I have been holding on a to a booklet gifted to me by a friend of amazing art work by Austin Pardun. This printed booklet had their most popular work from 2017-2018 and I have always enjoyed their work and that vintage Halloween feeling that is prominently captured in their designs. I always wanted to find the best way to display these works, and I ultimately settled on incorporating them into a scrapbook-style collage onto a serving tray.
If you have some cool Halloween paper, cards, posters, etc you’ve always wanted to share and display – a decorative serving tray might also be the answer to your decorating needs as well!
I originally was thinking I would make a Halloween mosaic serving tray this year, but I have two preschoolers and I knew I wouldn’t have the time nor energy to truly make that a reality – but an easy mod podge collage seemed more practical (and just as cool!).
I started looking at the thrift stores for a wooden decorative tray and stumbled on this solid one for $2.99. Once I obtained this tray, I had a wild day and locked my keys in my car. Luckily, I was a few miles away from home but not so lucky – I might’ve been the source of two minor car accidents while I summoned a rescue mission. No one was hurt! I ended up calling my parents and asked them to grab my spare key and drive it over (my folks live a street over from my house). In the process, my mom accidently backed into my dad’s truck that was parked in their driveway causing both vehicles to succumb to a rumpled fate.
Talk about feeling guilty 😂! I will be extra extra cautious of the placement of my keys at all times from here on out….ANYWAY, onto the craft:
I wiped up the newly acquired tray and opted for a matte black base coat of paint.
I found some scrapbook/decorative paper in my arts and crafts supplies bin from Michael’s a few years back that I used to complement this collage.
Once you pick out the artwork you want on your tray after the base paint has dried, then the exciting collage process can begin! (Do note this is a tray for decoration and not food safe!).
Start with a thick layer of mod podge to stick down your first layer of paper and then coat the top and apply all over as needed, letting the paste dry in between layers (it dries fairly fast!).
Voila! And after that, you have a ghoulish little centerpiece for your table, coffee table, or entryway just in time for shrieks and eeks this Halloween season.
Try it out! Get crafty!
Stay spooky,
Callie Jo
Halloween Head 