Upcycle (verb) – Reuse
(discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher
quality or value than the original: the opportunity to upcycle
trash, or turn it into new products, was vast (as adjective upcycled) upcyled furniture
Unfortunately for my boyfriend I love to fill my house
with pretty, mismatched, shabby chic little trinkets and items; for a guy who likes order, minimalism and conformity, compromises sometimes have to be made when it comes to home decor. It was only until very recently that he really started to take notice of girly touches I had tried to subtly incorporate into our home of 2 years; my cream love heart clock on the wall of the kitchen, my ceramic heart tea light holders on the fireplace, my pretty Katie Alice tea & coffee canisters, my increasingly large vintage tea set collection… well I think you get the picture! On top of that the floor of our bedroom seems to be continuously covered with paint splashes, ribbon cuttings and glitter due to the lack of storage and space for the growing amount of craft projects I’ve been undertaking recently. As a compromise I’m going to set up a wee craft station in the spare bedroom, against the wall were the ironing board usually lives, so I have place to store all my bits and bobs and work in peace. The only thing I have to do is promise to start using the iron more – boo! But for now I sit here on the bedroom floor, shooing away the cat as he tries to stick his nose in the paint, as I share with you today’s charity shop photo frame upcycle project.
My first attempt at transforming an old, thrown out frame using sheet music turned out nicely; now for 3 more simple little transformations…
Glitter Mod Podge Frame
I found an old grey plastic frame for 50p whilst in Barnardo’s the other day. The frame itself was less than inspiring but was perfect for trying out one of thousand of ideas I found online at modpodgerocksblog.com. Using (of course) Mod Podge, (although regular PVA glue would probably work just as well), craft glitter and varnish I uncycled that dull dusty photo frame into a glamorous eye catching little number. Glamorous glitter encrusted household items aren’t usually my thing but I guess the odd touch of sparkle wouldn’t do my bedside table any harm! Unfortunately as I’ve mentioned before I have zero table space to work with so things got a bit messy and I had to sacrifice an old towel to clear up puddles of spilled varnish and left over glitter; I may add that i’m an extremely messy and clumsy crafter/baker/person!
Sanded, Painted & Varnished
So I had two old, wooden frames left, I decided to sand these down to remove any chips of paint on the surface and find some pretty neutral paints to give them a makeover. I love Laura Ashley’s colour palette however their paints can be a bit on the expensive side. Browsing through Homebase I came across their own brand tester paint pots at £1.29 in a range of pretty, warm shades; I chose ‘Duck Egg’ (a pale grey, blue colour) and ‘Pretty Pink’.
After a few coats of paint I left these to dry and then sealed with a coat of varnish. These pretty mismatched frames now sit, not in the forgotten shelves of a charity shop or left in a box in my dusty attic, but by my bed displaying adorable pictures of my furbabies; Molly & Alfie. I’m reallly pleased with my little creations and now i’m off to start searching for a second hand desk or dressing table to beautify and upcycle, as always i’ll keep you posted!
