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easy crate revamp

When the awesome people at Apartment Guide contacted us with a challenge they had for us, we were more than happy to oblige. {It’s kind of what we love to do, after all. ;}} The challenge: To makeover, revamp, repurpose or create something for our home, for under 100 smackeroos. So when I literally stumbled across this crate, I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing with it. For a mere fifty dollars I was totally in love.

It was totally great as it was, but I thought I’d {gasp!} throw in a little fun and give it a personal touch for our home. The first part to one of our favorite songs {and favorite shows!} fit the bill. Bob Dylan’s Forever Young, anyone? Lately, I’ve been a little sentimental. Sometimes I wish they really could stay forever young. Sometimes, I’m glad they won’t because I think it gets even better. ;} It’s a vicious thing, parenthood.

Here’s how we did it:

After wiping it down again, and again, and again…{I’d LOVE to know what this thing was used for back in the day} I broke out some foam letters I had. {You can find these at any craft store-I’ve had mine for years} The initial plan was to dip the letters in paint, and go from there for more of a rustic look. Because I didn’t want to ruin the crate, it took a little planning ahead of time. So I cut a piece of butcher paper to size, and mapped out the first three lines of the song. As it turns out, the letters were the wrong size, and were much too large for what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to overwhelm the crate with paint, but rather give it a touch of something fun.

So, onto the projector we moved. We simply printed the song lyrics out on some transparency, {font = chunky. yes, I am obsessed.} adjusted it to the right size, and started tracing. From there, careful to cover the dark lines, we filled it in with paint and a small brush. I went behind it with an exacto knife and touched up any little mess ups that occurred, as well as scraped away the paint in a few of the places, to make it look older, and distressed.

So there you have it! Our new little addition to our space. It was definitely time for a bit of a spruce up.

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Comments

  3. little tip in case you don’t already know, if you use a water color pencil to do your outlining, you can wipe it away with water if you don’t cover the lines. I choose a shade similar to my paint color to make it easier to cover and just sponge off anything that still shows. Works great!

  4. Love the shipping crate re-do! I have one in my garage I got years ago at an auction for a couple of dollars. It was actually a WWII soldier’s trunk. I have hung onto it all these years with the intent on doing something like what you show here! Thanks for the incentive! BTW, I liked Apartment Guide on FB!

  7. I am actually in the market for my very frist apartment, so this would super helpful! I just “liked” AG on FB. Also, very cute crate. I would have never thought to use it as a side table.

  17. Love Love Love that crate and that saying. I liked Apartment Guide and could sure use that gift certificate. I am about to close on a 1917 Bungalow, a dream of mine for a number of years.

  19. Love the crate and I love that you left the wood natural to make the lettering POP.

    I also love the slipcovered couch – please let me know where I can find such slipcover as I have been looking everywhere. Thanks!

  45. I live in an apartment and it’s nice to see decorating ideas for a small unit. I “liked” Apartment Guide on Facebook.

  54. That’s a fantastic revamp! I love the color you chose for the letters, it goes perfectly with the wood. Thanks for the giveaway! I liked them on Facebook 🙂
    Weatherly

  79. I am so excited to see this post of yours. I have a chest like this that was my grandmothers. It is at least 90 years old. Thanks for the idea!!

  103. Love the words. Love the crate. & I love that canvas with the letter “m”. If you made the canvas, what font is the “m” & how did you acheive the distressed look?

  112. I follow you on twitter @anashct3
    Thanks for this lovely giveaway!

    Email: anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com

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