How to Make a Valentine's Day Breakfast Tray

Valentines Day is a great occasion to shower the person you love with romantic gifts and kisses, but it can get pretty expensive. Making a do-it-yourself gift for Valentine's Day will show your loved one that you not only thought of him, but spent time working on something just to see him smile. Breakfast in bed is one of the sweetest parts of Valentine's Day, but this year, take it one step further and customize it. Make your boyfriend a breakfast tray to serve him breakfast in bed! The project is both inexpensive and super cute; plus, everything you need can be found around the house or in an art supply store.

Supplies
You will need an unfinished wooden tray, paint, Mod-Podge, and things you've collected such as pictures or old movie tickets. My boyfriend and I eat Chinese food a lot and whenever we open a fortune cookie that pertains to our relationship, we keep it. He has one that says, "Stop searching forever, happiness is right beside you" and I have one that says, "Love is like war, easy to begin but hard to stop". Since collecting these fortunes is something special for him and I, I'm going to use my fortune while decorating the breakfast tray. You can use decorative helpers like stencils if you choose. There are also plenty of Valentine's Day crafts, so if you want to make a themed breakfast tray, there are lots of red, white, and pink stickers and stamps.

Project
Take your unfinished wooden breakfast tray ($5 at Michaels), and paint it whatever color you choose. I'm going to paint mine light green (his favorite color) and I'm going to paint the edges ivory, to give it more character. Let the paint dry and then begin to situate the pictures in the base of the tray. You can use just a few pictures and decorate the rest of the base with stamps and stencils or you can do an all-out collage of pictures. Once you have figured out how you are going to arrange the pictures, use the Mod-Podge to glue them down. While the base is drying you can decorate the sides of the breakfast tray. One idea is to write, "I love you" in different languages all around the outside of the tray. Here are a few languages:

French- Je t'aime
Italian- Ti amo
Japanese- Kimi o ai shiteru
Thai- Ch'an Rak Khun

Once the base is finished drying, apply one more coat of Mod-Podge to seal it and wait for it to dry.

Presentation
On Valentine's Day morning, get up early and make his favorite breakfast. My boyfriend and I are weird so we'll be eating lox, but whatever you choose to serve, make sure it's special. Once he sees the lovely breakfast you've prepared for him and the work you put into every detail, you'll be sure to have a Valentine's Day to remember.