Last summer, I made it my mission to create and craft using nothing but items I found on garbage day within a few block perimeter of my house. Unfortunately my mission was prematurely cut short after my craft studio sprang a leak and I no longer had a place to work and store my finds 🙁 I did however, score a few great things before becoming water logged and having to put my projects on hold!
It’s amazing what you can find kicked to the curb every week. It breaks my heart to see the abundance of waste that goes to landfill when there’s much that can be done to breathe a second life in it! As I walked down the street on this particular day, I spotting something in the distance.
As I got near, I saw it was an old rusted fire pit.
The mesh top was destroyed and had separated from the strapping. The rust on the surrounding metal was deeply pocked and beyond saving.
Most people would have kept on going. But not me. As I lifted off the top to explore, I noticed that the base was quite ornate and not nearly as rusted as the top. When you think about it, it makes sense that the bowl would be destroyed far sooner than the base because it’s more exposed to the elements. I was inspired!
I grabbed the base and lugged it home, leaving the rest behind for garbage pickup.
Just a few weeks earlier, I picked up a special item at our favourite outdoor antique market (Aberfoyle) and knew right away that the two would pair perfectly. Ironically, when hubs first saw the base, he had the same idea so I knew I was on the right track to transform this piece!
We started by sanding away all the loose rust, then spraying it with a few thin coats of rust paint to prevent further rusting in a bold, bright red. Once dry, we followed with a few coats of Rustoleum Universal clear to give it more rust-protection durability and a hammered finish!
The red colour really made the design pop, as you’ll see fully in the reveal!
We then gathered some rubber bumpers and screws.
The design of these bumpers would allow the screw heads to be countersunk so they don’t stick out beyond the bumper (more on where they were applied later).
Now for the final piece. Here’s the beauty we found at the Aberfoyle Antique Market. It’s an old stainless steel milk can:
With the milkcan’s lid missing, I always intended to turn it into a planter for our back garden, but it never occurred to me to put the two pieces together until one day we turned the fire pit upside down and realized it would provide the perfect base to showcase it! Looking back on this picture, I must have gotten the idea to paint the base red when it was near our front door!
After nailing down the plan, we found a plastic pot with drainage to fit the opening of the milk can and planted wave petunias in it:
Hubs completed the base by drilling holes evenly spaced around the top edge.
He then screwed the bumpers in place.
He took the base outside to pair up with the milk can.
Once planted with wave petunias, we put the milk can on top of the now upside down base. Here is the reveal in its intended garden setting:
We moved it to a few different spots in our small backyard oasis and settled on leaving it between a pair of chairs in front of the pond:
Here’s how it looked after growing for a while.
The petunias just kept blooming all summer long 🙂 Gorgeous once the flowers are out, isn’t it?
I wonder what the previous owners would think of their fire pit now! I think my mission was a resounding success. After seeing the transformation, would you think twice about throwing yours away?
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Before:
After:
I can’t wait to pick up where I left off this summer with my curbside finds!
In the meantime, here’s a retrospective of some of the best upcycled projects in the Craft Rehab section of our site:
Tuna Can Swing Out Storage Tower:
Tarnish Free Jewellery Cabinet Upcycle:
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I love the way your mind works. That base is beautiful, especially with the vibrant red paint. And your milk pot with summer blooms really makes the entire thing a statement piece. Well done, Sara! I love these posts.
Several years ago a client gave me a child’s table and chairs with butterfly mosaic all in white. It too had a lot of rust. I turned the table upside down, masked off the mosaic, and painted the whole thing with a forged steal spray paint. I really had fun.
I’m always looking forward to your next project!
Thanks Alys! After our flooring series, our next makeover is going to be a waterfall dresser. Hubs found it literally in pieces scattered around our neighbourhood last summer. The owners were using the drawers to hold down their garage sale signs – and intended to dump it all afterwards. It was like a treasure hunt finding all the pieces to make it whole again, and one of the drawers was already missing to our dismay, but we found a new home for it in my craft studio 🙂
You really have a talent for seeing through the dirt and the rust to find the gold at the end of the rainbow!!! Kudos!!
Thank you Chandra – that’s a lovely compliment. Even hubs raises an eyebrow occasionally at some of the things I bring home – lol
Great job on repurposing what others saw as trash! You gave new life and new purpose to a found object and in my book, that’s a win-win! Your other projects are wonderful too! What a talented gal you are!
Thanks so much Karen; I hope you subscribed! I’ve got a lot more projects ahead that up the ante on repurposing 🙂
Great job.I see things the way you do.Love to repurpose. This would make nice table with plexiglass top.
Thanks Karen; that’s a great idea too. I do have an upcoming post that shows something similar, so hope you’re subscribed 🙂
It amazes me how something so ugly can turn out so pretty, beautiful job.
Thanks so much!
Beautiful re-use of what would otherwise be scrapped.
Thanks Mike!
OMG, honey you nail this project. You and your hubby have a great creative mind. Wow, this ugly duckling turn into a prince, for sure. Thank you!
Thanks Ivory; it’s been a while since you’ve been by – I’ve missed you 🙂