Comic Book Project 2.0

So last Christmas I discovered Mod Podge. And I fell in love.
My other brother (not the one I made the table for at Christmastime) has a birthday party next Saturday, and I wanted to do the comic book table again. He really liked the one I made my brother last year, and I thought what the heck? I'll be a good sister.
But I did it a little differently.

I found this table at Second Life Thrift store for 8 dollars. Yes, it's outdated - that light colored, heavy, high-gloss wood that was so popular 20 years ago. But as I try to do always, I looked past what it was and saw what it could be.
My original plan when I bought this over a month ago was to finally make that Union Jack table I've always wanted to make. But after a failed attempt, I painted over the top and decided to try again.

Well, two weeks and four sick people in our home later, I got back to it. But this time, I decided to do the whole comic book thing for my brother. If you want to know how to use Mod Podge, see my previous post.
This time, I decided to do less comic book, more comic book graphics. I looked up the templates online, sketched the designs onto the wood, painted the outlines in black, then filled in the rest. Super easy to sketch!

Hope this inspires you to try something new. I'm no artist, believe me. And if I could sketch these somewhat successfully, so can you. I promise.
Happy thrifting!

Perfectly Imperfect

I thought I would just take a little time to talk to you all about something we all have, though it's not the same for any of us: imperfections.
I have always had them, physically, emotionally, in my parenting... parentally? Anyway, we're all imperfect, and anyone who thinks they aren't, well, bless their soul. But they're wrong.
The same goes for our actions. While we try our best to make the right choices every day, we don't always. Not only are we not perfect, but neither are our actions.
Sometimes I get a little too philosophical and I apply my thoughts to my projects. Even the whole reason, or at least one of the main reasons, that I redeem what others have cast aside is that I think it is such a great metaphor for life.
And now there's a project of mine I'd like to show you...

This is my little green table friend. I picked her up from St. Mary's rummage sale a couple weeks ago.
Yes, I've talked about that sale a lot, but I found a lot there to talk about.
Anyway, she was actually in pretty great shape - I even liked her color - but she needed major cleaning. She was full of spiders and ain't nobody got time for that.
After I cleaned her, I just kind of admired her for a while. Someone threw her away, and I picked her up for only $3. Seemed like such a shame, and she deserved a proper makeover.
So this is what I did.... I gave her a gray base with a teal chevron pattern.

Originally, I was going to use painter's tape and get the lines exactly perfect, but I changed my mind. I freehanded it, something I was nervous about doing, but something I was ultimately glad I did.
She's not perfect. Some of her lines are crooked or different sizes from the others, but she takes pride in this.
Enjoy your imperfections. They make you who you are.
Happy thrifting!

On the Road Again.... Again.

So here's the old road marker I picked up at the rummage sale a couple weeks ago for $.50.

When I got it, I had no idea what I would do with it. But I had to have it. I had to. I am really trying to expand my grasp on different types of design, and the road flare I just redid gave me the idea to make a little.... thing.

Ok, so bear with me. Use your imagination, and picture a great console table painted gray, with a double yellow line down the middle. And imagine it topped with these beauties:

And then of course, there should be some great road signs hanging on the wall over it to complete the theme. If I had the table and the signs, I'd post a really great picture, but I don't. But here are some inspirations that might give you an idea of what's in my head:

This would be what the table top would look like, roughly.

And this would be the wall behind.

So I hope you were able to get what's rolling around in my head. I think it would be awesome in an office, or even in a creative entryway... maybe for a family that does a lot of travelling. I don't know. But you get the idea.

Between the flare and the marker, that's a $3.00 tabletop decoration. Doesn't get much better than that, am I right?

 

 

Thrift Store Finds - 8-2-13

I found some great things at Second Life Thrift Store this past Friday, and here they are!

This frame is one I happen to plan on using to frame a piece of art my daughter made, but it is so elegant, it could be used as a simple wall hanging on its own (like in my entry that I posted about a couple months ago). I love gold so much lately, and this has those simple, yet beautiful, designs in the corners, making it perfectly understated and ideal as an accent piece.

If you do plan on using something like this as a frame, as I do, you could go the cheap route and post the canvas in yourself, or you could take it to a professional framer. Yes, those places can be expensive, but the biggest expense is always the frame, and you've got that covered!

This one cost $2.50.

Ok, so a friend of mine from high school (sister of my friends, but same thing, basically) was telling me about an idea she had to make a tray she was given into a picture frame using Mod Podge. Genius! When she finishes, I'll be featuring it in a post, but in the mean time, I thought I'd give it a try.

This small golden tray cost $1.50.

Now, this guy.... I love him. He was in the toy section, but he should have been with home décor. Not a big deal - I got him cheaper as a toy! He is handmade, and I think he's adorable. I thought about painting him, but I don't think I will. The dark wood on it is actually in almost perfect shape, and besides, someone spent a lot of time putting this together. I figure he should be honored as he is.
He only cost $1.50!
So these were my finds. Perhaps you would do something very specific with them if you had them to yourself. Feel free to share what that might be!
Happy thrifting!

Dollar Store Decor

There are all kinds of reasons I don't buy expensive things. Mostly, I can't afford all the designer décor pieces I love, but who can? Of course there's also the fact that I have two small children and two cats who like to break things. So I've had to become creative when it comes to decorating my home.
I guess that's the whole point of this blog.
When I'm not at the thrift stores, I also love the dollar store. Yes, I'm super cheap. Tell me something I don't know. They actually have some really cute stuff that I use around my house, and if it breaks, what's the most I'm out? A couple bucks?
Here are a couple examples of some dollar store décor I worked on today:

First of all, remember that road flare I fixed up? Remember how I said it would be cool as a vase? Well, I bought some dollar store flowers.
Now, I know fake flowers are a big no-no in professional decorating, but in a house with cats and kids and when I need something cute and small to tuck in the corner of a shelf, I think it's ok.
Anyway, I picked some white flowers that I thought were just adorable, and I trimmed down the stems and tucked them in the "vase." Here's how it looks:

Cute, yes?

And just for fun, I paired the little ensemble with a road marker I picked up at a rummage sale a week ago for $.50, but I'll have a post on that later.

 

So, then I grabbed a few things from the craft aisle. And the craft aisle at the dollar store is awesome, by the way.

I grabbed 3 bags of decorative green stones, three clear vases of varying sizes, and a box of small votive candles. At one dollar an item, that's a total of $7, plus tax of course.

 

I split one bag of stones between the two smaller vases, then poured the other two bags into the tall one, then placed a candle in each.

 

 No, it's not museum art, but if my kids or cats break these vases, I'll feel a lot better about that than I did when they broke my designer Mercury glasses last month.

I won't go there.

So there's my dollar store décor. I hope this inspires you to check out your local Dollar Tree (or whatever you have near you) and look for cheap ideas that still add a special touch to your home!

Happy thrifting!