Afternoon DIY Project

So, we left school early today due to another incoming snowstorm. Benny picked me up, since I carpooled with my teammate today and she drove, and we headed home.

After checking email and changing clothes, I began getting things lined up to tackle my first DIY project of the week: this basket we acquired from my grandmother's basement. It had lived a sad, neglected life in a shadowy, dusty corner of the basement and desperately needed some love. I saw some promise in it as a prettier trash/recycling center than our recent plastic collection containers (yes, you can see our collection in the background there), thinking that the lid would be a nice way to hide everything inside. Here's the basket/hamper before I began working my magic (and yes, of course Lavender had to inspect it):

So, after cleaning it up with the Dustbuster, a dust rag, and some cleaner, I set to work with the stain we'd used on the counter top edging (gotta love using stuff you already have around). (I turned on the fans in the house and lined my work area with newspaper before beginning.) I began with a rag, but didn't like the dry brushed effect it was having, so Benny found an old paintbrush that I could scrub into all the crevices.

After about an hour or so of staining (it took a while to get it into all those grooves), we used some old t-shirt scraps to wipe off the excess stain. This allowed it to become more the color of our kitchen cabinets and highlights the texture of the basket more. We'll let it dry for a few days and then use some spray poly on it over the weekend to seal things in and protect the surface. (Benny has promised to do this for me on Saturday once the weather warms up over the weekend enough that he can be outside to spray paint. Such a good husband! :)) So, here's the after:

So, what do you think? Doesn't it look like a whole new lovely thing? Amazing what a little time, love, and elbow grease will do for an old, neglected piece! And it was all free, thanks to my grandmother's generous basement and some stain we already had. So, how are your low cost, redesign projects coming? I'd love to hear from you, so leave a comment!

Sharin' the green love and savings!

PS
I linked this up to The Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party.