Hey everyone! If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen the goodies I found on my first official yard saling day this season. Can you believe I have been able to hold myself back this long?? My garage and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now, so I’ve had to cut back. I have stopped by a couple of yard sales here and there on the way to where I was supposed to be going, but this was my first day of saying, “To heck with it!” and setting out to shop for bargains!
I found two dated pictures for $10 a piece which I was able to get for $5 each. They had great frames, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with one of them.
Here is one of them before (the other is very similar):
Very hotel-esque.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been helping my Mom update her master bathroom. I could kick myself for not taking before pictures, but I was surprised myself to see what a difference we were able to make in there by only changing out accessories. She purchased a few new things, and I was able to update several existing things to give it a totally new look.
One thing that was missing was something for the wall above her tub.
I decided to create something for that space. (Not everyone has their very own personal crafty person, Mom!)
Ooh la la, right? It is perfect for the French Country feel of her bathroom.
I started by removing the old picture from the frame and spray-painting it in Rustoleum’s gloss black:
Most people wouldn’t even see how pretty and chunky this frame is because they wouldn’t be able to see past the art. Keep your eyes and imagination open!
I cut a piece of 1/8″ hardboard (like brown pegboard, but no holes) to fit the frame and gave it a coat of spray primer and two coats of flat latex in Behr’s Cottage White. I lightly sanded between coats to get a smooth surface.
Then I used blockposters.com to enlarge an image from The Graphic’s Fairy…
The fancy part at the bottom was from another of her images. I added it to make the graphic a bit taller.
Then I transferred the graphics using this method.
I used a liner brush to paint in the graphics with acrylic paint.
If you look closely, there are a lot of little imperfections, and the paint is a bit heavier in some areas…
…but a light sweep of 220 grit sand paper and most of those imperfections are smoothed away:
I gave it a coat of clear matte spray sealer and put it in the frame once it dried.
Pretty nice update from this yard sale charmer:
To this sexy little number!
Did I mention it cost all of $5?? It fits perfectly in my Mom’s new bathroom too.
I’ll be back on Wednesday to give you the tour!
PSST…You can see it here now!
XO,
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Julie at Being Home says
This is lovely! I am sure your mom loves it! And yes, isn’t it weird how one can be running errands and then they suddenly find themselves at a garage sale. Odd how that happens. Fate? 😉
Christy K. James says
I stopped by my mom’s to drop it off yesterday and she loved it. And yes, I find it very hard to resist a well-crafted yard sale sign!! I’ve had to stay home on Saturdays to stop myself 🙂
Carolyn Price says
Amazing what you “see” when you look at a garage sale treasure!! I am always blown away ….
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Carolyn! XO XO
Cindy Eikenberg says
Christy, I love how this turned out and you have such a great eye! Pinning, of course – thanks for sharing and have a happy Monday!
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Cindy! Have a great week 🙂
Terry says
Very nice! I love to do this! Your graphic is so cool!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Terry! 🙂
Marie@The Interior Frugalista says
Love it Christy! Your Mom must have been so pleased.
Christy K. James says
She loved it, Marie! Nothing like making your mama happy 🙂
Amy@HomeRemedies says
Your print looks gorgeous in that frame! What a score! Definitely “pinning”…
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Amy! XO
Clipart Designer says
VERY nice prints! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Lilli says
Christy! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
I wanted to know – how artistic do you have to be to fill those graphics in? I have used the parchment paper method, which works awesome – but i’m not sure how it would be on a bigger piece. I bought the paintbrushes, just can’t really do it! lol.
Love it!
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Lilli! So glad you like it! It just takes a little practice. I use a liner brush or a script liner brush. 🙂
April Hoff says
This is awesome, Christy! So pretty and classic looking! It could go anywhere in your house and look fab!!! Love! xo
Christy K. James says
Thanks, April!! XO
Amy | Canary Street Crafts says
This is so pretty, Christy!! I love the graphics you chose!
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Amy! XO
Julie says
LOVE this!! I have a question for you – did you prime the frame before spraying with the black? And did one coat of black do the trick or were more necessary? I have a set of pic frames that smell very musty and I am so inspired by your work! I think if I give them a coat of spray shellac and then a coat of heirloom white? But I’m new to the world of DIY so I wanted to ask the expert 😉
Christy K. James says
Hi Julie! No I did not prime the frame, and I believe I did two coats. If you are painting them Heirloom white, I would do one coat of spray primer (also by Rustoleum) first. Then you’ll probably need two coats of Heirloom White. I think that would be enough to wipe out the musty odor too. Give it a try and see how it goes. Good luck!
Chris says
This is fabulous! I love the graphics. Graphics intimidate me… maybe one of these days!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Chris! Just start small…you can totally do it! XO