I am always looking for ideas on locations and prop ideas for shoots. I have recently shot a few maternity sessions and will be shooting the newborn sessions, and wanted some type of old apple crate for a cool baby in crate shot.
I came across a very creative idea with some basic supplies from Joann fabrics and Home Depot, and I modified the design a little to make the crate look antique and weathered.
The original Idea is by Sasha and you can find her blog at http://www.lemonademakinmama.com/
She has some really cool design ideas and she made some really cool crates for her kitchen.
(Here is the direct link to the crates she makes)
If you check out Sasha's crate, you'll see its very basic parts needed.
1. Wooden crate from Joann Fabrics 10.99
2. small chalk board (I bought the one that was a tad larger) 1.99
3. One quart of chalkboard paint(already had for other projects) 8.99
I subbed in the polyshade for the cream paint.
4. One quart of Minwax Polyshade, Mission Oak in Sattin 9.99
After gluing the chalkboard on and painting the grey chalkboard with nice black chalkboard paint, I
Began the staining and sealing. The crates are pine, and I purposely only sanded parts of the crate.
Anything rough will absorb more and show up darker.
I used a small, wide, chip brush and applied the polyshade and then used an old rag to even it all out. While the first coat was still tacky, I brushed on streaks and then used the rag on them again. this gives it a nice weathered look. You could also use different colors of the polyshade, but I thought the antique look
would be nice for baby sessions.
Sasha has another great tutorial on making some VERY cool weathered stools with 3 coats of different colored paint, and I think I may try the technique on a wooden crate soon.
