Saturday, November 3, 2007

Thrift Store Makeovers......

Goodwill Hunting.........



These is going to be my favorite segments and you'll see lots of them! What can you make from junk that you find at a thrift store? The answer is: tons of things. This happens to be one of my favorite pass times. Find a friend, bring coffee to go and make a day of it. Thrift stores are great places to find treasures that others have thrown away. It is hit or miss with these places. Sometimes you have the "best" day ever and sometimes it is a huge disappointment. You have to stick with it and visit as often as you can. I'll show you all the items over the years that have been purchased, cleaned, repaired and made over. Don't worry, I have pictures too.


When browsing for "treasures" consider the following:


Can it be fixed?

How much will it cost to make it into what you want it to be?

How much time will it take you?

You must have vision. Can you see in your mind what it will look like when completed?

Since I now drive a Mustang..........will it fit into my car?


A year ago my friend and I went out on our monthly thrift store hunt. On this trip we stumbled upon some old house shutters. My friend thought these would look great on her screened-in patio, so we took them home. They were pretty bad in terms of condition, but structurally sound. We cut one of them in half, cleaned them up and sanded them down (just enough to make them look distressed). Then a brown glaze was applied. Finished!


well not exactly........


She wanted me to hand paint some greenery on them. I did it and below are the finished shutters hung up on the wall.





After this project was finished it was sprayed with a clear coat polyurethane.







This is now the centerpiece of her porch, total cost was under $7.00.




There are several more things that could have been done on this project including:

a crackle effect
sponging
stenciling
adding old antique knobs

Just use your imagination!

You can check to see if there is a Goodwill Industries or Salvation Army locally by entering the names on Google. Their sites provide you with a locator when you enter your zip code. By shopping at these places you are also helping others.











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