| Trash to Treasure |
From "DIY Crafts"
episode DIC-145 |
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Are you looking for an inexpensive secondhand outlet for furniture, antiques, home decor and craft supplies? Crafter Bev Sexton found a wealth of supplies at a Salvation Army warehouse bin auction. Although most towns with a Salvation Army store also have a warehouse like the one Bev visited, they may have different ways of selling (first come, first served or single-item purchases), so call before you attend an auction. Once Bev found the bin she wanted, she purchased a paddle and started bidding. In the end, the bin was hers for just $21 -- a meager investment for a valuable load of potential crafting supplies. Here are some of the results. Flow Blue Charger Plate Materials:
Plate
Spray paint, white and blue
Round doily
Optional: long nail
Optional: stencil adhesive
- Spray the plate with white paint. Let dry.
- Place the round doily on the plate. If you want a "flow blue" look, hold the doily in place with your fingers or a nail, and apply blue spray paint. For a more perfect, unsmudged look, spray the back of the doily with stencil adhesive, and apply it to the plate. Apply blue spray paint (figure A).
- After the paint has dried for a few minutes, carefully remove the doily.
Note: - This plate is not dishwasher safe or suitable for use with food.
Country Charger Plate Materials:
Plate
White spray paint
Fabric
Mod PodgeB.
Scissors
- Spray-paint the plate white. Using scissors, cut decorative motifs from fabric. Bev used an apple, circles for cherries and leaf shapes.
- Apply the fabric motifs to the plate with Mod Podge. Apply a coat of Mod Podge to the entire plate and let dry.
Tin Pitcher Materials:
Tin pitcher
White spray paint
Blue, red and green latex enamel paint
Sponge
Paint brushes
Paper plate
- Apply white spray paint to a tin pitcher.
- When the paint is dry, paint on cherries and leaves, using latex enamel paint.
- Cut a small square from a sponge, place a small amount of blue latex enamel paint onto a paper plate, dip the sponge into the paint and press on a checkerboard design near the rim and at the base of the pitcher.
'50s-Style Basket Purse Materials:
Basket purse
Fabric in red-and-white check, blue stars and white
Crochet hook
Scissors
Cut strips of fabric about 1" wide and 6" long, and loop the strips through the holes in a woven basket. Bev used a red-white-and-blue flag pattern. Picnic-Basket File Holder Materials:
Mod Podge
Lidded picnic basket large enough to hold file folders
Cutout motifs
Wood-burning kit
Cedar shingle
Watercolor paints of your choice
Small paintbrush
Decoupage adhesive
Stapler
Twine
Hot-glue gun
Rectangular piece of fabric for lid pockets
Fabric for inside of basket lid
- Decoupage cutout motifs around the front and sides of the basket, using Mod Podge. After the Mod Podge dries, apply another coat over the top to give the images extra stiffness.
- Cut a cedar shingle to fit onto the lid of the basket, and hot-glue in place.
- Using a wood-burning kit, burn a simple flag shape into the shingle. Use the watercolor paints to fill in the flag with color (figure B).
- Glue twine along the edges of the shingle.
- Attach fabric to the inside of the basket with a stapler. Cover any staples with hot glue and twine (figure C).
- To form lid pockets to hold stationery, turn under the raw edges of the rectangular piece of material, and secure with hot glue. Staple the finished rectangle to the basket lid, then staple to form pockets (figure D).
Decoupage Suitcase Materials:
Mod Podge
2"- or 3"-wide brush
Craft knife and extra blades
Sharp scissors
Damp rag
Old, stiff greeting cards
Two or three rolls of decorative gift-wrap
Old suitcase with hard sides
- Clean the suitcase with soap and water, being careful not to soak it. Use shoe polish to touch up any leather trim if necessary.
- Start with the bottom of the suitcase, so that you can learn the technique on the side that will show the least. Hold your paper on the case to determine where you want your motifs to be placed.
- Divide the suitcase into several different areas. Cut a piece of paper slightly larger than each area to be covered to allow for overlap.
- Spread Mod Podge thinly on the area of the suitcase you're working on. Center the paper piece over each area, and use your fingernail to crease the paper along the trim. Smooth the paper with your fingers from the center to the edges, working out any bubbles or wrinkles that might appear. Expect to see some wrinkles appear as the paper becomes saturated with Mod Podge. Many of these will disappear as the paper dries.
- After the paper is smooth, cut off the excess using a craft knife. Continue with the other areas of the suitcase.
- To cut around the hardware, place the paper piece on the glued surface so it lies right over the hardware. Use the craft knife to cut a small X in the paper over the top of the hardware. With scissors, clip small cuts in the paper around the hardware, starting from inside the X, until you can wrap the paper snugly around the hardware. Use your fingernail to crease the paper around the hardware, then use the craft knife to trim along these edges.
- On the back of the suitcase, leave enough paper to tuck inside the back hinge area of the case. Use a stiff greeting card to push the gift wrap into the hinge area and into the case. Apply a little glue to the paper before you tuck it in.
- Allow the suitcase to dry thoroughly for a few days, keeping it propped open so that the glued edges don't glue the suitcase shut. After the case is dry, apply Mod Podge to the exterior to further harden and preserve the surface. Mod Podge dries hard, so make sure you don't get it on the leather.
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