Small, Ornate Turquoise Memo Board

Another great picture frame find at my local thrift store.  You can pick these up for 50 cents up to $2.00 and just let your imagination go crazy.  Here is the before picture:

The frame has a goldish hue and I immediately thought of doing a turquoise dry brush finish on it to give it a rustic, almost verdigris feel to it.  So I just took a tiny dab of turquoise craft paint and wiped it off on a paper towel to get most of the paint off and dry brushed right onto the frame.

Next, I used my staple gun to attach some chicken wire to the back of the frame.

And then, of course it needed an embellished clothes pin to finish it off!

This turned out exactly as I imagined in my head!  I love it when that happens!  Don't you??

Red Memo Board

While on a Goodwill run, I found this ugly picture - but I liked the wood frame and it's overall shape.  I almost never see the actual pictures in a frame when I am at a thrift store, I only see what it COULD be with a little bit of TLC.  Here she is in her "before" state:

I thought she would make a fantastic memo board with a little paint and some chicken wire!  So, I started by painting it a barn red color.

Then I distressed it to give it more of a worn look.

Then I added some fun clothes pins that I painted and then glued cute buttons on the end, along with some scrap paper hearts.

Here's a close up of the clothes pins/hearts:

So, there you have it - what started off as an ugly picture in a frame turned into a charming and useful memo board!  Do you see frames and not pictures when you go to a thrift store too?

Signs of Spring!!

Last Fall, I planted tulip bulbs.  I absolutely LOVE tulips - I wish they would bloom all summer long.  Anyway, as soon as I planted them I knew that I'd be looking forward to Spring even more than normal this year just so that I could see them sprout.  I am happy to say that they are sprouting - no flowers yet, but they are sprouting! 

I can't wait until this whole area beside my wheelbarrow in my rock garden is filled with tulips!  Did you plant any bulbs last Fall that you are waiting to sprout?  Are they sprouting?  What's your favorite?

Small Tabletop Chalkboard

While at my local Goodwill, I came across a little picture frame for a dollar.  This is how it started out-

I started by taking the frame apart and painting the glass with 3 coats of chalkboard spray paint.

Then, using some craft paint, I painted the front and back of the chunky wooden frame a fun turquoise color, got some chalk, and added "faith, hope, love" to the front.  Now it is a fun accent piece!

I'm loving the fun chalkboard ideas floating around.  You can make just about anything into a chalkboard!  I am gearing up for my first flea market booth in May, so I have been busy making all kinds of goodies to sell.  What have you made into a chalkboard?  Are you addicted to them too?

Lathe Heart Wall Hanging

I was given a bundle of lathe boards.  You know, the kind that live behind your walls in older homes?  I bet you don't give them a second thought do you?  Neither did I.  They were full of nails, but they came right out with no problem.

I chose 3 boards and marked them off at the center and cut them in half.

Next, I cut a couple of smaller pieces to attach to the back to hold it together.  I used Gorilla Glue to secure it.

Use some heavy stuff to pile on top until the glue sets.

On one side of the boards there was a worn white finish which I thought would be the perfect canvas for a rustic, shabby, pink heart.  The boards are not perfectly aligned which was partly on purpose and partly because I haven't quite mastered my circular saw, lol.  It doesn't matter much for this project because I was going for a rustic element anyway.

I started by just free-handing a heart shape using craft paint and a stencil brush.

Then I just filled it in and kept adding layers until it was the shade I wanted it to be.

I added a twine hangar to the backside with my staple gun and hung it beside my bed.  Love it.

I know there are so many uses for pallet wood and I've seen a lot of posts using paint stir sticks, but I'm loving these lathe boards - has anyone else used them?  Any other unusual wood sources you've used?  If someone hadn't thought to bring me these, I never would have thought about using them.

Chippy Window/Chalk Board

I found several chippy old windows curbside and decided to make one of them into a chalk board.  Here is how it started out:

The windows were already white-washed, so painting them with chalk board paint was an easy choice.

Next, I added a few embellishments, like a painted clothes pin, mod podged with some cute scrap book paper.

Add a pink scrap book paper heart and clip it to the handle on the window -

Then I decided to make  a book-page butterfly to add some whimsy.  I got the idea from Pinterest on this website.  The instructions were not in English, but seemed self explanatory.  I started with 3 book pages, folded.  Then I traced a butterfly shape and cut it out.

Wrapped some twine around the middle a couple of times and tied a knot at the top and left a little bit sticking out for the antenna.

Attached it to the top of the window by wrapping some wire around the latch -

I put an upside down drawer pull at the bottom to hold the chalk.

I added some eye hooks at the top and a wire to hang it and here is the finished product - perfect for a memo board!

Do you love old windows too?  Have you done anything fun with them?