Valentine Flower Vase Trio Tray

If you like to craft and have a closet full of unused craft supplies, then you may have all you need to make this pretty in pink Valentine Flower Vase Trio.

One reason I am excited to have my foyer “almost” back in use is that I can create pretty seasonal vignettes again on the sideboard using decorative accessories.

I like to keep the space neutral so when the seasons change and holidays like Valentines Day come around, I have a surface to simply add a little holiday touch. Nothing crazy, but simple and pretty.  Using white and neutral colors on the walls allows me to make seasonal color changes that pop out and become the focus in the room.

If you have been following my blog the past year then you know that I have been sharing projects with you using Waverly Inspirations products. I am one of their brand ambassadors. Besides sharing a project with you this month, I got a second surprise from Waverly Inspirations this month. (More at the end of this post).

This month my box of creative goodies were pink and perfect for Valentine’s Day.

When I receive the surprise box of Waverly Inspirations fabrics, paints and ribbon for the monthly challenge, I never get an idea right away. I have to experiment and play with the paints and fabrics to come up with a creative way to use them. For this month’s challenge, I tested out a few ideas. I couldn’t decide which one I liked best so I will show you all of the ideas I experimented with.

Since the sideboard has a long rectangle shape, I wanted to create something long for the top. I headed to Walmart where Waverly Inspirations products are sold along with a $50 Walmart gift card to find something to use.

I found this long and narrow white platter and…

3 glass drinking glasses that look like tin cans. I loved them. :-)

I also bought 9 fake pink roses in case I couldn’t find real pink roses at the supermarket near me. I didn’t, so I used the fake ones to make my Valentine Flower Vase Trio Tray.

I made the XOXO insert for the gold frame from a magnet I had hanging on my fridge.

I also wanted to find a way to use the pretty colors of paints that were in the box of goodies. I found two pieces of scrap wood in my garage, one is smooth and the other rough.

Here is what I made with the rough board…  I painted a pink, purple and white plaid pattern on the board and dry brushed white paint on the sides.

I painted the smooth board pink and color-washed stripes over it.

I like each one and placed them in different areas around my house to show you. Painting the plaid and stripes was so easy when you use a 2″ wide basecoating brush.

Here is how I made the vases and painted boards.

How to Make a Valentine Flower Vase and Painted Trays

All supplies can be purchased at Walmart.

supplies needed:

• Waverly Inspirations Basecoating Brush
• Waverly Inspirations Fabrics – Hearts and Pink and White Gingham
• Waverly Inspirations Super Premium paint in the colors: Crocus, Fuschia and White
• Waverly Inspirations Double Ruffle ribbon in Pink
• White Porcelain Platter
• Scissors
• Decopage medium
• Chip style paint brush
• Scrap piece of cardboard
• Plastic wrap and tape
• Small eyelets and eyelet punch
• Glue Dots

How to Make Fabric Covered Vases

Choose the hearts you want to use from the fabric and cut them out with a sharp pair of scissors. Don’t cut along the shape of the heart, leave a little extra fabric. You will cut this away later.

To stiffen the fabric hearts so the cut fabric does not unravel, I created a non-sticking work surface to apply decoupage medium to the hearts. Once they are dry, they will peel right off instead of sticking.

• Cover a piece of cardboard with plastic wrap, secure on the back with tape.
• Lay hearts on top of plastic wrap and apply a coat of decoupage medium evenly over hearts.
• Let dry for a few hours then peel hearts off plastic.

Cut Out the Hearts and Add Eyelet

1. When hearts are dry, cut out the heart right along the heart shape.
2. Using the tip of the scissors, punch a small hole in the upper center of the heart.
3. Put an eyelet in the hole and then use an eyelet punch to set the eyelet.
4. It will look like this.

How to Fringe Edges on Vase Cover Fabric

For the hearts I wanted the fabric stiff so the cut edges would not unravel, but also to make them retain their shape. For the fabric vase covers I wanted the opposite, to create a homespun feeling with fringed edges.

The gingham fabric has a nice fringed selvage. I used that to my advantage so I would only need to fringe one edge of the cover fabric.

1. Cut fabric to size needed. For the tin can glasses, I cut the fabric 3″ x 12″.
2. Hold the cut fabric in one hand and using your other, begin to remove the vertical threads. The fabric will ball up as you pull and remove the threads, but just pull and straighten it and keep pulling.
3. You should pull the threads off until you have about 1/4″ of fringed edge to match the fringed selvage.

4. Use a glue dot to attach fabric to the glass.

5. Cut an 18″ long piece of double-edge ribbon and thread through the back of the heart as shown above.

6. Tie onto glass, snip ribbon ends.

How To Colorwash Wood With Craft Paint

The Waverly Inspirations Basecoating Brush is sold for painting larger projects, but I found it the best way to paint fast stripes on the boards I painted. The technique can be used on any flat surface including furniture.

I wanted to color-wash the boards. To do this I mixed the paints with water.

To make the pink paint, I mixed 1 part White with 1 part Fuschia. The other colors of paint I used, I mixed 1 part paint to 1 part water. You can add more or less water depending on how transparent you want the paint wash to be. I wanted to still see the wood through the color-washing.

Use an old splayed out paint brush or chip brush to dry brush sides of wood. (sorry no photo of this step). Dip the brush into the White paint and then pounce it a few times on a paper towel to remove some of the paint. Brush on the paint against the grain of the wood. Let dry.

Paint To Apply Color Washing

1. Mix 1 part Crocus with 1 part water. Brush over wood.
2. If the paint is not transparent enough, brush water over it.
3. Let dry for a few minutes
4. Optional: Dap with a paper towel to remove some of the color.

How to Paint a Plaid Pattern Using a Basecoating Brush

1. Once board is dry, find and mark center of board. Dip basecoating brush into pink paint (White, Fuschia, and water mixture).
2. Brush over the center of the board to make first stripe.
3. Repeat the process to each side, leaving about  2″ in between each stripe. Don’t worry about them being perfect, the color washing should add to the distressed look of the wood.
4. Once the wide pink stripes are dry, use the basecoating brush in a different way to apply the thin stripes. (see below)

4. To create thin stripes using the brush, apply the paint by keeping the brush vertical and pull the brush towards you as you paint the narrow white and pink stripes. Let dry.

When you color wash with paint, the paint will be very transparent and some colors may run into one another creating new colors, just as if you were using watercolors on paper.

I created the narrow stripes on the pink board by only using the tip of the brush and holding it vertically as I pulled the loaded brush back and towards me.

Painting stripes on wood is very easy to do especially when you have the right tools, in this case the basecoating brush. It made it possible.

If you are feeling the winter doldrums, a trip to Walmart to see all the Waverly Inspirations paint colors and fabric patterns may just inspire you to add some color to your home this month.

More Ideas on How to Decorate With Trays

• Decorating With Trays in Every Room
• Trendy Coffee Table Tray in an Instant
• Spring Coffee Table Styling Tray Hack
• DIY: Tray Makeover
• How to Make a Butler’s Tray Table in Minutes
• Wicker Tray Fabric Covered Inserts

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