Make a Christmas Card Serving Tray

Don't you love Christmas cards? But the challenge is after the holidays - what to do with all the cards you have gotten that season. It feels like a real shame to just throw them out because so many cards these days have such beautiful images of the holidays, and we all know that our friends and family have sent us good thoughts and wishes for a lovely holiday season. Who wants to throw out that? Not many of us!

Here is a craft that makes good use of some of your Christmas cards. This is a great craft that you can use during the holiday seasons for years to come. This can also make a nice holiday gift!

For this craft you will need:

A wooden serving tray - tip: you will need a tray that has a wooden, flat, smooth surface to glue the cards to. It can have any style handles and sides that you like.

Christmas cards (at least 10, a good selection)

decoupage glue (Modge Podge is a popular glue)

foam brushes

craft paint (look for non-toxic paint) get whatever Christmas colors you like - red, green, silver, gold, purple - whatever is going to go with your color scheme at home and with the cards you have selected

There are many styles of wooden serving trays, so I trust that you have selected something that appeals to you. Now some trays are going to look great with a touch of paint on them, and other trays are going to look great without paint, this is all up to you. Personally I have done both - I have done trays where I have painted just the handles and I have done trays where I have painted the entire thing. So to begin, look at your tray and think about whether you would like to add paint first. Remember that the paint will need to completely dry before you can decoupage, and that it will be challenging to paint your tray after you have decoupaged - in most cases that is. So painting at this step in most cases makes the most sense.

Once you have decided about paint, it is time to arrange your cards. Look at your Christmas cards and see what type of pattern you would like to arrange them in. Sometimes what can really look attractive is using only three or four cards, centered in the middle of the tray. This leaves some "white space" (that is the art term for it - the space isn't actually white, it just means that it is blank space) that also winds up looking attractive. In other cases you may decide to fill the entire tray with cards. So your tray may have only three cards, or your tray could have ten cards, this is up to you. Decide on your layout of cards and then get ready to glue them.

To make this craft you will be decoupaging this tray. Decoupage is the art of glueing paper to other objects. It has been used for centuries and it often quite beautiful. It involves using layers of glue on your object. The end result will be shiny and very pretty.

Cut the backs off of your cards. Then put glue on the backs of your cards and place them on the tray where you have chosen to lay them out. Now put a layer of glue over the cards, and onto the rest of the tray surface where the cards are.

You may decide to put decoupage glue on the handles, or you may not. If the handles of your tray are polished, shiny wood and very ornate, then they certainly do not need any decoupage glue. If the handles of your tray are part of a piece of an unfinished wood tray that you got at a craft store, then please decoupage them also - so they will look pretty and shiny like the rest of the tray.

Once you have given the entire tray several coats of glue, leave it to dry. It should dry within an hour or so. Then it is ready for gift-wrapping.

This tray is meant for gentle use. Please use it with coasters, wipe it clean gently.