The husband and I tend to frequent the Flea Market or Antique Stores most often, however yard sales, estate sales, and the few and far between Antique Shows are equally as exciting for us. This past weekend we drove to the middle of nowhere (seriously – surrounded by cotton fields) and made our way to this random senior center that had a bake sale/antique show on their campus. Glorious. There were several amazing little pieces, but this one frame really caught my eye. It was hand carved in all wood, painted white, heavy as anything, and quite aged in deed. It was perfect for a wedding photo (I know – it’s been almost two years and aside from the window pane, I still haven’t even come close to finalizing all pictures from that day to hang) but it’s a start, right? I digress. Anyhow, the frame was actually at a table that a little old man who often has a booth at the Flea Market owned. We always say “that’s our guy” since we’ve gotten a few great pieces from him and he always has some incredible finds for amazing deals and is such a friendly gentleman, yet I would be willing to bet he has no idea who we are. Nonetheless, we like to contribute to him since he’s so sweet and not just trying to “get rich quick” as antique items have made quite the resurgence these days, but rather seems to really just enjoy finding the items. We got the frame and this old Coca-Cola jar to go with our early ’40s coke machine in a pair that was quite the deal…
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| the perfect wedding frame |
On this one I didn’t have to do much since the frame itself was already so ornate. It didn’t have glass or backing of any kind, so I bought an 8×10 frame at the Dollar Store (the diploma frames were actually the only ones for a dollar & all you need is the glass so it doesn’t really matter how crappy the frame is) and used Gorilla Glue to bind the glass to the back side of the frame. Then I put the picture down and used some Gorilla Tape to secure the picture in place. And voila! (Gorilla products are just really are amazing and get the job done well and even better than Duct Tape in my opinion. Very useful products to have on hand for all sorts of projects.) I think this is my favorite find yet because it is timeless elegance and just simply a classic piece of such a perfect day.
The second piece we found was at our apartment’s yard sale for $2. You can’t beat that price. I had wanted a bulletin board of sorts to hold all of the invitations for weddings and parties alike (in leu of the fridge) that was a bit more upscale than just corkboard. Now I have found a multitude of more embellished boards, but the prices for such sophisticated pieces is just outrageous. I knew I could create something equally as artistic on the cheap. And this frame was the perfect find for that.
I had some leftover burlap from a few other projects, so aside from the frame all I got was a foam board (again, Dollar Tree is the best). I measured how large the board should be and cut accordingly then wrapped a piece of burlap around it. I actually had a piece the perfect size, but if you don’t just lay the board down with a touch of overlap on each side to fold over and tape in place (with Gorilla Tape!) to make sure it’s secure. Then pop the piece into the frame, and again tape the board to the back of the frame to keep it from moving. And there you have it, an upscale bulletin board to post all your important mail and such! Quick and simple to make.
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| modern take on the classic bulletin board |
I simply can’t wait until we have a house so that I can have a place to put all of these crafty creations and have a full space to decorate and organize. Soon and very soon!
