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    Home » Repurposed Items » Miscellaneous Household Items » Caddy or Tray Repurposed from Hymnbook Holders

    Caddy or Tray Repurposed from Hymnbook Holders

    Published by Gail | Published October 7, 2016 | Updated April 9, 2019
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Hi Friends! It is Mindi again from MyLove2Create back to share an easy tutorial with you. I am going to show you how I made a Caddy or Tray Repurposed from Hymnbook Holders...

    repurposed hymnbook holders into a caddy and a tray

    I am loving the results! Are you a little confused about the Hymnbook holders? Let me explain.

    before of hymnbook holders

    A few years back our church was getting new pews for our chapel. They originally said we could take a pew (if we wanted one), but when I went to pick it up they had decided to sell them to an organization. Ok, cool, but "Do you want the Hymnbook Holders?" I asked...No they didn't! So of course I came home with several, and they have been collecting dust in my garage ever since. Until now!

    removing carpet from hymnbook holders

    It was time to dust them off and turn them into something cool, and I had just the idea! I started by removing the carpet strip (cause you can't have the loud noise of hymnbooks dropping back into their holders, right!) and realized I would have to deal with the nasty hardened glue left behind on the wood.

    sing-a-heat-gun-to-remove-glue

    I knew sanding the glue off would ruin 50 million pieces of sandpaper so I busted out my HomeRight Heat Gun! It took about 5 minutes or so to scrap off the glue, but it was well worth the effort!

    gluing-holders-to-make-a-caddy

    I had decided to make a caddy with two of the hymnbook holders so I added wood glue and clamped them together. As I waited for the glue to dry, I filled in all the holes and cracks with spackle.

    gluing-holders-to-make-a-tray

    As an unexpected twist I was messing with two other hymnbook holders (yes I still have more in the garage...) trying different configurations, and realized they would also make a cool tray! So of course I had to make one. I glued, clamped, and filled the holes with spackle as well.

    In the bottom left photo you can see I turned it upside down, I forgot to take a photo but I also nailed on 5 gallon paint stick scraps to help support the bottom of the tray, and to make it level with the edges of the holders so the bottom would sit flush.

    dry brushing painting technique

    Once the glue was set and I sanded the caddy and tray down, removing all the extra spackle, I was ready to paint!

    I ended up going with a dry brush technique in white, aqua, light blue, and gray. All I did was add paint to a chip brush, wipe most of it off onto newspaper, and then brush it on. There is no method, just be messy and don't completely cover the piece...that is the look you want. I added little bits of the other colors, but not too much. For another example of this technique see my Pottery Barn Knock-off Sign.

    And look! There are the paint sticks I told you about (bottom right). 🙂  And one more thing, I did apply a few coats of wax as well.

    adding bucket handle to caddy

    I was going to do rope handles, but a the last minute I went another direction. I added drawer pulls to the tray, and stole this bucket handle for my caddy. I drilled holes on each side and super glued in the wired ends.

    Tray and Caddy

    Ta-da! How fun are these!? I knew the caddy would be cute, but the tray was a super fun surprise!

    dry brushed tray from repurposed hymnbook holders

    I am so glad I decided to mess around with the hymnbook holders, it pays to think outside the box!

    dry brushed caddy

    Caddy's are always useful, and the handle makes it unique, I also used a metal handle for my Coca Cola Crate!

    This shot gives you a glimpse of the fun colors I used. 🙂

    caddy with mason jars

    I know I can put these to good use in my home.

    tray with mason jars

    Or, I could give them away as gifts. Maybe add a stencil to the sides...or the inside of tray like I did on my Baby Supplies Gift Box...man those were cute!

    caddy and tray used for utensils, cups and napkins

    They would be great for entertaining too! Endless possibilities!

    Thanks for reading! Please visit me for more great project ideas!

    Hugs,
    Mindi
    see more of Mindi's posts on MRL below:
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    About Mindi

    Mindi is a wife, mother, runner, dancer, and a lover of all things fun and DIY.

    A few years ago she discovered blogs and fell in love with the idea that she could do things she had always dreamed of doing. Like build furniture from pallets, and make cool projects for her home.... Mindi was inspired by other bloggers that empowered her to create.

    Mindi decided to give back and possibly reach someone out there that has a desire to create like herself. She believes we all have that desire in some form or another, and we all DO create in our own way, every day. Whether it be crafty or not, even creating happiness in others is a gift that many share.

    Mindi loves to learn and use that knowledge to make beautiful and useful things for her home.

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    1. Gail Wilson

      October 07, 2016 at 3:13 pm

      Mindi,

      I love your caddy and your tray made from hymn book holders! That's great wood to repurpose for sure. The colors are perfect together, sooo pretty!
      I'm dry brushing today, and may add more colors....

      thanks for a great tutorial!
      gail

      Reply

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    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

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