Thrift Store Makeover - Lego Doll House Tray

It's the time of the month where I'm ready to share another thrift store makeover project. Going to the thrift store is a fun adventure, you find something new and exciting each time you visit. You have to look beyond what is there in front of you and use your imagination to plan what you can transform it into.

I love visiting the wood section of the local Deseret Industries thrift store to see what pieces they have that I can make some changes to, to make it fit in our home. Sometimes I find a sign that needs a new coat of paint, a craft birdhouse that could use some brightening, or a wood block that I can make into a holiday piece.

Today is an oh-so-simple and quick makeover of a wood piece that I see at the thrift store all the time. With just a few supplies I was able to make a tray my kids can use as a doll house for their Lego mini-figures. You can follow my easy instructions to make one of your own!

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This project is part of the monthly Thrift Store Upcycle Challenge. Bloggers visit thrift stores or garage sales and pick out an item to perform makeover magic on. Then we share our tutorials to give you ideas of what you can do to the thrifty treasures you find.

The Rules:

• Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
• There's no monthly theme.
• There's no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

Amanda | The Kolb Corner    Erlene | My Pinterventures    Kim | Made in a Day 
Dru | Polka Dot Poplars    Maureen | Red Cottage Chronicles    Pili | Sweet Things
Debra | Shoppe No. 5    Marie | DIY Adulation    Havalah | Sisters, What
Chelsea | Making Manzanita    Ann | Duct Tape and Denim
Molly | Just a Little Creativity    Ashley | 3 Little Greenwoods    Kimm | Reinvented
Kim | Farmhouse Made    Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled    Sara | Twelve on Main
Chelc | Inside the Fox Den     Michelle | Our Crafty Mom    Denise | My Thrifty House 

Jeannee | Shepherds and Chardonnay     Jennifer and Vicki | 2 Bees in a Pod

Lora | Craftivity Designs     Ali | Home Crafts By Ali       Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home

Jeanie | Create & Babble    Michelle | Michelle James Designs

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

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Thrift Store Makeover - Lego Tray Doll House

It seems as if every time I go to the thrift store, there is a brightly colored wood rectangle with multiple sections. I remember that we had one of them with the wood dolls that my girls had when they were little. Melissa and Doug make great wood toys for kids, but most people end up putting the shoes, hats, and other items for the dolls in a box or bin and get rid of the organizer.

I've passed these by a thousand times at the thrift store, but last week I decided to buy one and try to figure a way to use it. With a price of $0.50 it wasn't a risky buy and I had a few ideas swimming around in my head to try out.

First things first, I knew immediately that I would need to change the color. There was no way that I wanted a bright yellow sectioned tray sitting around. Makeover time was ready to start!

Supplies Needed

Wood Tray - Found at thrift store. Could also use a drawer organizer
Sandpaper
Spray Paint

Instructions for Tray Makeover

Step 1: Use sandpaper to lightly sand on all the surfaces that you want to paint. I have had some frustrating experiences with trying to spray paint on glossy surfaces, so sanding was the first step.

As you can see in the photo above, I sanded the outside edges too. You don't have to sand away the whole painted layer. The 4 hearts closest in the photo have not been sanded, with the 4 further away having a light sanding done.

Step 2: Wipe with a damp cloth to remove any paint dust. You want a clean surface when painting. Let dry or wipe with a clean dry cloth.

Step 3: Place your project on plastic sheeting in a well ventilated area. Shake your can of spray paint, hold about 6 inches from your project, and spray evenly on the wood piece. I used Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover gloss formula for my project. It has a primer included, so I felt that it cut down on the time of the project.

Spray in light layers so you have an even coat of paint, and no drips or pooling of paint. Wait about 5 minutes between the layers of paint. My project took two layers of paint.

That's it! Sand, wipe, spray. How easy is that!

The full drying time for the paint takes at least 24 hours. You want to make sure the surface of your project is completely dry before you place anything on it.

Wow! Doesn't that look pretty? I love the color and I'm thinking that I may use the rest of the spray paint to make a few beach themed items for my summer decor.

So what will this pretty tray be used for? As soon as I saw it painted, I knew that my girls would love to use it with their LEGO's. My oldest puts her sets together, then the next time she plays with the blocks she makes multi-roomed houses where all the Lego Friends can come to spend time together.

My daughter was excited to put together her new Lego Friends set that I got from the Lego people at Snap, a blogging conference for crafters, this past weekend. Lego Friends is celebrating a 5 year birthday this year! I can't count on two hands the amount of those sets we have bought over these 5 years. I'm excited to see all the new and exciting things that Lego will come up with over the next 5 years.

After building her new set, she added some of those pieces to the fun doll house she created for all the little mini-figures and animals. I love her imagination and it's so interesting to see the details she adds each time she builds.

There you have it. A simple to update tray that could have many uses. It's an amazing transformation that occurs with just a bit of spray paint.

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And now for more thrifty goodness!

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!

An InLinkz Link-up