A Beautiful Basket Case-Upcycling Thrift Store Baskets

To keep up with more ideas for the holidays, I found this thrift store basket that is uniquely shaped. Perfect for a catch all for yarn, toys or even magazines. So why not spruce it up for that special someone?

It was a great basket, large enough to use for many purposes, although somewhat drab. With the colder weather coming on I wanted to add a little outdoor flavor to bring the outside, inside.

And even better was the price, another .09 find!

I first took white latex paint and dry brushed the outside. By dry brushing you only want to put a little paint on your brush and then spread it as far as you can. The purpose is for the paint to not cover your project completely. This gives a weathered look to your piece.

Next I taped off the bamboo pieces and covered the bottom. I spray painted the top and handles with black spray paint and let dry. Then recoated with a second coat.

After everything is dry, remove your tape and then apply a wood conditioner or another secret soy sauce to enhance the old bamboo.

I wanted to bring a little bit of the outdoors, indoors. I found some leaves (which are readily available right not lol) and sprayed adhesive in a can on them and placed them on the outside of the basket. Then took Mod Podge and applied several coats to seal them so they look the same over time.

• Thrift Store Basket                  $.09
• Mod Podge (on hand)               $.00

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• TOTAL OF TODAY’S PROJECT      $.09

JUNKIN4HUMANITY.COM

#J4H

#REPURPOSEDONPURPOSE

Salt Dough Ornaments For The Holidays

Spending Quality Time With Family

Whether money is tight during the holidays or you just want a new craft to do with your kids? Salt Dough Ornaments are the best thing to do either. Made from things you already have in your cabinet, you can make special keepsakes with this recipe from Halloween pumpkins, to thanksgiving decorations and even Christmas ornaments.  Nothing is more special than making a homemade memories, spending time with your family and keeping your keepsakes for years to come.

 Directions for Salt Dough Recipe

Ingredients 3/4 Cup of Shortening 3/4 Cup of Sugar 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar 1/2 Cup of Molasses 3 Cups of Flour 1 TBSP Cinnamon 1/2 TSP Salt 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of Water (more or less) Directions Cream together the Shortening and the Sugars in a large mixing bowl until mixed well. Stir in the Molasses, again until mixed well. In separate bowl, combine the Flour, Cinnamon, and Salt and stir to combine. Begin to alternately add your dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add the flour mixture and 1/4 cup of the water at a time until ingredients are mixed and you have formed a good dough. At some point, it's best to just get your hands in there and start mixing, as it will quickly become a challenge to stir with a spoon! You may need to add a little more water or flour to get your dough to the correct consistency. You want to be able to touch the dough with your finger and have it not stick to it. So when that happens, it's ready. Shape your dough into a large ball. Cover it with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. If you plan to be using your dough for cut-out ornies (using cookie cutters, etc), what I like to do is sprinkle my counter with cinnamon. This helps the dough to not stick, but it also adds extra cinnamon to the outer layer of the dough, which I like. But this is totally optional. I also suggest you buy your cinnamon in large bulk containers; it's much cheaper that way...and get the cheapest cinnamon you can find. No sense spending a lot of money on something you aren't going to eat! For cut-outs and small ornies (like the cinnamon bun ornies), bake these at 350° for for 15-20 minutes. It may be more or less, depending on your own oven. They will harden quite a bit while cooling. Just be sure they're cooked through and let them cool completely. For larger items like pantry cakes or very large cinnamon buns (I've done full size ones on occasion), I usually bake them at 325° for 20-30 minutes, again, oven times will vary, and the thickness of your item will be a big factor too. And if you're going to dip your ornies or other baked dough items in wax, just make sure they are cooled completely before doing so.

Related articles

• Braided Apple Sweet Bread with Cider Glaze (therapybread.com)
• Feeling Crafty? Homemade Salt Dough Baby Hand/Foot Print Ornaments! (confessionsofacrockermom.wordpress.com)
• Salt Dough Ornaments (roseg1394.wordpress.com)
• Salt Dough Ornaments (liefdeliebelove.wordpress.com)