Repurpose Inspiration: Yard Sale Find Turned Craft Room Accessory!

As a fellow frugalite, I am sure you can guess that I am always on the lookout for neat and cheap things at garage sales. If you were to come over and visit, I’d give you the grand tour of our living room and tell you how I furnished it for less than $25.00! So earlier this summer, I went to a garage sale up the street and found this cute little basket for $2.00. And I wondered, “What could I use this for?”

Initially, I thought I would use this for work, but then, I saw an even more fun use for it…a portable coloring caddy, perfect for my daughter, the Bug so she could take with her anywhere in the house. While I know that not everyone comes across baskets like this, there are fairly similar woven organization baskets on Amazon.This could easily substitute for the basket I found. In any regard, I wanted to show you how easy it was to turn my basket into a cute coloring caddy for the kid, and encourage you to be on the lookout for inexpensive things that can turn into something pretty cool with a little imagination. Ready? Here’s what I did:

Step 1: Add the additional divider.

I used a sturdy piece of cardboard and added it to the back section. This made it it easier for paper to stand up as well as separate white paper from construction paper.

Step 2: Add the buttons.

Using thin wire, I threaded my matching buttons and attached them to the front of the basket. Then I labeled the buttons (you could get really creative with a Cricut for sure!)

Step 3: Add the elements.

I chose to add both colored and white paper to the caddy, using half sheets instead of full sheets, and separated them with the cardboard insert. I was able to find a half sheet colored construction paper pad at the Dollar Tree. Woot! Then, I added the Bug’s colored pencils, regular pencils and markers.

I love this basket because it’s small and compact, it has everything she needs to color with her friends, and it’s just darn tootin’ cute. Every little girl needs one of these, right?So, next time you are out and about shopping garage sales, be on the lookout for things for your Littles!

Have you found something interesting but not known how to use it?

Let me see what I can do!  Just email me at dana {at} fabulesslyfrugal {dot} com, attach the picture, and I’ll try to come up with something interesting!