Saturday, January 26, 2013

Goodwill Basket Makeover Tutorial

Today I thought I'd share with you how I made over some Goodwill baskets I've had for awhile and just never redid them. I've done several before but only used stain and didn't paint them.  I will show you a stained one and two painted ones in this tutorial.

After:






Let's start with what the baskets looked like before... Ignore all the junk on my table :-) lol  I'm lucky enough to find unfinished baskets at my Goodwill.  They have not been stained or finished in any way.  I'm going to say cautiously that the painted part of this tutorial will work on previously stained or painted baskets.  The staining part I'm not so sure unless you just want to make any paint already on it appear darker.  You may need to sand them a little to give the new stain something to adhere to.  If it is already stained only you may be able to put another stain on top to darken it.  I don't know I haven't done it. :-/  You will need something to cover your work surface. VERY IMPORTANT!!!!  I use old shower curtains.


You all know I share my mistakes as well as what actually turns out.  This first paint test was a first for me.  I used paint (an oops paint for $.50 at Lowe's it's a gray color) sea salt and water.  I know what you're thinking... sea salt???? yep I wanted to see if I could get a texture in the paint and since I didn't have sand on hand to try I used this.  So what I did was I poured a little paint in my bowl added about 1 tbsp of sea salt and water to thin it down. 


You want the paint to be slightly runny so that it flows when painted on your basket.  This way it flows into the crevices.  When I painted it I lined it with paper towels because I didn't want to paint the inside.  I wanted to stain it.  In this pic you can see the sea salt texture.  I probably should have added more sea salt.  Oh well live and learn.  This is only one layer of paint.  I wanted these to look old so it's easier to sand with only one coat.

 After sanding.   If you think about it the higher splints would show the most wear so that's all I sanded as well as the handle.





I'll show you how I finished it at the end because it'll make more sense after I tell you how to mix up the stain.

OK. Let's move on to the next basket.

These are the supplies:  Regular liquid stain I used dark walnut on this one (I've tried gel stain and it is very difficult to use) a glass jar (save any old glass jar from pickles, jam, or whatever) paint thinner and a brush (don't use foam brushes the paint thinner eats it yep learned that too) lol I forgot to show rubber gloves!!!! It'll keep your hands from being stained too.  Please use stain in a well ventilated space!!!!


You will need to pour some stain in your glass jar.  Eye ball it for the size of project you have.  Then add a couple tbsp paint thinner to the stain.  This is what waters it down to flow in the crevices.  Water will not work!!!! Make sure you stir your mixture.


 Next just use your brush and brush the stain mixture on your basket. I stained the entire inside and out.




The final basket I used the same technique as above only I used Early American Minwax liquid stain.  I think I really prefer this color!!!  It's the one in the middle.  You can sort of see the color difference.  These will take a day or two to dry because of the stain.


Alright now let's finish the first gray basket.  I used the left over Early American stain and an old sock and rubbed it on the basket to darken the sanded wood spots and paint. I rub very lightly because I didn't want it too dark.  I also used this method to stain the inside of this basket. 


After looking at the really dark one I decided I didn't like it so I tried painting over top of the stain after it was completely dry.  Here I mixed blue latex paint and water to thin it down.


Shew much better...  As I painted I used a paper towel to rub off some of the paint so it wasn't so thick.  I didn't paint the inside.  I left it stained.  After the paint dried I sanded and restained it with the dark walnut using my sock method.


Here they are all finished again.  I accidentally got some blue paint on the inside oh well. :-)  Prim isn't perfect!!!!


These are previous baskets I've stained using walnut gel stain... It was very hard to work with as it doesn't want to thin down with the paint thinner.  I do,however, like the stain color better.






WARNING: Stain can be highly flammable.  Please follow the manufacturer's instructions on the stain on how to properly dispose of all materials used in this project.  I just let my glass jars dry out with the top off outside and throw them away.





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20 comments:

  1. Love the results!!!!
    Thanks for the step-by-step....
    I hate the word verification!

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  2. Nice makeovers. Love that blue one especially! I'm with Linda on hating word verification. I took it off my blog a couple years ago and haven't had any trouble. Blogger catches the spammers and I'm alerted to their comments so I can delete them.

    The word verification usually takes 2 tries. If I don't get it the first time, I move on. Just thought you should know how much we'd love for you to eliminate it. :-)

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  3. <3 it all Ms Mary so talented as always ! have agreat weekend hugs lil raggedy angie

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  4. love your make overs, always great fun to read your blog!

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  5. Thanks for sharing! Love how they turned out! I have some baskets I should do this to!

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  6. Mary your baskeys came out so prim! I love them...good job!

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  7. Thank you for sharing, they turned out just lovely!
    ~Christina

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  8. Maybe I missed something but I wonder if you could thin out the gel stain!?! Another experiment I guess! Is was a great tute! You've got some baskets I would have never guessed we're sitting at a GW... Really good ones. I am going to try this someday! When weather gets warmer! THANKYOU!

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  9. Never mind... Read that you said you tried thinning the gel stain... Bummer.

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  10. Thanks for the tutorial! I actually have a basket I started to redo yesterday but it wasn't quite right...now I'll try your way & I bet it'll be great! Thanks again!

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  11. I love the different looks..Great finds..

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  12. I had to laugh when I saw this post because for years I collected the expensive, unnamed baskets (:-))that are made in Dresden, OH. I recently sent them to auction because they just didn't fit in anymore with my primitive decorating :-) I then started to buy baskets at Goodwill & the thrift shops and redo them. I do my alittle different as I just spray paint them black then dry brush them with the paint. Same look, just less work! My husband thinks I'm crazy that I got rid of all my expensive baskets and now buy the $.25 to $1.00 baskets..but hey, cheaper for him in the long run!

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  13. Hi Mary! Great tutorial. I use walnut gel stain exclusively on my work but can see it wouldn't work for this. Love the blue basket. I have a few very nice baskets where the color weaving has faded (and one that is PEACH! )...may have to redo them! --Jan

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  14. Hello,
    I just found you. What a wonderful blog - just became your latest follower:) Now I need to browse your older posts.
    Smiles,
    JoeyLea
    http://www.thelocustblossom.blogspot.com/

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  15. Great tutorial, I always paint baskets, but it can bee time consuming with all the little ridges, but your baskets came out fabulous, they look like the expensive baskets you see in primitive shops~ well done!!

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  16. Hi, Mary. Your tutorials are always exciting and well-written. Exciting meaning the ideas you have and the pictures always make me want to do the project as soon as I can!
    This is a terrific project.
    Thanks a bunch!
    Hugs,
    Susan

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  17. I use KIWI shoe polish instead of stain and love it

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