Is this the most cheerful tray you've ever seen?

I don't know about you, but in our house we have an extensive collection of melamine trays in this weird faux-wood finish. They’re probably all from grandma, they’re not very pretty and we only use them for major baking projects.

So I was quite interested in sneaking off with one and trying to paint over it, to see if it would work.

First I sanded it down, because the melamine was obviously glossy. Then I used the usual acrylic craft paint, three coats of it because the original finish was quite dark. After I painted it I used the spray on varnish, to make it more durable.

Aaaaand, the end result?

Quite nice, and so far it held up very well. Most importantly it makes me smile every time I use it, which is kind of the point of these projects.