I don’t know about you but I have lots of baskets in lots of sizes and not always a lot of places for them. Some are in rough shape too but I never want to throw them out. I keep trying to find good places in our home for them but they just always look like…well, baskets. I’ve been seeing the trend of stenciled numbers painted on everything from boxes to baskets, to pillows and furniture. I love this trend! Stenciling on items often gives new life to them. I have these 3 baskets that I have always loved. Their corners have been chewed by our puppy when they lived below our kitchen island. But again, I didn’t want to throw them out – they have character, right? So I figured I’d try to stenciling them and put them on top of our dining room hutch – away from the puppy. It was a very easy, quick, diy project that can be adapted for any size basket. And it did give new life to them! Here’s the step-by-step instructions:
1. Materials needed: baskets of your choice {the stencil will look better on a flatter woven basket}; spray paint – I used Rust-oleum hammered black {says it works on all surfaces}; X-Acto knife or scissors, double sided tape; drop cloth.
1. Create your own stencil. I know a lot of the craft stores sell stencils but since this is a small project, I think it’s more cost effective to make your own plus you can customize them to the size and look you want. I decided to go with the numbers 1, 2, 3 for my stencils {random!}. I measured the area on the basket where I wanted to put the stencil and printed out the numbers to the size I needed. Letters also work well for this project – such as a child’s initial.
2. Cut out the numbers/letters. I used an X-acto knife but you can use scissors too. Try to be as precise as possible bit don’t stress to much – stencils are suppose to look weathered and rough. If using an X-Acto – be careful! I have knicked my left index finger lots of times!
3. Turn your stencil paper over and put double-sided tape along the edge of the cut out stencil. This is not crucial but it helps to keep the stencil in place and doesn’t allow the paint to “bleed” as much.
4. Set up a drop cloth in a well ventilated area (I use my garage). Place the basket on the drop cloth and spray the stencil area. Let dry and spray a second coat. Remove the stencil and discard.
The texture of the basket makes the stencil a little rough but again it adds character! See how they look in their new “home”. I’m sure you have a basket at home that needs some life added to it.
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