Whip Up An Elegant Serving Tray On A Budget Using Items From Dollar Tree

A simple walk through your local Dollar Tree can inspire hundreds of easy DIY ideas that are guaranteed to step up your home decor, just one $1.25 product at a time. The store's bamboo cutting boards are a particularly great place to start. For an unbelievable price tag, you can create a cute wooden display for your plants, a stylish bookholder, and so much more. They can even be used to create extra kitchen storage, too. But with this new hack, you can use a Dollar Tree bamboo cutting board and simple drawer handles to create a serving tray for all of your party needs. 

All you'll do is pair one of the retailer's Cooking Concepts Bamboo Cutting Boards with two Metal Drawer Pulls, which come in gold or black for $1.25 each. Besides an electric drill, this is technically all you need to complete this hack. However, try making the cutting board your own before completing this DIY. Ensure the material you use is food friendly if you plan to use the tray for food, or always use parchment paper under the food to be safe. For instance, a simple wood stain would give the cutting board a rustic feel but would be unsafe for food due to the chemicals in the stain. You can swap it with walnut oil, which will still darken the wood but leave it food-safe. Similarly, you can use a patterned drawer liner or acrylic paint to add some funkiness to your serving tray, but be sure to seal it with a food-safe product like Nicpro's Epoxy Resin Kit before serving your charcuterie on it.

Once you've acquired the materials you need, measure to find the exact center of the wooden cutting board. Then, use that measurement to make markings so that your drawer pulls are centered on either side. Next, simply drill two holes onto either side of the cutting board — you can easily drill right through the bamboo surface — that are the right distance apart to install your handles. Ensure your drill bit is the right size for the screws that come with the handles. Once the holes are made, simply screw in your handles to make a chic tray that's perfect for cocktail bars or charcuterie plates.

While you can make the serving tray unique by choosing black or gold handles, there are plenty of other ways to personalize this project so that your end result feels like your own creation. For starters, you could spray paint these handles a different color to give them a unique look. Or, instead of sticking with the Dollar Tree handles, you can search other retailers for more artistic options. For instance, for a fun look, you could use the Ravinte 5-inch Cabinet Pulls on Amazon that come in pastel color options. If you like a more rustic or natural look, check out the Leasiczg Zinc Alloy Black Twig Branch Decorative Cabinet Pulls instead. Once completed, either use this tray to serve food in the kitchen or as a decorative accent on a coffee table or dining room table.