While sitting down to write this blog post, all about this stunning hand-crafted wooden serving tray, I was hit with a strange sense of déjà vu...
I looked back at the blog post that I wrote about a similar tray that I painted earlier this year, featuring a gorgeous succulent and olive leaf wreath. Then it hits me: It seems that my tray-painting-days are cursed!
Okay, okay, so this is only the second tray like this that I've painted, but it does seem like there is a sinister pattern emerging:
Both times, I was really pressed for time. Last time, because I wanted to finish the tray in time to send it to my client with a lift opportunity, thereby saving her the shipping costs (I'm nice like that). This time, because the tray was a special 60th birthday gift for a very dear friend of ours (I'm nice like that). What ensued (both times!) was days of mad, compulsive painting-crying-tea-drinking...
But wait - the plot thickens:
With the previous tray, I had to come up with a clever solution to keep painting, even though dear Eskom left us in the dark. Since I had a deadline, I had to push through, even during multiple power-outages in the evenings. This time around, after ages without issue, tragedy suddenly struck just as I was starting my new tray project: Load shedding was back in earnest! Again, I had to figure out ways of finishing in time, in the dark... It's as if Eskom was just waiting for me to start another wooden tea tray!
Sinister, right?
I can hear you scoffing. Stop that! Let me have my little temper tantrum...
Dramatics aside -- this hand-made serving tray was made by my awesome carpenter hubby, Alex, from The Modest Toolbox. In keeping with both our business' eco-friendly values, he used recycled wood - pallet wood with oak corner inserts, and then stained the tray with a special home-made brew to give it an antique look. I used acrylic paint to add the aloe and sunbird.
Funny story (well, not exactly funny ha-ha.. More like interesting.. or something..): I used a reference photo of a White-bellied Sunbird, taken by my friend Carien Viljoen, because the little bird's posture is just so perfect. But, I decided on the colouring of a Southern Double-collared Sunbird, as the new owner of this wooden serving tray lives in the Cape and the white-bellied doesn't occur here.
And on that very not-so-funny-or-interesting story, I'll leave you to enjoy a bit of the behind-the-scenes pics. You might notice that the lighting changes quite dramatically from one to the next. I had to move around our cottage, chasing light sources. Lamps, then windows, then head lamps in the dark... Sinister.
See time lapse video of this piece on my YouTube channel!
A one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted tray or custom wedding name board like this one, can only be ordered by contacting me directly. Get in touch via Whatsapp (there's a button in the lower right-hand-side of your screen!), or find my details by clicking below:
