PROJECTS DIY Projects With Baskets With Wood Beads

Looking for DIY projects with baskets? Here’s a ten-minute DIY idea using wood beads to transform a yard sale basket.

What is a girl to do when she stops by a yard sale and this is sitting near the curb?

And there’s a little pink sign on the top marked $5.

Yep.

You read that correctly. That is not a misprint on the blog.

Not $55.

Not $15.

BUT FIVE DOLLARS.

And it was still sitting there when I showed up at 10:35 am.

What in the world? What were people thinking? Why had they walked through the yard sale and left this behind? That’s the mystery of yard sales. The broken Christmas tree missing its plastic feet flies off the shelf, but a treasure like this sits waiting patiently for a new home.

I scooped it up and brought it home and transformed it with a clever DIY hack.

And now?

It looks like this.

Can you see it there on the dresser in the middle of my back entry?

You might not even have recognized it at first. Good thing I love projects with baskets.

All it needed is a little spray paint and some wood beads and a simple DIY distressing hack.

What?

Oh? You’d like a closer look?

Here’s where it started.

A pink $5 price tag and a lot of hopes and dreams.

And now?

It’s sitting in my entryway keeping me company—living the high life and watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Hello cutie.

Nice to meet you.

So happy you came home to live with me.

Here’s the step-by-step DIY you can use on a thrift store basket you probably have sitting around your garage or attic or basement or top cupboard.

Wood Bead DIY Projects With Baskets

supplies:

white spray paint

candle wax

wood bead

hot glue gun

sandpaper (100 grit)

super similar apron linked here for under $16 (and a 5% off coupon)

it has pockets and a cross back and it’s a linen blend

Step 1: Apply candle wax

This is the distressing hack I was telling you about.

It’s one of my favorite ways to make distressing a little easier.

Before you paint, simply take a candle (I’m using a taper here) and rub it over the places where you want to distress the basket. For example, you typically distress a piece on the edges, so with this basket, I rubbed on the handle, the raised rim, and some of the spines of the basket.

When we get to the sanding part later, the paint will just lift off the areas you added the wax to.

Step 2: Spray paint the basket

When working on DIY projects with baskets like this, you want to make sure the basket is cleaned thoroughly. I used Dawn dish detergent and a scrub brush to get rid of all the dirt inside and out. Also, check for stickers or anything sticky on the surface and make sure to remove them before you spray it.
Remember to spray lighter coats. It’s so hard when you are spray painting because you want to be in a hurry; however, if you rush you will regret it. Stand about three feet away from your piece (too close and you will get drips) and wave the primer back and forth in an even coat. Let that coat dry thoroughly before adding the next coat. When you are painting a lighter color (like this white) you’ll probably need about two-three coats.
Drips. YIKES. There is nothing worse than spray painting something and you see a drip. The best thing to do is prevent drips before they start. The two causes of drips are spraying too close to the piece and spray painting when the weather isn’t optimal. You want to stand back about three feet and spray paint the piece in LIGHT even coats. Light coats are your friend. Too much spray paint in one area will cause a drip. You want to spray paint between 50 and 90 degrees to make sure your paint adheres properly. Do NOT spray paint in humid weather or direct sunlight. It can affect how the paint dries and it causes glumps. If you do get a paint drip my best tip is to blot it with a q-tip. I keep a stack of q-tips when I’m spray painting and if I see a drip, I blot it and wipe it smooth and then let the paint settle. Don’t paint a second coat until it’s dry.
I like to have at least three to four hours between coats. Truth? Sometimes I forget about the project and spray paint another coat the next day; you just want to make sure that your first coat is dry before you re-apply another coat of spray paint.

(total aside: is glumping even a spray paint term?)

Step 3: Distress the basket

After the spray paint is dry, the next step is to distress.

Remember that wax?

It’s your new best friend now. Make sure to use 100 grit sandpaper—not too coarse, not too fine–just the perfect grit for this project.

Take the sandpaper and lightly sand the areas you added the wax too and the paint will lift off. You don’t need to sand too hard because the wax does the job for you.