I have a confession, I think I am possibly cheating on this month’s thrift store upcycle challenge by updating a thrift store painting.
It’s not a complete upcycle in the sense that it turns a painting into a shelf or something, but it does take something anyone can find and updates it – turns something ho hum into usable.
The Rules:
- Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
- There’s no monthly theme.
- There’s no budget to stick to.
Meet the Hosts
Amanda | Domestically Creative
Angela | Simply Beautiful by Angela – Michelle | Michelle James Designs
Molly | Just a Little Creativity – Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled
Marie | The Inspiration Vault – Marie | DIY Adulation
Lynne | My Family Thyme – Gail | Purple Hues and Me
Jennifer | Cookies Coffee and Crafts – Ann | Duct Tape and Denim
Michelle | Our Crafty Mom – Debra | Shoppe No. 5
Denise | My Thrifty House – Florence | Vintage Southern Picks
Deborah | Salvage Sister & Mister – Yami | The Latina Next Door
Pili | My Sweet Things – Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home
Karen | Dragonfly & Lily Pads
Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!
Alright, let me share what I did……
SUPPLIES
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- Thrift Store Painting
- White Pencil
- Good Eraser
- Chalk Marker
- White Paint- for the frame (I often get paint samples at the hardware store)
- Paint Rag
STEPS
- Find, or draw out, a sample of the writing you want to use. Even though the pencil is erasable (on the paintings I have done) it is still a good idea to think about layout and size before you start drawing it out. I used items like a pen cap to judge how tall I might want the letters. (Although I am not a perfectionist so I didn’t spend a ton of time on this.)
- The letters were lightly drawn, on the canvas, with a white pencil. Anything that needed to be changed was lightly erased with a high quality eraser.
- Once the saying was done, it was gone over with a chalk marker.
- Finally, the frame was given a little rub down with a little white paint and a slightly wet paint rag.
This is really an incredibly easy project that gives new use to a dated painting. Here is another one I did in the past……
|CHECK OUT THIS THRIFT STORE UPCYCLE PROJECT|
And now for more thrifty goodness!
Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!
UPDATING A THRIFT STORE PAITNING
Nope I don’t think that’s cheating at all. You found the painting in a thrift store and creatively reused it to make something else. I really have to start looking at those old painting with new eyes next time I go to our local store. They have tons of them going for next to nothing.
This looks great! I love the pretty finish on the frame!
Angela, I was so pleased when I spotted it at a thrift store as it was cute to begin with. Thanks so much for stopping by!!
You definitely weren’t cheating! I love this idea and the original painting you chose is so pretty!
Oh, I am so glad it wasn’t cheating. I love simple fixes 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment.
Well, now I thought it came like that with the caption and everything. It looks good with it and looks perfect. I think it definitely qualifies for this challenge too!
Florence, Adding the lettering is such an easy change but can completely change the look of a piece of art. Not all need it but some can use a little extra zip 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Sometimes the simplest transformations are the best ones! That saying is my mom’s favorite thing to remind my sister and I when we start gripping, LOL. Visiting from Thrift Store Challenge.
This looks great! You gave the painting new life. Not cheating at all!
Jenny, Appreciate that!!! I was concerned it wasn’t a huge upcycle project but sometimes simple is best. 🙂
Awesome! Never would have thought of that!
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Nancy, Such a simple little thing, but it can change the whole painting. Thanks for stopping by!
What a great idea. I would have never thought of writing or painting right over the existing painting. Wow! And it looks great. They both do! So creative!
Michelle, Such a simple fix huh? You can make it as simple or complicated as you like 🙂
Love that saying and it looks great on that painting.
Thank You! It was fun to do and I’m happy with how it turned out.
What a neat idea to update a painting. The painting was nice, to begin with, and you updated it and gave it new life. Not cheating at all.
I love this post. It’s a great idea. Thx for the inspiration.