Last summer our local thrift shop was having a going out of business sale where everything had to go. They said if we filled up plastic grocery bags they would only charge $2 a bag. What a deal! Naturally I’m thinking crafting material and went straight for their collection of leather belts. A couple dozen belts in one bag alone.
There were enough belts in that bag to be used in multiple projects, but FIRST this old tray table needed a makeover and the belts gave me a new idea.
Watch the process in this video:
Before:
The original design was cute, but the paint was peeling and chipping beyond repair. First I used paint stripper to strip the table down to the original wood. I ended up taking the table apart to get all the paint off and to clean the paint off the original hardware.
After painting the pieces with black furniture paint the table was put back together and ready to decorate. I picked out a few of the belts that complimented each other and cut off sections that fit the tray section of the table.
Super glue attached the belts to the tray perfectly. I hope in the future use a clear resin coat to seal in the belts and make it an even surface, but for now it turned out to be a perfect breakfast table!
Finished:
As an extra detail I used some small grommets to hammer into the wood of each corner. Thought it gave it a belt-like look! What projects have you made with leather belts? Take a look at what you can do with the buckles once you use the leather here.