Thrift Store Upcycle

Check out my latest thrift store upcycle:

One thing I often find on my thrift store hunts is vintage cross-stitching. Usually these are slightly "grandma-ish" in subject matter, but when I found one that spoke to me I knew I had to do something with it! 

Here is how I bought my cross so the titch:

Yea, I know pretty ugly frame and equally ugly mat. So I  86-ed both! Then I had to decide how to re-frame it in a more modern fashion! Since embroidery hoops are hot in interior design I thought it would be perfect to frame my cross-stitch in a hoop just like how it was originally made. 

I hung my new thrifty art in a corner by my work area that needed a little something. And this was the perfect something! This cross-stitch spoke to me for a number of reasons: 

1. I love owls!

2. I do NOT love mornings!

3. I am allergic to just about everything you can be allergic to!

So this piece was pretty much made for me and i just couldn't resist. 

Next time your at the thrift store dont just past by those grandma looking cross-stitches, some of them are kind of cool!!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Liz :)

Lovely Lacey Wall Art

I have previously mentioned my struggle with my master bathroom. This was the one room in my apartment that i just could not seem to develop a clear concept or even color scheme to tie the room together. I think I considered just about every color to "pop" off my black and gray chevron shower curtain from yellows and oranges to blues and greens, I even considered going totally girly despite my boyfriend's protests to the land of purples and pinks!

And then I got an idea! The lace design of the washi tape I used on my medicine cabinet (see here), inspired me to use more lace! Check it out:

By painting the lace (see below), I was able to set a color scheme (blues and greens win!) while keeping it modern and not too girly!!

So for anyone out there who likes my lacey wall art and wants to know how to recreate it, heres how i did it:

1) First I bought some lace! I got mine from Joann's where you can buy lace by the yard. I got 1/2 yard of each kind of lace (each cost between $1.99-$2.99/yd). My total cost for lace was only $5!!

2) Next I cut my lace to size. I knew I wanted to mat it to 8x10" so I cut my pieces to about 9" to have a little wiggle room.

3) Next I painted my lace using a pouncer to dab on the paint like so:

4) Once all my pieces were painted I arranged them on a piece of white cover stock and secured the ends with a little double-stick tape

5) Last I got a pre-matted white-on-white frame from target ($17), matted and framed my artwork and voila!

Close- up :)

Looks great with my towels too! lol

Bathroom panorama! Love how the colors pop off the white-on-white frame 

Now I have unique statement piece to build this room off of :) And for less than $25!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Liz :)

DIY Canvas Quote Tutorial

I want to share this tutorial with you for a super easy and inexpensive piece of wall art featuring your favorite quote! This is my adaptation of projects I have seen on pinterest!



Here's What You Need:

1. Chipboard or Wooden Letters
2. A Canvas
3. Glue
4. Ruler
5. Pencil
6. Spray Paint


Steps:

1. First pick your quote! (it probably should be relatively short) I chose, "Not all who wander are lost". One of my favs as I love to travel!

2. Next arrange your letters on your canvas to get the spacing right:

Sorry about the blurriness!

3. Next using a ruler and pencil make guidelines on your canvas to mark your margins. I made one line at the left hand margin and a bottom line for each row, like so:

Again sorry about the lighting! I did this on my patio around sunset :)

Don't worry about the pencil lines you are going to spray right over them!

4. Now that you have your reference lines, glue down your letters. I used regular tacky brand craft glue.

If any glue seeps out from under the letters gently wipe it off, you do want extra glue around the letters because you will see the bumps after you paint. Let dry.

5. Now paint! Spray on the color of your choice over the whole canvas using even back and forth strokes about 6-12inches above the canvas. Let dry, at least an hour. 

And Voila! Finished Canvas!:

I hung mine in my master bath below the window as shown in the first pic :) These canvases would be great in any room or would add a pop of color to a larger wall installation.

You don't have to use a quote, you could also personalize with initials, or just arrange random letters or shapes into an image like a heart or maybe something more advanced for the more artistic!!

-Liz :)