Spray Paint Upcycle – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

One of the projects I mentioned in my recap was an upcycled milk can planter. This was a fairly simple project that came together quickly. I spotted this old milk can at a garage sale on my way to Alaska Picker day back in the spring. When I heard it was just $20 I claimed it right away. It was pretty rough, but I knew I could at least do something with the shape since it was pretty sturdy and solid.

I tried scrubbing the discoloration off thinking it was dirt, but while I got lots of dirt off the piece the lines remained, so I had to decide the best option to cover them. After a quick Pinterest search I went with basic black because it would hide all of the flaws and cover the odd pattern.

A couple coats later it was looking pretty good. I picked up a black pot to match it and shoved it into the opening as far as I could fit it. And when summer finally arrived it found a spot out on the deck and got a couple of plants to brighten it up.

It’s a perfect fit next to the hot tub stairs and helps hide the plumbing a bit when looking out from the bedroom. Plus it coordinates well with the lounge chairs nearby.

I filled it with marigolds to help ward off bugs near the hot tub, purple alyssum and some creeping Jenny that trails over the front of the can. A little birdhouse tucked up next to it brings in the teal I’ve used elsewhere in the yard.

Not bad for a $20 garage sale find and a can of spray paint! I look forward to using it for many years to come with other trailing plants in a variety of colors.

Now that I spend a lot of time at the green house I decided to make a little spot to sit and take a break when I’m tending the garden. It will also be the perfect spot to enjoy the new flower bed I’m putting in along the shed.

The spot is between the green house and the berry patch, just at the crest of the hillside as it starts to go down. It’s a simple set-up that came together easily, starting with the chairs, which I found on the buy/sell page for $20. When I got them they didn’t match – one was red and the other was tan. If they had both been tan I probably would have left them as is, but since I wanted them to match I picked up a couple cans of spray paint for plastic to make them teal instead.

Apparently I was in such a hurry to get the project rolling that I forgot to take a before picture of the red chair, but here’s the tan one prior to it’s makeover.

And here it is while drying. The paint went on easily and because it has a built in primer there was no prep work other than a light cleaning to remove any built up dirt. It’s been about a month since I painted them and they seem to be holding up quite well.

I had a curbside freebie wooden stand I’d snagged while getting some other freebies off Craigslist and thought it would make a fun little table between the chairs. You can check out a before picture of this little thing on Instagram. I first tried to paint it white but the wood soaked up the paint inconsistently making it look splotchy.

I dug through the paint cabinet in the garage for an alternative and found two cans of grey spray paint. The darker color seemed more uniform, although still not perfect. I figured it would weather anyway so it just adds a bit of character and you can’t beat free paint!

To pull it all together, I added a couple of pillows from my stash for the backyard, along with some planters I’d filled earlier in the season and a citronella candle to keep the bugs at bay. Not a bad little spot to relax for around $30 (chairs & paint)! I may add a little shelf on the bottom of the table next season, but for now it works just fine.

We plan to cover the whole open area around the green house with landscape fabric and gravel over the labor day weekend, which will really finish off this space. Now I just need some extra time to go out and enjoy it! 🙂