purpleliscious

Do you love thrift stores?

I never used to visit them but now I can't pass one by; it's my favorite thing to do these days. Not only is it a bit like a treasure hunt, you never know what you're going to find, but I love going up to the checkout counter and seeing the final, low total. I mean, what could be better than getting a bunch of great stuff for a low price?

In California we had a wonderful Goodwill in our little town and I found several treasures there, all sorts of fun painting projects for the future. On a trip a few months before moving away I found a metal hanging basket that I instantly fell in love with...except for the color.

 It's not a bad color but I just imagined it could be even prettier with a little paint. 

But I'd never painted metal before and somehow that intimidated me so it just sat around and sat around while I ignored it, occasionally feeling guilty that I hadn't gotten started yet.

So when it was time to move I threw it into a box and shipped it straight to Florida because I figured I would have more free time there, at least at the beginning.

Basking in the success of my jewelry organizer, I felt confident to tackle this so I decided to start with a coat of white paint inside and out just to cover up the green.

I really liked the way it turned out, there was such a neat texture with just one coat of paint. I considered leaving it this color and then I, briefly, thought about painting it blue (I had a lot of blue paint left over) but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go wild. What could be wilder than soft lavender...am I right?

There was just one problem with this plan.

I've been using really inexpensive line of paint and the color selection wasn't extensive so the only paint I could find was a deep, dark purple which was not what I wanted at all.

I was hesitant to mix my own color because I was afraid I wouldn't make enough to finish and then wouldn't be able to ever match the color again but I gave myself a little pep talk and off I went to mix up the perfect shade of lavender.

I think it turned out perfectly, I just love the soft pastel shade. After all my worrying about having to color match, I ended up mixing enough the first time especially since I chose to only use one coat of paint so that a little of the white shows through.

I still think it needs something around the top, maybe some lace, so it's a work in progress but other things have demanded my attention so it's hanging up on the wall of my bedroom just like this and likely to stay that way for a while - perfect as it is.