As previously mentioned, I love to buy cheap, rubbishy items that you wouldn’t look twice at in the op shop, and transform them into something bright, colourful, arty, or fun to brighten up my home. If it is useful, so much the better.
The only problem is, it has become an addiction!!! I can stuff a plastic shopping basket with other people’s rejects fast than you can say “what is all this crap?”

It is fun to change this lot into cool bits and bobs around my house.

Having said that, I am entirely mystified by the (seemingly) very large number of people who seem to be trying to make a living from buying cheap bric a brac in op shops, spray painting it and SELLING it for ridiculous prices at markets and online. I mean, it is one thing for me to do that and display it in my house, but who the hell forks out $50 for a pottery vase that someone spray painted green? I mean WTF? Are you serious?
Anyway, that aside, I love transforming the overlooked into useful and attractive items in my home, and would encourage anyone looking for a new tray or somewhere to stash your post by the front door to look at  things you might ordinarily walk past!

For example, toast racks and those upright paper napkin holders? Not really items used much these days, and the second hand shops seem to be full of cheap tin or stainless steel versions. They make awesome letter racks!

Inside my front door this is the perfect spot to stash postcards or letters to post!

Or in the kitchen, holding this weeks recipe cards, this:

Before

Becomes this:

Some time ago I discovered that old cheese graters are the awesomest earring hangers ever. You can see what you have at a glance, everything is neatly hung etc etc. So I bought quite a few, spray painted them in different colours and sorted my earrings by colour on them. Super!

So when I see one cheap enough in an op shop (don’t pay more than a dollar peeps!), I grab it. However, you can’t hang your hoop earrings on them, so I was on the look out for something I could use to stop tangling and hooking my hoops together.

Enter:

Before

a coat of orange paint:

After

I am so excited by the awesomeness of this, it might actually spur me on to FINALLY sort my earrings! They have been sitting on a tray since I moved, waiting for me reproachfully!