Utensil Caddy for a Tropical Party

I found this caddy at my local Goodwill months ago. It still had the TJ Maxx price sticker on it, along with a clearance tag. It found it’s way to the donation boxes and I bought it for $1.99.

Given all of the stickers on it, I’m not sure if it had been used at all. It was in great condition and only needed to be cleaned up a little. I used TSP and a lint free cloth to clean it.

I was glad that the blue fits in well with the assortment of colors I’ll use for the tropical decor. I didn’t want to paint it because I plan to have this hold utensils, straws, and cocktail picks that I don’t want to touch fresh paint.

To give it the right look for the party I have in mind, I used a tropical leaf self adhesive stencil. I’ve found the best way to paint using a stencil is to use a spouncer and apply the paint in light coats.

A tropical party is always a colorful party, so I used different paint colors for each side of the center of the caddy.

After the paint dried, I used DecoArt Dura-Clear to protect the painted tropical leaves. I always use two coats of this for better protection.

These pretty flower print napkins are ones that I found in one of my storage bins with other seasonal napkins. The colors and the flowers go well with the utensil caddy. I didn’t have enough to fill the slot so that they wouldn’t fall over, so to hold them in place, I folded a few of them in half and tucked them in with the others.

I always have a stash of paper straws and cocktail picks. I bought this large box of picks a couple of years ago for a flamingo themed party.

Don't overlook thrift store finds that can be used for lots of crafting ideas! Sometimes, all you need to do is give it a different paint scheme that fits in with your decor.