You’re gonna be mad at me when you see how I made these because you don’t have these things in your stash and you pledged to bust your stash in April. I went to the dollar store on March 31st looking for more hooks so I could make more of these, but they were OUT, so I’m mad too!

Let me just start by saying I’m totally jealous of those people who have design sense. I like to make stuff, but rarely does good taste come into it (I KNOW! I’m one of those crafters who give us a bad name). My style is so not shabby chic (as much as I wish it was, because shabby chic techniques work really well for dollar store makeovers!), but this project might just help me learn to incorporate some shabby into my life. This was so fun and simple, and I love how it turned out!

I’ve been on the lookout for hooks. A single hook at the home improvement store is about $3.50. You can get a row of about four hooks at Target for around $12-15. I can’t believe simple coat hooks are that expensive! Then I found these at the dollar store:

Plastic Spongebob hook (hideous!) and a verdigris iron house number. (Note: these are plastic, and won’t hold anything very heavy like the more expensive hooks at the home improvement store will, but they are sturdy enough for light use.) I wanted to put them together to make something whimsical and pretty, like they might sell here, but I didn’t have a clear idea in my head about how to take the hook from Spongebob to fab.

Project Materials:

  • Plastic hook, $1
  • Acrylic paint, on hand or $.50
  • Faux metal embellishment tags, $1
  • House number or other embellishment, on hand or $1

Total: $2 and up

To Make:

Step 1: Paint the Spongebob off that hook! I used Antique White craft acrylic paint (this paint has been getting a huge workout at my house lately, and I really like it!). Give it two coats, if necessary.

Step 2:  Paint the embossed metal stickers with the same color of paint. When they dry, you can antique them with brown paint or green (to simulate a verdigris effect). To expose some of the metal, gently scrape paint off the sticker with your fingernail.

Step 3. Stick the painted stickers on the fully dry painted hook.

(Optional) Step 4: Glue house number (or other embellishment) to the hook.

p.s. Go link up at the new Wednesday’s Creative Inspiration at Roots And Wings Co.

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