Blue Willow Upcycled Silver Tray

In keeping with the blue willow theme in the great room, I went back to my pile of mosaics to create a tray to sit on the bench in front of the couch.  All of my mosaics come from Goodwill, thrift shops or estate sales.  Often, the price is dirt cheap when a piece has a chip in it.  Since I will break the piece with a hammer anyway, it doesn't matter.

                                      Here is a sampling of my various mosaic chips.

Going to my pile of estate sale old silverplate, I pulled a tray out that had a marred surface.  Since I was painting the silverplate tray white, it didn't matter that the tray was scratched.  I wanted to show the delicate scultping of the tray design.

I spray painted a white primer as the first coat to the tray.  That was followed up with two coats of my favorite white appliance paint that I have used on my chandeliers.

The final step was to cut a pattern of the base of the tray that I wanted to mosaic.  I used a brown paper bag.  Then, I placed the pieces on the pattern in somewhat of a random pattern. 


Simply spreading tile adhesive over a small area at a time, I place the pieces until it is finished.  This is allowed to dry overnight.  The next day, I grout with a bright white unsanded grout.  It is important not to buy the sanded grout.  The unsanded type looks very smooth and isn't a distraction to the completed project.

                                                        Here is the completed tray.

                                         

                                   The tray is a great place for refreshments while watching TV.