Monday, April 20, 2009

A Basket Case

Have you seen these
vintage baskets
?
Aren't they wonderful!
They have a similar look and feel
to the vintage grain sacks
that were the inspiration for my framed burlap.
Of course I needed to make my own version.
I found an old laundry type basket at the thrift store for two dollars (apparently I deleted the "before" picture off my camera, so imagine the generic light colored, light weight basket). I painted the basket. When painting any basket, it's good to soak it in water first, and then dilute the paint a bit for the best coverage.
Then I dry brushed over it with lighter and darker colors to achieve a more worn appearance.
After the paint was dry, I painted on the numbers.
Now I have a unique big basket
for storing all kinds of things.

33 comments:

Darlene said...

Another GREAT project!!! LOVE it Joy!♥

Pam @ Frippery said...

Holy cow! I LOVE it. You are the queen of creative re-purposing! I am sittiing some baskets out in the rain right now to soak them, then I will be a painting fool. Pam

Shell in your Pocket said...

Love love love it!
sandy toe

Karyn said...

Wow, that looks GREAT! Definitely something I'll put in the project box :)

Cathy~Mille Fleur said...

Wonderful!!! So Imaginative!!!
XOXO
Cathy

Pam said...

I love the baskets! Once again, you didn't disappoint with another great project! I love the new header picture, BTW!

XO, Pam

AndreaLeigh said...

do you mean soak the actual basket in water? doesn't that ruin it?

Windy said...

Love it! I need to make one of these:)

Bahama Shores Mama said...

another item to add to my evergrowing thrift store wish list. Thanks for the great project idea!

Jill said...

OH MY GOODNESS!!! How super cute!!!- LOVE your framed burlap! :)

Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...

such fun...it's amazing how many baskets you can find out there - especially at yard sales. :)

Barntiques said...

Thanx for so many inspirational quick fixes. Never knew that the baskets should be dampened!

Darlene - Our Creative Life said...

Very Chic Joy!

Natalie Meester said...

You rock sista! Love it!
Fabulous as usual!

Joy said...

HEY LADIES!!!
YEARS AGO I WAS TOLD THE BEST WAY TO MAINTAIN WICKER FURNITURE WAS TO GIVE IT A GOOD SOAKING ONCE A YEAR. IT NOT ONLY CLEANS IT BUT ALSO HELPS TO TIGHTEN IT BACK UP. SINCE MOST BASKETS ARE WICKER, I DO THE SAME WITH THEM. I DON'T SOAK THEM FOR HOURS, JUST A FEW MINUTES IS ALL THEY NEED. AFTER ALL, THEY ARE MADE FROM MATERIALS THAT FOUND IN NATURE SO A LITTLE WATER IS NOT A PROBLEM.

Unknown said...

Great project....I love turning something plain like the original basket into something unusual and creative.

Sweet Caroline said...

I LOVE it...I love the grain sacks, I love the baskets...now I am waiting for some burlap pillows or something. Oh, I bet if I saw some of your older posts, they would be there, huh?

Stealing this idea...

Rachel said...

Yay for you JOY!!! Love the basket, love it and I can't wait to try it out here :o) Thanks for the tip on soaking the basket too.

Have a Happy Day!
~Rachel
(giveaway at my place tomorrow)

cherry said...

Gorgeous!!!!!!!! Cherry

Kim said...

Cool! I've got a few baskets that could use a little aging and character. Thanks for sharing another great project!

Shaam said...

Great idea! :)

All the best,
Allison

bj said...

OOOO...OOO....I have a neat old basket..tomorrow it is getting painted a cool color and then...NUMBERS...I am so excited..just beside myself. You do have the neatest ideas. I want an old grain sack so bad,I am dreaming of it at night..Just don't know where to even begin to look for one, tho...
I absolutely LOVE your precious blog. I get so many good ideas from you. Thanks so much!
xo bj

Unknown said...

I love baskets! I have them all over the place.

Tommie Jo said...

What a neat idea!
I'd like to invite you and you readers to join in on my GIVEAWAY over at my blog: www.tjssweethome.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing your creative ideas with all of us!

Janalee Hubbard said...

Very cool. I'm wondering what colors you used, is it a gray or slate blue? It's pretty and has kind of a coastal feel.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! You are so creative. I didn't know about soaking baskets before painting. Thank you for sharing.

Wendy said...

I LOVE IT!!! I'm off to look for old laundry baskets. ha!

Wendy said...

Question:

What colors did you use to age the basket?

Joy said...

****BASKET COLORS****
I PAINTED IT WITH A SLATE GRAY AND THEN HIGHLIGHTED IT WITH OFF WHITE HERE AND THERE. JUST FOR FUN I DRY BRUSHED A LITTLE MOSS GREEN, MOSTLY AROUND THE BOTTOM. AND THEN I REALLY DILUTED THE ORIGINAL GRAY AND TOP COATED THE WHOLE THING TO SOFTEN ALL THE OTHER COLORS.
I KNOW IT SOUNDS COMPLICATED, BUT IT REALLY ONLY TOOK A FEW MINUTES.

Kristen, pajama mama said...

love this idea! thanks,
kristen

Unknown said...

Oh Oh Oh, it's awesome! I'm pretty sure I've seen a basket like that at my local GW, I hope it's still there!

Meg said...

How did you come up with that letter/number for the basket??? I LOVE it! I will be copying you on this because it is sooo my taste.

Jennifer said...

Going yard saleing tomorrow girl - hopefully I'll find some treasures!!!! These baskets are terrif!! Jennifer

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