My Artsy Thrift Store Finds

Hunting for treasures at my local

thrift store is one of my favorite things to do. 

I love finding unique things

that I can transform into something special. 

Some of the things I find are perfect

just the way they are. 

I've got a mix to show you

from my recent $12 shopping spree. 

The following is a carved

wood sun mirror that I picked

up for just 5 bucks. 

It's dirty and a little

beat up, but I see a lot of potential in this guy. 

I can't wait to pull out my paint and start working on it. 

The next thing that caught my eye

was this coral spider vein stone ring. 

It's big, funky and chunky and I love it. 

It goes well with my spider vein

turquoise Navajo silver cuff. 

I paid $3.50 for this ring. 

The last item I want to show you is 

this sweet Jenny Krauss zip purse.

It's handmade by women in Peru.

It still has the tag on it and was only $3.49!

This is a great time of year to 

check out the local thrift stores.

There're a lot of donations coming in with people 

wanting to start out the year free of clutter.

Someone else's junk was this woman's treasure. 

Happy New Year dear friend!

Oak Stool Upcycle

I found this oak stool

at the thrift store for seven dollars.

I saw some potential and couldn't pass it up. 

It wasn't wobbly, or in need of repair

which is an extra bonus for me. 

All it needed was some paint and a little TLC. 

Pieces don't have to be cosmetically perfect for 

me to work on. I don't do much

sanding and patching, unless it's really bad. 

A really good full coverage primer

to start will usually takes care of things to my liking. 

After priming, I started with a bright green acrylic base. 

I usually pick out my colors in advance,

but the design is created as I go. 

For no rhyme or reason, I typically choose an odd 

number of colors (usually 3, 5, or 7), and it 

always seems to balance nicely.

Here's where I drew out a rough pattern

on the seat and started filling it in. 

Now I'm starting to get somewhere.

Here's the finished piece after

I gave it a couple coats of polyurethane. 

This is a close up of the seat. 

This project took me about a week to complete. 

Turning trash into treasure

is one of my favorite things.

Cane Chair Redo

I picked up these two cane chairs at my favorite local thrift store for $3.49 a piece. 

Nice bargain, right?

Unfortunately, each chair had it's own issue with holes in the caning. 

I wonder how many people have these old 

damaged cane chairs stored away somewhere 

waiting to be fixed. 

I had no interest in getting them professionally re-caned (too expensive). 

Not only that, I wanted to challenge myself to see what I could come

up with in regard to repairing them myself. 

The seats are upholstered so nicely and professionally.

Had I attempted to re-cane them myself, 

I would've had to take the upholstery apart, 

which I dreaded doing. 

I brought out my DMC floss thinking I may somehow 

incorporate it into the fix, but changed my mind. 

I ended up weaving strips of cotton material 

(that I ripped apart, as opposed to cutting) 

through the caning.

When the weaving was complete, 

I strategically placed and sewed on two handmade fabric flowers.

Here's how this first chair redo turned out. 

Isn't it cute?

I still have some staining to do on parts of the wood that need some

extra attention due to wear, but this one is basically done. 

I'm still working on the second chair. 

It had a trickier issue, so I decided to tackle the easier fix first. 

I'll be sure to post an update of the second chair redo as well. 

Happy creating!