My Preview of Next Spring From a Rusty Old Bicycle Basket

KattywhampusLOL
by KattywhampusLOL
6 Materials
$5
3 Hours
Easy

Almost everyone likes pretty things, nice smellng things, shiny things, soft touchable things, but what is there to like about an old rusty bicycle basket that's been thrown in the corner of the porch for the past 6 years? EWWW!

Below is the nasty wire basket that I had thought of throwing out more than a dozen times over the years, but something kept telling me NO. I finally broke down and put it into the sink, wet it down with white vinegar and covered it with Bartender's Friend powder (something like Ajax or Comet would work too), and let it sit for 10 minutes or so.

After it sat a little bit I took an SOS pad and began rubbing the rust off. In all honesty not all of it came off, but that's okay; it added to the rustic beauty that's so popular nowadays icon

A bit of elbow grease, and you can see how parts of it became shiny, but other parts --- eh --- nothing to write home about. But there's a way around THAT icon

First I ran over to Pat Catan's Craft and Hobby Store (well, actually my sister told me the trip would go faster if I took the car rather than running over there ... ahhhh sibling humor LOL). While there I picked up a few things, like this woven fiber liner. I thought it would be large enough, but it wasn't and I wasn't going to go back to exchange it. so I just made do.

I also bought a flat circular styrofoam base to go inside the liner. Everything I bought that day was on sale for 70% off!!! YAYYYY for me! icon

My next step was to take some sisal roping that I already had in my stash box and begin weaving it over and under the wires, being diligent in keeping them pushed up together tightly while weaving snuggly (rough on the fingers). I only wove halfway down because, quite frankly, I felt like the skin was wearing off my fingertips. OUCH! I did leave extra roping in the back to act as a handle to be used for hanging it on the wooden patio porch post. Then I cut off every individual flower stem from the 5 bunches/picks of artificial flowers that I bought, and I arranged them into the styrofoam base just willy-nilly, just the way wildflowers grow; no rhyme or reason to where they were placed. After that I took them out onto the patio, hung them around the post and sat down in the lounge chair with some ice water in my hand and my dog by my side, and I enjoyed my preview of what I hope to actually grow next spring. For now this will do.

Now whenever I sit on the back porch or wash dishes and look out of the kitchen window, this is what I see and I am happy and anxious for the time when I will actually grow fragrant REAL flowers in that rusty old bicycle basket icon ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SUMMER Y'ALL, it will be over with before you know it.

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  • Bob Schulenberg Bob Schulenberg on Jul 28, 2018

    B E A U T I F U L !! One question though: won’t the fake flowers’ color fade in sunlight?

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4 of 38 comments
  • MC Cronin MC Cronin on Aug 16, 2018

    beautiful job

  • Lovesunique Lovesunique on Aug 19, 2018

    I love what you created! Even if silk for now the display is very realistic! Your hard work with the rope is appreciated...that's a tedious undertaking for sure.

    • KattywhampusLOL KattywhampusLOL on Aug 19, 2018

      Lovesunique, thank you so much for your comment :) I have never done anything like that before (neither with the flowers nor with the roping ... the worst part was the way the sisal kept poking into my fingers like thin little needles! HOW do people stand to have sisal rugs? It's beyond me!). I am definitely going to TRY growing REAL wildflowers next Spring, but if my brown thumb doesn't turn green, I guess I'll settle for realistic fabric flowers LOL ;)

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