Vintage Picnic Basket Makeover

Hi everyone. How is your week going so far?

Today I wanted to share with you my latest creation, a vintage picnic basket makeover.  As a member of the design team at DecoArt, I was assigned a project using their chalky finish paint. The end result was totally up to me; I love those kinds of open ended projects!  So, the question was, "what to make?".

Well, I'll show you my inspiration in a sec, first I want to show you the end result,

a drab to fab makeover

 Ok, are you ready for the "before"?  I was super excited to spot this vintage wicker picnic basket at my favorite consignment shop.  I couldn't scoop it up fast enough!

 Below is what inspired me, straight out of the June issue of Romantic Homes Magazine.

I fell in love with this gorgeous pale green picnic basket.  You can't see from this view, but the wood top was painted with pretty roses.  Since I'm not talented enough to hand paint flowers, I had a bit of a brainstorm, and thought that decoupage would work perfectly for my wooden lid.

 I went over to Pinterest and found some gorgeous vintage floral wallpaper that I totally fell in love with.

I printed out several copies, then cut out each grouping of flowers by hand. That actually took even more time than painting the entire basket!

 Ok, I am getting way too ahead of myself!

First off, I began by painting the basket with DecoArt's chalky finish paint in a gorgeous aqua color called "Escape".

 Then, I dry brushed a bit of their creamy white chalky finish paint, called "lace" (one of my favorite shades of antique white).  The dry brushing creates not only interest and depth, but helps to give it more of an aged look.

 Then I lightly distressed it here and there with fine grit sandpaper.

 I was worried that the paint wouldn't want to adhere to the metal handles, but didn't have any troubles.

 As you can see by the amount of pictures I took, I was having fun with my little photo shoot!

This spot is in our back yard, and since it's mostly shady, my hostas really thrive here.  Come summer, I'll have tons of black eyed Susan's blooming in this bed.  I actually was ripping a bunch out last year, they really were too big!

 Getting back to the lid, I used DecoArt's decoupage medium to adhere the floral designs that I cut out. Several coats were brushed over the top (allowing dry time between coats), then I covered the entire basket with DecoArt's clear satin sealer varnish.

I am so happy with how my basket turned out!  It was a really fun project, the colors and floral motif make me happy.  And I can think of so many great uses for this basket.  Filled with craft supplies, toiletries, or even extra towels in the bathroom.  Oh yes, and even used as a picnic basket!

Thanks so much for stopping in today, hope this has inspired you to create your very own

"trash to treaure" piece!

Disclaimer:  I have been compensated by DecoArt, but the ideas and opinions are my own:)