DIY Bar Tray & Coaster Set

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DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

I love hosting dinner parties at my place, and what’s a good dinner party without cocktails, right? I wanted to step up my bar cart decor with something a little fun & funky for my next party and decided to make this super cute Tray & Coaster set! This would also make the perfect housewarming/wedding/birthday gift and so on! Let me show you how I did it. 

WHAT TO GET:

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

-Creative versa tool- I like this one from Walnut Hollow the best cause it comes with fun stamps, one which I used in this project 

-3 pack wooden coasters like these 

-Serving Tray: It looks like Walnut Hollow sold out of this Hexagon tray I used but here is another option or you can add your own handles to this hexagon shape 

-Pliers to help change the wood burning tool tip

-Gouache: I this from Reeves

-Paint palette 

-Paintbrushes in different sizes

-Water

-Paper towels 

-Not Pictured: Scrap wood for practice 

WHAT TO DO:

1. Choose your color palette. I went with Gray, White, Medium Yellow, Peach & Dark Orange. Squeeze a bit of paint in each well of your palette & add enough water to get the consistency you’re looking for. I wanted my color to be a bit more opaque than just a color wash so I used less water. I started with the tray since it was bigger and would take longer to dry. I decided to color block the tray and to free form paint the coasters since I was going for a mix of geometric & random patterns. Let everything completely dry and try to keep your kitty out of your paint water (ha ha!).

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

2. Before I started wood burning on the actual coasters and tray I did a practice run on a scrap piece of wood (you could also use the underside of your project if you aren’t giving it as a gift and don’t mind). Wood burning has a bit of a learning curve as far as how long it will take to get the effect you want (longer than you think in most cases). Since I am also a beginner I wanted to keep this project easy & accessible. I used the universal point tip and one of the stamps from the kit, but I played around with a few of the tips until I found the look I was going for. 

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

3. For the first coaster, I used the universal point tip with the heat on the highest it can go, I held the tool straight up and firmly pushed the point down into the wood for a few seconds until it formed the triangle shape I was going for. I repeated this until I got a pattern I liked. For the second coaster, I also used the universal tip but the flat side this time instead of the point. I held the tool at an angle and firmly pushed down in one spot without moving it to create a small clean line, I then did the same thing to create the x or + shape I wanted. For the 3rd coaster, I used one of the stamp designs and held the tool upright and pushed down firmly into the wood until the design was burned enough in for my liking, This is where your practice will come in handy.

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

4. For the tray I decided to only burn into the top part of it since I think that’s the area that is most eye catching anyway. I wanted to tie it in a bit with the coasters so you’ll know it’s a set but wanted it to be slightly different. I really fell in love with how those little triangles turned out so I decided to use the same method as the coasters for those. For the lines, I used the universal tool as well, instead of holding the flat part down in one spot, I started at an edge and slowly dragged it down to make the line. I wanted my lines to look imperfect but if you want them completely straight I would suggest using a ruler and a pencil. 

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

And you’re done! 

You could use a sealer or Mod Podge on top of everything if you’re concerned about protecting the paint, but I chose to leave it natural. Now you have a showpiece the next time you have guests over for cocktails OR you have the perfect gift to give! 

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade LifeDIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

-Nik Vandeventer

ABOUT NIK VANDEVENTER:

Nik is a maker, day dreamer & potty mouth who loves cats, coffee and craft beer. She is a self taught hand embroiderer and will DIY pretty much anything she can get her hands on. You can see her work on IG @wastingthyme & @nikvphotography. She lives in Long Beach with her husband and her three awesome cats (that she can’t shut up about).

DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life
DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life
DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life
DIY wooden wood burned and painted bar tray and coaster set Dear Handmade Life

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