Cheap Thrift Store Upcycles

How you too can upcycle your Thrift Store treasures on the cheap!

Last month I finished up my $100 Room Challenge- and if you missed it go and check it out HERE. To add extra some decor as part of my room makeover I did a lot of small projects that had been on my to do list for a little bit. After I completed them, I wondered why I waited so long! Let’s take a look at a couple of the projects and how the process went to upcycle them on the cheap!

Before photo of a thrift store wine crate
Small Blonde Wood Wine Crate

Small Wood Crate Before

CRATES. I just love wood crates- small, large, new, old, handmade, or store bought. But they can be really expensive. So, I am always looking for them at thrift stores and garage sales. No matter what the size I find, I know I can use them. I found this small wine crate at a thrift store last summer. It was marked for only $1- sold! It is only about 12″ x 6″ x 6″, so not big enough for large items but just right for some small table top decor.

Looking at the crate I loved the size and color of the blonde wood, but that embossed logo on the side had to go! Rather than sand the logo off- which could have been an option. What could I do?

Thrift store crate after
15 minutes later we had this!

Add a little TWINE!!!

I felt that the Blonde wood crate was leaning a bit more Farmhouse decor for my dining room makeover. And in order to make it fit the Bohemian look that I was going for, I decided to wrap the crate with Black twine. This covered the open space between the slats and covered the logo on both of the sides. It was super simple and cheap! I had the twine on hand in my craft supplies. Even if I had to buy a new roll of twine- it would have only been a couple of dollars and there would have been plenty leftover for other projects. Hence why I had some in my stash! 😉

Crate filled with jars on shelf top right

I really like how the crate turned out- and may have found another one just like it to upcycle and to have a set!

Love the pattern, just not the faded color

Simple Basket Upcycle with Paint

This basket was a great find at the thrift store for just a couple of dollars. The pattern was great, but the Blue color was faded and not quite in the color story I wanted to use for my Boho dining makeover.

Don’t like it- Paint it!

A Little Craft Paint Goes a Long Way

I decided to cover up the faded Blue with some good old craft Black Paint! A good movie on the TV and a small paint brush and this makeover took no time at all.

You don’t have to be perfect to be just what I need!

Embrace the Imperfections

You can see in the photo above that as the paint dried- spots that had been missed or not covered completely showed through. Don’t fret- you can always go back and do a second coat of paint. Or you can just live with and love the imperfections!

Amazing what a little paint can do
So cute! And with a new friend too.

Friends are just the BEST!

After posting a photo on my Instagram (please go and follow me there if you’re not already. I post almost every day over there!) a Real Life Friend gave me two more of these fun baskets. I can’t wait to experiment with this one next. Maybe do a Black, White and Gray color combo to cover the Pinks and Greens. We will see!

I hope that I have given you some inspiration to go and upcycle those thrift store treasures on your own! Thanks so much for stopping by.