Bears and tray making tutorial

I had a busy day yesterday, but managed to find an hour to sort out my 'made and ready to go' cupboard. I make bears in 'batches, so I found lots of little bears ready to go! All I have to do now is to find the time to upload them to Etsy!!

I also gave my tea trays a final coat of sealing varnish. I took the idea for these trays from a full size tray my dad made me some years ago, which he made from backing board, beading, brass cupboard handles and a piece of wallpaper. You would never know its wallpaper once varnished! It sits happily in my kitchen.

Mini Tray making;

Materials needed are;

• whitewood trays
• pretty dolls house wallpaper or a favourite design printed from your computer
• Wood stain
• non-yellowing clear wood varnish

1. Firstly, stain the trays with a coloured wood dye of your choice. I don't stain where the paper is going because if I use a light paper it shows through and spoils the colour.
2. Once dry, carefully cut out your paper and apply a light layer of pva glue to the paper. Stick down.
3. Leave an hour to dry completely, then apply a thin layer of non-yellowing clear varnish all over the tray. Leave to dry for an hour.
4. Finally, apply another layer of the varnish to the papered area only to complete the seal. Tip. If you use a tiled paper and apply a final layer of gloss varnish to the paper, it should take on the appearance of 'real' tiles.

And there you have a pretty tray for your kitchen, too :0) You can also make 'hot' pot stands like this, just cut a square of thin wood and use a larger print.

My little bears, all ready to go!