Rusty Trowel to Wall Décor Upcycle
Rusty Trowel to Wall Décor Upcycle
I wanted some flowers on the wall of the guest bathroom. I wanted the flowers to be in something that would complement the rustic look of the towel holder I made out of an old bank wheel that I wrote about in an article from November, 2015.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- Sand paper
- Spray paint – one color for the base, one color for the bottle
- Large cup to hold water
- Wire – 24 gauge
- Drill
When I saw this old trowel, I knew it would work perfectly as a flower holder.
After sanding the trowel to remove as much of the rust and grooves as possible, I painted it silver to match the towel holder. I didn’t want to paint the handle, choosing to leave it rusty!
I needed something to add to the front to hold flowers. I always save my glass bottles knowing “one day” I’ll use them for something. I used an empty horseradish bottle for the flowers.
ADDING COLOR TO THE BOTTLE
To one cup of cold water, I added 5 squirts of blue paint. Then I wrapped some wire around the bottle neck and dipped the bottle into the water/paint mixture.
Here’s a full bottle of horseradish, and the empty one I just finished dipping into the paint. You can see the wire around the bottle’s neck. The paint dries very quickly. Use a tissue to dab off excess water to help speed the drying process which takes just a few minutes. I tipped the bottle over and dipped the neck portion into the paint too.
I positioned the bottle on the front of the trowel and asked my husband to drill some holes in the trowel. I fed wire through the holes and neck of the bottle to hold it securely in place.
To hang, I also had my husband drill two small holes by the handle base so I could just hang it directly on the wall.
Now the trowel matches the rest of the silver in the room. This trowel was headed for the trash bin, but I just couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. I’m glad I kept it. Now it hangs in the guest bathroom as another rescued treasure!
