Cowboy Chic Horseshoe Wooden Tray

This Cowboy Chic wooden tray is easy and inexpensive to create, and can be very versatile in your home. Use it to serve aperitifs to your guests, or to simply hold mail or other household "junk"!

For this project, you will need:

- An unfinished wood tray

- Krylon® Interior Exterior Paint, in Equestrian

- Krylon® Make It Suede Paint, in Brushed Sienna

- A small knife or other distressing tool

- A cardboard box large enough for the tray into

- Newspaper

- A few old rags

- Gorrilla Glue ®, or any other adhesive to secure leather and metal to wood

- 2" iron horseshoes (like those found here at Texican Treasures)

- Clamp

- Medium grit sandpaper

- Tack cloth or soft cloth

Begin by lightly sanding the tray with medium grit sandpaper and wiping away any excess dust with a tack cloth. Next, cover your workspace in newspaper to prevent any overspray from the paint. Set the tray in the box to prevent further overspray.

Coat the entire wooden photo tray with one coat of Krylon® Interior Exterior Paint in Equestrian. Allow the tray to dry fully before applying a second coat, and allowing that paint to set completely as well.

Next, apply a coat of Krylon® Make It Suede Paint in Brushed Sienna to the tray. Let the paint set a few seconds before gently ragging off any additional paint from the tray. Repeat the process with a second coat. (Note: It is perfectly okay when painting to leave spots with lighter paint than others. This only lends to the "rustic" look of the tray.)

When all coats of paint have dried, it is time to mar the wood itself. Using a small knife, scratch and dent the tray as necessary. Peel small areas of top paint to reveal the Equestrian color, or even the raw frame underneath. Be creative! This process leads to a charming frame, so feel free to do as much or as little as you would like. (Note: Wear on the tray will also continue over time and use, so be sure not to distress the paint too much.)

Apply glue to the back of one horseshoe. Adhere to the side of the frame, with the "u" shape up, creating a handle. Clamp the horseshoe to the tray and allow the glue to dry fully before repeating the process on the other side.