A new laundry shelf and some painting info!

The other day I came across these little pill containers at the $2 shop. I thought I'd use them as an easy (some would say 'lazy') way to make boxes, then I thought I would try and make a shelf for the laundry with them.

I used a craft knife to cut them up - if you're going to try this be VERY CAREFUL!! I used a skirting board to make the shelf supports, a piece of wood for the triangle on top and the star is a scrapbooking split pin.

The finished shelf...it still needs a lot more accessories. My mum showed up with that little can of spray starch.

Now for those of you who wanted to know how I paint things here goes... I mostly use interior house paint which I buy in sample pots - they are 'low sheen acrylic' paint. Some of the shinier plastic lids aren't that easy to paint. It may work better to use primer on them first, but I never have enough patience to do that! I like to see results fast! LOL!Most of the pictures I use I find on the internet or are things I have scanned. I put the pictures into a document in Microsoft Word and resize them, then I print out the labels in sheets so I've got a supply ready.

Once I've printed the pics I spray them with a 'fixer'. Sometimes (when I can't find the fixative spray!) I don't do this. I just use any sort of white glue to glue the pics on. Then I apply a thin coat of a water-based varnish, usually gloss because that's the only one I can find at the moment. If I haven't used a fixer on the picture it can go a little blurry, sometimes that just adds to the 'aged' effect.

I use my Jo Sonia's paints and a very tiny, fine paintbrush to do the rusty details.

Hope that info helps, happy painting!
Mercedes