Hello, lovely friends! I’m crossing another project off the list today…I’m sharing a painted vintage picnic basket from my current haul!
We did end up getting 10″-12″ of snow on Wednesday into Thursday last week. Here’s a peek out of our kitchen window:
We live on the coast of Virginia and don’t normally get hit hard if at all, so this was big for us!
Although I wasn’t looking forward to working in my freezing cold garage, I bundled up, pulled out the space heater and got to work!
Here is today’s basket that I found for $6.98 at the thrift store:
This one was STANKY, y’all! The weave was actually some sort of plastic, and when you opened the lid, all the air that’s been sitting in there since 1975 came rushing out! SUPER stinky this one was!
Picnic baskets don’t sell particularly well for me, but I just love them!
I guess people can’t see that they’re not just for picnics?
Clean
I started with a good vacuuming inside. Then I followed up by cleaning inside and out using White Lightning.
Paint
Once it was dry, I gave this vintage picnic basket two coats of Fluff white by Dixie Belle using my Best Dang Brush to apply it:
The large, flat head makes light work of painting the weave on baskets. Be sure to clean it as soon as you’re done as the paint cleans out more easily if you don’t let it sit.
I decided to highlight some of the woven detail with Vintage Duck Egg Blue using a tiny brush:
Painting part of the detail in the weave of a basket is great way to highlight it.
Once it was dry, I sanded lightly all over to add a bit of time worn character.
Seal
I sealed inside and out with Clear Coat in Satin using a brush, being sure to apply it very sparingly outside to avoid it pooling in any of the weave.
Painted Vintage Picnic Basket After
A little paint went a long way on this one!
I only chose to highlight a few across the front, but you could easily go all the way around…
The top has a really unique texture to it that I haven’t seen before…
The inside
Here is the stinky inside before:
It was lined with some type of cardboard hence the reason it retained such a musty odor.
Painting it in Vintage Duck Egg Blue sealed in the odor beautifully:
Stinky no more!
And all the way to the bottom…
I used a small brush to paint the weave at the top to clearly separate the white from the blue:
Another one done!
See anything you may have missed below!
Flatware Box & How to Remove the Lining
Vintage Louis XVI Armchair Makeover #2
$10 Vintage Folding Game Table Makeover
Painting the Smalls #32
Longaberger Basket Makeover
Bunny Rocker Makeover
Small Glass Door Cabinet Makeover
Estate Sale Dresser Makeover
HUGE Estate Sale Tool Box
Estate Sale Mirror Makeover
$5 Yard Sale Night Table Makeover
Update a Thrifted Box for the Holidays
Black Painted Antique China Cabinet
Turn Old Frames into New Holiday Decor
How to Upholster a Louis XVI Armchair
How to Repurpose a Table Top (&bonus…see what I did with the rest HERE.)
Dated Bar Stool Makeover
Update a Yard Sale Tote for the Holidays
Painting the Smalls #31 (the dollar edition)
IKEA Bookcase Makeover
$5 Yard Sale Night Table Makeover
I love a quick and easy makeover!
But I didn’t get off that easily! I also finished up this lowboy and chair for furniture Fixer Uppers this Thursday:
UPDATE: See the super cute after of this set HERE now!
It turned out SO cute!!
I’ll see y’all then!
XOXO,
Don’t Miss a Thing!
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Michele M. says
Oh, she is a cutie now for sure!!! We got a good bit of that snow too but it was only around6 inches here – the storm really hit hard below us. You guys must’ve freaked out! We’re used to it in Ohio – we have plows and salt trucks galore – but not down there! Bet life came to a screeching halt – and bet the kids enjoyed a couple of snow days!!!!
Christy says
Thank you, Michele! It really shuts us down lol. The kids were off for three days, but after 2020, they naw have a way to still do work at home with their chromebooks, so no true days off but at least we got to sleep in! XOXO
Mary Kaiser says
Oh it is so fresh and beautiful now! Makes me want to pack up and go on a picnic! Virginia looks like Michigan does most of the winter!! That is alot of snow for ya’ll! Here’s hoping it melts soon in Virginia and Michigan! I am so over the winter and cold, we need sunshine and warm!
Christy says
Thank you, Mary! I don’t know how y’all do it all winter! I am definitely ready for spring now ha ha! XOXO
Kelly says
Wow! Massive improvement. I like the touch of color that you did highlighting the pattern. It almost looks like embroidery and I love the idea of using picnic baskets for other uses.
Christy says
Thank you, Kelly! It sure does. I do too…they can hold do many things! XOXO
Kathy W says
Hi Christy!! First of all, I missed making a comment last week on the tour of your booth. It was fantastic!! All your beautiful makeovers in one place??? Priceless!! Visiting your booth is on my bucket list when we visit our Son who lives in Windsor, VA. Maybe this year ????
The basket is so pretty!! I saw the detail right away before your makeover. The highlighting you did makes all the difference on the basket!!! Personally, I love picnic baskets for any kind of storage. They hold so much!! I have one in our guest room which I fill with towels when we have friends or family visit.
You certainly were snowed in!!!!! Our Son said if they get more than an inch of snow, everything pretty much shuts down in VA. Hope you and your family stayed in and stayed safe. Kathy W oxox
Christy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the booth tour, Kathy, thank you! I do hope you make it to visit one day. I too love baskets for storage…and you can leave them right out in the open. Having one in the guest room for towels is so nice for your guests! And yes, the snow was crazy! I don’t know that we’ll that again any time soon lol. We are definitely shut down by the smallest amount! XOXO
Dawn Shelley says
Yippee Christy such beautiful inspiration! I just picked up a choc brown picnic basket! Now I def need to look at it in a whole new light.
On your basket I would almost be tempted to add lil blue pin dots to each of the insecting points of the diamond patterned grid on the lid!
I cant wait to go home and check mine out again. Thx….so much! Dawn
Christy says
Thank you, Dawn! Ooh that would be cute on the lid! Have fun with yours! XOXO
Janice Redden says
Christy,
P.U……i could almost smell 40-some years of stale air! But, what a beautiful difference !!! Love the detail; it really sets it off. I just passed on a cool, very cheap, piece that i don’t think anything in the universe would mask it’s odor!!
Glad you weathered the snow; we had ours the week before but this week’s warmer temps are such a welcome change and made yesterday the perfect day to get a lot of sanding done – ready to paint – yay!
Christy says
Ha ha! It was so bad! I’m really surprised I bought it, but I’m glad now that I did. It is 61 here today and beautiful! That should take care of any remaining snow lol…definitely ready for spring now! XOXO
Jackie C says
Christy, this is super, super cute! Highlighting the weave was perfect. I love it!! It’s still amazes me how you can paint a basket without it pooling. I’ve never quite mastered that. I probably use too much paint on my brush maybe.
We got a couple inches of snow here in Northeast Oklahoma, But it was FRIGID ???? for a few days. This week will be in the 60s. I’m ready for it.
Christy says
Thank you, Jackie! I use the Best Dang Brush and swirl it around and around, and it likely picks up any dripping/pooling paint that way. It’s hard when the cold temps keep the snow and icy conditions hanging around. I like to see the snow come and then go in a day or two! It is absolutely lovely today and I am loving it! XOXO
Sue says
Awesome how you restored that stinky picnic basket for someone to love!
Thank you for showing the beautiful snow outside your window, living in the SW desert we do not get that snow only on the mountains and it would surely shut us down if it did as well!
Christy says
Thank you, Sue! I took a ton of pics since we don’t see it too often here either…for us, it’s exciting, but then I’m ready for it to go lol! XOXO
Geri Davis says
The picnic basket looks so much better, I’m pretty sure my folks had that same basket back in the 70’s! I’ve seen them in thrift stores before but usually pass them up, might have to try my hand at doing one now that I see how cute it “could” be!
Christy says
Thank you, Geri! I see them quite often. They would be great for a holding knitting/crocheting project or magazines or whatever! XOXO
Betty Sue says
Love the detail in Duck Egg!!! Such a transformation! ❤️
Christy says
Thank you so much, Betty Sue! XOXO
Cecilia says
Yay for easy makeovers so you can do multiple projects. Lol. It looks so much better…love the blue design on the front of it. Every time you make over something, I’m looking around my house to see what I can paint. Then I don’t do a thing, lol. But you give me plenty of inspiration! Wow, that’s a lot of snow. We, fortunately, didn’t get any – just really cold temperatures for the week – but yay! we are back in the 60’s and 70’s. I’m so ready for spring!
I can’t wait to see what you did for Thursday!
????Cecilia
Christy says
Yes!! Love a few easy ones sprinkled in there! Thank you, Cecilia! It is fun to be inspired, even if you don’t act on it. 🙂 And that was a ton of snow for us, but today it is 61, and I am loving it!! I’m ready for spring too, my friend! XOXO
Lorri says
I love decorating with picnic baskets. You did this one proud!!!! I like the way you highlighted with blue paint the designs in the front of the basket. It does look like Embroidery.
Christy says
Me too! Thank you, Lorri! It really does look like embroidery…and they did all the detail work, I just highlighted it! XOXO
Linda says
Same as Kelly said! Lovely highlighting. I just upcycled a couple furniture pieces, it’s been awhile. I get the vision and then want it completed YESTERDAY, ha!
Christy says
Thank you, Linda! I am exactly the same. I go go go until it’s completed lol! XOXO
Rhonda Dunaway says
Thanks for sharing another idea on how to paint picnic baskets. I, too, have a weakness for old picnic baskets and can’t resist buying them when I come across them. I keep most of them and use them around my house to hold or store all kinds of things, and to function as decor at the same time. I also like painting them and then using them as kind of a “gift basket” to hold other gifts that I am giving to a friend or family member, and people seem to love it. Unless they are faking so they won’t hurt my feelings.
Like you, I find that they don’t always sell very quickly, but I did end up transforming a couple of old picnic baskets into holiday decor this past Christmas, just because I’m stubborn and I wanted to, and amazingly, they sold right away.
So I hope you will keep showing picnic basket transformations in the future. Thanks again for sharing another way to give them a makeover.
Christy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, Rhonda! Picnic baskets make for great storage you can keep right out in the open. I never thought to use one as a gift basket, but I love that idea! I turned one into a Christmas arrangement many years ago with snowmen I found at the thrift store, and it sold also…I had forgotten all about that one. I will keep buying them because they do look cute in my booth and can be stacked. They do eventually sell. 🙂 XOXO
Amanda says
Lovely makeover! Sad looking basket given a new life, love it!
Christy says
Thank you, Amanda! Sad smelling too, but no more ha ha! XOXO
Deborah says
I have several of these that I use for storage. I keep them in stacks, one stack in the corner of my main bedroom. Only problem is that they are reds and greens and don’t go with my blue and white color scheme. I’m definitely going to try your painting technique! I’ll enjoy having them so much more in my own color way!! Yours turned out beautifully. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Christy says
Thank you, Deborah! I have a trio of them stacked in our living room that still have Brennan’s toys in them from when he was little…he’s 14 now. I guess I can purge the toys lol. Yours would be gorgeous painted to match your bedroom! XOXO
Susie says
Thank you, for your post of your project, your booth, & what is going on. I find myself now looking forward to them. They have given me such brillent ideas that I would have never thought of. I love the picnic basket you did. You brought out such detail in it. When you couldn’t even see it the way it was.
Thank you so very much.
Christy says
You are so welcome, Susie! I am thrilled to have you following along with me! And I’ll be honest, I didn’t really notice the pattern in this basket until I painted it white ha ha. Sometimes just getting started leads me to where it wants to go! XOXO
Marcie Lovett says
It’s so charming, Christy! That touch of blue highlighting the pattern is enough to take it up a notch. I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t love to take it home now ????
Christy says
Thank you so much, Marcie!! XOXO
Cyndi says
OMG, that’s pretty! And it’s a good sized piece too, so it can hold loads of stuff. Great for all kinds of storage!
Christy says
Thank you, Cyndi! It’s a great size for sure! XOXO
Caye says
I wish that people liked picnic baskets, too! They sure are cute. Following the design on the front is such a good idea. What will you do with it?
The subzero temps seem to be gone now but one can never be sure. In southern Wisconsin we didn’t get as much snow as usual so there was only a total of 12″ over this winter. Our usual snowfall is about 45″ over the season. I felt bad for you all because I know it isn’t common to have that much snow. While I look forward to Spring, I don’t look forward to the high dewpoints in the summer.
Christy says
Thanks, Caye! This one will be heading to my booth. My sister used to live in Kenosha, but now lives further north. She said we’ve gotten more snow that she has this year which is very unusual for sure! XOXO
Cyndel says
Of all your picnic baskets I’ve seen, I think this one’s my favorite. Your color choice and decision to highlight the weave makes it a standout.
Christy says
Oh yay! Thank you, Cyndel! This was a unique one for sure! XOXO
Robin says
Love all the baskets that you reimagine, Christy. When we moved I had to offload 3 vintage picnic baskets (all so different) & 3-4 suitcases (cane, leather, & Samsonite). Those were my future projects, but the new dwelling didn’t allow for any extras. Plus, I knew they’d probably get damaged in the move. I retained a stack of 3 wicker suitcases that have a home under the ONLY side table next to the library sofa.
Christy says
Thank you, Robin! I know it was a bummer to have to let those baskets and suitcases go, but sometimes letting go feels good too. I have a hoard of gold mirrors that I have collected as I intended to create a wall of them, maybe up the staircase. It’s been almost eight years…have I done it? No. Could I sell them as is in my booth and unload them? Absolutely, but I keep hanging on lol. XOXO
Cheryl B Acampora says
WOW! The diamond painting on the front of that basket was exactly what it needed! I can see it holding dog toys, rolled towels, or just maybe a BIG BOSTON FERN perched on a bar stool. The sky is the limit. Nice job!!
Christy says
Thank you, Cheryl! It was so nice that all I had to do was follow the pretty pattern that was already there! I love the idea of adding a big Boston fern to it!! XOXO