Repurposing with Spray Paint

Earlier this spring, as soon as it was nice enough outside on a weekend, I gathered a bunch of my spray paint & thrifty items, as well as some things I had shopped from around my house.

Out I went & set up my driveway as Spray Painting Central!

Here's what happened that day...

Thrifty Makeovers {Earring Tray & Basket}

  In the last couple weeks, I've shared with you some of my recent thifty finds. Some were good as-is & some needed a bit of refreshing.

Remember what this tray used to look like? With a couple of coats of spray paint (Krylon - Global Blue), it's now a pretty display for my earrings.

And this basket was a bit worn out & dirty. With a bit of clean up & some spray paint (same colour as the tray), it now sits in my closet, holding my scarves & small purses.

Another successful thrifty challenge!

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You Had Me At Hello {Mailbox Makeover}

  

  Once upon a time, there was a house. The people who lived there were nice & tried their very best to take care of the house. When they moved in, they bought it a shiny silver mailbox to wear. The house loved the mailbox & wore it with pride. 

   

  Over the years, the mailbox grew less & less shiny & it eventually started to rust. 

The little house looked a little sad wearing the rusty mailbox, so the owners decided to cheer up the house by fixing up the mailbox. They gave it a shiny coat of black spray paint & the lady of the house stencilled the word "hello" on the lid. 

  The house once again looked cheery & welcomed it's guests with a happy "Hello".

The End. :)

I'm so glad I finally got to this project! It's been awhile in coming, but I'm happy with the end result. 

The "hello" makes me smile whenever I get the mail. :)

~~~~~

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower, 

subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

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Spray Paint & the Frog

Do you remember this guy?

No? Then let me refresh your memory. :)

I purchased this ceramic golden toad on a thrifty adventure last fall. 

At first, my kids informed me that it was a poison dart frog, but after some more research, 

we discovered that an orange frog is actually called a golden toad. 

You needed to know that, right? ;)

I finally got around to giving this chap a few coats of black spray paint...

He now holds a place of honour in my kitchen with his pot scrubber at the ready. 

He sure adds a touch of whimsy to the kitchen. And a touch of nostalgia as well. 

I remember my mom having something similar next to the kitchen sink when I was a kid.

Good memories. :)

Another successful mini makeover!

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, feel free to become a follower, 

subscribe by email, or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

10 Spray Paint Ideas!

Now that it's March I'm crossing my fingers for the weather to get a bit warmer soon so I can get out & SPRAY PAINT!! Not that it's all that cold (we've had a surprisingly mild winter), but just cold enough to deter me from getting to some of the spray paint makeovers I would love to tackle. After spray painting 1 coat on my lamp revamp in my basement, I've learned my lesson. Definitely waiting for warmer days out in the fresh air...

So for now, I'm just compiling lots of inspiring ideas to use when the warmer weather appears. :)

Heehee, isn't this printable too funny? Click here for source.

Look at these old lamps spray painted in fun colours!

via Mod Podge Rocks!

I know my friend, Sarah is going to love this chandelier! And purple too!

via Vintage Revivals

Spray paint an old shutter & use it as a note board.

via Better Homes & Gardens

How lovely & easy is this?! Glass vases with rubber bands & then spray painted. 

Remove the rubber bands when dry & you have a cool design!

via Pinterest (I couldn't seem to find the original post this photo belonged to. If it's yours, please let me know!)

This is just a normal chair painted in such a cheery colour!

via Domestically Speaking

I love these fabulous wooden crates painted & used as shelves! Nifty & thrifty!

via Be Different Act Normal

I'm in the market for a new pepper mill since ours broke. Now I'm thinking of just finding a thrifty one & painting it!

via Kotori

This is pure happiness. Take old kitchy finds (from your basement or a thrift store) & spray paint them.

Display with pride.

via Craft

Taking ordinary items like glass bottles & spray painting them to help you beautify your home is pretty wonderful.

via The Colorful Living Project

More thrifty finds spray painted in gorgeous, trendy colours! 

via Tattered & Inked

Are you feeling inspired yet? Eeeee! I am just itching to get out my spray paint! 

If this is not enough, check out some of my previous spray painted projects. 

Do you have any painting projects in the plans for this weekend? 

Whatever you have planned, have a great one. See you next week!

Enjoy your day!

Lamp Revamp

   In these cold winter months, one thing that gets me through the dreary days is the expectation of Spring, Summer, & fun things to come. Right now, we're planning a big road trip for this coming summer and we've started talking about a trip next winter... somewhere warm. :) 

  Last week I posted some ideas using maps. With all this talk of traveling & maps, I was itching to get to this project I've been planning since last fall. I present to you my latest makeover, the travelling lamp!

It started out with this 80's brass lamp with a dusty rose little highlight in the middle. It would have gone perfectly in my bedroom when I was 12 years old. I'm not sure about you, but I'm so over that colour scheme. :) 

I paid $4 for it at a local thrift store. 

I also paid $4 for the lamp shade, which wasn't so bad to begin with. It was just a bit dirty. 

I got out my favourite glossy white spray paint...

Then I wrapped the cord & the light socket with aluminum foil before starting to spray.

I gave the base 3 light coats of spray paint. The first two I was able to do outside in the garage because we were enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures. Then it got cold & I had to bring it inside to do the last coat. 

The house smelled for days! Ya, not one of my most brilliant moments. :)

After cutting the map into sections, I used Mod Podge to decoupage the map to the lamp shade, 

being careful to push out the bubbles with my fingers. 

After it had dried, I trimmed the edges & hot glued some white grosgrain ribbon to the edges to finish it off. 

Oh, by the way, I paid $2 for 2 vintage maps at an antique store here in town. 

The colours are slightly more muted than a brand new map.

We're enjoying our new lamp in our family room & it reminds me of our fun travels to come. 

I would like to thank all of you, my wonderful readers, for stopping by. 

In these last several months, I've been so excited to see Silver Boxes grow & see my friend count rise bit by bit. 

I really appreciate all of my new friends in the blogosphere. Thank you for your kind words & support.

I hope you stop in again soon. And don't forget to join the party on facebook! :) See you there!

Enjoy your day!

I'm amazed by all these features! WOW! Thank you!

This project featured at:

Glittered Pinecones

  My very last Christmas project... what a month it's been! Don't get me wrong - a very fun month, but a very busy month. There were so many great things shared out in blog land. No shortage of inspiration, that is for sure.

  Back in November, I compiled a list of Christmas crafts I would like to try. Well, I am happy to tell you that I was able try my hand at all four. One, however, was a flop for me & so I am left with the remaining three. This is the final project... talk about leaving it to the last minute!

  Thankfully, these glittery pinecones are more of a wintery craft so I will likely keep them out into January & February.

  (If you're interested in the other crafts I did this Christmas season, check out the Spool Tree Ornaments & Toilet Roll Treat Packets I posted about. The wrapped candy canes I tried were a bust for me. I couldn't get them to look right. Bummer.)

  If you would like to make some of these, here's what you need:

• pinecones
• spray paint (I used white & silver)
• white glue that dries clear
• glitter (I used 'crystal')

1) Spray your pinecones very lightly with even, sweeping strokes. Let dry. Turn over & paint the other side. Let dry.  I purposefully didn't want mine totally painted. I wanted a bit of natural showing through.

I did a batch of white & a batch of silver, although it's hard to tell the difference in this photo.

2) Once the paint has dried, make a puddle of white glue on a piece of cardboard or something you don't mind getting glue on. I used whatever I could find in our recycling bin. 

3) One at a time, roll the pinecone in the glue, getting a bit on the tips. 

4) Shake some glitter over the glue spots. Let dry. 

You can also roll the glued pinecone in a 'puddle' of glitter. I poured, then when I had quite a bit sitting on my cardboard, I rolled to use some of it up.

I did steps 3 & 4 on each pinecone so that the glue didn't have a chance to dry before I got to them. If you're only doing a small amount, you could glue them all & then glitter them all.

5) After they've dried, use them however you would like in your decor. I'm considering making a pinecone wreath for next Christmas!

Little tip: I found this idea on Pinterest & had one of those "why-didn't-I-think-of-that" moments.

Use a cardboard roll as a vase filler!

via Dandelions & Dust Bunnies

Genius, right?

So, hidden in amongst the pinecones is a cardboard roll. :)

My last craft project for the year. Exhale. :)

Enjoy your day!

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