DIY: Marker on Porcelain Tray

Over the vacation, I spent a lot of time obsessing about my new office. I think I’ve already mentioned that this is the first time in my 40 years on Earth that I have ever had my own office at work, and it’s the first time in 10 years that I have had my own space to decorate (since Matt and I always have to reach consensus about how we decorate our home). So I’m excited! 

Decorating doesn’t come naturally to me, so I have to do a lot of screen captures (shift + control + command + four on a Mac) and then pasting into Google docs to see how things look together. 

I decided to go with a dining room table instead of a desk, so that I can host meetings in my office. Since I won’t have storage drawers within immediate reach, I decided to arrange my most needed essentials on a tray: stapler, tape, binder clips, paper clips, pens, highlighter, scissors, and sticky notes. 

I struggled to find the right kind of tray. I didn’t want it to be wood, since the table is wood. I thought about a white lacquered tray, but the sizes didn’t seem right. Then I landed on this serving tray and fell in love:

However, with shipping, the total cost would have been $70. I decided to pass on it. 

Then, while walking through an Australian Target to take Tate to the restroom, I swung by the home goods section and found what seemed to be the perfect tray. It was a plan white porcelain serving tray for $7, and I decided to put dots on it myself. We swung by the craft store, and the woman recommended a Posca Marker.  

Four hours later, my $12 replica was complete!