DIY Metal Christmas Sign

Hello my friends and welcome to the last Thrifty Thursday of the year! I love participating in this monthly event and have had a lot of fun coming up with projects to complete. This time we planned ahead of time to provide you with Christmas themed projects for the Less Is More Series!

It’s so fun to see what everyone comes up with for their projects. And it’s hard to believe that they are all diy, thrifts, or doll store products. These ladies are all very talented, please check out their posts too at the end of this tutorial.

Let’s get right into my fun DIY metal tray Christmas sign! Here is the tray I picked up to repurpose:

The pictures don’t show it that great, but the sign was rusted and in bad shape. Yes, it’s a vintage Coca-Cola tray, but I don’t believe there was any value for it in this condition. So I had no problem giving it a makeover. (And I have a second one in much better shape to display as is.)

Supplies Used for Metal Christmas Sign

Metal tray, 9×12 or your preference of size

White chalk spray paint

Cricut cutting machine

Permanent Vinyl

Clear Transfer Paper

Customizing your Sign

It’s important to note that this tray was not sealed afterwards to make it food- safe. You can make your tray food-safe but this Christmas sign is designed to be used as a display sign only.

Step 1: Paint

The first step actually, was to wipe the tray clean. I didn’t bother trying to scrape away the rust since the spray paint would cover it. Make sure you are in a well-ventilated room before you start spray painting.

This same spray paint in my Joy Christmas Wine Bottles project and love the matte finish. It’s held up well on the glass. It should hold up well on the metal tray sign as well.

This sign needed 3 light coats of paint to fully cover the design. Applying the paint in multiple light coats meant no drip marks on the final project. Only the top of the metal tray was painted, the bottom was left as it was.

Find Your Design

I busted out my Cricut for the bulk of the design on this project. If you don’t have a cutting machine, you could always print out the template, cut it out, and then paint on the design instead of using vinyl.

I had found this free pattern through Pinterest on the site Perfect Stylish Cuts. Idalia has some amazing designs. If you also like this design, please sign up for her emails and get the files directly from her website instead of trying to copy them from my images. She gets full credit for the design.

After downloading her file, I picked out a pretty Evergreen colour to cut my design into. It really worked well for the tradition Christmas theme in my house. Then once it was done cutting, it was a matter of weeding out the extra vinyl pieces that weren’t a part of the design, and adding on a clear transfer layer.

Add Design to Metal Tray Sign

Using the correct method to apply permanent vinyl to an object, stick the vinyl design onto the metal sign. Using a little squeegee, the air bubbles were pushed out from underneath the vinyl for a smoother finish and better seal. This will help it to last for years without peeling off. Once that’s done, simply pulled off the clear covering for an unhindered view of your pretty sign.

And voila!

The metal tray Christmas sign was complete!

Like I mentioned earlier, this tray isn’t sealed to make it food-grade for serving treats on. This simple sign is mean to be hung up on the wall or placed on a fireplace mantel for a cute Christmas decor.

You can easily customize this to make any sign and greeting you want for any holiday! I hope you enjoyed this easy DIY Christmas decor idea!

Happy Holidays my friends.

More Fun Less Is More Christmas Ideas

The Lived-In Look: How To Flock A Christmas Tree

• 

• 

Practical Whimsy Designs: DIY Ornamental Gift Tags

• 

• 

Windmill & Protea: DIY Wooden Christmas Tree

• 

• 

Don’t Lose it! Pin the DIY Metal Tray Christmas Sign