Halloween Tray Holder

This Halloween, let’s have some fun upcycling! Get stamping with your kids and keep your favorite serving trays organized with this retro and spooky tray holder made from old bed sheets! I love vintage trays and love to display my collection. There isn’t much room in my tiny kitchen, so I made this tray holder band as a small space solution. Autumn is finally here and Halloween is right around the corner, so this spooky display is just perfect.

These stamped smiling full moons with sequin eyes are so cute, and this project is so easy and quick using any scrap of fabric. If you’re short on time, make it even simpler by skipping decoration steps and use retro floral bedding or your favorite ribbon. It’s the perfect fall hostess gift! Let’s get crafting!

what you need:

  • Old bed sheet or scrap fabric
  • Wooden curtain ring or bracelet
  • EVA Foam
  • Plastic bottle cap
  • FolkArt Acrylic Paint
  • Sequins
  • Embroidery thread
  • Needle
  • Hot glue gun
  • Scissors
  • Soluble marker

what you need:

Step 1
Use a plastic bottle cap as a the stamp base and trace a slightly smaller circle (about 1 1/2”) onto EVA foam and cut out. Use a mechanical pencil or a yarn needle to draw a simple, evil smile with two tiny canine teeth. Draw it pressing hard to make a deep mark in the foam. Glue your stamp centered onto the plastic cap. Use a marker to draw a smile on the back of the stamp to keep track of which way is up.

Step 2
Cut out a long piece of fabric about 7 3/8″ long and 2 1/2” wide. Fold it in a half and then fold it again, leaving some excess for the seam, about 1 1/2” on both edges as shown in the picture above. You can also sew many short pieces of fabric together to make a long one to fit your tray holder if you’d prefer a patchwork look or want to mix + match fabrics. Take a sample piece of fabric and test out your stamp several times to see how it works. Modify the amount of paint or retrace the smile to get the best results.

Step 3
You can stamp along the entire band or stamp only the front sides as I’ve done. The only thing you have to make sure to do is stamp your design upside down in one half of the band. I’ve draw some guide lines dividing the band above for reference.

Step 4
Use a hot glue gun to add pretty sequins for the eyes.

Step 5
Now thread the band through the wooden ring two times following the above graphics. The band gets folded in a very simple but tricky way, because both loops are interlaced to hold the tray. Pin and sew together the two band edges.

Step 6
Move the seam up near the ring to keep it hidden. Then distribute and align both hanging loops of the band by the design. Straighten it and test it by hanging a tray. Pin all the layers together to secure and then work a running stitch using six strands of embroidery floss to finish it up.

Happy Halloween crafting!