Keep all of your Christmas treats and trinkets in this festive Gingerbread Man Catchall Tray!
Don't you love decor that also doubles as storage? This Gingerbread Man Catchall Tray is made using a wooden gingerbread man tray and resin, and is the perfect place to keep your favorite holiday treasures all in one place. This is a simple project for resin crafters of any level, but is especially great for beginners! I love how this Gingerbread Man Catchall Tray turned out, and I hope you feel inspired to give it a try!
To make your own Gingerbread Man Catchall Tray, you will need these supplies:
- Wood Gingerbread Man Tray
- Sandpaper
- Paint Brushes
- Stain or Chalk Paint Wax
- Acrylic Paint - red, green, black, white
- Mod Podge
- Glitter - red, green, black
- Amazing Clear Cast Epoxy
- Measuring Cups
- Stirring Sticks
- Disposable Gloves
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Use sandpaper to make the surface of the gingerbread man tray as smooth as possible. Cover the inside of the tray with brown stain or antique chalk paint wax using a brush or paper towel. I also painted the inside edges of the tray. You don't need to paint the outer edge, buttons, or the face. Allow the stain/wax to dry completely.
Next, use acrylic paint and a small brush to cover the face and button areas. For my tray, I painted the nose red, the buttons green, and the eyes and mouth in black. If you prefer, you can paint the eyes and mouth in white, but I ended up liking black better. Allow the paint to dry completely.
If you know anything about me, it's that I can't resist adding extra sparkle when necessary! Christmas deserves ALL the glitter, so of course this tray needs some, right? Mix a little bit of Mod Podge with
red, black, and green glitter (separately) in a paint tray. You want it to be a paste-like consistency. Use a small paint brush to add a thick coat of the glitter mixture over the face and buttons, matching the glitter with the paint colors.
Once the Mod Podge has dried, it will change from white to clear, leaving the glitter to shimmer and shine without rubbing off!
Last, but not least, paint the edges and the back of the tray with white acrylic paint. Be careful to not get any of the paint on the inside of the tray! If necessary, add additional coats for full coverage, but make sure to allow each coat to dry before adding another.
Prepare about 2 ounces of Amazing Clear Cast resin. Pour in equal parts of resin and hardener to a mixing cup. Slowly stir the resin together with a stir stick for two minutes or until combined. If the resin looks cloudy or has any streaks running through it, you need to keep stirring it until it becomes clear.
To prevent trapped bubbles in the face and buttons, fill those areas with resin first. Use the stir stick to carefully fill those areas with resin until it reaches the top edge of the cutouts. Let the resin "rest" for a few minutes to give the air bubbles time to rise to the surface. Spritz the resin with alcohol to pop the surface bubbles.
Tilt the tray in different directions to help the resin move into other areas and then use the stir stick to cover the surface of tray. Don't forget to cover the inside of the edges of the tray as well.
Now the tray is ready for use! The resin is actually food-safe, so you could also use the tray for serving cookies or other goodies, though I would not recommend cutting anything on the tray. This is also a beautiful piece of Christmas decor to have on display! Arrange wrapped holiday candies, family photos, and so much more!
Last, but not least, add some resin to the top edge of the tray. You can scrape some of the excess resin from the mixing cup for this step since it doesn't take a lot of resin to cover this area. Take the resin to *just* the outer edge of the top, but not over it. Otherwise, it will drip down the sides and make a mess on your workspace.
Once the edge is covered, spritz the entire tray with alcohol to remove surface bubbles. If you see any bubbles that are trapped in the "corners" or the cutout areas, use the stir stick or a toothpick to bring them up to the top. Leave the resin to cure in an undisturbed area for at least 12 hours.
Once cured, the resin should be smooth and hard to the touch. If it is still tacky, it may just need more time to cure, especially if you are in a more humid climate. Let the tray sit in a warm, flat area to cure for a few hours (or days) to completely harden. If it is still tacky after this amount of time, it could be a mixing error. You can fix this by pouring another thin layer of resin on top.
This is such a fun piece of Christmas decor, and I definitely recommend that you give it a try. I love how this tray turned out, and would love to hear what you think! As always, if you make any of these projects for yourself, I'd love to see your creations! Tag me on Instagram and Facebook, or leave a comment/photo on the project pin on Pinterest!
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