DIY Greek Key Tray Makeover (Ikea Hack)

 
For the last year I have had a large tray sitting on my dresser just looking awfully plain. I picked it up at Ikea for $7 on a whim.  Of course I did...most of my Ikea purchases are on a whim.

Since then I have been debating about what to do with the tray. I couldn't just keep her white, could I? No, of course not.

I had some gold metallic spray paint in the garage that caught my eye recently and then my plan started to fall into place. Originally, I was going to make a striped design on the tray with the painters tape and then I had an 'ah ha moment'...I would try my hand at a greek key design. 

If you follow 2IY on Instagram, you know I found making the design to be harder than it looks.  I received some samples of 3M Scotch Blue Painters Tape so along with a ruler, and some patience this project goes pretty smoothly.

I used a roll of  .94" Scotch Blue Painter's Tape to create the design.

I started along the long edge with just a straight piece of tape.   I created the first key by just eyeballing the size and length of the tape.  On the remaining three sides and corners I used a ruler to measure the original key's tape pieces to make sure they were all the same.

Cutting the edge of the tape straight is important or you will get some overhang which will of course show up when you spray paint the tray.  I used an exacto knife to trim those little areas after I was all done taping off the tray.

Right before I spray painted I went around the entire design and pressed down all the edges of the tape really well to prevent any paint bleed.

Then I just spray painted the entire tray.  After the first coat dried, I added a second.  Only after both coats were completely dry did I remove the tape.

And now the moment of truth....

I had very few areas of bleed.  In those area I just scraped the paint off easily with a knife.  I love the way the tray looks on my coffee table.  It really pops against the black table.

Disclaimer: I received samples of 3M Scotch Blue Painters Tape but all opinions are my own. 

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I Spy DIY: 7 Master Bedroom Ideas

Last week on the blog I showed off my newly refinished/repainted nightstand and got some great feedback from readers on it.  One of the biggest compliments was from a reader who asked if the headboard in the photo was purchased or made.  I'll give you one guess...

That got me looking at the photo, which at first glance doesn't look like much other than the nightstand.  But actually when I look closer I realize just how much blood, sweat and tears  love I have poured into our master bedroom since I started transforming it in the spring.   In just this one photo I spy FIVE DIY projects that I have featured on the blog...can you see them?

Okay, okay I'll give you a few hints (and all the links to the tutorials)...

Let's start with the nightstand because it's the most obvious.  It was painted two-tone to match the walls and trim and new hardware was added.

Ikea lamp shade makeover: Easy Ikea hack

A few months ago, as part of my master bedroom makeover, I purchased two of these $10 gray Ikea lamp shades.  They worked fine, but I kept looking at them thinking they just didn't pop - perhaps it's because the wall is also gray.  I decided they needed a little TLC and so I had at one of them with a stencil and some white paint.

If you're looking for a fast way to spruce up a lamp shade - this is definitely it.  It only took me all of about 15 minutes to do the whole thing.

Here's what you'll need for this project...for easy planning I pulled all of the supplies into the Amazon slideshow below so you can just order all at once - or whatever you need - if you'd like.

• Stencil
• White Acrylic Paint
• Pouncers, foam brush or paint brush
• Tape
• Lamp Shade

Here's how I painted the lamp shade. I taped the stencil onto the lamp shade and then used one of the smallest foam pouncers from the Martha Stewart set to apply white acrylic craft paint.