Practicing Thriftcraft, No. 2

Hello All,

I saw this idea on the Internet and it stuck in my head -- you take an old picture you find at a thrift store and alter it to your liking.  Like this from David Irvine:

LOL - that's so great!!  You can see more of his work HERE!  (and if you want to purchase any prints of his work, go HERE).  There is also this article, Adding Monsters to Thrift Store Paintings which features the work of Chris McMahon:

Isn't that so cool!?  Now these guys are artists --I am not!  But, I wanted to try it all the same; especially to create something unique for Halloween.  I kept my eye out for something I thought I could add something to--like a pumpkin in a window of a little house print or a ghost popping out of a barn pic or something--anything I could alter simply :)  Well, I found something I could work with!  Now, this is fudging just a tad because in my excitement to alter the paint, I failed (UGH) to take a "Before" pic so I had to use "PaintNet" to "erase" my sharpie marks.  Here is what the original looked like:

I saw it had water damage but it's an actual painting --woo hoo!  The tree is what caught my eye.  I wanted to fill it with crows!  But then I noticed the lone figure staring off into the sunset (I guess it could be a sunrise??? but for "my" creation, it's a sunset - ha! ha!)  And I thought, with a pointy hat and long dress, it could be a witch!  So here's the painting with my Sharpie alterations:

And then I thought, what witch would be without a black cat?  So I added one :)

I am also quite pleased to have "cleaned" up some of the water damage.  I used Bic Mark Its, a sharpie and Copic markers.  I thought about adding those crows but thought it would be over-doing it a little.

So, now that I have my perfect altered painting, I decorated my mantel:

Here's the breakdown, left to right:

super cool iron candle holder with it's own snuffer - I think it is handmade.  I found it at the Goodwill outlet.

Books - "spell book" from Hallmark a few years ago, Anne Rice's The Witching Hour, and the Witch of Blackbird Pond --a shelf sitter toad, also from the Goodwill outlet (I got it last year); and the small feathered owl came from Michael's this year (40% off).

Next is the ceramic boot I painted last year (THIS POST):

The opalescent green lidded glass dish is by Mosser, it's a reproduction of Heisey Glass pattern, Ipswich (I bought it from ebay) the two decorative bottles came from B-Thrifty (99 cents each), the framed witch silhouette is from last year too.

The small cast iron compote is by the same manufacturer of the dish I found last year (HERE) and the witch hat is from 2010 when I decorated my porch with witchy stuff (HERE) I just changed the bow for this year. The "stand" is a thrifted black wooden candlestick I found at the GW outlet.

And finally, the clock:

It was a thrift find!  The pendulum works but the clock arms don't move so I went ahead and painted it up for Halloween.  I think it needs stripes or a great Halloween saying but I haven't been inspired yet as to what to put on it so it's just green for now :)

I'm linking up!

Elizabeth & Co, Be Inspired Features and Link Party #90

Take care,
Lisa

Happy Spring!

What a busy weekend!  Rhonda's wedding was on Saturday so that meant the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on  Friday night.  Everything went smoothly and the wedding was beautiful *sigh*.  It went by so fast so I can only imagine what a whirlwind it must have been for the bride and groom!

I wanted to post my mantel earlier this week but I was working on last minute wedding details and didn't get to it until today.  The candle holders came from Ross and were $6 each.  The adorable Easter egg vase is a thrift find for $2.  It's by Teleflora and other than needing a good cleaning, it is in perfect condition.  The wooden bunny came from Target and the blue oil lamp was also a thrift find for $1 --I'm a sucker for clear, colored glass and for $1 there's no way it wasn't coming home with me :)

The hurricane lanterns came from Home Goods and were a steal at $20/each.  I added the flowering branches (Michael's) actually as a decoration for the cherry blossom bridal shower I hosted for Rhonda a few weeks ago but I liked how "springy" it looked and decided to leave it up I left it.  The ceramic basket and bunny are also thrift finds.  The basket was in rough shape.  It was painted with some sort of glaze but it had yellowed which made it looked stained --and not in a good way.  It also had floral foam glue inside with what looked like a pine-needle bed stuck to the foam.  It looked like some sort of weird Easter/Christmas arrangement which I'm guessing is why for $3 it sat in the thrift store for a few weeks before I finally decided to bring it home and try my hand at a re-do.  I scrubbed it down, dug out all the floral foam from inside and sanded off the glue, then spray-painted 3 coats of Krylon white gloss paint with primer.  It looks fabulous!

The bunny was $3 and besides a small chip on the bottom of the mold, it is otherwise perfect and I love the pink bead eyes!  The grass mat inside the basket is from Hobby Lobby and my sis bought the eggs (Hobby Lobby too --Thanks again Shell :) ).

I hope your week is a good one!

So Long 2011... Well Hello 2012!

Happy New Year Friends!   I am excited for the "new" 2012 has the promise to bring!  2011 was not a banner year here at the Jackson house.  But, since focusing on the negatives is way too easy and totally unproductive, I'm going to snub my nose at them and focus solely on the positives I can take away from 2011!  I hereby declare this blog a "positives only" zone. ( Do you think the negatives feeling snubbed yet?)  Okay - sooo positives ---ah, here's one -- to deal with stress I have been painting every room in the house!  It started with the sun room (see it HERE) and, to date, I have painted the family room (and we re-did the fireplace, see it HERE), kitchen, powder room, dining room and all the ceilings too. ( I started the living room in 2011 but 2012 will claim its completion).  It's a welcomed change of scenery, freshens up the house beautifully and it was much needed.  win/win ;)   Dan has been right beside me with a paint sponge in hand ready to edge at a moment's notice (Thanks honey!)  If the cutting in is covered, I can load up the paint roller and roll, roll, roll!  My new year's resolution is just to keep painting...things are bound to get better and once they do, the house is going to be fabulous ;)

Another positive has been redecorating.  That should be fun, right!?  Not so much :(  Furniture shopping (*with the exception of my dining room table; that was kismet - and another positive!) has not been what I expected.  What with the high-pressure sell, the following --yes, actually tailing us-- around the showroom, coupled with sticker shock and ridiculous "finance package" offers; GAHHH, not fun at all.  I knew there had to be a better way.  Enter another positive = CRAIGSLIST!  I cannot believe I hadn't checked it out before.   I *love* curling up with my laptop and a cup of coffee to browse hundreds of items (at prices that don't require eating cup-of-noodles for the next year and a half) and envisioning all the possibilities!   Of course, I have stumbled upon the off item that was NOT as pictured; you know, it looks all sparkly and perfect, only to find out the pic was taken 10 years ago, two seconds after being delivered from the furniture store - LOL!  No biggie - I have no problem declining the offer under those circumstances :)  But so far, the instances of great finds far outweigh the crummy ones.   I understand that what makes a "great find" depends solely on what you're looking for so just for fun, here are my "top finds" and the inspiration behind them! (Prepare for positives overload!)

I am currently working on the Dining Room/Living Room and this buffet from Thrifty Decor Chick has been pinned on my "Dining Room" Pinterest (AH HA - PINTEREST, another 2011 positive!) board for quite some time.  I love the curvy lines and crystal hardware:

Inspiration Buffet from Thrifty Decor Chick

And here is my gorgeous buffet found on Craigslist for $125!  The hardware is different but those beautiful curvaceous lines are mine, all mine ;)  And... the possibility is there that I could refinish the piece and add crystal hardware (once I learn how to re-finish furniture *giggle*)

Here is the Inspiration Sofa I pinned from Yahoo photo search.  When I retrieved the pin, I was taken to Overstock.com and the price on this baby is $1900:

Inspiration Sofa from Overstock.com

And here is my Craigslist find - a darling Storehouse Velvet Sofa for $75.  I love that the feet on the sofa match the wood of  my dining chairs and table:

Here is the inspiration for arm chairs for the dining room.  I bought side chairs from Overstock but wanted different styled chairs for the head of the table.  I loved the wood frame but wasn't crazy about the fabric.  Plus this baby runs about $250 and I need two!

Inspiration Chairs - Overstock.com

And lo and behold,  I spied these arm chairs on Craiglist.  INCREDIBLE, beautiful all-wood frames and the fabric couldn't be more perfect  - $15 each for a whopping $30 total for both :)

This is my table & side chairs:

The dining room is technically finished but since it's combined with the living room, it is a little cramped right now since I moved the sofa in while we work on the mantel.  Which brings me to my most favorite find on Craigslist so far!  First, the inspiration ...

Dramatic fireplace inspiration from HGTV.com

Oh, that double mantel with the sky-high ceiling and the lovely, celtic knotted-looking mirror --so dramatic and beautiful!  Now, I don't have that kind of ceiling in my living room but luckily, the ceilings are high SO when I saw this amazing, 7 foot antique Victorian double mantel with mirror --and for $125 --well, it was definitely made for me :)  

Dan and I have been working steadily and the hearth is completed and it's mounted to the wall.  Here's a progress pic:

  

I am excited about the transformation and can't wait to show you but I have a bit more work before the reveal.  We're down to just finishing the trim work and painting the walls (which are only primed in the pic).

So there, negatives, you have been officially snubbed.  Friends, I wish you the best of everything in the New Year -- love, health, and happiness -- and may you find the treasures you seek (and don't forget to check Craigslist - Ha!).  Happy Crafting, <3 Lisa