Trays are the true workhorses of home decor. They're both useful and decorative, helping us to corral everyday items while at the same time making their own mark as style icons. But we don't always have to love a particular style of tray to appreciate its utility. 

 

That being said, if I don't care for the look of a tray, I've been known to transform it into something more in line with my style. And what better tray to transform than a large round acrylic tray covered in pastel Easter eggs, ducks and bunnies?

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Not that there's anything wrong with the tray per se -- it's actually very sturdy and a good size. However, now that the kids have grown and we no longer host neighborhood Easter egg hunts, we no longer need a ton of Easter-themed serveware. So the Easter tray had to go.

One of my easiest (by far) methods for transforming a tray is to use peel and stick contact paper to cover over the original tray's design. In this case I used a roll of Dollar Tree Con-Tact paper in a lovely blue and white pattern.  

NOTE: I highly recommend Dollar Tree contact paper for tray transformations, cabinet shelf liners, drawer liners, crafts and anything else you can think of using it for! The patterns are lovely and it's quality paper you can wipe clean with a damp cloth if necessary.

The supplies you'll need for this transformation are few. Basically it's a roll of contact paper, detail scissors and a pencil. 

You'll place the tray on the back side of the contact paper and trace around it with a pencil. Then you'll cut it out.

I find it difficult to cut out circles, no matter the size, so I always use a good pair of detail scissors, which really help me keep a steady hand so that I end up with a crisp looking circle rather than a would-be circle. 

Once you turn the contact paper around and place it inside the tray you'll find that it might still be a bit too big for the tray. That's when you go back and trim off a bit more -- just super small increments at a time -- until you get the exact size you need.

You can see the pencil marks indicating where I need to cut a bit more for the right fit.

And voila. After placing the contact paper onto the tray, I carefully tried to smooth it out and remove any air bubbles. A credit card comes in handy for that. Since the paper is removable (at least initially), you can reposition it as many times as necessary until you get the smoothness you desire. Caveat: it will most likely never be perfect (as in -- there will be a few small bubbles here and there) but I've always gotten pretty darn close!

Now it was time for styling the tray!

I thought what better way to use my "new" tray than as an afternoon tea tray starring my vintage Delft teapot and cups.    

I just love the look of the blue and white patterned paper on this tray! 

NOTE: While the cups were sold with the teapot, I think it could be argued that they're actually sake cups (notice the lack of handles). However, since I don't drink sake, but I do drink tea, they will serve as tea cups in our house!   

I was lucky enough to receive the vintage Delft teapot and cups in February as a birthday gift from my son (who, knowing his mom, thrifted them for me!).

I then added three thrifted pinch cups on a thrifted Blue Delft by Maruta Japan vintage floral patterned plate to complete the serveware set. 

And since it just happened to be Valentine's Day, I of course had to add some sweet treats into the mix for a Valentine's tea party.  

Hershey's Strawberry Ice Cream Cone flavored Kisses and icing cookies added just the right amount of sweet -- in addition to the Domino pure cane sugar cubes for the tea, of course.

The cookies are bettergoods raspberry passionfruit flavored coated mini graham cookies and they're incredibly sweet and tasty!

Another "sweet" addition to the tea party is my heart shaped tea infuser used for steeping loose tea.

I also added some adorable mini gold plastic spoons as the final touch.

In case you hadn't noticed, it looks like this tea pot originally had a bamboo handle that has since gone missing. Before I use it I have a plan for recreating a sturdy wooden handle I can attach, if for no other reason than safety purposes while I'm pouring out boiling hot water!

Until then I can't wait to use this teapot for my favorite Earl Grey tea on lazy weekend mornings!

 Well, that's it for today, friends!

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my 

Acrylic Tray Refresh with Contact Paper 

and Delft Tea Set 

and that I've inspired you in some way.