With the thought that spring may actually be near. I've taken the time to do a little "springing" the place up. Out with the evergreens and pinecones, and in with some Easter and Spring decorations, just to give the illusion that spring is right around the corner. Last autumn, I purchased this little basket at the Volunteers of America store for $1.51. For a nice little wooden basket, it's a good price. The sheep would have to go, but this little wooden basket had potential.
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| Original condition of the basket. |
While working on painting fake eggs with chalk paint, this basket popped into my head, and it seemed like the perfect time to give it a coat of paint. So, two coats of paint and some painted letters on the side, and this is what I came up with.
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| Prior to adding dry paint and sanding. |
Stenciling and painting the letters on the side was a learning experience, quite simple. I used a combination of transferring the letters to the side, and hand painting the letters. A great tutorial on transferring lettering to a board, using paper and an inkjet printer is just a click away. Go on...click
here.
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| Stenciled and painted letters on the side. |
Pretty amazing what a little paint can do. It was adorable, almost perfect. Too perfect. It was super crisp and clean, and oozed, "I've just been painted and I'm brand new". TM (that's my hubby) thought I was some sort of genius.
I really wanted it to look like it was weathered and old. Using acrylic paint in the color called "Barn Wood" and a small dry paint brush, I added a little "old" color to it, knowing that the finishing wax that would be used is not a dark color. Letting it dry for a little while, ok, not real long due to the desire to finish this project, I sanded areas that seemed like they would have been worn over time. And sanded over the lettering to give it a worn appearance as well.
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| Filled with a mason jar and painted fake eggs. |
The handles and a lot of the edges got a good sanding, but not every edge or even every part of the same edge. It's more of a random sanding to give a very naturally worn look. After adding a small Mason Jar with moss (which you can't see here) and an LED candle, topped with some eggs that I painted brown, and it's a keeper.
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| Looks old and worn. |
You can see the difference in the lettering in the two pictures below. The first picture is before sanding and the second picture is after the dry paint and sanding. It just looks a bit more worn and old.
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| Before sanding the letters. |
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| After sanding the letters. |
Another fun project that is quick and easy. Using only items that I had on hand lying around the house. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse.
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| Sand the edges to give the object an old look and feel. |
See the moss peeking through in this picture? It actually adds a pop of color. The eggs turned out adorable. That's how this whole basket project started.
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| Add a Mason Jar, LED candle, moss, and fake eggs, and it's a smash. |
Sanding really does give a faded look to any painted project. Not to mention adding some depth with layering colors.
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| An old basket that looked new, now looks old again. Hmmmm. |
It turned out well. Now I should really get back to the reason this came about, the fake eggs that were being painted. I lot of them, the same color as the basket, but brown eggs are nice as well.
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| A view from the top. Love the handles. |
There you have it. A quick project that anyone can do. Inexpensive, fun, and very quick. Try it!! You'll enjoy yourself.
Thanks for visiting. Come back often. If you have any questions, let me know, and I will do my best to answer them.
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