Every home could use a tray or two, right? Oftentimes they come with a hefty price tag but there's a budget-friendly option. Umbra photo trays found at the thrift store make the perfect year-round tray to use for every new season or holiday. By simply changing what's displayed under the glass, ONE tray becomes the quick change artist seasonal ottoman tray!

The Quick Change Artist Seasonal Ottoman Tray

Like my upcycled Umbra tray that I'm currently using to decorate for Valentine's Day. Painted a neutral white, it works with every color, pattern, and style of embellishment placed under the glass year-round.

When you live in a small home like I do, giving home decor a multi-purpose is key to avoid having to store it during the off-season. I do the same thing with seasonal pillows. I keep one size pillow forms and change out the pillow covers ONLY for the seasons like I did with these Holiday Ornament Pillows.

The red and white heart fabric I used to decorate the tray for Valentine's Day may look familiar because last week I shared how I used some of the fleece remnants to make an easy Fleece Valentine Heart Pillow.

The possibilities are endless to change what's displayed under the glass of the tray. You could use fabric like I did or scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, wallpaper, napkins, doilies...well you get the picture.

This is what the Umbra wooden tray looked like before...

I've seen these particular trays often at thrift stores. In fact, a few years ago I upcycled an identical one with scrapbook paper and typography, turning it into a Coffee Tray With Rustic Charm.

Here's how I did it...

Step 1 - Prep tray for paint

There are a few things that need to be done first before we paint the tray. First, remove the backing and the wood photo mat (which we will not be using).

Unfortunately, oftentimes the glass can't be removed because it's glued down so I recommend running a piece of painter's tape along the edge of the glass.

With 150 grit sandpaper lightly sand the wood to rough up the glossy finish. Because of the dark cherry stained finish, you are guaranteed to get some paint bleed where the tannins in the wood bleed through the paint. For this reason, it's important to prime the tray first.

Step 2 - Paint the tray

Now the tray is ready to be painted with neutral white chalk paint. Note, if you notice pink spots coming through the paint then you'll need to add another coat of primer.

Once the last coat of chalk paint is dry, lightly sand along the edges with 220 grit sandpaper for a distressed finish like pictured below.

Protect the paint with either clear wax or a clear top coat. Depending on how much use the tray will get, I would suggest the later. Although having said that  I, on the other hand, used white wax to protect my tray.

Step 3 - Add the pretty under glass

Now we're ready to replace the photo paper that came with the tray with pretty seasonal scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, wallpaper, fabric, and the list goes on. The possibilities are endless.

For my Valentine heart fleece, all I did was wrap it around a piece of cardboard cut to size and taped it onto the back. Easy peasy!

Step 4 - Assemble the tray

Clean the glass inside and out, scraping any paint splatters with a scraper knife. Make sure the glass is completely dry before inserting your pretty paper or fabric. Assemble the frame and you're done.

If anyone is wondering about the Ombre Valentine Flower Vase on the end table in each of these photos, it was such an easy craft made with mod melts and a glass cylinder from the dollar store.

For this project you will need...

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full disclosure policy.

Photo Frame
Fabric or Seasonal Paper
150 grit and 220 grit Sandpaper
Primer
White Chalk Paint
White Wax or Clear Top Coat





I have a fetish for trays and have a stack of them waiting for makeovers. I've upcycled many over the years and if you'd like more inspiration, visit my Trays & Tiered Cake Stands page.

If you have any questions about this makeover, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.

If you can sew a straight line, then you could easily make this adorable Valentine Fleece Heart Pillow and it'll only take you about 15 minutes to make. It's a great way to use up fabric remnants that you may have on hand. You don't need a sewing machine to make this pillow but it is a lot quicker if you do.

How To Make A Valentine Fleece Heart Pillow

It all started with this fleece remnant that I found in my fabric bin. I think it's leftover from a project my daughter made in high school and she's now married with two children. That tells you how long it's been sitting in the bin.

Over the next week or two, I'll be sharing three Valentine ideas made with this one red and white heart fabric remnant.

But for now, we'll focus on how I made the heart pillow.

For This Project You Will Need:

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full disclosure policy.

As you can see in the photo below, you don't need many supplies to sew this pillow.

Before we get into the tutorial, I should mention that this isn't a professional sewing tutorial. I am a self-taught novice behind the sewing machine. I made a makeshift sewing pattern and figured out how to make the pillow as I went along. Which is a testament to how easy this pillow is to make?

Materials List

Red & White Fleece Fabric (Remnant)
White PomPom Trim (Dollar Store)
Polyester Fill
Red Thread
Hot Glue Gun
Bond Printer Paper
Scissors
Pencil

Step 1 - Make a heart pattern

First, we need a heart pattern. I drew just one half of a heart freehand on a sheet of letter size bond printer paper.

Note: I haven't included a seam allowance on the pattern. You can add one before cutting your heart but I added mine as I cut the fabric (you'll see how in Step 3).

Step 2 - Pin heart pattern on the fabric

I folded the fabric, the wrong side facing out, towards the center on both ends to form the fold for both the front and back pieces (pictured below).

Pin the pattern onto the fabric with the center of the heart on each fold.

Step 3 - Cut the fabric

I added a 1-inch seam allowance by sliding a ruler along the heart pattern and cutting as I went (pictured below). As mentioned in Step 1, you can add the seam allowance to your pattern before you cut out the heart if that is easier.

I wanted the heart as big as I could get it on letter sized paper so I had no room left to add a seam allowance.

Step 4 - Pin the heart pillow

With good sides together, pin the front and back pieces together. Make sure to mark a 4-6 inch opening for adding polyester fill later. I marked my opening with double pins on each end.

Step 5 - Sew the heart pillow

I cut the fabric with a 1-inch seam allowance but actually sewed the pillow with a 5/8-inch seam allowance. Only because it is an easier guide on the sewing machine plate AND it made the pillow a little bigger.

If you don't have a sewing machine, you can stitch this pillow by hand with a short running stitch. It wouldn't take very long for a pillow this size and it's a good task to do while watching your favorite television show.

A helpful tip for threading a needle when the old eyes ain't what they used to be:

If you’re like me and at a certain age where threading a needle causes colorful words to come out of your mouth is a challenge, you may find this tip VERY helpful. Hold a piece of white paper behind the sewing needle and the eye of the needle will magically appear before your very eyes!

I always keep this little piece of paper in the storage compartment of my machine and another in my sewing basket.

To remove bulk around the curves of the heart, clip straight lines perpendicular to the seam, making sure you don't clip too close to the seam (pictured below).

Step 6 - Add filling inside the heart pillow

Turn the heart pillow right side out pushing the bottom point out with your finger. Fill the pillow with polyester fill. I used what I had on hand. Fold in the seam allowance on the opening and pin closed.

Hand stitch the opening closed with an invisible stitch called a ladder stitch. If you're unfamiliar with this stitch I found a great ladder stitch video tutorial on YouTube that you may find helpful.

Step 7 - Add pompom trim to the heart pillow

I used white craft pompoms meant for attaching with a hot glue gun. There are pompoms available with a trim meant for sewing them inside the seam but we're going to keep things simple for this pillow.

Just run a dab of hot glue over the seam beneath each pompom. Easy peasy!

That's it, fifteen minutes later and we have a cute fleece heart pillow for Valentine's Day.

Are you all about the hearts when decorating your home for the occasion? If so, you may like these two heart shape wreath ideas. One is an Easy DIY Red Scarf Wreath and the other a Red Burlap Ribbon Wreath.

I share other Valentine DIY ideas on my seasonal Valentine's Day Page on the blog or my Be My Valentine Board on Pinterest.

I share my projects at these fabulous link parties.

What to do with the one and only glass cylinder from a trio of geometric wood vases found at a thrift store? That's the question I asked myself for weeks until organizing my craft bin and coming across a package of mod melts that I forgot I had. Which then lead me to my candy mold stash and a pretty red and pink Ombre Valentine Vase was born.

Ombre Valentine Vase With Mod Melts

It could also be used as a Valentine candleholder, which is what I'll be doing once the flowers are finished.

To see the wood vases this glass cylinder came from and how they were repurposed, visit my DIY Geometric Lamp blog post.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full disclosure policy.

For This Project You Will Need:

Have you ever used Mod Podge mod melts? They look like hot glue sticks and you use them in a craft glue gun. There are several types of silicone mod melt molds (say that three times fast) available to make paintable embellishments. I had heart shaped plastic molds from my former chocolate making days that I used instead to make the hearts for the ombre vase.

Pictured below are some of the supplies I used.

Here's how I made it:

Squeeze the mod melts into the center of the molds and work your way outwards until filled. Wait 10 minutes before removing them from the molds.

When using plastic molds normally you would grease it first to prevent the mod melts from sticking but I have a grease-free alternative that works.

TIP:
If you put the molds in the freezer for five minutes, the hearts will pop out like grandma’s teeth when she sneezes! This works for removing candle wax from votives too.

It took 60 hearts to cover my 7" tall x 3" diameter glass cylinder. They are so quick and easy to make that it won't take long to have them finished.

Paint the ombre gradient hearts:

Trim any excess melt from the edges with a craft knife.

Determine how many hearts you'll need per row, I needed ten. Unlike in the picture below, paint the hearts first before gluing them onto the glass vase.

I based the gradient ombre color change after every second row which meant I needed 20 hearts per color.

Pour red acrylic craft paint (or if you prefer a glossy finish you could use a gloss enamel or multi-surface paint) into three small yogurt containers. In one add 2 teaspoons of white craft paint to make a medium pink color. In the third container, mix 4 teaspoons of white craft paint to get a light pink color. Paint 20 hearts of each color and you will probably need three coats.

Here we'll attach the hearts to the vase:

Initially, I attached the hearts with E6000 glue but after the first row, I switched to the hot glue gun because it was so much quicker.  Starting at the bottom glue a row of red hearts. On the second row, glue the point of the hearts between two hearts on the previous row. Repeat this pattern for the next two rows of medium pink hearts and the last two rows of light pink ones.

Tie a pretty ribbon around the top of the vase and we're done!

Like I mentioned at the top of this post, it would make a lovely candleholder too for Valentine's day. My preference would be a red or pink flameless wax candle with a timer.

In case you missed it, did you see my simple Burlap Ribbon Valentine Wreath? For more Love day inspiration visit my Valentine Ideas page.

I share my projects at these fabulous link parties.

I'm happy to be joining my friend's in the Int'l Bloggers Club to share our first DIY project of 2019. This month the theme is Love Is In The Air where we hope to inspire you with Valentine ideas. I have to admit, I'm not one who decorates the house for Valentine's Day but I always enjoy a seasonal wreath for the front door. In December I made two tabletop Christmas trees with red burlap ribbon. When I had some leftover, I saved it to make a DIY burlap ribbon Valentine wreath for our door.

Red Burlap Ribbon DIY Valentine Wreath

If you're new around here and haven't heard of the Int'l Bloggers Club, we are a group of friends from around the globe who come together every month to share a themed DIY project. Links to my friend's Valentine inspired projects are included at the bottom of this post. In November, our last project of 2018, the theme was Christmas where I shared a Christmas Junk Angel made from a repurposed thrift store metal shelf.

This Valentine's project is a great craft to do while watching television. I made mine while binge-watching the new season of Grace and Frankie on Netflix.

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this wreath. See my full disclosure policy. Pictured below are some of the supplies I used to make the wreath, minus the narrow heart ribbon.

For This Project You Will Need:

1 1/2 Spools 1" Red Burlap Ribbon (not an affiliate link)
1 Spool 7/8" Red & White Polka Dot Ribbon
Heart Shape Wreath Form OR Bendable Craft Wire
Wire Cutters
Needle Nose Pliers
Fabric Scissors
Large and Small Pearl Craft Beads
Metal Heart Pendant Charm
Small Jewelry Jump Ring
Clear Jewelry Cord
Hot Glue Gun
Colonial Red Spray Paint (optional)

How to make a burlap ribbon Valentine wreath

First, you'll need a wreath form. You can use a ready-made heart shape metal form or make one like I did.

DIY metal wreath form

I used a grapevine heart for my template and traced the shape on a whiteboard.

You could repurpose a wire clothes hanger or use bendable craft wire like I did. Starting on the bottom point of the wreath, bend the wire over the heart template, holding it in place with tape as you work (pictured below). Twist the ends of the wire together with needle nose pliers and cut the excess with wire cutters.

This step is optional but to help conceal the metal wreath form from peeking through the ribbon, I painted it first with Colonial Red Rustoleum spray paint.

Cut the ribbon for the wreath

Here's where you may want to set yourself up in front of the television. Cut both the burlap ribbon and red & white accent ribbon in 9-inch strips.

I used one 3 yard spool of 7/8-inch accent ribbon and 1 1/2 spools of 10 yard 1-inch burlap ribbon. The accent ribbon isn't wired because it was all I had on hand but my preference would be wired.

Add the ribbon onto the wreath

Embrace the burlap fray! Tie the strips of burlap ribbon around the entire wreath, fraying the ends as you work.

Tie eight accent ribbons spaced evenly around the wreath and with sharp scissors make a V cut on each end.

Tip: Fold the tails of the ribbon in half and cut diagonally towards the bottom of the ribbon. 

Embellish bottom of the wreath with heart charm

In my stash of craft supplies, I had some metal heart charms leftover from another project to embellish the bottom of the wreath. I also had a couple of costume jewelry bracelets that I never wear and took them apart to salvage the small pearl beads.

Tie clear jewelry cord onto metal heart charm. Thread the jewelry cord through three small pearl beads, one large pearl bead, and three more small beads. Tie the cord onto a small jewelry jump ring. Open the jump ring with jewelry needle nose pliers and slip the jump ring onto the bottom of the metal wreath form and close tight.

This is optional but with one strand of red & white ribbon make a rosette to accent the bottom of the wreath (as pictured above). If you've never made a rosette you can find a detailed tutorial here in my see drop cloth rosette pillow post.

Pearl trim around the wreath

Following the center of the ribbon and spaced evenly around the wreath, glue leftover pearls with a hot glue gun. A pearl costume jewelry necklace would look lovely too.

That's it, you're done and hopefully caught up on some of your favorite shows.

Here's another DIY Valentine's Wreath idea that is so quick and easy to make using a scarf.

Please join me and visit the links below to see my friend's Valentine inspired projects...

An InLinkz Link-up

I share my projects at these fabulous link parties.