New Projects!

I've relocated my shop to this cute antique shop, so I have some new items that I have been working on.    At the same yard sale where I bought the bulletin board, I also picked up a great working chandelier.  It was plain silver when I bought it, but not anymore!

Now, it is bright pink with sparkly pink "crystals" dangling.  Any little girl would love to have this in her room!  And, some big girls would, too!

At still the same yard sale (yes, I wiped them out!) I purchased a great old table.  It is solid wood, well made and very old.  After four coats of glossy ivory paint, I finally was able to cover the natural wood which was stained and scratched from age.  Then I stenciled this design using pink and green pearl acrylics.

 

 

It is a short table, so it is perfect for a little girl's tea parties. 
While we are on the them of little girls (can you tell my daughter is now 13 and I'm missing those tea party days???), I had painted this cart yellow originally, but was never quite satisfied with it.  So, since I was in a hot pink mode, I went ahead and jazzed this up with some zebra stripes as well.  It is also a chalkboard so it can serve many purposes in a kid's room.

 

Last year, I purchased this "dry sink" replica from the 70's at an auction.  I decided to turn it into a dry bar.  I took off the curvy-country front decorative piece, painted it, added new knobs, and added glass tiles to the top.  I almost didn't want to part with it!  I actually kept it at my house for several months before finally deciding to turn it lose.

 

 

This is a close-up of the tilework:

 

 

 

And, last but not least, I have been using old clip-on ties to create these t-shirts for men and boys who are reluctant to wear a tie.

Upcycled Bulletin/Chalk Board

Here's one of my more recent projects.  Once again, in my hurry to get started with my ideas, I failed to get a before picture.  However, it was a fabulous garage sale find:  an old, solid, wooden chalkboard and corkboard. 

With some paint and a few modernizations, voila!

Now it's ready for the dorm room or bedroom!

A few other recent projects

This is a table I repainted.  It was once a telephone table.  Now, it's just a fun little end table since everyone keeps their phones in their purse these days!

I made some Halloween decorations from yucky, kitschy knick-knacks purchased at Goodwill (love that place!)  A little paint, some glitter and spiderwebs...voila!  Instant creepy cute!

Cats, owls, birds and a rose candlestick are all in this pic.

I decided to make Halloween art, so I used a thrift store picture frame to hold pics of classic horror film creatures.  I dirtied the glass with some brown paint and cobwebs to add to the creepy factor.

Family Portrait!

Last, but not least, I have started painting shoes.  Don't ask why. 

The answer is because they are a cheap canvas, thanks to Goodwill.



Wingtips, anyone?

Baby tennis shoes



  


 

These were bridesmaid's shoes...the dreadful dyed to match the dress kind.

Glitter paints embellished the top, but the heels are covered in seed beads.

All of these items are now in my Etsy shop.

Upcycled Dinosaur Diorama

I am so excited about this latest project.  It is a Christmas gift for my nephew who loves dinosaurs. 

I started with a $1 tv from Goodwill.  I gutted it and painted it with plastic paints.

The walls were decoupaged with pages from used children's books, and I painted a bit to blend them together.
I made the volcano from a plastic water bottle covered in news-paper mache.  I installed a red light bulb that came from an old plastic Christmas decoration that was in a box of junk I bought at an auction.  The dinosaurs all came from a flea market for a quarter a piece. 
I positioned the large dinosaur near the hole where the knobs were, so there is something to see if you peek through.

This diorama cost less than $5.00 to make!  And, most importantly, it was fun!

Time to catch up!

Whew!  It was a busy Summer!  I thought I would just post some of the items I have upcycled over the past few months.  I will try not to let so much time lapse between posts in the future!

This first one is a used lamp from a thrift store and antique lampshade from flea market.

Nursery lamp with vintage card decoupage.

I used vintage "New Baby" cards to completely cover the wooden base of the lamp.

 

This second item is a Portable Mini Bar made from old metal toolbox.
The top is tiled with bottle caps. 
The door is adorned with a vinyl album of
"German Beer Drinking Songs"

  

This next item are little greeting messages made, quite simply,

from an old Scrabble set I picked up at a yard sale.

Scrabble tile messages

Exciting News!

The UpDo Shoppe is expanding.  After our first month in the Merchant's Outlet Mall, I've decided that I need more space because I want to include the vintage clothing, handbags, shoes and accessories that I have been acquiring. 

So, I have moved into a larger space, and my daughter Lily and I spent part of Sunday sprucing it up a bit.  I've posted my inspiration board created on polyvore for the new space.  It combines vintage nostalgia with modern reuse.  I hope you like it!

Go to the post "Inspiration Board" to see a larger picture

I'll post pictures of the actual shop when it's ready.

Inspiration Board

Inspiration Board by wenturner71 featuring pearl jewelry