Vintage Crates

Vintage Crates

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crates, decor, DIY, Mod Podge, stain

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I feel like I haven't written a new post in ages!  We were at the house all weekend and barely came up for air long enough to go to our town's community day (which was fun!).  We primed and primed and primed some more. I used to think wallpaper was alone in its evilness but now I know that its evil twin is actually paneling. 70's brown grooved paneling. But now it's primed and will soon be painted and I actually believe I heard the house begin to purr.  This house is filthy with a capital YUCK. I took down a sconce and when I turned it over about 30 stink bugs fell out. They were all fried. I told Jim to dig out the old FOR SALE sign because we were outta there.  But I think the house is happy we are tending to it now.

Girl cannot live by priming alone so I took some breaks to finish up a couple of projects too. I found these crates in the recycling center at our apartment complex. Someone had books in them and just left them in the area. So I grabbed 'em!  They are super sturdy and I knew I could find uses for them.  I grabbed some stain that the previous owners left in the basement and got to it.

I wanted them to look vintage and worn so I didn't sand or do anything else other than stain. I printed out some vintage crate labels I found on Google Images. Then I dyed them with some coffee. I didn't even use a fresh K-cup but rather I just ran the water through twice and so the second cup was my dye.

Then I cut and Mod Podged them to the crates. They are a tad small but I really don't care.  I also wanted them to look faint and old so I ran out of ink in the printer printed them on the draft setting. I ripped the tea and coffee label so it would like like it was coming off.

When they were dry I sprayed them a clear polycrylic spray and that was it!  I am going to use one to hold baking stuff in my pantry and the other to hold towels in the bathroom.

And of course I keep a fresh sunflower in my baking supplies.
Doesn't everyone??

I have one more stained but I don't want to decoupage a pretend label on it. Not sure what I want to do so I'm holding onto it for now. We'll see!  The best part of these crates is that I paid exactly $0.  Here's the breakdown:

crates--found
labels--printed
coffee--reused K cup
stain--left behind by previous owners
polycrylic--was my mother-in-law's who was cute and crafty
I didn't even pay for the sunflower. It came from my sister's garden.

I hope to get back to posting most days. Sorry I have been a little MIA.  I'll have some house pics coming up!  Yippee!

Cheers!
Jenny