Magnetic Photo Display Tray

Don’t you hate it when you’re trying to cook (during the witching hour) and you keep having to bend over to find where you’re at on your recipe? I know I do. And I also hate that the recipes take up valuable counter space. So today’s Magnetic Photo Display Tray (which doubles as a recipe holder) is an awesome idea. It gets your recipe off the counter, up a little higher, and it looks cute in the meantime. Read on to see how Jennifer of My Daylights made this functional and fun tray!

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Hi everyone! I am excited to be guest posting today. I’m Jennifer from My Daylights, a place where I share any random bits from recipes to crafts to printables (my favorite thing to make!), and everything in between. I am a momma to two little boys who keep me busy, but I somehow always find the time to get some crafting done. Without my crafting time, I would go crazy!

In the fall, I got to work with a great stack by Die Cuts With A View, the Spiced Cider Stack. I made these burlap pinwheels with it. I love when paper stacks are versatile! I was able to make a fun little project for my kitchen with this stack, one that can stay out the entire year.

My grandmother wrote down some of her most popular recipes for me when I got married. It’s such a nice memento to have from her, especially because they are written in her handwriting. I have been wanting a way to display them in my kitchen but I also needed to be able to have access to them. Maybe one day I will get them in a cute frame with some pictures, but, for now, I created the perfect spot, a little photo tray that fits perfectly on our kitchen table. Plus, I can display some cute Instagram 2×2’s.

I found a cute bare wooden tray a while back and it was perfect. I didn’t need to sand it much either.

I wanted the tray to be magnetic, so that I could attach recipes and pictures while being able to change them out easily. I had a 5×7 piece of sheet metal that I had on hand from Pick Your Plum. The metal sheets are so great to stock up on when they are featured and always at a great price! I use them all of the time. You can find sheet metal at some hobby stores and home improvement stores too. If you don’t have access to it, Martha Stewart does have a magnetic paint. I have tried it on some projects and it holds light pieces pretty well.

After painting the tray a cheery yellow, I used wood glue to adhere the metal sheet. I use wood glue on everything! It works really well. After piecing the papers together (I used three different sheets from the stack), I used more wood glue and adhered my paper.

It needed a little more, so I added some red burlap bows, buttons and thread, to add some extra flair. And finally, I had some black bottle caps that made perfect little magnets (just by adding some magnetic strips with hot glue).

I now have a fun little centerpiece for our table. I love that I can show off my Grandma’s recipes recipes and it’s a fun little place to show off more pictures of my little ones.