Monday, August 26, 2013

Best Try at Repurposing

Over the past year I have been more and more interested in bringing the shop to craft markets or local fairs.  Each festival gives a new opportunity to play with fabric display, so I have been experimenting with cake stands, cupcake stands, colanders and suitcases. It has been great fun!  While at a flower show in June, I found these artificially distressed boxes that would be great for the shop.  They just needed a face lift.


I sanded.  And sanded.  And sanded to get as much of the (cheap) paint off of the sides as I could.  The manufacturer could not be bothered to paint the inside or bottom, thank goodness.  (PS I don't really have man-hands.  I don't know why its so huge here!)


I then had the (not so) brilliant idea of priming the boxes using spray paint.  Spray paint!  Who does that in Ireland?  It is so breezy at my house that I had more on my clothes, drive way and in my hair than I did on the wood.  It didn't matter where I stood!  Anyway, the priming layer is quite sparse and thin... which made me think spray paint was not my best choice moving forward.


So I pulled out the old fashioned paint that you apply with a brush.  Oh, the clean up!  Anyway, yellow was my first go-to choice as it is so bright and cheery and just makes the whole shop sing.  I also have a new infatuation with poppy red, so that was a must for painting the larger block.


Three coats later I have boxes that I would be happy to put in the shop!  I do not see a future for myself in furniture restoration. In fact, if I never do this again that would be 100% fine by me.  They are not perfect with bubbles and drips everywhere, but they reflect me and my love of bright colors.  Won't they look so fantastic filled to the brim with pre-cuts?  Yum!



While I am thinking about bringing the shop to fairs, Fluffy Sheep Quilting will be at the Clarinbridge Market Day on 7 Sept.  Come over and say hello!




23 comments:

Bossymamma said...

Well done for sticking with it when you were doing sanding - I absolutely detest sanding!

Diane-crewe said...

well worth all the effort I would say xx

Tomomi McElwee said...

They look fav! Enjoy tha fair.

Aideen said...

Oh would love to know if you'll be at a market in Kerry!
The boxes look great :)

Anne said...

They look great, Cindy. Lovely and bright! :o)

Nicky said...

make some from new for you - surely that must be easier...? As long as you are handy with saw and hammer!

Anonymous said...

these are great for market stalls! I have a few as well for Christmas :-)

Quilting In The Cold said...

I love them they look fabulous!

Isisjem said...

Worth the effort as they look fab!

Lynne said...

They look bright and cheerful and will attract lots of attention, I'm sure!

Rhonda the Rambler said...

I think your man hands did a fab job!!!

Leanne said...

Those boxes are a great idea!

Leanne said...

Those boxes are a great idea!

Vicki said...

Brilliant! I do love the bright colors. Well done.

Sarah @ FairyFace Designs said...

You are a braver woman than me! But they are lovely!

Judy said...

Hey, congrats on your sanding/painting project! They turned out great and every time you see them you'll know that you made them cheery :-)
I wish I could go to the show.
Enjoy yourself,
Judy

Anita said...

Love your cute boxes! I think you need to do some in white and aqua too :)

Judith, Belfast said...

What a brilliant transformation! Like you I hate the process of repurposing stuff (I'm sooo messy!), but love the end results! Jxo

Canadian Abroad said...

Excellent end result, even if it was a lot of work getting there. Love the bright cheery colours. Hope the local fairs prove to be a hit.

Anonymous said...

So can I take it from that you will not be coming to help me paint my house any time soon then? Lol
Well done for persevering because they look great!

AmandaK@whatthebobbin said...

Those little crates look great!

Katy Cameron said...

Well I don't think anyone will be eyeing up the paint job too closely anyway, but they look lovely and bright and cheery :o)

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I think they look gorgeous!

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