Recycle!

Earlier this year I went garage sale hunting with a good buddy and the two big finds of the day: girl scout cookies and a wooden crate for $1.50....who can beat cookies and a $1.50 find?

cookie monster!

The coveted wooden crate!

Time to do some work!  We were in need of a recycling bin for our cans that we take back to the store (hello there 10 cent refund - directly into the vacation jar! woot woot!)  I had been hunting for a crate for awhile...there were some awesome vintage finds (old crates for cherries, soda, etc) but they were 15 bucks a piece and I couldn't really see the point when I knew I wanted the bin to say recycle.  Alas, my crate and I were united.  I used stencil letters and chalk to outline where I wanted it to say recycle.  **In hindsight, I probably should've had the word recycle going on a diagonal rather than horizontal, but oh well!**

One letter left to go! (:

Fill in the chalk lettering with your choice of paint - I used Dazzling Metallics Elegant Finish in Crystal Green (green only seemed fitting for the project!) from Michael's.  This is a really quick project - perfect for a rainy afternoon :)

In all her glory...full to the brim.

You could certainly use this idea for more than recycling - you could have a towel crate, or even store toilet paper in your bathroom; if you have kids - each kid could decorate their own bin and keep the crate by the front door as the drop box for backpacks, shoes, hats, etc; or could store magazines and books in a crate, DVDs...anything you want really! Sky is the limit :) What would you use a wooden bin for?

Happy recycling :)