13 Amazing Rusty Nail Repurpose Ideas

Ever wondered how to repurpose all those rusty nails? Me too. If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you’ll know how much we love using them in our projects. I’m always on the hunt for new ideas. Sadly, this is the one time Pinterest failed me. Everyone is de-rusting nails or using clean, fresh new ones to make something. And you know how much we love our rustification 😉 so I thought I’d do a round-up of the best rusty nail repurpose ideas I could find and share them with you, just in case you have a whole bunch of them lying around like we do.

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13 Amazing Rusty Nail Repurpose Ideas

Rusty Nail Crosses

Looking for an easy repurpose idea, then you can’t go wrong with these nail crosses. They take about 5 minutes to put together and make great gifts too.

Allium Garden Art

Rusty nails and garden art go hand in hand, and if there’s one person who knows how to create something unusual in the garden, it’s the Empress of Dirt. Don’t you just love these Alliums and they’re drought resistant too 😉

Kokedama Fairy Village

Oh, my word. I had so much fun making this little fairy village complete with repurposed rusty nail chimneys and ceiling tile scraps. And doesn’t it just add a whole other dimension to the kokedama?

Rustic Bingo Calendar

Susan from Homeroad (love her blog for recycling ideas BTW) used old nails to create this rustic bingo advent calendar. The idea is easy to adapt into a perpetual calendar that will look good all year round.

Dragonflies

Who says a rusty nail can’t be turned into something gorgeous? Like this dragonfly with its translucent wings. The easy-to-follow tutorial shows you how to make them and includes two free templates so you can make a dragonfly or a butterfly.

Shibori Rust Dying

If someone had told me that rusty nails and silk would become a trending fashion statement, I would have laughed at them. But the laugh is on me. Kim, a talented textile artist, based in the UK, turned a nail disaster in her basement into this trendsetting silk scarf.

Eco-prints

Mother Nature has this amazing ability to do things in her own way, so it only seemed fitting to use her free bounty, including the rust she scatters on those nails we’ve collected over the years to create art.  Eco-prints are a wonderful way to combine all kinds of things to make one-of-a-kind prints for your gallery wall.

Fairy Potting Bench

Rusty nails are perfect for creating a frame for a teeny, tiny potting bench. We made this one using stirrers and eight rusty nails as a gift to our fairy friends. Psssttt, you can get the tutorial to make those adorable fairy planters here.

Fairy Garden Set

If you really want to spoil those hard-working fae folk, then this little garden set is a must. Made from rusty nails and ceiling tiles scraps, these character-filled chairs are the perfect spot to relax and unwind.

Rusty Nail Vase

When you have a lot of long rusty nails, then this vase, in my humble opinion, is such a clever way to repurpose them. So beautiful and rustic. 

Rustic Reindeer Family

One of my favorite rusty nail repurpose ideas. These little guys were a massive hit with our family and friends. This adorable reindeer family is another easy repurpose. Don’t they look so cute with those long wobbly legs, made from … you guessed it …. rusty nails 😀

Rusty Nail Muti

Our go-to homemade aging stain. We use it all the time to instantly transform new wood and give it that well-worn, weathered look. And it’s so easy to make too.

Repurposed Scrap Metal Letters

It doesn’t matter if your nails are bent, straight, tall, or short as long as they are rusty; you can repurpose them into word art like we did when we made the “UPCYCLE” sign.

Looking for a few more rusty nail ideas

Well-rusted nails can be added to your planters to give plants a new lease on life. The rust releases iron, which helps nourish dying plants and gives them a vitamin boost. And who says string art should be made with new nails? Old ones will work beautifully too, and add loads more character. Then there’s this cutie, patootie hamster that I found on Etsy. No tutorial, but darn it, isn’t he just soooooo adorable?

Have you made anything from rusty nails? I would love to hear about it.

And if you like these ideas to repurpose rusty nails, don’t forget to pin it for later.

Oh, and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry, it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you 😉

And if you prefer to buy rather than DIY

And as always, wishing you a wonderful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Thank you for popping in for a visit.