How to make a simple pedestal tray

This project is so easy it really doesn’t need any more than this picture, and while it is certainly not the most original idea, I think it is worth sharing for its versatility. I made these pedestal trays a year ago and I use them at virtually every party, holiday, or decorating occasion. It’s fast, easy, inexpensive, and functional. Exactly my kind of project.

wood tray collage

Step 1: Shop

I used a square wood canvas like this one for the bottom and a smaller rectangle on top. I would have preferred two squares, but my craft store didn’t have a small square and I wasn’t about to wait for an online order or go to a different store. The pedestal is an unpainted wood candlestick (several options here). I got the gray wood stain from Menards.

(If you aren’t from the Midwest maybe you don’t know Menards. It’s something like Home Depot but much more awesome. I like going there because you see every kind of Minnesotan buying nails or paint or ceiling tile or light-up Santas.  A tattooed young woman in boots with two-by-fours sticking out of the windows of her little car? Yep. A working mom in heels with her kids after work? Yep. Professional contractors with tool belts? Yep. Women in burqas, painters in splattered white, at-home dads with an infant in the car seat buying plumbing parts? Yep, yep, yep.)

Step 2: Stain

Follow instructions on the can. I chose stain because I wanted it to hold up to use better than paint and to let the wood grain show through. I was going for a subtle neutral so the tray would work any time or place I want to use it.

Step 3: Glue

I did have to remove the candle insert with a pliers to make a surface level enough to glue. I used Gorilla Glue to keep this together. Sadly, my adhesive-of-choice, hot glue, was not up the the job.

Done! Use and style any way you please. Read on to see photos of a few of the ways I’ve used mine.

onesie table trayOn the onesie-making station at my little sister’s baby shower.

grad party trayHolding individual chocolate mousses (is that a word?) and cookies at my nephew’s graduation party.(He likes moose. Or meese?)

Star Wars TrayGiving Artoo a little more stature at the Star Wars birthday party.

tray scottoberfestI was tickled to discover that the pedestal trays will nest because the wood canvas is hollow on the bottom. Voila, a three-tier tray!

Centerpiece 2A solo tray worked great for creating a centerpiece out of my kids’ new school supplies for the back-to-school party I had last year.

mario trayHere I pushed them together and balanced a Super Mario Brothers
cake on top, surrounded by piranha plant cupcakes. I also wrapped the tops in paper–a new trick.

one-tray-six-ways pinterest image

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