PAINTED CHRISTMAS CRATE

This is a sponsored post.  I was compensated for my work, but the opinions are 100% my own.

I am combining my love of plaid Christmas decorations with a lot of rustic, vintage pieces this year.  My mom found this vintage sled and ice skates on Craigslist for TWENTY DOLLARS a month ago.  I couldn’t believe my luck.  I knew I wanted to use them to decorate our front porch, but the sled alone wasn’t enough for a full display.  I decided to paint a raw wood crate with new Maxx Gloss paint to create a cozy, display on our front porch.

 Americana Decor Maxx Gloss provides a high-gloss sheen that delivers an almost lacquer-like finish. Until now, this level of gloss finish has only been available in aerosol spray paints. Maxx Gloss now offers DIYers the ability to add a high-gloss finish with a water-based, non-toxic, brush-on formula.  Maxx Gloss is available in 20 trendy colors; I chose Candy Apple and Poblano Pepper for this project.

I used the Maxx Gloss paint directly on raw wood, which is NOT the way Americana recommends you use the product.  To achieve the high gloss sheen, you should really seal the wood before applying the paint.  If I had wanted a consistent glossy finish, I would have done that.  As it was, I wanted some variations in the finish.  I wanted this Christmas crate to look like it belonged with the vintage sled my mom found.

In other words, I wanted the crate to look like it had been painted with glossy paint… 40 years ago.  I applied one coat of the Maxx Gloss paint to the crate, and did some minor touch-ups after that coat had dried.  The result was a paint finish that looks exactly as old as the vintage Yankee Clipper sled!

I decorated both the sled and the crate with some fake pine branches (from an old Christmas tree), and draped a piece of plaid fabric over the side of the crate.

The plaid fabric is the same thrift store skirt that I used to create the frayed faux bow for my pom wreath this year.

If you would like to give this new Maxx Gloss paint a try, you can find it at Michaels (in-store & online), Home Depot (select stores & online), Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts Stores (in-store & online), and Meijer.