Easy DIY Wooden Sled Makeover

Vintage Flexible Flyer sleds make great holiday decor pieces, inside or out. And this quick and easy DIY makeover idea can be completed in mere minutes.

Check out how to add some rustic charm to your Christmas home.



And between Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, I could spend hours online. Drooling.

However. In those early years, my all time favorite was any kind of sled makeover. Wowza. Some of them were just outstanding.

It was love at first site for this cottage style Christmas gal. I wanted one from the get go.

And honestly, people toss them all the time. It shouldn't have been hard to find one.

Unless of course you were looking for one. Isn't that always the way?

It was crazy, I mean we had one growing up, but that was long gone. So I drove by yard sales slowly and went out walking on garbage night. But nope.

Then one lucky afternoon a few years ago, I stumbled upon one at the curb. I was so happy. I swear I literally jumped for joy.

I lugged it home, put it in the garage, dreamt about it all summer long, skipped through the backyard to get in October, with the DIY ideas dancing in my head...only to find out that my husband had thrown it away.

What? It was a mess. You couldn't use it, you'd kill yourself.

I didn't want to use it. I was going to doll it up and put it on the front porch!

Oh...ok, sorry. But it's not a big deal. I see them all the time. I'll get you another one.

Mmmhmmm.

Well guess who couldn't find a sled? For years? Yeah...Mr. It's No Big Deal. That's who.

Welcome to my quest, buddy.

I'm telling you, those sleds are squirrelly little suckers. Seemingly everywhere, except when you want one.

I'd actually kind of given up hope of ever finding one again, when Prince Charming came bounding into the backyard this summer, beaming from ear to ear.

Guess what I found?

I have no idea.

C'mon. Guess.

I can't guess...just tell me. We'd been stuck in the house for about three months at that point and I was in no mood for games.

I found a sled.

YOU'RE KIDDING!

But he absolutely was not.

He'd found an old ratty, rusty, absolutely spectacular vintage Flexible Flyer sled in someone's trash pile and brought it home to me.

That someone must've been cleaning out their garage and he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Meant to be, for sure.

Sitting by the pool that afternoon, staring at my winter sled, I could not stop smiling. Best day of the summer, by far.

It's pathetic how easy to please I am, isn't it?

Anyhoo...we gave it a quick scrub, let it dry and then tucked it into the garage, until it was time for a little Christmas DIY.

Update: You should see what else we recently pulled out of the garage!

Well, this weekend, with the holiday on the horizon and my festive ideas flowing, I dug that little baby out and gave it a fabulous makeover.

And friends, I have to say, it's better than I ever could've imagined.

Aren't vintage Flexible Flyer sleds worth money?

Now, before I get the questions, yes, it's vintage, and yes, it's a collectible and yes, I probably could've listed it for sale in its original condition.

While I couldn't find out what year mine was made, I know it's old. Although, they so still sell them new. However if you're going to make it over, I'd look for used one.

And I get it. I respect older items, they have charm and value, if not monetary value, then that of posterity...and more often than not, I leave these treasures in their original state.

But this time, I didn't care.

These sleds are dime a dozen, all over the internet from $30 - $3000. Mine was in terrible condition and it will bring me more joy this way than it ever would sitting in the garage, waiting to be sold. 

And at the risk of sounding presumptuous, I think the sled would enjoy that more, too.

To start I looked through my old sled photos, including a stenciled beauty from my friend Susan at Homeroad.

However, it was one I'd seen at a link party years ago, that I settled on as my inspiration.

And I got to work.

For more Christmas crafts with summer finds, check out 35+ Christmas in July crafts!

Flexible Flyer Sled Makeover

There are of course tons of ways to makeover a sled. This was the easiest, but it packed a colorful punch.

The Details:

FolkArt Acrylic Paint in Forest Moss 527
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint in True Red
I started by dragging the sled inside and placing it on paper that I'd put down to protect my kitchen floor.

It was way too cold to paint outside and I don't have a workshop area in this tiny cottage. I poked around in my craft closet and found containers of green and red paint and a brush.

I didn't prime or sand, as I like the distressed look. And I'm lazy.

I just put some green paint into a tiny plastic cup and covered the wood.

When I was done, I rinsed the brush out to ready it for the next color. 

Then I covered the raw metal with red.

I used plain acrylic paint on both surfaces. I wasn't worried about it lasting forever, or rusting the metal, because it was already rusted.

And I'll probably want to redo it anyway sometime in the future.

I was looking for a quick and easy makeover, but if you want yours to last, especially if you're going to display it outside, l'd use a metal friendly spray paint.

And seal it, preferably with a spray polyurethane.

Spray anything and I don't get along, so I just gave my entire sled, from tip to tail, a coat of Mod Podge.

When it was dry, I pulled the flocked wreath that hung on my door last year out of the basement bin and attached it to the sled with a plastic zip tie.

Then I was done. It only took me about 30 minutes from start to finish, and most of that was drying time, to makeover my curbside find.

And turn it into a cottage style show stopper.


I brought it outside to see what it would look like on my small stoop, knowing it couldn't stay there.

There just isn't enough space. Maybe in the future, I'll get my act together and decorate my screened on porch for Christmas.

It would be lovely out there.

In the meantime, though, it will be inside, in the living room where I can see it every day.

Next to my fireplace, surrounded by trees and little white lights.


And me.

Drooling over it.

Instead of the internet.

What's your DIY obsession?

Happy Crafting, Friends!