Made By Hand. By ME.

Once I read about this month's Craftster challenge, Repurpose A Catalog, I immediately knew that I wanted to give it a try.  I knew what I wanted to do.  I knew I wanted to make a tray: an actual item often featured in a number of catalogs that specialize in housewares.  The irony was too obvious to ignore as it was the publishers of the catalogs themselves who provided me with the medium to make my own houseware -- rather than sell me one of theirs.  For that satisfaction alone, I thank you Craftster! 

Materials required: eight or so catalogs, tacky glue, super glue, clear packing tape, scissors, polyurethane lacquer finish.

First, begin by tearing out the pages of your catalogs and then folding each torn page, long ways, by creasing the paper approximately ¼” from the edge and then folding it over.  Continue by making another crease ¼” from the new edge and then folding it over.  Proceed until you have folded your paper over enough times so that it measures ¼” in width.  Its length, however, should still be the height of the original catalog.   

Once you have a number of folded strips, you can begin to create the base for your tray. To start, take one folded strip and start to roll it as you would tape measure.  Once it is completed rolled into a circle (see photo), use a piece of tape to secure it into place.  I used clear packing tape (I just cut small strips ¼” in size before I started this part of the craft). 


To follow, take another folded strip and tape it to your rolled circle, then coil it completely around the circle and secure it into place with another piece of tape.  Continue until you are happy with the size of your base of your tray.  My tray base measures just under 14” in diameter (see photo).


To follow, you will want to brush a coat of tacky glue across the top and bottom of the base.  This will ensure that the base remains intact.  Let the base dry for at least twelve hours before adding the lip. 

While the base dries, you can begin making the lip of your tray.  With your remaining folded catalog pages, you will use the same technique you used to create your base to create the lip.  The only difference is that you will create several small circles with your folded catalog pages rather than one large one.  I used three pages for each of my circles, of which I made 27 in all.


After all your circles are completed, you will then want to brush them each with tacky glue and allow them to dry as you did the base. 

Once all your circles are dry, you can then begin to glue them to the rim of your base to form a lip.  To start, coat the bottom third of one side of each circle so to adhere each circle to the rim of the base.  You will also want to place a dab of glue to the edges of each circle so that they will stick to each other and remain in alignment.  In addition to using tacky glue, you will want to go over your finished project with super glue to ensure its overall durability. 

After you have glued all your circles completely around the base’s rim and finished up with super glue, let your project dry overnight and then coat it with polyurethane, as many times as desired, depending on the level of shine you desire.

Let dry and enjoy!