Upcycling Another's Junk

One woman's trash is another woman's treasure; it only takes a little creativity to make something that was destined to be junk into something pretty and useful again.

Wooden items are the first things that go in my cart at the thrift store. That aisle with all the cast-off boxes, crates, letter holders, and shelves? Love it. Could spend a lot of time and money there...but it's the thrift store and it's usually less than $3 an item!

This project was part of a big haul at a local Goodwill that always has a nice variety of 'potentials'.

The red lazy susan was something I already upcycled and was too lazy to get it off the table before snapping this picture.

This is what my project started out as:

Nothing special, but it had potential

It got the primer treatment:

Lots of primed stuff that day

When I get the paint out, I tend to do a bunch all at once. This works from an efficiency standpoint, but it also creates a TON of stuff for the To-Do list!

This bunch of stuff got painted black:

The black was too shiny for the look I was going for, so a little distressing was in order. Then the primer that showed through was too white, which a glazing took care of. That made it a little dull...this project was full of oops! Wax was the final step that sealed the look.

Then a back was cut out:

Stay safe when using power tools!

Time for a treatment for the backing. Whadda ya think it'll be? You have one guess...I'll wait while you think about what I've been doing A LOT of...

Here's a hint:

You didn't even need the hint, did you? ;) Yes, it's another tray with vintage sheet music. Can you tell I love this stuff? It's aged so perfectly and some of it is almost 100 years old! What I'm decoupaging isn't that old (I think), but who knows? I would love to save it, but also want to reuse it so it can be loved in a different way.

I tried first with whole sheets of my large music. So gorgeous!

But...it bubbled horribly.

Bad enough that I made the decision to take it off :( Wasted it, but lesson learned - take more time with the whole sheets. This pic is so sad...

Round two. I took my time and tried again and this time the sheet music is the perfect backdrop for this cubby shelf/tray. Painted black, distressed, glazed, and waxed to perfection!

 It looks like something that's been buried in your gramma's chicken coop and has just seen the light of day! Now you might say that's not a very flattering description, but to a junker...it's perfect.

Again, my search for tray handles was limited by availability. I didn't find exactly what I had in mind, but found something close.

This is a larger tray and I didn't want to rely solely on glue to keep the backing on, so it got glued and screwed:

Keeping the back in place with tape

and here is the finished product!

Ready for sitting on an ottoman holding junk in all it's cubbies

 or displaying some vintage treasures:

Here's a closeup of the quote on my coaster - it's a wonderful affirmation:

wonder why the 'e' rubbed off? 

I love how this one turned out and am on the lookout for more of the same...you aren't buying them all up are you?