Fall Wicker Basket

Okay, so I really REALLY love baskets.  All kinds, all shapes - I must have literally almost 100.  I used to hang them from the ceiling at our previous house, but it never seemed to look right here.   Trouble is, they all seem to be some different version of wood.


Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Not whatsoever.   But, they tend to take on some kind of dingyness to them and they are all varying shades of the same thing.   Nothing looks like it wants to work together.  

So enters my new best friend, Spray Paint.   I have been spray painting everything lately (or at the very least finding things that I WILL spray paint the next chance I get)   My poor dog is cowering in the corner - he thinks he's next.

Here's a batch of them drying in the sun....

This is what happens when you take an ordinary wicker(ish) basket and introduce him to Valspar.

The end result of this particular basket - it's the largest on the top left corner of the above photo.

A definite improvement, but I still needed to add something.    I grabbed this

and these

and went to work adding some fall "festivities" to the mix.    The foliage (for lack of a better term) has probably seen better days, since I've been stealing from it here and there.   

Some of the berries were used for this fall project

And some other pieces had been used for the candlestick "redo" on this project here

So the back was looking pretty sad and "unfluffy".   I have no real fix for this.  I just figure that will stay in the back and anybody who notices will be too polite to say anything.   So much of my life is like that.

Anyways, attaching the garland was very, very easy to do.   I simply held a piece up and figured out where to adhere it with some floral wire.   I am positve that there are better and more "permanent" ways to achive the same thing.  But since this is not for my store or a gift, it will just be used here at home.   The good news about that is also that the garland can easily be taken back apart and replaced with something else for each season!

So you'll be sure to meet this basket again.  :)

I basically wanted to make sure that wherever the wire was attached, it would be covered by a leaf or another part of the garland and not stick out like a sore thumb bright shiney gold piece of wire.

The leaves do seem to cover it up very well!

So after attaching it on each side (or maybe in five different spots altogether) we have our end result

TaDa!

I so love the way these colors look together for fall.   Here's another view :

But that's just in an upstairs hallway and I wanted this little beauty somewhere that we actually ARE.  So I ended up bringing her back down to the family room on my hearth.

Cute!  I love it.  This would be great for newspapers, magazines or even a little stash of firewood.   Here's another cute tip:

Turn a basket upside down and it becomes a GREAT area for a small display!  

Total cost ZERO and time was approx. one and a half hours (even counting waiting for the paint to dry - I think you are actually supposed to Prime it first and wait a much longer time, but whatever.)

Now I just can't figure out which I like better!  Either way could hide a bunch of yucky - very useful.

By the way, I am linking up to Reinvented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday (if I'm able, since it is Wendesday LOL!)   Be sure to  check her out here!

Have a great day!

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce