Quick Laundry Basket Upcycle

I have been searching for a new laundry basket for myself for a while now - I eyed one up at £80 and had to have a quiet word with myself about spending such ridiculous money on something I'll be putting dirty clothes in. Then, on my weekly charity shop scrounge I spied this for a mere £6!!! It must've been fate...

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Product list:

White Lightning

Masking tape

Oyster Silk Mineral Paint

Hampton Olive Silk Mineral Paint

Clear Coat Satin

Synthetic Brush

Here's the linen basket after a good clean with White Lightning. This is always your first step with any project! Even though this is raw wood there was still dirt and dust build up from previous use. If not cleaned then this can affect the adhesion of the paint to the surface of the project.

I measured around a third of the way up the linen basket from the base with a tape measure and marked with a pencil.

I followed the pencil marks with some masking tape for a straight, even line around the entire piece. 

I painted 2 coats of Oyster Silk Mineral Paint with the Scarlet Brush using brush strokes away from the taped edge to prevent bleed through.

Once the Oyster was dry I removed the tape and marked out another inch above the Oyster.

I masked this line off top and bottom.

I used one coat of Satin Clear Coat to make an invisible seal over the edges of the masking tape to prevent bleed through. You can use any of the Clear Coats for this.

I used 2 coats of Hampton Olive to paint between the masked edges to create a thinner line above the Oyster. 

Once the Hampton Olive had dried, I peeled the masking tape off and crossed my fingers that the paint hadn't bled! Ha!

It worked!

Only one tiny bit of bleed through which I touched up with a small brush. 

Below is the finished linen basket! An easy peasy up-cycle which has given me a totally unique piece of furniture at a fraction of the price of a new one!

I hope this has inspired you to try colour blocking,

Con x