Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Thrifty Thursdays: Old Gingham in a Basket


A couple weeks back, I had a chance to run into the Salvation Army store for a quick visit (this was before garage sale season began!). While there, I walked several times by this old basket with handles, that may at one time have been a picnic basket. It had obviously seen its better days and was in decent but not great shape, but that raggedy red gingham lining had me. I brought the basket home and it sat here awhile until I figured out just where it should live.
Finally its destiny was determined, the front porch should be its new home, with its cheerful red gingham, it was perfect. I'm using it to hold magazines. It was cheap enough that if Mr. Squirrel decides one day that it should become lunch, that's fine. If it gets rained on, that's fine, too. It was only eighty cents and if it lasts all summer, it was a bargain. If it makes it through summer no worse off than it is now, a can of spray paint can be used to remake it, and I can take the liner apart and use that for a pattern to make a new gingham liner and re-use it elsewhere for the winter.
I've always been a sucker for containers, old boxes, tins, and baskets: they are something I can rarely refuse...can you see why? What are you drawn to?

9 comments:

Sue said...

Wow~ What a bargain!! I am drawn to red gingham. It covers my dinette cushions and edges my drapes. Gingham makes me happy in almost any color. Your basket looks perfect there!
Blessings~LillySue

Feedsack Fantasy said...

Very nice bargain ... looks lovely & placed so perfectly.

TTFN ~ Marydon

Sincerely, Emily said...

Great basket. Great Price. It looks fabulous on your front porch too. Emily

Kay-The Rustic Cottage said...

How adorable! It looks perfect with your cute red table. The whole color scheme is so pretty - love red, white, and blue!

Ali said...

Great find, I love how you used it to hold magazines! And guess what I got in the mail today?? Yay! My cup & saucer AND the book! I will be posting about it on my blog (hopefully) by this weekend. Thanks again, they are even better in person!

PS - how do you keep your porch SO clean? We get spiders EVERYWHERE on ours, it is crazy! I clean the webs away and they are of course back the very next day. Very frustrating!

Anonymous said...

I always move towards gingham. Just can't help myself! And baskets...well I am a sucker for them, all shapes, sizes and condition. My husband moans and groans whenever we go anywhere that has baskets for sale. Still he did buy me a new handmade basket for our eggs a couple weeks ago so maybe he has the "bug" too but doesnt want to admit it HAHAHA!!! How I miss front porches, makes me want to come home. Lovely to see your beautiful pics.

Donna said...

Yep, I'm a sucker for baskets too! Tins, wooden boxes, jars - all kinds of containers! There was a recent link on Cash Strapped Crafting blog (link on my sidebar) for how to make a basket liner, so you may want to check that out!

80 cents - what a deal!

Molly Betsy @ Star Cottage said...

I'm a basket lover too. I inherited that from my mom.

Anonymous said...

I love that red table. DId you buy it that way or did you gussy it up yourself?

My best, Lynn