How To Repurpose A Picture Frame Into A Tray

Hey there!

My husband and I helped my mother in law getting rid of lots of stuff from her home last summer. I think she was kind of picture fan because she had the walls full of them, do you remember those I transformed into my romantic pictures?

I still have a lot waiting for some inspiration in my basement, but I came across this one and suddenly an idea crossed my mind.

How to transform a picture frame into a tray | Repurpose an old picture | Via www.sweethings.net

I remembered taking a picture of it once I had drilled the sides and removed some black paint, but you can see how it was before.

I had some of the material already, but this post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure here.

Materials you will need if you want to repurpose a picture frame into a tray

· Old picture frame (or a new one, that’s up to you. I prefer to upcycle and use what I have on hand)
· Damask paper. I found mine at the Dollar Store but you can have a look at some pretty damask papers here too.

· Drill
· Pulls. Mine were from an old cabinet.
· ModPodge
· Varnish
· Metallic spray paint

So the process was really simple, I took it all apart and applied one coat of  DIY chalk paint both on glass and frame, and let it dry.

I did this because I was planning to some some silver spray paint and the chalk paint would work as a primer.

Once the picture frame was dry I sprayed silver the frame and let it dry again.

While waiting (if you like waiting raise your hands… Ok, I can’t see any hand so we’re good) I took a plastic container I mixed some water and white glue, ratio about 1:1, and brushed the painted glass with it.

Then I took a cute damask gift paper I bought some time ago for no reason, just because I saw it and I thought I would use it someday, and started to glue it on the glass.

I carefully removed any air bubbles while gluing it, and trimmed the borders. Guess what… let it dry!!

It’s so hard to be a DIY-er, you have to wait for the things to dry!! Maybe that’s why I always handle about 3-4 different things at a time, no need to wait 😉

When the frame was ready, I just added some cabinet pulls I had which were silver as well. To finish, I put everything together and gave it some spray varnish to protect.

Here it is in all its glory. I need to apologize for the bad quality of the picture but I did it long before I had the blog and had no idea about photography.

How to transform a picture into a tray | Repurpose an old picture | Damask gift paper | Via www.sweethings.net

What do you think, isn’t it much better? And I’m really happy I gave that ugly picture a whole new life.

How to transform a picture frame into a tray | #Repurpose an old picture | Via www.sweethings.net #upcycling #makeover #tray #damask

You can do other things with old frames, like this Hello Kitty picture or this smaller tray. Enjoy your weekend!

Have you ever repurposed a picture frame? If so, I’d love to know what you did, just leave me a comment below.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Pili

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Hugs,

Pili

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66 comments

    • Pili says:

      Hi, Mary! I loved the paper so when I thought about making a tray I was sure it would look wonderful.
      Thanks for visiting!

    • Pili says:

      Yes Mary, when I first saw the paper I fell in love with it and decided I was going to buy it to make something out of it, no idea what, but that would come to my mind in the right moment. And this was the moment 😉

  1. Laurie says:

    Such a lovely transformation! I love the paper you used too. It will become a beautiful decor piece for your home! Thank you for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday! Pinning and tweeting to share!
    ~Laurie

    • Pili says:

      Laurie, the paper made all the difference in this makeover, I just love it! Thanks for stopping by and share!

    • Pili says:

      That’s a good work then, Angela. If she still has it then it means you did great! I love making things and use them as presents too

  2. Julie says:

    Hi Pili,
    Wow the tray came out beautiful!!
    Thanks for sharing this with us at Cooking and Crafting with J & J.
    Enjoy the week.
    Julie xo

    • Pili says:

      I love repurposing too, Charlene!! Thank you so much for stopping by and welcome to my crazy corner!

    • Pili says:

      Thank you so much, Eva! I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and comment. Happy Thanksgiving!

  3. Jenny says:

    What a fabulous idea! I love how it turned out. I have an old framed picture or 2 around here somewhere…I might have to try this!

  4. Debrashoppeno5 says:

    The frame into a tray turned out so nice. You gave me a chuckle about waiting for stuff to dry. I have to do the same thing and have found like you do have several things going on so you don’t get impatient.

    • Pili says:

      Yay, great minds think alike lol!! My perpetual New Year resolution is patience, but I must keep working on it.
      Thanks for your comments!

  5. Nikki Frank-Hamilton says:

    Pili, I love this, it looks so pretty now. What a big change. We have a picture tray that we use in the living room, we have 2 large ottomans that we use as a coffee table and as extra seating. It was hard to find a tray large enough to put on top of the area to set drinks etc. And they were really expensive if they were large enough. This is a great fix for that, you can find large picture frames at garage sales or Thrift stores! I’m going to have my eye out for them now! Thanks for the idea.

    • Pili says:

      Hi, Hope! I really appreciate you stopping by, thank you so much for the feature! It makes me really have when others like my projects too.
      Happy weekend!

  6. Mum in Brum says:

    Wow this is a genius idea! I would never have thought of that but it looks so good and so much nice that the trays you can buy in the shops! I love using wrapping paper to decorate things. Thanks so much for sharing, I definitely won’t be throwing away old picture frames from now on! x

    • Pili says:

      Hi, Natalie! I hate having to throw away things I won’t be using anymore, so I do my best repurposing them… I love using wrapping paper too!
      Thanks for visiting!

  7. Life Loving says:

    That’s a really clever idea. I would be a bit worried about the sturdiness of it, using one my my picture frames, but if I had good quality ones, that would definitely work!

    It looks really nice.

    Sally @ Life Loving
    #LifeLovingLinkie

    • Pili says:

      Hi, Sally! This is a heavy one, and the staples it has at the back make it quite sturdy… but maybe some pictures can be used as decorative trays instead of carrying things with them.
      I appreciate your visit!

  8. Denise/DIY Crush says:

    I LOVE this!! What a great idea to reuse an old picture frame!! It’s definitely a pretty item to showcase! Thank you so much for sharing at my craft party on Thursday! Hope to see your newest posts this week, which starts at 7pm EST.

    • Pili says:

      Thanks for the visit, Denise! I appreciate your visit and your kind comments very much!
      See you on Thursday!

  9. Pingback: Talented Tuesday Link Party #57 | Crafty Staci
  10. Lisa B. says:

    Hello Pili!! I wanted to stop by and let you know that your post has been chosen as a Feature for the Welcome Home Wednesdays Link Party!! Stop by tomorrow morning and see your post linked up and don’t forget to grab your “Featured Button”. ~Lisa~ 🙂

    • Pili says:

      Haha Rose, I sell most of them. I would love to keep them but I don’t live in a castle so… Anyway, I love making them and I am really happy others can enjoy them too

    • Pili says:

      Thanks, Michelle!! It had the perfect size so why not? I still have lots of frames to repurpose, I need to think what to do with them!

    • Pili says:

      Don’t doubt it, Katerina!! Just do it! There are lots of pictures at thrift stores at great price and you can have your own personal tray which you really like.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  11. Janet says:

    What size is the picture frame? I would be afraid to use it as a tray to carry food on from inside to outside for a cookout. Scared to think If it was dropped glass would be everywhere.

    • Pili says:

      I sold it so I can’t give the measurements, but it was bigger than an ordinary picture frame. Also the back was very solid, that’s way I wasn’t afraid of it falling apart

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