Gold and Rope Tub Makeover

In the lead up to The Big Move – the inevitable overhaul of ‘the stuff’ happens. Admittedly, we have moved every 12 months or so for the past however many years…including having our stuff in storage or stored at our parents’ houses for 15 months whilst we traveled on our honeymoon. We should be on top of ‘the stuff’. There’s just the two of us…yet ‘the stuff’ looms. Large and ominous.

This time we’ve been pretty ruthless – hoarder husband has been diligently throwing, sorting, donating and filing. Asking himself whether he really needs that physics exam cheat sheet from 2006? Uh, no (I really wish I were joking…) I’m just as bad when it comes to craft supplies, fabric and Little Miss Emma paraphernalia. Amongst my sewing room ‘stuff’ I had this pink tub trug – dime a dozen, everyone’s probably got one. I’ve used this as a fabrics scrap bucket, a rubbish bin, at markets to hold odds and ends, a washing basket, various incarnations really. But did I really need it? A bright pink tub? Probably not, I thought. But I’ve been eyeing off nice baskets for the lounge room to put my crochet work in next to the couch, and also baskets for storing baby things in the eventual nursery. An idea formed…

I began with a trusty can of spray paint – colour of choice: gold. I’ve gone a bit gold mad lately, especially paired with my usual neutral/natural colour base for interiors and fashion. If there’s one thing I don’t like to scrimp on it’s spray paint, cheapo options are just not worth the trouble, trust me. They’ll squirt and run and give an uneven shoddy finish. I invest in good quality spray paint, sure they cost a bit more but they give a perfect finish when used correctly and should go a long way if you keep your spraying even and free-flowing, swing those arms! So, I began by spraying the handles and top of my pink tub, as well as the bottom. At this stage I very nearly just sprayed the whole thing gold and called it a day…

But I had a plan. Also amongst ‘the stuff’ of my sewing room was this rope, which I bought online awhile ago with the idea to crochet it into a doily style rug, but it’s just too stiff and thick for that, so instead it sat in my sewing room…part of ‘the stuff’…until I had to pack everything to move. Unloved tub + unwanted rope = Emma’s a genius.

I used my trusty hot glue gun to glue the end of the rope to the tub, then slowly wound the rope around and around the tub, gluing in spots as I went to keep the rope in place. The tub isn’t very sturdy, it’s designed to flex and bend, which was a pain doing this, but the rope will start to stiffen the sides up and you’ll get the hang of it. Round and round…

If you have a glue gun which can control the temperature I’d just use a very low temperature, I let my glue gun get too hot and it began to melt the paint and the plastic! It’s a bit fiddly as you glue the rope on, but you get better as you go around. I used loads more dabs of glue than I thought I would and went through a lot of glue sticks, but it give a much nicer finish with the rope tightly glued and stick together as well as to the tub.

Voila! Bright pink tub turned metallic nautical container to either sit in our neutral based lounge room full of wool and unfinished crochet projects, or perhaps in our neutral/mint/gold bambino’s nursery holding toys…or nappies…or wipes…or muslin wraps…or clothes…or books…

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I *think* this will be my last post before Moving Day/s on Sunday and Monday. I don’t know what the situation will be with how organised our ‘stuff’ will be, but I will have internet and my laptop at my mums. And a soft bed, warm shower and home cooked meals. Thank God for mums, eh?! I’ll see you on the other side…