Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Paint Baskets

This marks the third Tuesday in a row that I’m sharing a crafty-ish project (remember I made a little fall wreath two Tuesdays ago, and stenciled a pillow using a metal grate last Tuesday?). So I thought it would be fun to try to do something crafty each week (aiming for every Tuesday, but knowing that some weeks life throws me curve balls like a sick kiddo or a project that doesn’t work out, so it might be a little loosey goosey sometimes) and call it… wait for it… Weekly Crafty.

I’ve always liked sharing small crafty ideas (there’s a whole category devoted to them on our Projects page) and I think it’s a nice way to keep the ol’ brain cells going, especially since we’re in that auto-pilot-ish phase of the new house that feels like wallpaper removal and trim/wall/ceiling painting are never-ending tasks as we wrestle this house from “before” to “blank slate” (which is when all of those more fun/creative decorating decisions finally come into play). I figure some weeks it might just be altering something that I already have around, and other weeks I might grab a few inexpensive supplies. Sometimes it could be homemade art or something to do with fabric or decorative paper, or… well, you get it. It’s a pretty open-ended thing. And this week I decided to have some fun with basket painting.

easy-basket-painting-project

People like Martha Stewart and even companies like One Kings Lane have dipped their toes into the basket-painting pool, and we even spray painted the bottom of some baskets for Clara’s playroom a while back (which she still uses in her bedroom at this house). But this time around, I wanted to do something bolder than giving the bottom of two baskets a white-dipped look. I wanted to play around with some playful colors, and I wanted them to have a homemade hand-painted vibe. So I started with these two basic baskets that my mom brought over during her last visit since she didn’t have a place for them and thought we could use them for toy organization or even just stuff under the sink.

Baskets1

I sifted through all of the paints I already had and came up with these guys as the winners. I decided to do pearly cream (Folk Art’s Metallic Champagne), light tiffany blue (Martha Stewart’s Surf), and a deeper metallic gold color (Dazzling Metallics in Glorious Gold by Deco Art) on one basket, and to use red and pink (Martha’s Geranium and Pink Dahlia) together on the other basket.

Baskets3

The whole family got in on painting time. John and Clara had some fun in her desk by the window with watercolors, and I worked on my basket painting project at the white pedestal table that now inexplicably lives in the middle of our office (remember it used to be our too-small kitchen table?).

Baskets2

About a half-hour later, I had these sweet little painted baskets going on. I went with simple stripes (in different thicknesses) of pearl and blue and goldy-pearl on the basket on the bottom right, and had some fun with the basket on the table by choosing more of a neon palette and little sideways-heart-shaped designs instead of stripes for the midsection. Once they were dry Clara wanted to use them as toy baskets in her room, which so far has worked out really nicely.

Paintedbaskets6

You can see from this detail shot that my painting wasn’t perfect (it definitely got outside “the lines” in a few spots) but woven baskets are sort of imperfect by nature, so it’s no big deal if your paint travels a little bit.

Basketspainted7

Here’s a close up of the blue one for ya. Just going with stripes was a slightly faster process, although I wouldn’t call the red/pink basket rocket science by any means. I didn’t tape either of these off, I just worked by hand, which was a nice zen approach (I really wanted them to have that hand-painted look in the end, and I worried tape would make them a little too crisp).

Paintedbaskets9

So that was the completely free little craft project that I tackled this week thanks to hand-me-down baskets and some leftover craft paint. But if you were to run to HomeGoods for some baskets and Michael’s or JoAnne for the paint I’d guess it could run you about $14 for two baskets and around $10 for five tubes of paint (you might even slip in under $20 if you use 50% off coupons at the craft store).

Paintedbaskets10

What do you guys think? Anyone else itching to do some basket painting? I didn’t spray seal them or anything since my spray painted baskets are still holding up nicely (the woven materials of baskets must be open/porous by nature, since they seem to hang onto paint really well). But I’ll keep you posted if these need a clear coat or two of sealer down the line.

What other craftiness is going on? Any seasonal stuff? Who’s going to town on some pumpkins? Maybe that’ll be next week’s project…

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Comments

  1. rachel says

    Love them!!! I have tons of these around my house. Ive been meaning to ask since ive found your blog a couple weeks ago…. where did you get your curtains and rug. I love those colors together?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks! Those curtains are from Ikea a while back (don’t think they sell them anymore, but maybe try ebay?). And those chairs are actually from a thrift store, I just painted the back of them red for some fun in Clara’s room.

      xo
      s

  2. Geertrude says

    I love your baskets! You got my mind spinning on ideas now and I’d like to hop in the car and find myself some baskets and paint. So what’s stopping me? Well, the fact that I have no clue where to find those things here and the other fact that I would have to pay extra to get them home in the Netherlands from the island (by airplane – we’re on Curaçao for a month). I’ll just keep dreaming up ideas for now ;-) Smaller baskets filled with sweets as holiday gifts, a bigger one lined with plastic to house a plant, a (really big) basket for my yarn stash, a square basket for magazines? I can’t choose, but then again I guess one can never have too many baskets ;-)

    Reply

  3. Carrissa says

    I love the blue one! I have an ugly basket in my room I am using for trash, may I will steal your idea and bring some lie into it ;)

    Reply

  4. Carrissa says

    Wow that was full of typos, the comment was supposed to read:
    “I love the blue one! I have an ugly basket in my room I am using for trash, maybe I will steal your idea and bring some life into it ;)”

    Reply

  6. Megan @ The Brick Bungalow says

    Adorable! I love how it adds some personality. After buying some cheap bins at Walmart and then finding cute baskets at Marshalls, I’m definitely returning the cheap bins! I love the idea of adding a fun color to baskets, and it can always be redone too if needed. I used to actually make my own baskets and died some of the reeds with random inks, tea, coffee, etc. and my parents still use them around their house! :)

    Reply

  7. Stephanie says

    These look fantastic! I have been trying to figure out how to spruce up some baskets in my bathroom – this will be my inspiration! BTW – your photography skills are getting really great! That first photo looks like a styled shot from a catalog!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks so much Stephanie! Wahoo! That makes me smile like crazy. I have been trying to get better with the camera but still feel like I have a lot to learn, but sometimes I get lucky and a pretty shot happens. Ha!

      xo
      s

  9. Sarah M says

    Oh man – that last picture looks like it belongs in a catalog. A catalog where those baskets would be going for some $60 each or something ridiculous.

    Reply

  10. Faith says

    I have a wicker storage ottoman that’s been feeling a little blah lately. I’d thought about dip painting, but I think this idea is better. I love it!

    Reply

  11. Sabrina says

    Love the blue one! I just wrapped our lime green lamps ( those mix and match target ones) in hemp rope. Boy was that more of a pain in the rear then I thought it would be. Looks totally amazing though! I did a little pottery barn inspired ruffle shade with cream burlap! Yay cheap crafts!

    Reply

  12. Michelle (aka mybelle101) says

    YAY! I love your little crafty projects! :) And, I have an awesome basket that I’ve been wanting to do something with (it’s a great shape, but a bit too ‘rustic’ for my taste), but didn’t want to just spray-paint all one color. This is perfect! Thanks for the idea!!

    Reply

  13. Ashley S says

    Love this idea! Such an easy way to personalize something. I’m loving all the small DIY projects you are bringing back!

    Reply

  17. Allison says

    Hi Sherry,

    These baskets look great! Have you seen Nates new basket collection at Target? I’m loving the one with black chevron, but it hasn’t gone on sale yet (ballin on a budget), so you have inspired me to make my own! Thank you!

    Will be looking forward to Weekly Crafty!
    Allison

    Reply

  18. Rainey says

    Thanks Sherry! You’re so helpful with tracking things down. Time to start googling or get a round stamp brush out and make my own!

    Reply

  20. Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says

    I love your striped baskets! So beautiful and I love seeing the smaller projects amid the bigger ones. That’s how life goes around here too. The smaller projects can feel so refreshing after working hard on something big. Here’s a small evening project that we made a few weeks ago, a rustic wood centerpiece box: http://www.ourhomenotebook.com/2013/10/02/building-a-rustic-wood-centerpiece-box/
    It’s the perfect place for our fall pumpkins.

    Reply

  21. Jane says

    Wow..how cute are these?! I love it.I need some inspiration Sherry. I delivered my boy on the Weekend of Hurricane Sandy(Yep , I came home from the hospital to house with no power for 4 days!) So the hub sweetly collected a few leaves from the fallen trees outside to make memories from those crazy few days. I was thinking about displaying them somewhere..but how ? Shadow box ? What background should I use..stick them ? I need some inspiration…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I love that idea! I would do a shadow box so they’re safe behind glass! Maybe just use something light like rubber cement or a glue stick on the back to slick them to pretty decorative paper and put that in a shadow box? Good luck Jane!

      xo
      s

    • Jane says

      OOh ok ..so I was on the right track..Maybe Burlap ? So I could play up the textures in the leaves..should be interesting!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes! That would be so pretty! You could even use a square of burlap in the frame with the leaves in the middle and paint the outside inch of the burlap (just around the edge) metallic gold or something.

      xo
      s

  23. Cassie Moore says

    You’ve done it again! This is the second week in a row that you inspired me to craft something that I’ve been looking for and not finding in an affordable version. Now I am on the thift store hunt for a big basket.

    Reply

  24. Jesse says

    I spray painted two baskets a while ago and just recently discovered that one of them had adhered to a wall. When I separated the basket from said wall, the basket paint stuck to the wall. Disaster.

    How is this avoided? The baskets dried for days before I actually used them, but they never actually lost that tacky feeling (whoa that tacky feeling, sung a la Mavrick style in Top Gun). What did I do wrong?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh no! I would say it was the spray paint being naughty. Was it cheap spray paint? I love the Rustoleum stuff with built-in primer because that stuff dries nice and strong and cures up without staying tacky. Also, these acrylic paints dried even faster (they don’t have that grippy feeling at all, like they’d never stick to the wall if that makes sense). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  26. Keenan Zambelli says

    Hey John and Sherry. Fun fact/helpful hint, if you
    Put polyurethane on pumpkins squirrels won’t
    Eat them and they seem to last longer. Also u can
    Get poly in a spray which makes it so much easier.
    Hope that helps for the fall and also they still
    Look basically the same just a little shinier. I’ve been
    Doing this for yrs.

    P.s I just sprayed my pumpkins

    Reply

  27. Amy Reichel says

    I feel like you did a post about the beautiful rug in Clara’s room but I can’t find it now! I’m looking for something similar to lighten up a darkish living room. Any help would be appreciated!

    Reply

  28. Lindsay says

    This is great! I’ve been looking for a basket to keep all of my winter gloves, hats and scarves in and painting one would be fun!

    Reply

  29. Shay says

    Your timing is amazing as usual! I’m off to Ikea this afternoon to pick up a potatis planter to use as a toy basket in our living room. It’s taken me months to finally make up my mind but I figured after a little “dip” painting effect it’ll be perfect. Now I might add a stripe or two!

    Reply

  30. Heather says

    They’re so cute! What a great idea!! Around here I’ve chalkboard painted a 30×40″ canvas for my daughter and I to draw on and use as art over the kitchen table. I figure we’ll just change it whoever we want!

    Reply

  32. Raechel says

    Am I the only one, who at first glance, is thinking you guys are having a baby boy?! Pink basket for Clara & blue basket for little boy?!?! No?! I guess just wishful thinking! ;)

    Reply

  33. Katie says

    Random question and in no way related…do you think you will have open shelving in this kitchen once you save up and do the big reno? I was just sitting at my desk daydreaming of updates to make in our kitchen and landed on elimating 2 cabinets in favor of open shelves. Looking back, would you do it again?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      YES! We miss them like crazy! They were casual and functional and pretty. One of my favorite things we did in that kitchen for sure. We’ll definitely have open shelves again when we redo this kitchen!

      xo
      s

  34. Louise Johnson says

    I call my crafting sessions ‘Crafternoon’. You can use that when you get sick of ‘Weekly Crafty’ :P

    Reply

  35. mary says

    I was just at Emily Henderson’s blog, where there is YOLO art today, and looked at your blog header and thought, “Time for some YoHoLo!” I think you guys should make the first two letters of each word red or something. YoHoLo cracks me up.

    Reply

  37. Megan says

    At the beginning of the month I shared my painted baskets on my blog. I’m loving the pink you used as it looks very similar to the colour I used. I’m also loving the patterns you did I never thought of doing that. I might do something similar in my laundry. I also added felt feet so that I don’t have paint transfer onto the shelf in our pantry.

    You can see my baskets here:

    http://oneplusoneequalssix-q.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/pantry-organisation.html

    Reply

  38. Andrea says

    How about Craft Attack for the name of your weekly craft? Not sure why I think it’s so funny but I love it. :)

    Such a neat idea for the basket! So simple and a looks expensive!

    Reply

  39. Dana@chocolateandsunshine says

    What a cute idea! I like the blues/browns one. Wouldn’t this be a nice little Christmas gift? You could paint some smaller baskets and add some homemade cookies or bread.

    And I love that you say you are going to try to do Crafty Tuesdays but it may change once in awhile. Do people hold you that accountable if you miss a week? You both always do a beautiful job.

    Take care!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Dana! I love the idea for Christmas gifts (small baskets with cookies or bread). As for declaring goals on the blog, it helps keep us accountable (nothing like saying something to the internet at large, haha!) but we also like when readers remind us of a goal like this, so proclaiming it loud and proud will hopefully keep me crafting!

      xo
      s

  44. Rachel says

    Darling! Feeling inspired to try it myself with some boring baskets sitting around! Quick question: did you use any kind of “finishing spray”?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I didn’t since my spray painted baskets from a while back are holding up well. Someone commented to say its nice to let them breathe since sealing baskets can make them brittle. I thought that was good to know!

      xo
      s

  45. Dina says

    Ahh! Awesome! Invite friends and call it Cradt Night. We do it on Wednesdays twice a month. Legit or cheesy, girl time painting mini pumpkins or screen printing pillows is therapeutic.
    Love it.

    Reply

  46. Sarah Stäbler says

    I’ve been thinking about these types of baskets for a while now. I really love the look of them but don’t know of any good stores that sell things like that here in Germany. IKEA has a cool one but I don’t like the look of having stripes all the way down — just one or two stripes towards the top of the basket would be perfect!

    Yours look great! I did consider finding a plain one and painting it on my own, and your success with it makes me even more inspired to try it! They look awesome!

    Reply

  48. karenH. says

    I’m working on several different projects right now. As far as seasonal goes, I’m working on a holiday throw of Santas and Rudolphs.

    http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c290/jzygail/Quilt%20tops/ae6f07a5-2954-4ba2-8013-288812b9534d_zps54651acd.jpg

    That will accompany some pillows (that I haven’t pieced yet), in the same pattern, but the fabrics will be “Ho Ho Ho” and “Bah Humbug”.

    I’m also working on a small throw of foundation pieced quilt blocks called “Evening Star”.

    http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c290/jzygail/Quilt%20tops/ec004c4c-fd77-4634-a85c-775757a4b207_zpsfaf7c70c.jpg

    I also have a couple kitchen towels that I want to do some simple autumn-themed applique work on, but I haven’t started those yet.

    Reply

  49. Stacey says

    I’m redoing my older daughter’s room and painting some of my existing baskets pretty colors are just the ticket for cute, functional, and of course thrifty storage!

    Thank you for the inspiration! My husband, in particular, thanks you!! :)

    Reply

  50. Jess @ Crunchy Hot Mama says

    Great idea! Leave it up to you do this and give me inspiration. We upgraded Emma’s room to a beach theme and bought a wicker trash basket that I’m thinking needs some painting. Thanks for the ideas…especially when they’re free ;)

    Reply

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