See how easy it is to create a beautiful, multi-dimensional DIY Mermaid Serving Tray. The dazzling paint and scale-like pattern is reminiscent of a holographic mermaid’s tail!
This mermaid-inspired stenciled tray tutorial is sponsored by DecoArt. As always, the ideas and opinions I share are mine and 100% authentic, as I only work with brands I love.
I haven’t been thrifting in quite awhile, but when I do, trays are one of my favorite things to pick up and transform. So thus far I’ve made over 2 that I absolutely love. The first was this Slatted Tray I made with chalky finish paint and stir sticks and the 2nd (and my favorite so far) is this enchanted mermaid serving tray.
When I started playing around with the new Americana Enchanted Shimmer paints I absolutely fell in love with their multi-prismatic effect and holographic finish… it reminded me of a mermaid’s tail with all of the shimmer and dimension.
This is how my Mermaid Tray started out…
Even though this tutorial is for a mermaid DIY serving tray, it could be applied to any surface as the paints are really what make the major impact. You can find a printable instruction card at the bottom of this post for reference as you create your own DIY serving tray!
DIY Mermaid Serving Tray Tutorial
Supplies
- Serving tray
- Americana Enchanted Ultra-Black Basecoat Paint
- Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Green, Blue and Violet
- Mermaid stencil (you can use my Cricut cut file that you can find here)
- Painters tape
- Soft paint brushes
- Stencil
- Stencil dauber
Directions
Tape off the sides of the tray with painters tape to avoid the paint getting on the sides of the tray.
Using a soft paint brush, apply 1 or 2 coats of Americana Enchanted Ultra-Black Basecoat Paint. The coverage of this stuff is incredible! You will likely only need 1 coat depending on the color and surface that you’re painting over. Allow to dry.
I made a stencil with my Cricut machine to paint my Mermaid serving tray, but you can paint your tray however you’d like. Place the stencil onto the tray surface. I suggest adding some spray adhesive to your stencil if it isn’t sticky already. I used stencil vinyl so it had adhesive already.
How to Create a Gradient Mermaid Pattern
To achieve a gradient mermaid pattern, I visually sectioned off the tray into 3 sections. For the 1st section, I stenciled Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Green, the second section I stenciled Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Blue and the third section Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Violet . Then I mixed Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Green and Blue and tapped that through the “seam” area where the green and blue sections meet. I mixed Blue and Violet and did the same with the Blue and Violet seam area.
Note: For best results with stenciling, after dipping the stencil sponge in the paint, tap off the majority of the paint onto a plate. The stencil pouncer should be almost dry to ensure that excess paint doesn’t bleed under the stencil. With a dabbing motion, apply paint over the stencil. With stenciling it’s better to do 2 or 3 light coats to avoid paint bleed.
After the final application, carefully peel back the stencil and painters tape to reveal your beautiful mermaid tray!
It’s impossible to capture the full dimension and gorgeousness of this paint through a lens, but trust me when I tell you it is freaking fabulous! The shimmer makes the mermaid tray look like the inside of a shell. You can find the full Americana Enchanted line right now at Michael’s and they will be available at Hobby Lobby and shopdecoart.com this fall!
My mermaid bath salts look perfect displayed on my mermaid tray with a seashell for a little extra beach vibe! What would you display on your Mermaid serving tray? If you make one, I’d love to see it! Tag me on social @lydioutloud and use #decoartprojects!
DIY Prismatic Mermaid Tray
Equipment
- Serving tray
- Americana Enchanted Ultra-Black Basecoat Paint
- Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Green, Blue and Violet
- Painters tape
- Soft paint brushes
- Stencil
- Stencil dauber
Instructions
- Tape off the sides of the tray with painters tape to avoid the paint getting on the sides of the tray.
- Using a soft paint brush, apply 1 or 2 coats of Americana Enchanted Ultra-Black Basecoat Paint. You will likely only need 1 coat depending on the color and surface that you're painting over. Allow to dry.
- Place stencil onto the tray surface. Add spray adhesive to your stencil if it isn't adhesive-backed.
- Visually section off tray into 3 sections. For the 1st section of the stencil, using a stencil dauber apply Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Green. For the second section apply Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Blue and the for the third section apply Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Violet . There is no need to allow to dry between sections as you want the blended together appearance (but you do want to use 3 different stencil daubers or clean between colors.
- Mix Americana Enchanted Shimmer in Green and Blue and tap that along the "seam" area where the green and blue sections meet. Repeat with a mixture of Blue and Violet for the area where the blue and violet meet.
- After the final application, carefully peel back the stencil and painters tape to reveal your beautiful mermaid tray! It's impossible to capture the full dimension and gorgeousness of this paint through a lens, but it is freaking fabulous! The shimmer makes the mermaid tray look like the inside of a shell... it's stunning!
Maragarer says
Great color choices!!!
Lydia says
Thanks Maragarer!
Jenny says
Superb!!