Turquoise Chevron Facelift, Shabby Style

One day I decided to clean out our kitchen cupboards, and I came across a bamboo-like serving tray. After studying the tray I thought about throwing it out, but then I noticed that this piece just might have potential.  I decided that I wanted to revive the tray from its bleak, out-dated state and transform it into a pretty lil' shabby chic piece.


I took it into my 'shop' and sanded it down with a very fine grit sand paper. 220 grit to be exact.  After the sanding I painted a white base.  I really wanted the base of the tray to be a turquoise chevron print.  That night, I stumbled across a blog that had printable chevron stencils. Perfect. For anyone that is interested, here is the link: http://www.billiemonster.com/blog/article/chevron-pattern-printable-template

I secured the stencil on the tray with painters tape, and then went to work.  I removed the stencil immediately after applying the paint.  I gave the tray a day to dry.  Finally, I took a fine grit sand paper and began distressing the surface.  Presto. Now we have a beautiful, shabby-chic tray.