Presentation. I’m a stickler for it. It’s top of mind every time I host any sort of gathering. I swear food just looks more appealing if it’s styled! That goes for the food itself… as well as whatever it is being served on or in! So, when an opportunity presented itself for an over-the-top serving tray… I let my creative juices go to town, and I ended up with this DIY Gothic Ball & Claw Foot Serving Tray.
I’ll rewind back a few months ago, when I first had the idea to create The Tell Tale Heart Cake. I knew how much work I would be putting into the styling of that cake, and I imagined it being a showstopper . A showstopping cake would have to be displayed on something special. The cake was going to be a large rectangular shape, so an ordinary cake stand wouldn’t work… I would need some kind of rectangular serving tray. Since my plan was to make the cake look like a realistic old book, I had to remember to style a book, not a cake! I decided my tray would need to be both chunky and antique looking to compliment the cake…. and be more table-like than tray-like.
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I immediately went on the hunt for Ball and Claw feet. First of all, I’m obsessed with anything that has ball and claw feet! To me, they just scream Antique Gothic! I ended up finding a set of 4 on eBay. If you want to find a set… there were a lot to choose from on eBay, but I also commonly come across them at antique markets. Once I had them in hand, the hunt was on for the rest of the supplies I’d need to complete my vision!
If you read my blog, you’ll know that I obsessively shop at thrift stores, and flea markets, and antique shows, and that I am also a bit of a hoarder…. scary combination – I know! So, it shouldn’t surprise you that the first place I looked was the stash of finds I keep in my garage. It just so happens that I had purchased a rectangular piece of wood long ago, and forgot about it. I have no idea what it originally was, but I had planned on turning it into a serving tray. It was actually perfect for this project because of the carved details around the edge. The only problem was that it wasn’t thick enough. To solve that dilemma I bought a high quality piece of wood at the hardware store, and cut it down to a rectangle just bigger than my board. Once stacked together, they gave me the thickness and dimension I was looking for!
I painted both boards with black paint, and once dry, I used wood glue to adhere them together. While the glue dried, I stacked several heavy books onto the boards to ensure they would stay sandwiched. Unfortunately, one of my boards must not have been perfectly flat, so there were some very slight gaps noticeable at the joint. Luckily, I had a quick solution… Black E6000
Onto the legs…. The particular ball & claws that I purchased had post openings (perhaps they were secured to some kind of table leg?). To attach them to my wood boards, I used a wooden dowel the size of the post opening. The dowel was cut down and inserted into the post opening with about 1/8″ extending past the post opening. The feet came with a small screw on the side of the post to screw into the dowel. A hole was drilled in the center of the dowel, in preparation for a 1/4″ Dowel Screw
I marked the placement of the feet onto the underside of the boards. I set them far enough back for the feet to just extend beyond the boards. Once marked, a hole was drilled, and the dowel screw was inserted into the underside of the board.
Attach the feet by simply screwing them into the dowel screw.
I didn’t love the fact that the balls of the feet were a wooden finish. Had I been able to remove the ball, or even safely tape off the claw, I would’ve painted the balls black. Unfortunately that step was nearly impossible with these feet, so I opted to leave them wooden.
To tie the gold of the claw in with the tray, and add some richness, I used European Gold Rub ‘n Buff
To finish off the tray, add a coat of spar urethane.
My standard note about Spar Urethane….. After much research for a food safe sealant product for my serving trays and boards, I found research that suggests Spar Urethane is a good option. However, the finish is not considered food safe until it has completely cured. A general rule of thumb for full curing is about 30 days at room temperature. I cannot make claims about it’s 100% safety, so please make your own decisions about whether you are comfortable putting food directly onto the tray.
Now that the tray is complete, I want to use it for everything!… serving food, centerpiece on tables, breakfast in bed… you name it.
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