Holiday Crate X10 Project!

 

First of all-I am OVER the MOON excited to be teaming up

 with eight AMAZINGLY creative bloggers today for

the Holiday Crate x10 project!

I'll admit-when I was first asked to join this group of talented

ladies, I was a bit nervous.  Especially since the challenge

was to turn this plain old crate into something for the 

holidays!!


 

After I purchased the crate-it took a few days of 'pondering'.

I knew I not only wanted to create something that I would actually

use during the holidays-but also something that I didn't

already have.  That's a tall order-since I have an

entire room in the basement FILLED with Christmas decorations!

But .....there was one thing I didn't have.  

And it was something I've always

wanted, but I just didn't have the budget for.

A vintage sleigh!

Once I made my mind up-it was time to come up with

a vision of how I wanted the sleigh to look.

This old piece of wood from a corn crib on our farm was 

my inspiration!

I love everything about this 75+ year old piece of wood.  From the deep cracks-to the chippy red and gray paint!

 Of course, I didn't have 75 years to get this look-but I was definitely up

for the challenge to try and come close!

The first step in the process to make the new crate look old, was adding

a few dings.  I used a screwdriver to make a few scratches in the wood- and a hammer

and nails to make a few holes.

 Next was a light coat of stain.  I used Minwax-Ebony (leftover from our foyer

staircase).

After the stain had dried for several hours-I sanded it down.

Then it was time for a paint treatment.  Again-I used what I had on hand.

White-(leftover from painting house trim)

Black, brown, and red acrylic paint (leftover from signs)

Antique gray-(leftover from kitchen island)

 I started by giving the entire crate a coat of red paint (barn red).

Once that dried, I sanded again, and then began the layering

process.  First was the white, which I wiped on with an old cloth.

 

 Next was a light coat of the antique gray.

 Once this dried, I sanded again.

At this point the color was just a bit too light for me-so I grabbed the

brown paint- diluted it with water

And brushed it lightly over the layers.

Last, but not least-I wiped on the black with an old cloth.  

The next step was personalizing the sleigh.

Since Santa is pretty special here at our house-I thought it was only right to proudly

place his name front and center!  (Please forgive the unprofessional taping! I ran out of painters

tape-so I had to use what I had on hand! Of course it was wrapping tape!)

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photo's of the stenciling process-but

basically I rolled on the same black paint I used on the base-

let it dry-and then sanded it down to make the lettering look

weathered.

Once the body of the sleigh was done, it was on to the runners

Initially, hubby was going to create those out of some metal he

had in the garage.

But before he could do that-we experienced a little bit of 

Christmas magic when we paid a visit to a local

antique store and found these!!!

There they were sitting out in the front of the store, in all their rusty glory!

Yes indeed, hubby was just as happy I was to see these runners, (less work for him)

but even so, his part in this project wasn't over just yet.

We still needed to find a way to attach the runners to the sleigh.

And those VERY rusty bolts needed a strong arm to loosen.

Next up- hubby cut  to size, and pre-drilled three pieces of wood he found in his stash.  These were

for added support and strength, as well as,

a way to attach the runners without damaging the crate.

 After hubby bolted the base onto the runners-the sleigh was

back in my happy hands-and ready for decorating!

I started by filling the sleigh with greenery.  I topped that with a burlap bag filled

with more greenery and pretty wrapped presents.

 A few frosted pine cones, ornaments, an adorable plaid reindeer...

 And of course-a few sleigh bells too!!

I absolutely LOVE how my vintage crate sleigh turned out, and it

will soon find a home in front of the fireplace, once

I have the mantel decorated for the holidays!

Be sure to check out the links below to see what

the other eight AMAZING bloggers did with their crate!

And your #10!

I'd love to hear what magnificent holiday

creation you would make with a crate!!!

Carole @ Garden up Green

Patti @ Garden Matter

Meredith @ The Palette Muse

Bon Bon @ Farmhouse 40

Nici @ Posed Perfection

Jami @ An Oregon Cottage

Val @ Love my DIY Home

Karen @ To Work with my Hands

Blessings and hugs,