The One With the Old School Desk

I picked this little guy up at a thrift store months and months ago.  I wanted to paint it for my son, who's room is eventually going to be all vintage transportation--cars, trains, trucks,etc.  I never intended to have to scrape gum off the bottom of a desk.....again. :)

On the bottom this goodie was marked "University of Texas"---COOL! So, back to painting. I took off all the seat and desk portions and decided to give this a vintage muscle car feel. I spray painted this guy Cherry Red--a glossy awesome finish.

Still, it needed more.  I used some painters tape and some white gloss spray paint for a racing stripe down the middle of the desk seat.  I used some AWESOME chalkboard paint and painted the desk so that little man can write all over the desk!  I used a high density foam roller and did three coats--allowing it to dry completely between coats.

I am so thrilled with how this turned out!  Hopefully little man will like it just as much as I do!!

Keep Thrifting Weird. But maybe not THIS Weird.

It's Friday.  TGIF.  Seriously.

I love me some thriftin' goodness but sometimes I have WTH moments.  I mean, you know what I'm talking about.  There are those things that are so ugly that I can't imagine buying them second hand let alone buy them new.  Take for example this lovely piece of artistry.  Oh my stars.

You can't really appreciate the beauty of this "art" find at the GoodWill.  It's painted fur.  Yup.  You read me right!  Painted, fantastical, fabulously tacky fur.  Better yet, it was shedding.  There was a nice little pile of fur droppings underneath the frame.  Eh, groooooosssss.  That's what my little G-Man would say!

But, wait!  There's more.  I seriously wonder why peope donate some items--or does everyone donate the ashes of their dead pets?  I'm just gonna leave you to ponder this one for a moment. Seriously-WTH.  Why the---??

 I guess we should wonder more about the person that purchases this little dandy than the person who donated it.  Wow.

Later Gator.

K

DIY Custom Subway Art Restoration Hardware Style!

It's about time.  I've been steadily working on projects, photographing and procrastinating about the first blog post.  I swear I have adult ADD.  I get started on one project and before it's remotely close to being complete I'm off on another tanget.  Ah well, that's how things go.

I've become slightly--no completely--addicted to the blog world.  I love reading everyone's blog and pulling bits of inspiration from everythingI read.  There are a lot of SERIOUSLY talented peeps out there!  So, let's start off with one of my favorite-and most recent projects--DIY Subway Art.

I love thrift store treasure hunting.  I crave the chance to rummage.  You never know what you might find.  I was at a local GoodWill near the day job.  I like to visit several times a week during my lunch hour.  While there I found two large 26x36 inch canvases for only $6.  Only problem is that, well, they looked like--this:

U-G-L-Y--You ain't got no alibi--but I regress. You know you can't buy a canvas that size for under $50 so I snatched them up and ran!  I've been coveting all of the fabulous Subway art from Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and the likes.  But the PRICE.  I can't fathom paying $795 for these little beauties from Restoration Hardware.

I know, I know.  Look at them.  They are gorgeous!  But hey, I'm crafty!  I can make my own with a little time and a whole lot less $!!  First I opened photoshop and created a canvas the same size as my canvas, plus I added 2 inches on each side so I could wrap my subway art around the "ugly" canvas.  You can do the same in various photo editing programs or even in Word.  I picked places that were meaningful for my family and I.  My husband was born in Anchorage and I was born in Ft. Worth, TX.  My parents live in Ft. Worth an his in Embudo, NM.  I also added the street that our first home was on and some special locations and vacation spots.

I grabbed my handy dandy External Drive and headed over to Staples.  I had the lovely Print and Copy gal print me up my Subway Art as an Engineering Print.  They use a large format printer--however before you go Hog Wild with a rainbow of colors understand that Engineering Prints are only done in black and white.  The best part?  The print was only $3.99 for a 30.5"x40.5" print.  Rockin'!!!

No here's where I'm a bad blogger, I forgot to take the inbetween photos.  I was too excited to get the project done!  First, I spray painted the canvas white so I had a clean slate.  I didn't want any of the oh so--uh--pretty yellow flowers to show through the lettering.  Next, with my print rolled up in a tube, I painted modge podge (the homemade kind) onto the canvas, about 6-8 inches down the canvas at a time and rolled the print onto the canvas.  Much like you would do with wallpaper, I think!

It will bubble.  It's thin paper and the nature of the game.  Once I had the whole front of the canvas covered I flipped it over and smoothed it out by running my hands over the back of the canvas.  I didn't want to risk tearing or smearing the Subway art.

Once I had things as smooth as they were gonna get I focused on the corners and sides.  Again, I used my homemade modge podge and glued the sides down and wrapped the corners much like wrapping a gift with wrapping paper.  Voila! Perfection!  Now here's the important part-LET IT DRY!!  Once I felt sure that the canvas was dry I took a fine grit sand paper and lightly sanded the creases in the paper that formed from the bubbles.  I seriously love the way it ages the piece!

Last but not least, I sprayed a light coat of clear acrylic to seal the piece and let it dry outside for a good hour before I brought it inside to hang.  I couldn't be more thrilled with the way this project turned out!  I needed a large piece for the wall and finding large pieces on a budget can be difficult!

I have a LOT more projects to share with you so be a dear and follow me, K?

All the best,

K

P.S.
Linking up at The Shabby Creek