I rescued the tray from a pile of stuff destined for the tip when my neighbour moved house back at the end of November. It's been sitting around ever since then, waiting for me to do something with it! After a dreary start, the sun came out about 3pm yesterday, so I spurred into action, went into the cellar to choose a few plates from my collection, took them into the back garden and settled myself in the sun with my raw materials, and cut and nipped away. I chopped up 2 plates and started to shuffle them around on the tray, and a design took shape. I hardly ever mark anything out or measure - everything is done by eye, hence the lack of symmetry! I like to think it is a bit like hand-made oriental rugs - they are never 'perfect'. Four plates later, and I was ready to start to stick them down. Most of it was finished by the time the sun disappeared from the back of the house, and it was very relaxing and fun. This morning, I decided to try colouring the grout to match the colour of the finish on the wood. I used a couple of acrylic paints, and the colour seemed OK. The finished item has turned out much better than I imagined.....
