Today I’m sharing yet another item drawn from the pile in the carriage house. I have to confess that I don’t exactly remember where this one even came from, but I think my picker, Sue, found it for me.
It’s just an old wooden fruit crate, and at some point someone replaced the bottom with new wood.
So I decided to see if I could use some Dixie Belle No Pain Gel Stains to create a faux finish that would age those boards just a bit.
As soon as I opened the can of Weathered Gray I knew it was going to be too light on its own. It would be perfect for giving fresh wood a pickled or lime waxed look, but it was too light to match the rest of my crate.
So I decided to start by darkening up the wood with a coat of Walnut.
Once again, much like the last time I used this stain on some dresser knobs, I forgot that I wasn’t working with a quick dry, water based product. So I tried to add the Weathered Gray before the Walnut was fully dry. That just ended up blending the colors together, and I wanted a more layered look. So I stopped working for the day and left the Walnut to dry for 24 hours.
The next day I used an old t-shirt to add some Weathered Gray over the Walnut.
It’s not a perfect match, but it certainly looks less like a brand new bottom on an old wooden crate.
Once I had that finished I decided to add one of the re.design with prima’s Sweet Apricot transfers to the blank side of the crate.
If you aren’t familiar with this transfer, it comes with 9 different fruit labels. Each one is approximately 6.5″ x 9.25″.
I chose the one on the upper right and applied it, and then lightly sanded it to give it a more weathered look.
After I had the crate finished, I was trying to brain storm a way to stage it for photos. I thought of filling it with clay pots and maybe a plant or two. But then I thought, hey, wouldn’t this be a great way to corral your toilet paper supply!
Especially since apparently everyone else has stocked up with a year’s supply of toilet paper … except us.
It was at this point that I discovered we only had 3 rolls on hand. So Mr. Q went off to the grocery store, only to return saying that they literally had no t.p. on the shelves.
Seriously you guys, has the world gone mad?
I confess I thought it was pretty ridiculous when I heard that people were stocking up on t.p. Why in the world would you be worried about running out of such a simple and readily available commodity? In fact, we even purposely did not buy t.p. a week ago because we didn’t want to contribute to the ‘panic buying’ problem and we didn’t need it then.
So now here we are one week later, rationing our remaining 3 rolls of t.p.
Well … not really. Fortunately both my sister and our neighbor nnK are stocker uppers. We have a standing joke with nnK that in the event of a zombie apocalypse or some other catastrophe, we’ll be heading to her house because she has enough food stocked up for all three of us. Both Debbie and nnK have a healthy supply of tp and have offered to share. So maybe we don’t have to ration it after all.
How about you? Are you rationing the tp?
As always, thanks to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the No Pain Gel Stains I used on this project, and to re.design with prima for supplying the transfer. I also especially want to thank Debbie and nnK for providing us with toilet paper.
If you’re looking for Dixie Belle products you can find them here.
If you’re looking for re.design with prima products you can find local retailers here, or online sources here.
q is for quandie 
Your storage crate looks great and for those of us who stock up we could use extra cute storage . I am a “stock upper” so I am ready for any event . I was more thinking snow storms and the time the eastern seaboard lost power on the grid for several days. I think it comes from our nuclear war makeshift bomb shelter days back when I was a kid. ( my dad was in the airforce so this was a weekly random drill) well there’s probably one of me in every family but I try to be fair. There was only two hand sanitizers on the shelf and I took one and the other customer beside me took one . So be prepared yes but also be a good neighbour. I saw a lovely post from a HVAC contractor today that he would fix Furnaces and air conditioning for those who could not afford services.
Anyways. While we are rationing our supplies I think I’ll pretend I’m camping..
Stay healthy and safe everyone!
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Duck and cover Janice! Or wait, that was for a nuclear bomb wasn’t it? I don’t think that will work here 😉
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The crate turned out great!! The cherry transfer is perfect.
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Thanks BFF!
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Oh my goodness, I love those transfers! No stocking up here, but the paper product shelves at our local Walmart are absolutely bare. Ironically, the food sections looked normal. Bless those poor people’s hearts when the doors are shuttered and all they have to eat is t.p. (with a side of hand sanitizer) 😉 Be safe and healthy!
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LOL, sounds delish!
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The old wooden crate is super cute! The cleaning products I understand, the tp not so much. My answer to this dilemna is put in a bidet. They sell the type that attach to your existing toilet and what you save in tp consumption will pay for the bidet over time. 🙂 Problem solved.
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Perfect solution. I will say that this situation is making me wish bidets had been more popular here … well, more so than usual. I’ve always thought they were a good idea.
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We always have a stockpile of TP, so we’re probably good until the hype fizzles out.
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I’m starting to wonder if they hype is going to be sticking around for a while on this one. Of course, now that everyone has their lifetime supply of toilet paper in the cupboard already, we should be able to find some next week, right?
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Crate is darling Q. I’m married to a prepper. He taught wilderness survival for the state of Montana. No worries here.
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LOL, I have to confess I saw a headline about ‘preppers’ the other day and I thought they were referring to people who wear pink Izod shirt and loafers. Is my age showing a bit here?
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You just work magic with every transfer!! As for the tp, take a roll of paper towels to Ken and have him cut it in thirds; three more rolls of tp😜. Might not want to put down toilet but a plastic bag with a pretty transfer would solve that problem! What bothers me more is the elderly are supposed to socially distance themselves for 8 Weeks!! First of all I don’t like being “the elderly” and second, I could lose several dear friends at senior citizens in that time!! 🤪. Really missing my Wednesday fix. Have a great week and will see you Friday.
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Well, Wednesday posts could make a comeback once summer gets here. It won’t happen this week though, I have ROOT CANAL scheduled for tomorrow (followed up by a crown in a couple of weeks). If you’ve followed me for long, you might know that I have a massive dental phobia and this kind of stuff throws me for a loop. But rest assured, I already have a post written up for Friday just in case I don’t survive it.
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Love those transfers, especially the Mt. Diablo Fruit Farm. I grew up in the shadow of Mt. Diablo!!
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The Sweet Apricot transfer really needs to be on your shopping list Gay!
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Nope, not stocking up……..but this DOES seem like a trial run for the zombie apocalypse! The country has gone nuts! I’m thinking that more people will kill themselves over losing their businesses than will die of the Corona virus……So sad. It’s disheartening to witness how easily millions of people give in to hysteria. Aaaand, on a lighter note, I like the upgrade of your crate!
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Mr. Q and I simply don’t keep large supplies of much on hand. Except coffee. We will be fully caffeinated in the event of a zombie apocalypse!
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Yepper I’m a hoarder…especially the TP! There are seven of us, five being female and three of those are little girls who will spin that roll like people on the Wheel of Fortune finale. Been stocking up on non-perishables and extra meats since the end of February, too, but then we always have done so because of hurricanes and living in South Georgia. I LOVE the crate!!! Praying for y’all’s good health.
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LOL, your analogy cracked me up Linda! Although we don’t have to prep for hurricanes up here, we do occasionally get panic buying before a big snowstorm. I’m starting to think that Mr. Q and I need to rethink our habits though and get some non-perishables stocked in.
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The crate is adorable. Already had a supply of toilet paper. When I get a coupon for tp from my local wholesale club and also have a mfr’s coupon, I go and buy a 36 roll pack because it ends up being a great deal.
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That’s a lotta tp Maureen 😉 Hope it lasts!
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Very cute box. I like the new transfers. No I am not hoarding TP. A friend went to Costco yesterday. They were handing out the last of the TP.They said that they were not going to get anymore for awhile. Now i wish that I had bought a couple of extra packages. 😂
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Well, we might have to come up with creative alternatives to t.p., right Monica 😉
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I have a question for you or any of your other followers out there. I ordered, by mistake, a prima adhesive transfer! I have no idea what to do with it! I’m taking it on as a creative challenge and not sending it back! Any help, suggestions or inspiration greatly appreciated! It is the RUSTIC SEA adhesive transfer. HELP!
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Woops! Well, did you also happen to order the metallic foil that works with the adhesive transfer? If not, you probably need to get some. I can’t think of a way to use it without the foil (or some other kind of gold leaf foil, you may be able to find a similar type of foil at your local craft store if they are still open for business). Here’s a post I wrote about using these. As you’ve probably already realized, the adhesive transfers are bright yellow and sticky, so you have to put something over them that will adhere to the sticky bits but come away easily everywhere else. That being said, once you get some foil I bet you’ll be able to come up with something fabulous using that transfer!
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You are the absolute BEST!! Grateful for all you do and share! Be well! THANKS SO MUCH!
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You betcha!
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