Trash to treasure, literally

I've been asked to start a new once-a-week post theme. These posts will be tutorials based on items I find in the trash.

I do a lot of biking in the summer. I LOVE biking. I go for hours and hours. Just me, my bike, my ipod, and a lot of thoughts. I'm not a real biker- you know, the skinny tires and spandex. I rock the mountain bike, soccer shorts, and hot pink sunglasses.

One afternoon I was out in a neighborhood a few miles away when I biked past this piece in someone's trash. I stopped and took a look but I thought the bar on the top was weird and the whole thing was just ugly. Later that night my mom and I went for a ride and I passed it a second time. I started seeing a little potential. Before you know it I whipped out my cell phone..."Hey Dad, what are you up to right now?..." I could hear him roll his eyes over the phone. 

People always tell me how independent I am for starting a business, living in this house, blah, blah blah. But in reality, I get A LOT of help. Think about all the furniture you see on here. I'm only a 5'4'  19 year old girl and I drive a tiny car. I can't even tell you how many times my parents or a friend has helped me lug something home, to a craft show, etc. Sometimes I can be pretty needy!

Anyway, time to talk about this piece of furniture (I don't even know what to call it - dresser? hutch? I've never seen anything like it). 

Not a very complicated tutorial. Was pretty simple actually. I started by taking the door of the hinges and the drawer out.

I primed it with a  brush and paint. For the top coat I used spray paint. 

NOT ALL SPRAY PAINT IS CREATED EQUAL! Krylon- the brand Hobbly Lobby carries is awful. It hardly covers so you have to use like 14523078 coats (Not to dis Hobby Lobby...I love Hobbly Lobby and everything they stand for!). Rust-oleum is always good. The color I used here is called "Spa blue." You can find Rust-oleum at Meijer or Lowes.

It took two coats of blue then a little touch up. 

Now to tackle the door. I took the weird painted piece of wood out. I had a few ideas- cover the wood part with fabric or burlap, a piece of glass cut to size, or chicken wire. 

I decided to go with the chicken wire for something different. I was thrilled to find that the amount I needed cost a whopping $0.83! You can get chicken wire at any hardware store. I cut it with regular craft scissors and attached it to the back of the door with a staple gun. 

I put the drawer back in and used a screwdriver to attach the door. That's it!

Would be cute in a bathroom or small kitchen. I have nowhere to put it so it'll be in the shop soon. I had a craft show this weekend and people kept asking me if I sold anything online or through etsy. I've been working on it all weekend. Coming soon! In the meantime, let me know if you're interested in this one. 

(A tutorial on the little jars soon)

Have you found any trash that you've made beautiful? I'd love to hear about it!

Or if you have any trash you'd like to get rid of....

Han