Trash to Treasure Ideas for Spring

Here are some easy trash to treasure ideas for spring that you will love. Each project is fast and fun to make. They’ll have you wanting to go out thrifting for your own supplies. Grab a paintbrush and let’s get started!

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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!

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!

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 paint
• Milk Mix EZ
• Milk Grip bonding agent
• MMS Milk Wax ECO
• Fluff chalk mineral paint
• Round Small synthetic paintbrush
• E6000 Glue
• R.A.D. Sanding Pads
• small shop vac
• shop vac brush attachment

Use the links at the bottom of this post to purchase some of the supplies for this project! You are helping to support this blog and all the free tutorials we offer here! Thanks so much!😊

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.

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.

Since I am going for a spring theme with these projects, I decided that Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Teal Ocean would be the perfect first layer for the wooden serving tray. Two coats covered the surface.

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Oops, I forgot to mention that I used a fine-grit sanding sponge to scuff the shine off of the wooden serving tray.

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 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!

See the wreath hanging above the trash to treasure pieces? You can find the tutorial 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.

more inspiring posts!

YouTube video

Just in case you like to watch project transform, here is a video for you! Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of the fun projects we share with you!😊

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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