DIY Rustic Leather Handle Tray | Williams Sonoma Inspired

DIY Rustic Leather Handle Tray | This post brought to you by Tazo® Tea. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Southern Revivals.

Today I’m celebrating my love of a warm cup of tea. My love of DIY. And my love of paying approximately $120 less for something because, instead of buying it, I made it myself. It’s possibly the easiest DIY you’ll do all year and it is absolutely perfect for the upcoming gift giving season. Here’s how to make your own Williams Sonoma Inspired DIY Rustic Leather Handle Tray for around $10 bucks! I remember being completely confused with one of the Harry Potter books because Dudley was going to tea at a friend’s house in the evening when he should have been going to dinner. And then I realized that tea at 6 pm is dinner and that the hobbits weren’t kidding about Elevensies, it’s tea at 11am. That’s when I realized, these were my people. It doesn’t hurt that the Europeans firmly believe in the value of a holiday and not just at Christmas. I’ve recently tried some new Tazo® Tea blends: Zen™, with lemongrass and spearmint, and Awake™ English Breakfast™, my favorite black tea. The Passion® blend is a hibiscus tea with orange peel, passion fruit and ginger. I also opted for a box of my old favorite, Chai. And speaking of boxes, how pretty are these? Maybe it’s trivial but when you have open shelving in your kitchen a pretty box is a plus. I also enjoy Tazo’s exciting and unexpected flavor blends. The pretty box is just the cherry on top. I’m Southern so I guess it comes as no big surprise that I enjoy my tea. But I’m really more of a warm tea kind of girl and, for me, tea time is anytime. So I guess that makes me a little more like my European cousins. Just the other day I was searching for a cute tray idea and stumbled on the rustic leather handle tray from Williams Sonoma. And as gorgeous as that European pine is, I cannot afford it. But I could afford to make one of my own and so can you. And it’s so easy you’ll want to make more than one!

DIY Rustic Leather Handle Tray

You will need:

• 2×6 (length is up to you, mine is approx 15″)
• scrap leather for handles (8″x 1 1/2″)
• 8 – screws (4 per handle)
• stain
• beeswax
• staining and waxing cloth
• drill (and bit for pre-drilling holes)

As usual I have scrap wood. So when I saw this tray from Williams Sonoma I thought it might be a nice way to serve tea, cookies, prepare a cheese board or pretty much anything else. I also thought it might be a nice way to save about $120. I got my scrap leather in a bag from Hobby Lobby. A bag of leather scraps in assorted colors can be had for 9.99 but I always use my 40% off coupon for this sort of thing. Buying the bag of scraps costs just as much as buying pre-made straps except you get tons of extra leather for future projects. I used a rotary cutter to cut the handles. I made my handles 8″ long by 1 1/2″ wide. Pre-drill the leather and the sides before adding screws. This will keep your wood from splitting. Stain your board. I used Minwax in Provincial and sealed with beeswax. I am comfortable using this around food. If you aren’t you can opt for a more natural stain, like milk paint, prior to adding the beeswax. Allow your stain to dry overnight and apply a few thin coats of beeswax, allowing to dry and buffing between each coat and on the final coat. Attach your handles with screws through the pre-drilled holes with either your drill or a screw driver. And that…is it! It’s such an easy DIY and its rustic simplicity is what makes it so pretty. Anyone you make it for is guaranteed to love it. Just don’t forget to make one for yourself. Not bad for approximately $120 less than the original, am I right? It’s perfect for tea time, cheese time or any time. It’s also just looks pretty all on its own. Of course lots of times I’m on the go with my tea so I can’t bring my tray with me. In which case I like to carry it around in my lens cup because it’s fun to watch people watch you when you put it up to your mouth. Like, does she realize she’s trying to drink from her lens?! I’m really excited about making a few more of these as gifts for the holidays. Find your favorite blends of Tazo tea near you at Tazo.com. Grab some extra boxes for friends, pair the tray with a few boxes and add a bit of cellophane and a pretty bow. It’s the perfect housewarming or holiday gift and the entire gift set will cost you around $25 to make!