To say I love thrifting is an understatement! I was thrilled when I got to check out a new, huge thrift store in Opelika, AL the other day. For those of you that are locals it’s located next to Angel’s Antiques and Resurrect Antiques! Oh how convenient!
So the other day when I was browsing all the goodness, this English hunting print caught my eye……fake mat, plastic faux wood frame and all! Does anyone else see potential here? Well for $3.99 I just couldn’t pass it up!
Then……just happened that my next stop was the Habitat For Humanity ReStore. I have been hearing about these ReStores all over the place! Seems like every DIY blog I read has something fabulous to say about them. Well I had been grieving about the fact that we didn’t have one, when one day I was running my errands and what did I see……you guessed it! Well they have kind of strange summer hours, but I caught them open……….and Oh how exciting! So I came across a big pile of reclaimed trim for .20/ft! What a steal, then I spied a big piece of chunky trim already painted black! Lightbulbs!! The whole piece cost me $1.50 and I still have a bit left!
When I got my treasures home, I went to work! I used my $7.00 miter box from home depot to make my cuts! I have used this little contraption to death and it was worth every penny! A chop saw is on my wish list, but for now I’m thrilled with my little yellow box!
Just so happened that I had borrowed a brad nailer from a friend for a bigger project……coming soon. So I took full advantage and glued and nailed the corners of the frame. Also on the wish list……brad nailer and compressor. This step literally took 5 minutes!
the next step (especially because I am miter challenged) was to putty the miters with wood filler and sand and distress the edges, because everything is so much happier and comfortable if it’s just a tad on the imperfect side!
So then I touched up the paint with my favorite black from Martha Stewart Francesca in flat. I read one time about painting furniture and projects with flat paint then waxing with a clear furniture wax. I am totally sold. I love the look this gives. It comes out silky soft and has a soft sheen, but not like a semi gloss paint. It just gives the perfect vintage look. And it’s just like Mr. Miyagi says…”wax on, wax off”
Use a soft cloth to rub on a thin layer of wax, wait about 10 minutes, then buff off.
Ok….this is where it gets fancy…….yup! Because a router is also on my wish list, and because no one is going to see the back, I used blue painters tape to attach everything to the new frame! Worked like a charm! Use what ya got!
and done!! and a little sneak peek of my BIG project, and my other thrift store scores from that day! They had TONS of old books for $1 each! I’ll be going back for more! I just can’t get enough of the colors and textures of these old covers!
no comments