Thursday, November 26, 2015

A tisket, a tasket, a botched green snow capped basket


For Day 27 I deconstructed a basket, and tried to change it from a spring basket to a Christmas basket.  To be perfectly honest, this was a three day project, but I saved yesterday's and the previous day's photos so I could show it all today.   I finished up as the last of my Thanksgiving guests were leaving.


I began by removing the floral design from the basket and bringing out my snow and white spray paint, both of which I had gotten at my Household Hazardous Waste Swap and Shop.  I pay for it in my taxes, so I feel I have the right to get free goodies any time I'm in the area.  Alongside the basket are some snowflakes I want to add to the basket.

My first problem came when I tried to use the Krylon spray paint.  It definitely didn't want to spray, even though I removed the sprayer and cleaned it inside the house.  When it still refused to spray, I removed the sprayer from the snow and used it.

My second problem was the white paint activated the green dye on the basket.  Now I had a huge problem on my hands (and fingers, too).

Not to be deterred, I sprayed the glittery gold snowflakes white.

I removed the sprayer from the paint, washed it inside, and placed it on the snow.  I was starting to like what I saw, even though the white from the paint had turned a bright green.  That was the end of Day 1 of this project, and I carefully placed it inside where it was warm and could dry properly.


For Day 2 of this project, it was time to bring out my matte finish sealer so the snow would be less vulnerable to the elements.  I had read the snow would clean up with soap and water, and I didn't want that.

However, when I sprayed the sealer, the snow was somehow activated in a NOT GOOD really bad way with the sealer.

I had gone this far though, and I intended to finish what I started.  All that was left was adding the finishing touches and the pieces I wanted to include in the basket.  I finished late this evening, after my guests had gone home, as you can see.

It may not be the project I had hoped for, but it was the project I was stuck with.  And I recycled old Christmas ornaments and art I made in the past.  Tomorrow (Friday) when I decorate my home for Christmas, it will take its place outside where it will hang on my porch instead of a wreath this year.

This is Day 27 of Art Every Day Month, or AEDM where I spent three days creating this Christmas basket to hang on my front porch to greet and welcome people to my home. 

As always I'm delighted you visited, and maybe got a laugh or two out of this post.  It was more fun to write up than it was to actually work on this recycled basket.  And if I didn't make it around to visit today, please chalk it up to a holiday celebration at my place.

11 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

Yes, paints sometimes react differently, and the end results are not always what we expect. But I like the pale green Christmas basket, and it looks great filled with the decorations. Art is always a journey, we have fun on the way, and sometimes arrive at a new destination. Have a lovely day Elizabeth, take care, and keep having fun. Hugs, Valerie

froebelsternchen said...

Your basket turned out gorgeous in my mind - I love the pale green -it fits the vintage decoration inside so well. I think it will make a wonderful porch decoration !
Wishing you a happy weekend and fun with decorating your house.
Don't forget to take photos of all ... looking forward to it.
Happy Friday Elizabeth!
oxo
Susi

Helen said...

Well the basket may not have turned out the snowy white you intended (and wanted) but I think it looks great - and the snow round the edges look pretty good now; and matches the contents perfectly. I hope it survives the cold to welcome your Christmas visitors over the season.

Julia Dunnit said...

Well aint life full of happy accidents! The green is lovely...however messy it was, it worked. I have the Krylon sealer and it does exactly the same thing to embossed stamping...within seconds its eating it and making it curl off and disappear. As the Spray is the last thing you do to a project, it's a horrible lesson! I love how it turned out though, such a grand piece of recycling.

Anonymous said...

If you hadn't said oops I would not have noticed. Love how this turned out. It's never like what we imagine in our heads, I find. Rather it's what it wants to be. xox

Divers and Sundry said...

I like the way it turned out, and those ornaments are lovely.

pearshapedcrafting said...

This is beautiful! I tried using the Krylon Spray a few years ago with similar results - it didn't make it into the boxes for when we moved here - counted it as one of my down sizing moments!!! I love the frosty green of your basket and seeing how you have filled it I can imagine how good it must look on your porch! Enjoy your Christmas Decorating day! I usually leave mine until just before or on my birthday as it often passes without me noticing otherwise!!! Have a great weekend your winter wonderland, Chrisxx

Meggymay said...

Well I think this looks fantastic, it has a wonderful vintage look and will be admired in your porch. I can imagine the colour your fingers got with the paint, one of the many side line joys of enjoying crafting.
Yvonne xx

Carol said...

I love it! It definitely has a vintsge feel to it♡♥♥♥♥♡♥

NatureFootstep said...

wow, I´m speechless. You create such amazing things. Hard work but lovely result :)
And....most of the time things turns out the way THEY want :)

Craftymoose Crafts said...

The color of the basket is really wonderful! Too bad that snow didn't cooperate the way you wanted it to, but all filled up it looks great! I probably would not have thought to clean the nozzles before trying to spray, so who knows what kind of mess I would have ended up with!