{Thriftaholics} Soda Bottle Painting

So, I didn't really get this at a thrift store, or a yard sale. However, I did get the wood for free from my Grandaddy's, and grabbed an empty two liter from the kitchen when it was gone, so it is technically still a thrift find. Right? Just had to clear this up before we get started :)

I found my inspiration for this on Pinterest, and I decided to give it my own spin. 
It looks easy right? 
It's only three steps!

Supplies:
Two liter soda bottle
Scrap wood (you could use a canvas)
Acrylic paints in your color choice

Instructions:
1. Pour Paint on the Plate (Ha! It rhymes!)
You simply take a plate (preferably styrofoam so it doesn't soak through) and pour the color paint you want on it.

2. Paint the Tree
Using your color choice for the tree trunk, paint a line or whatever shape you want, onto your wood. Then, paint the same type of lines but smaller in length coming off the main trunk for your branches.

Here are the THREE ways to do your flowers. Please read all before actually starting on one :)

1. Flower with a Center

Cover the WHOLE bottom of your soda bottle with paint. When you press the bottle onto your wood, make sure you pick it up quickly in order for you to just get the petals and center.
*I haven't done this one yet so I really have no tips for it. As soon as I do this type I will add my tips :)

  2. Polka Dot Flower
In this step, the bottom of the bottle will be your paint brush. So, take the bottom of your bottle and gently put it into the paint on your plate. Put it in just enough that the "petals" get wet with paint. You don't want the of the bottle middle to have paint on it.
After getting the paint on the bottle place the bottom of the bottle on the ends of your branches. If you want you can place a couple close to the branches but not necessarily on them. 

3. Flower Without a Center (This is the one I used)
To make these types of flowers you have to make the dotted flowers first. So, go ahead and follow the instructions for Polka Dot Flowers then continue onto this next step...
In order to make the dots into tear drop shaped flower petals you actually make a "party hat" first. Picture the dot as the face. You want to put a triangle party hat on the face pointing towards the middle of your flower. Once you have the hat you simply fill in the triangle and blend it in with the circle (This way people can't tell that its just a triangle and circle). The ultimate look of the flower is to get all the petals pointing towards the middle, not necessarily touching in the middle unless you want them to.

 3. Admire Your Work
You just made a beautiful piece of art in about five minutes! Be proud of yourself :)

As you can tell, I added a few extra things to mine with paint pens after the paint dried.
I wanted mine to be a little whimsical.
Feel free to do whatever you wish to yours. After all, it is your masterpiece!


I hope you enjoyed this DIY! If you have any questions about it, or if you just want me to admire your work with you, feel free to email me at arahblog@yahoo.com!   





 

{Thriftaholics} Vintage Mirror and Some Teenage Advice

This past week my family and I went to Nashville to visit some of our family for their new baby girl's 1st birthday. As always, we took our trip to Goodwill. Sadly we didn't get to go to Goodwill by the pound this time.

My mom and I walked into the store in search of something to repurpose or remake. There actually wasn't anything that interesting. She found some wooden placks that I look forward to watching her repurpose. Other than those we didn't see anything that would be fun. That is until I saw this beautiful, old mirror.
There it was, sitting right there on the top of the racks. In plain view for anyone! So, I did what we all do when we find something amazing. I ran walked over to the mirror, placed my hand on it to stake claim, and whispered for my mom to look at the treasure I found. 
I was so thrilled! Then she said something that almost threw me off track. She said the dreaded words no teen wants to hear, "Well, you have your own money, don't you?" 
Here's a tip for all the teenagers out there: When you have money, and you go shopping with your mom, don't tell her you have money. Why? Cause then, even though she would've bought it for you if you didn't have money, she will make you pay.
So, it was then that I looked at the price. Only 8 dollars! I could do that! My thrill was back. I placed the mirror in the buggy and continued on straight to the cashier. I paid with my money and the mirror was mine.

Heres some pictures of my beautiful treasure.... 

 

 

The glorious price

 

  Look! You flip it over and it magnifies!

Any idea on how old it is? I'd really like to know!
 
I hope you enjoyed a snapshot of my little Goodwill adventure. If your ever in Nashville make sure you go to Goodwill by the pound, it's like heaven for us thriftaholics!

{Thriftaholics} Vintage Letter Tray Upcycle Makeover

This past week one of my really good friends from Beautifully Blended Victoria and I decided to do a DIY night. We listened to the band Bellarive, ate cookie dough, made cookies with what was left of the cookie dough, and made vintage letter trays(or maybe they're called letter drawers?) into shelves.

I found these trays at a yard sale, where they were free! Well, they were free because it was my dads yard sale and he gave them to me. He's been reading my blog and thought I could do something with them. 
What do I say to that? I sure can!

So, my brilliant friend and I brainstorm. What do we come up with? Little shelves. My friend made one of hers into a little knick-knack holder and the other into an earring holder. I made one of mine into an earring holder and I'm going to keep the other one as a hanging decoration for now.

Here's how we made them... 

Supplies: 

• Spray Paint
• Trays
• Scrapbook Paper
• Mod Podge
• Paintbrush
• Embellishments

Step 1: Spray Paint
Spray the areas of the drawer you wish to be painted. Make sure you use smooth even strokes. If you spray in one spot it'll blob and not look even.
*If you are putting paper on the inside you don't need to tape the inside off. (we were kindly showed this by my mom after we taped it off)

Step 2: Measure
Make sure you measure where you put the paper. If you are putting the paper on the inside then measure the inside, if you are putting it on the edges then measure the outside. (In this picture we measured the outside for the edges) 

Step 3: Cut
Cut your paper according to your measurements. Make sure you keep the pattern of the paper facing the way you want it. 
If you mess up just use your scrap pieces and put them along the sides first (so they will be behind the main paper).

Step 4: Layout
Layout your paper and embellishments where you want them. This keeps us from getting confused and frustrated about layout later (just trust me on this one, its from experience)

Step 5 (Optional): Stiffen the Paper
Use clear spray paint and spray your paper. This stiffens it just a little to help the Mod-Podge from taking the ink. 
 

Step 6: Mod Podge Time
Mod Podge everything on! The Mod Podge has instructions on the back but I can give you the basic idea. You paint the Mod Podge on the drawer (not the paper). More is better. Place the paper where you want it. When you get it where you want it. Smooth the bubbles and wrinkles out by using the little Mod Podge smoother thing (the little black rectangle thing in picture #1). Make sure you start from the middle and go out. Wait at least fifteen minutes for it to dry then paint all over the top of the paper with Mod Podge. Yep! Just go for it and cover all of it with Mod Podge (don't worry it dries clear).  

Step 7: Decorate 
After the Mod-Podge is dry, take what ever embellishments you have and put them on wherever you want them. 
For example, I used a hot glue gun to glue lace on to hold my earrings. 

Step 8 (Optional): Hang it
You can hang your new shelf however you want to, if you want to. You can use picture hangers, ribbon, etc. You can even just screw it in the wall or leave it sitting somewhere.
I'll use ribbon (or lace). Simply hot glue one end of your ribbon to the corner of the box (on the back). Without twisting it, do the same to the other side. Now, hang it on a nail from the middle of the ribbon. Tada! You've got a hanging shelf.  

Step 9: Stuff it
Now, once everything is dry, use it for whatever you want to use it for. That is, if you want to use it for anything.
I'm using one of mine for an earring holder. The other I might just hang for decoration. 
Remember that you can add embellishments at any time. If you just want to hang it for decoration right now then make it into something later, go for it! 

I hope you enjoyed this DIY project! If you do this yourself I'd love to see it. Email me at Arahblog@yahoo.com with the subject: DIY Shelf. Also email me if you need any help and I will respond as soon as I can. Have fun!   

{Thriftaholics} Upcycled Brick and Wood Bookshelf

So, I'm a book nerd. 
I LOVE to read. 
It seems that every week I'm going to the book store to buy a few new books. Because of this, I was running out of room in my little book crates. 
Solution? A new bookshelf.
But not just any book shelf, No! This girl wanted a custom made, unique bookshelf on a tiny budget. 
But who, oh who, would build it? My Grandaddy!
He suggested a throwback to the 70's bookshelf. Since I'm such a vintage-loving girl I loved that idea.

He simply took three pieces of wood board that was six feet long and seven and a half inches wide (You can use whatever measurements fit the area your using), and 30 bricks laying around his workshop. After painting everything white, he placed one piece of wood on the bottom and stacked three columns of five bricks (one on the right end, one on the left end, and one in the middle. After, he placed another piece of wood on top of those stacks and did the same as before with the bricks. Finally, he placed the last piece of wood on the top. Tada! There's my bookshelf.
I wish I had pictures of the steps but it was kinda a surprise when he did it. Hopefully these will help answer any questions...

{Thriftaholics} Repurposing Vintage Suitcases

A few weeks ago I went thrifting with my family (or treasure hunting, as my younger brothers call it). The first Goodwill we went to I found EXACTLY what I wanted, which doesn't happen that often. You can read about that soon in another post. 

I was set for the day, that is, until we went to the next store, where I found two vintage suitcases. They were adorable, and inexpensive (less than $10 for BOTH), so we went ahead and bought them, having no idea what I was going to use them for yet.  
The next day as I was cleaning my room (which may or may not surprise those that know me) I decided that my CD holder did not match my room at all and I needed a new one. Tada! The idea was born to put my CD's in my new vintage suitcase! As I cleaned off my desk, I decided I was tired of moving my sewing machine every time I wanted to use my desk. So, I put the sewing machine in the larger suitcase. 
I was so proud of my little ideas that I showed them off at a birthday party we had last week. 

Take a look and see why I absolutely love these findings...