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DIY Faux Mosaic Tile Serving Tray (+ 11 Vinyl Craft Ideas!)

Don’t judge, but I rescued some wooden catering trays destined for the trash at work. Instead, we transformed one into a pretty DIY faux mosaic tile serving tray using adhesive vinyl. Visit below for our how-to tutorial, plus eleven additional creative vinyl craft ideas from our fellow blogging friends!

DIY Faux Mosaic Serving Tray with Adhesive Vinyl

Almost a year ago, I picked up these wooden platters at a catered work event I attended . It may not have been the classiest move but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take these beauties home.

I just knew that I would one day be able to use them to make something useful! So with my head held high, I scraped off the leftover food, wiped them clean and stacked them to proudly take home.

The adhesive vinyl used in this post was provided to us free of charge by Expressions Vinyl. All opinions expressed are our own. This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy any products through these links – at no additional cost to you – we make a small commission. You can find our full disclosure here.

We weren’t too sure what we were going to make until we were invited to join our blogging friends to create a project using vinyl from Expressions Vinyl. Neither of us had any experience working with vinyl. So, to keep our options open, we chose a range of colours figuring inspiration would eventually strike.

We were immediately pleased with what we received in the package: there was so much vinyl, in different sizes and the colours were lovely and inspiring. After much brainstorming, Jane remembered those wooden platters I scored and the idea of a serving tray was hatched.

As a part of our collaboration with the same group of bloggers the month before, we had used felt fabric to create and embellish nautical themed throw pillows.

Expressions Vinyl sells craft vinyl for all your vinyl and heat transfer vinyl crafting needs. Now that we have a Cricut Maker machine, we’re excited to use the vinyl for additional projects. But we didn’t have one when we started out this craft, so we wanted to make a project that was fun and simple without using a cutting machine. And what could be simpler than cutting a bunch of triangles?

Materials Needed for this DIY Vinyl Project Idea:

  • Wooden serving tray
  • Sheets of Adhesive Vinyl. We used Expressions Vinyl Oracal 631 Removable Indoor Vinyl Sheets in White, Gentian, Geyser Blue, Turquoise Blue, Powder Blue and Teal
  • Acrylic craft paint (white) and paint brush
  • Cotton rope
  • Drill with ⅜” drill bit
  • Scissors

How to Make a Faux Mosaic Tile Serving Tray using Vinyl

1. Prepare the wood tray for painting. Sand and clean as necessary for a smooth surface. Paint the sides and set aside to dry.

2. Attach the handles onto the serving tray. Mark the sides of the platter for drilling. Position the holes centered along the sides and space the holes about 5” apart.

Using a ⅜” sized drill bit, carefully drill holes through the sides of the platter. Tip: drill the holes before painting (this is what I would do on the next one).

For each handle, cut 3 strands of cotton rope at 10” long. Knot the rope together on one end and thread through the drilled hole. 

3. Line the bottom and inside surfaces of the tray with the vinyl sheets. We used a sheet of dark blue vinyl for the bottom of the tray, and a sheet of white vinyl for the inside of the tray. The white was the “grout” for the mosaic tile pattern. 

Measure the surface of tray and cut a vinyl sheet to size with scissors or a paper cutter. Peel paper backing off of vinyl and place vinyl directly onto the surface of the tray. 

4. Create the geometric mosaic pattern inside the serving tray. Cut the vinyl pieces into irregular triangle shapes in several colours and begin to place onto surface in a geometric mosaic pattern, starting in one corner of the serving tray.

We just love how our faux mosaic tile serving tray turned out! The blues, teal and turquoise give it a distinctive Mediterranean vibe. Wish we had some Baklava to enjoy with our coffee, but instead got to savor our easy zucchini cake with berries!

The mosaic pattern made with the vinyl is pretty enough to display as a home decor art piece on its own, or to use as an organizer tray to hold necessities beside the bed or even in the bathroom. We actually now have it in our Lakeside beach themed bedroom at the cottage.

We love that the adhesive vinyl will protect the wood surface from any spills which will be easy to wipe off!

Additional Creative Vinyl Craft Ideas to Explore!

Although we were admittedly stumped at the outset of this challenge, we now have a number of vinyl craft ideas in mind. Moreover, since completing this project, we’ve gotten a Cricut Maker machine and have personalized binders and monogrammed stone napkin weights with vinyl.

And check out how many fab ideas our fellow blogging friends came up with for their vinyl:

From the top left, they are:

Number Subway Art from Love Create Celebrate

DIY Faux Mosaic Tile Serving Tray Using Vinyl from Sustain My Craft Habit (that’s us!)

Personalized Shoes from Brooklyn Berry Designs

Vinyl Otomi Chargers from PMQ for Two

DIY personalized throw pillow – home is where the heart is from Vin’yet Etc.

Child’s Memory Box with Hand-Cut Vinyl Decals from Woman in Real Life

DIY Striped Carafe from Lifeovereasy

Life is a Party Napkins from Life is a Party

Vintage Inspired DIY Office Sign from Heather in Heels

Easy Strawberry Jam with Printable Vinyl Labels from The DIY Mommy

Custom Artwork Using Vinyl from Love Create Celebrate

Which of these vinyl craft ideas are your favourite?

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Collage of images showing the faux mosaic serving tray made with adhesive vinyl

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Lindi

Thursday 18th of August 2016

I really, really love this piece! You guys did a beautiful job! I could pick any colours and do this! LOVE it!

Sonja

Tuesday 23rd of August 2016

Thank you, Lindi. The piece really came together in the end and it's true, any colour combination would work.

Thea

Thursday 18th of August 2016

I am so impressed and so inspired. I love creative projects like this because I love anything that looks like a mosaic. This really is gorgeous. Bravo!!!

dani@lifeovereasy

Thursday 18th of August 2016

What a fun project! I love ideas that don't require a cutting machine. And those rope handles are adorable!

Laurie Dickson

Wednesday 17th of August 2016

So bright and cheery... I'm so glad you held your head high and brought these trays home, what a great upcycle! I was so stumped for this one too... my idea came almost at the very last minute. Now we can say, vinyl, pfft yep we got that cased! Excellent job! xo

Jane and Sonja

Monday 22nd of August 2016

Ha ha! So true Laurie - feels like we're vinyl queens now!Just couldn't let those trays end up in the garbage. They're so nice and I'm happy to have them! :) Thank you so much for popping by.

Joann

Wednesday 17th of August 2016

I love what you did without the need for a cutting machine! It looks absolutely beautiful!

Jane and Sonja

Monday 22nd of August 2016

Thank you so much Joann! We love your hand-cut decals - such a great idea to personalize and customize storage bins. Thanks for your kind comment.

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