Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff and Nonsense
Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer