Beyond the chippy door...

The birds are chirping, the grass has been cut - spring is really here!  And with spring comes the beginning of yard sale season.  I'm assuming all other thrift-loving people are as overjoyed as I am.  My house is full of furniture, so I have to pass up on many adorable pieces I see, even if they are a bargain.  Instead, I am hunting for yellow china, and wall art (otherwise known as things that are cheap, and won't add to the clutter - and no, tea cups ARE NOT clutter).

So far this year, my finds have been windows.  I don't know why people are selling their awesome old windows, and I especially don't know why they are selling them for so cheap.  They obviously don't spend enough time on Pinterest, or they would either keep them or charge more.  But them having better things to do than spend a day on Pinterest benefits me, so I won't complain too much.

So far this month I have scored three windows, and spent a total of $4.50 on them.  But getting the windows is the easy part.  Deciding which genius idea to do with them is difficult.  And I am on a time crunch.  Last year I got a free door, and the agreement my husband I came up with was I had two weeks to do something with it, or my sister would get it.  I now use that rule for all my DIY project finds - meaning I have one more week to come up with something for my last window, - any ideas???   If I don't come up with something, my sister will get it, do something genius, blog about it, and make my windows look pitiful.

My first score was $0.50.  It's actually a door, not a window, but same idea.  I was surprised to see anything left at a yard sale after noon let alone a cute little door.  I need to finish this one still (meaning I need to find a sharpie, because I know I have one somewhere, and I really hope I find it before my toddler does).  I have a plan.  I have everything ready.  I just need my sharpie!  Perhaps I will share the finished product at a later date (if I find that sharpie).
 
 
My next score was from a much anticipated yard sale.  The signs were up three weeks before hand, making me think it would be the ultimate treasure trove of old wonderful junk.  The day arrived, and the girls and I went.  It wasn't as big as I hoped, but I did score. 

 
I would have missed the windows completely, except I went to investigate a $10-beautiful-beaten
-chippypaint-itwouldmakemyissterjealous-door.  I had no intention of buying it, since I already have one as a decoration, and once we do renovations will have two or three more to play with. 

But beyond the chippy door, were the windows.  Dirty, and cracked, and leaning up against a tree trunk like they were pieces of junk.

"How much?"
"Two dollars each."

I know you should negotiate at garage sales, but seriously?  $2 each?  And for that size of window?  I gave her four dollars before she could change her mind.


And then I tried to carry two windows home while pushing a stroller.  That lasted three feet before I asked if I could come back with the car in five minutes.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful.  But upon arrival, I got to work immediately - I needed to prove that I would use them.

The place above my piano was desperately in need of something.  Luckily one of the windows is a lovely size of something.  The next dilemma was deciding what to put in it.

My first attempt was an old map that was left in a closet from a previous owner of our home. 

But I wasn't happy with it.  I love old maps.  I think they're interesting, and beautiful.  But this one didn't have enough colour.  I googled free printable maps, but no luck.  But in google world, I found www.thegraphicsfairy.com, and discovered a new happy place!  You can't always get an old map, but you can get vintage seed magazine type prints!  And frankly, if you're trying to decorate cheaply, you take what you can get.

So if you have any artwork needs, check out that site.  It has tons of awesome stuff - you could decorate your kitchen just with vintage mushroom prints (which would be adorable). 

It was not a complicated process to make this.  But in the interest of putting more words in a blog, here is how I did it.

1.  Print around 15 pictures you like - trim them if necessary.
2.  Use 8 of them, because you don't plan ahead, and didn't know how many you would use.
3.  Arrange them the way you like.
4.  Tape them together, and then to the back of the window.  Try to place the tape so it won't be seen.
5.  Raid your fabric stash and find something you like.
6.  Cut a piece of it - don't iron it, you don't have time for that and it will throw off your crafting flow.
7.  Stretch the fabric, and use thumbtacks to keep it in place.
8.  Set it where you want it, and enjoy your new $2 artwork.

I like the colours, I like the price, and I really like the prints.  I may change it again in the future, but for now it makes me happy, and isn't that the purpose of our decorations?

If you are a fellow thrifter, check out my sister's Thrift Blitz episodes, and join in the fun.  If you are not a thrifter, you have no idea the fun you are missing.