Upcycled Art Paper Tray

Transform an old item into a piece of art with simple altered craft ideas. Make an Upcycled Art Paper Tray from Lisa Fulmer using weaving techniques and find out how easy it is to reinvent a boring household item. You can also use this idea for wall art and decor crafts.


 

Materials:

• 2 large sheets of art paper in complimentary colors or patterns
• Large ruler and cutting mat
• Rotary cutter and X-acto blade
• Blue painter’s tape
• Large piece of cardboard
• Decoupage medium and brush
• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
• Wood tray
• Piece of plastic or acrylic cut to fit the bottom of tray

Instructions:

1. Lay sheet #1 of art paper on cutting mat and use ruler with rotary cutter to cut 1″ horizontal strips into the sheet, leaving about 2″ uncut at the left; set aside.
    
2. Repeat with sheet #2, cutting vertical strips and leaving about 2″ uncut on the top.
    
3. Tape top edge of sheet #2 to cutting mat with painter’s tape.
    
4. Lay sheet #1 on top of sheet #2 and tape left edge to cutting mat; gently pull the strips up and curl them back out of the way on the left, so your vertical strips of sheet #2 are showing.
    
5. Starting at the top, pull one strip from sheet #2 over at a time, and weave it in between the vertical strips of sheet #1.
    
6. Push each horizontal strip up so it’s nested closely to the strip above it (make a tight weave so you get perfect little squares) and tape each woven strip to the cutting mat on the right to keep in place temporarily.
    
7. After you have woven all the strips together, your weaving will be secured to the mat with tape on 3 sides; slide a piece of cardboard (trimmed to the size of the tray bottom or larger) carefully under the untaped side.
    
8. Carefully pull each piece of tape off the mat from one side at a time and wrap it around to secure it to the back of the cardboard, until the whole weaving is off the mat and tightly secured to the cardboard (add tape to the 4th side).
    
9. Apply a coat of decoupage medium on top of the weaving, using gentle brush strokes to avoid shifting or lifting any strips; allow to dry.
    
10. Use the piece of plastic as a template (if necessary) to trim the weaving on the cardboard to it’s final size that will fit inside the tray.
     
11. Spread a little glue in the bottom of the tray, lay the weaving down inside it and press to adhere.
     
12. Lay the plastic sheet in the tray to cover and protect the weaving.
     
13. If desired, adhere the plastic to the weaving with another coat of decoupage medium, and apply a thin line of clear caulking around the edges to seal the weaving in.