Friday, December 20, 2024

Thrifted Frames - Cleaning and Repainting

Thrifted Home Decor

I do a lot of decorating with framed printable art and while I switch a lot of it out from season to season, I don't like having to change the frames.  To make things quick and easy I simply stash the entire frame - print and all - away into storage until the next holiday.  While the dollar stores offer inexpensive frames, even better is when you can find a ton at lower prices while thrifting!  The drawback is not being able to select specific colors, but I believe that a can of spray paint can fix most issues 😄  

Read on to see how easily you can utilize your own thrifted frames:

Note - this is my last post for 2024.  I'll be taking my holiday break for the next couple of weeks, but you can expect a new post January 10th!

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here


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Thrifted Home Decor

One of our local churches has a yearly sale where on the last day you can fill a paper grocery bag with whatever you want for only $3.  I always make sure to hit up the picture frame section and tuck as many as possible into my bags.  This photo shows you the haul that I got this year; various styles and colors, but all great frames!



Thrifted Home Decor

The first thing that I do with any thrifted purchase is give each item a through cleaning.  These frames were good to go with a bit of glass cleaner, but you can always scrub them in your sink with hot water and dish soap if you need to.  This recent post shows you how I used that method with a bag of thrifted faux fruit.



Thrifted Home Decor

Once everything is clean and dry I give the frames a coat of my favorite gold spray paint.  You'll notice that even though they were so wildly different before, just having the same color allows them to compliment each other nicely.



Thrifted Home Decor

After the paint is dry I either put them into my craft room to store until needed or use them for a current project.  This time I needed them right away because I wanted to add these Canning Art Printables into the cabinet where I display my Faux Canned Fruits and Vegetables.  You can see how that cabinet looks in this post.

And that's how I clean, paint and make use of my thrifted frames!

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I hope you enjoyed this thrifting post, thanks for stopping by!
-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2024


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New Year Goal Setting and Planning

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Cricut Crafting Cleaning and Organizing

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Friday, December 13, 2024

Cleaning Your Thrifted Finds - Faux Fruit

 Fake Food Decor

You guys know that I practically live at the thrift store, but I'm also super picky about cleanliness.  I love recycling used goods, but they must be properly cleaned as soon as I get them home.  Here is an example of how I went about cleaning a collection of faux produce:


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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here



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Fake Food Decor

I found a big bag of fake fruits for only $1.99 that would work perfectly in my laundry room Faux Pantry Wall Display.  I was especially happy because I could see that there was a pineapple, a cut cantaloupe and some chocolate covered bananas!  



Fake Food Decor

With the bag opened up you can see how filthy the items are, whomever had them before wasn't big on dusting!  But that's ok, they clean right up with a little effort.  The dust was stuck on with grease to each item so I didn't have to worry about it floating around, but if the dust is loose or there is any kind of mildew/ mold (think damp basement storage) or smoke then I'll do my cleaning outside to protect my allergies.



Fake Food Decor

I like to mix up dish detergent, Oxy Clean (Dollar Tree version pictured here) and hot water.  If the items can handle it, I'll add some bleach too.



Fake Food Decor

I loaded up my sink and let everything soak before giving it a good scrub, changed the water and then scrubbed again.  Once cleaned I shook out each piece to remove any water that had settle inside and let air dry for 24 hours.

*Because faux fruit items are often hollow (and take on water) is why I didn't use bleach this time.  I didn't want any bleach water to come out later and ruin anything.  If you really need to use bleach to sanitize a hollow item, mix up a bleach solution and use a rag to wipe down the outside rather than submerging it.



Fake Food Decor

Such a difference!



Fake Food Decor

And here is how everything looks after a good bath, such a difference!  There are many items that you might pass up while thrifting just because of their condition, but a little cleaning and you will have a perfect treasure!


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Dinner Shopping Budget Organization

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Kitchen Pantry Spice Rack Organization Decor

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Friday, December 6, 2024

DIY Plaster Fake Bake Cookies - Chocolate Snowflakes

Winter Christmas Fake Bake Decor

In addition to the salt dough cookies that I've been sharing recently, I also made up a set of plaster snowflakes.  Read on to see how you can make some yourself:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here



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Winter Christmas Fake Bake Decor

I started with this Wilton snowflake cookie pan that I found at the thrift store.  Because it's a pan and not a set of cutters, I opted to use plaster to make my cookies.  Once dry the plaster pops right out where salt dough can be a nightmare to get unstuck.  

Another option is clay or modelling foam - both allow you to put the pan in the freezer and then pop out your frozen cookies without harming your designs.  Just make sure to place your popped out shapes on a drying sheet before they thaw as once they do so the clay can mush.



Winter Christmas Fake Bake Decor

After mixing and pouring the plaster into the cookie pan, I let it sit for 24 hours before popping out the shapes.  Sometimes you might need to tap your pan against your counter top to get the shapes out.  Do so gently to avoid cracking your plaster!

This popsicle tutorial shows you the plaster that I like to use.


Winter Christmas Fake Bake Decor
Winter Christmas Fake Bake Decor

After removing the plaster from the pan I like to let the shapes sit another day or so before painting.  This allows the pieces to fully dry and prevents them from crumbling apart later once covered in paint.

I painted these snowflakes in a chocolate brown and then added 'icing' with white puffy paint.



Winter Christmas Fake Bake Decor

And here are my plaster snowflakes!



I hope you enjoyed this fake bake post, thanks for stopping by!
-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2024


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Winter Christmas Holiday Tiered Tray Home Decor

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Letter to Santa Printable

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Friday, November 29, 2024

House Gnomes: Room Installation


Miniature Decor


Now that I've shared my house gnome door tour as well as how I constructed each one of the rooms, I want you to see where they go in my real house.  Read on for the room installation:


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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here



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Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Laundry Room

Just to recap, each room is a shadow box painted to match the wall color of my home.  I added a cover to the boxes so that they blend in with the room and Velcro tabs allow them to be opened.

The top photo here shows you the laundry room shadow box in my actual laundry room.  Behind the door is a 'gnome' or 'mouse' hole sticker that I made with my Cricut and I attached the shadow box to the wall nearby.  Because this is the laundry room, I made sure that a clothesline sticker was included.

Miniature Laundry Room




Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Breakfast Room

Miniature Breakfast Room


Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Dining Room

Miniature Dining Room



Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Front Room

Miniature Front Room

New House Makeover: Front Room


Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Kitchen

The trim in the kitchen has been finished since I took these photos, 
so the display is a bit more tidy now 😉

Miniature Kitchen

New House Makeover: Kitchen


Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Family Room

Miniature Family Room



Miniature Decor
Miniature Decor
Bathroom

This shadow box isn't inside any of our bathrooms, but inside the hall closet instead.  This closet is where we keep all of our extra toiletries so I thought that it would be a good out of the way place.



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I hope you enjoyed seeing the room installations for my house gnome shadow boxes, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2024


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Do you like the convenience of crafting or organizing with instantly available digital downloads?
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Fake Bake Tiered Tray Decor Christmas Winter

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Winter Christmas Cricut Crafting

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Are you thinking of starting a blog or a seasoned author who wants to get organized?  This 115 page printable bundle is for you!  I created these pages for my own use and found them so helpful I thought I should make them available for other bloggers as well.  Click the link below the image to read the full item description.

Blog Planning

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