Trash to Treasure Ideas for Spring

trash to treasure ideas

A couple of months ago I was on a trip with my three sisters. They all love to thrift so we spent a day shopping at the local thrift stores near Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.

There were so many goodies to be found including the pieces I am upcycling today! With some creativity, we can give these pieces simple makeovers for spring decor!

Three small baskets with long handles, a wicker basket, a watering can, a bamboo wooden tray, and a pet dish holder.

Yep, I bought a pet dish holder! The bill for all of the pieces was well under $10! Let’s upcycle these thrift store finds!

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list of supplies:

• thrifted items to repurpose
• Teal Ocean milk paint
• Farmhouse White milk paint
• Arabesque milk paint
• Bergere milk paint
• Layla’s Mint milk paint
• Mustard Seed Yellow milk pain
• MMS Milk Wax ECO
• Fluff chalk mineral paint
• Round Small synthetic paintbrush
• E6000 Glue

The milk paint supplies are gathered in one spot for you! Tap the button below to shop on Amazon for the milk paint supplies you need:

repurposed wooden tray

Let’s start with the wooden tray. You’ll see better in the video below, but the wooden tray is bamboo and has a checkerboard design. The design was kinda cute except for the fact that it was really orange.

We’ll fix that in just a bit. First I cleaned both pieces and then gave the wooden tray a light sanding with a fine grit sanding sponge. This helps the paint to stick to the surface. I wanted to be able to control the amount of chippy paint. You’ll see how I created this chippy finish later in the post.

The size of the tray was perfect for the piece that I would use as the base. Risers are so popular right now and I love to figure out what pieces I can put together to make one.

The wooden tray and the pet dish would be perfect together to make a riser! Have you seen these pet dishes at thrift stores? They are usually easy to come by.

E6000 (or Gorilla Glue) works great when gluing different surfaces like wood and metal together. I applied the glue directly to the top of the metal pet dish that would come in contact with the wooden tray. Of course, I measured to center the pet dish holder on the underside of the tray.😉

Then I stacked all the heavy stuff I could gather up in my craft and sewing room on top and allowed it to dry and set up overnight.

chippy paint finish

You know I am a chippy paint finish kind of girl, and an easy way to accomplish this is with candle wax. I rubbed an old candle in the areas I wanted chippiness to happen.

Then I applied two coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Farmhouse White. You will see the fun way I distress in the video but you can see the results in the third image below

Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint also carries an eco-friendly and food-safe wax called Milk Wax ECO. And the fact that it is so easy to apply makes it a win-win!

Apply the Milk Wax with a chip brush and then buff lightly with a lint-free cloth!

repurposed junk ideas

Next on the list of trash to treasure ideas is this adorable watering can. I fell in love with it because of the long spout. And because of the price – it was two bucks!

Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint works perfectly on metal. I used the color Fluff – it’s a lovely white that will look good distressed back to the original green of this watering can.

Once the paint was dry, I used my Exacto knife to distress the watering can. Just a few scrapes here and there and the piece looks perfect!

trash to treasure for spring

Remember the little baskets I found while out thrifting with my sisters? They were probably used by floral shops to make small plant gifts for Mother’s Day or other holidays that you want to give a little gift for.

The handles are long and I thought they would be sweet as Easter baskets.

But they need a little color. So I used spring colors of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint:

• Bergere (light blue)
• Arabesque (dusty pink)
• Mustard Seed Yellow
• Layla’s Mint (light green)

An artist’s brush works perfectly to get into the small woven areas of the baskets but I didn’t try to get complete coverage. Some of the warm woven areas show and I like that. 😊

Each basket has two coats of paint. For the small baskets, I painted the inside as well but for the larger wicker basket, I only painted the outside.

easy trash to treasure ideas

The trash to treasure ideas worked out pretty well, don’t you think? The tray can be used as a riser, a serving plate for goodies like cookies (chocolate chip anyone??), or maybe in a guest bathroom to hold handmade soaps, washcloths, and hand cream.

Don’t you love this watering can?? The day I finished painting it, my hubby brought home a flat of pansies and I couldn’t resist putting some in it. The white really highlights the color of the pansies, don’t you think?

The pansies will have to be repotted properly either with drainage holes I make in the bottom with my drill or with a layer of gravel on the bottom. Plants don’t like soggy roots. 😊

creative and useful trash to treasure ideas

The painted baskets could be used as Easter baskets. I am using one of them to hold a small plant. A small round plate is on the bottom of the basket and it’s hidden by the basket grass.

When spring is finished, these baskets could be painted in different colors for a whole new look!

creative diy spring decor

Here are some additional ideas to upcycle thrift store finds into adorable spring home decor. Decorating doesn’t have to be expensive! Get creative, dig into your craft stash and see what you can come up with!

• Use stencils in spring related themes on top of the wooden tray.
• Line thrift store baskets with spring themed fabric to create adorable Easter baskets
• Spray paint inexpensive thrifted baskets in spring colors. Change out the colors for the seasons!
• Decoupage the wooden tray with old paper pages from vintage books. Add a bunny stamp to the top for a fun vintage inspired serving tray.

thanks for being here!

I hope you are enjoying this project! Let me know if you have any questions. Or leave me a comment to tell me about your project and ideas!

thanks, Cindy 😀

Tap here to comment!

more diys for spring

I’ve gathered some more ideas for you! These projects are easy, require a few supplies and won’t break the bank! Have fun with these projects!

• Flea Market Upcycle Ideas and Makeovers
• Decor Ideas Using Free Spring Printables
• DIY Easter Door Wreath to Welcome Spring
• DIY Pine Cone Flower Bouquet

And take a look at this adorabel spring wreath! It’s super easy to make and I will show you how in this tutorial:TAP HERE.

You can read more about this gorgeous sideboard by clicking the images below! It’s a two-part tutorial with lots of images of this beautiful antique sideboard.

YouTube video

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Pin the image below to your home decor and furniture boards! Just click the pin button at the top left corner!

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