DIY Lucite Tray

For several months, I have seen these awesome clear lucite personalized trays that range between $100 to $150. This girl is on a budget and I don't think my husband would be too happy about me spending that much money on a tray. So, I decided that I would just look at them and enjoy everyone else's excitement over purchasing one. Until now...

Here is the good news... A couple of weeks ago, I participated in Jen's Project Pretty Challenge at iHeartOrganizing. I was looking through all of the incredible transformations and creations that everyone has posted when I ran across one of these awesome DIY lucite trays that Chelsea from two twenty one posted.

Isn't that just beautiful?!?! So, I immediately took this idea and ran with it. I purchased this same exact 18" x 8" x 4 1/2" acrylic tray from the Container Store for $8.99 (originally $9.99).

(source)

Sorry for the nice reflection in the photos. It is a little hard to take

a picture of something clear without a little glare.

Then, I went into Photoshop CS5 and created a 7 1/2" x 12 1/2" sheet to lay in the bottom of the tray. 

I saved the jpeg file on a flash drive and had my sister take it to Office Max to have it printed out (on photo paper) and laminated. I was very impressed with the quality! And, it only cost $3.50 to have it both printed and laminated. I must say that having something printed professionally looks a whole lot better than printing it on a regular home printer.

Then, I cut off the excess laminate and placed it in the bottom of my tray. When I start using the tray, I may place double-sided tape or command strips on the bottom of the sheet to keep it from moving around in the tray. I haven't decided yet!

So, all together, I spent around $15.00 for this little DIY project, which is a lot better than the original $100-$150 tray that I loved in the beginning.

And, here is the outcome, which I am very pleased with...

 Happy Creating,

For several months, I have seen these awesome clear lucite personalized trays that range between $100 to $150. This girl is on a budget and I don't think my husband would be too happy about me spending that much money on a tray. So, I decided that I would just look at them and enjoy everyone else's excitement over purchasing one. Until now...

Here is the good news... A couple of weeks ago, I participated in Jen's Project Pretty Challenge at iHeartOrganizing. I was looking through all of the incredible transformations and creations that everyone has posted when I ran across one of these awesome DIY lucite trays that Chelsea from two twenty one posted.

Isn't that just beautiful?!?! So, I immediately took this idea and ran with it. I purchased this same exact 18" x 8" x 4 1/2" acrylic tray from the Container Store for $8.99 (originally $9.99).

(source)

Sorry for the nice reflection in the photos. It is a little hard to take

a picture of something clear without a little glare.

Then, I went into Photoshop CS5 and created a 7 1/2" x 12 1/2" sheet to lay in the bottom of the tray. 

I saved the jpeg file on a flash drive and had my sister take it to Office Max to have it printed out (on photo paper) and laminated. I was very impressed with the quality! And, it only cost $3.50 to have it both printed and laminated. I must say that having something printed professionally looks a whole lot better than printing it on a regular home printer.

Then, I cut off the excess laminate and placed it in the bottom of my tray. When I start using the tray, I may place double-sided tape or command strips on the bottom of the sheet to keep it from moving around in the tray. I haven't decided yet!

So, all together, I spent around $15.00 for this little DIY project, which is a lot better than the original $100-$150 tray that I loved in the beginning.

And, here is the outcome, which I am very pleased with...

 Happy Creating,