THRIFTY FINDS - UPCYCLED £2 THRIFT STORE WINDOW



I LOVE thrift store/sale shopping. 

I like the fact that i can find items which are not 'high street' which means i can 'work' on them (my stamp, if you get what i mean) and not only come out with something that is unique to our home but that also cost a fraction of a store price. I also like, no 'I love' the fact that items have a history of some sorts, there are creases in a book for a reason, a little like the dings in this window frame. It has 'history' even though i may never know what it is/was.


I know nothing more of this window than the fact that its past owner had it stowed away for years, he wanted rid of it and charged me the princely sum of... £2! One mans trash etc etc. He had no use for it, i happily did.

  


I LOVE old window vignettes (you'll find lots in my Pinterest account HERE) and i have been itching to get any hands on a work in progress. 

TUTORIAL


> I took off all the 'not required' window attachments - a window latch, hinges etc

> I heavily sanded back the window. This window did reveal a little history after all. It had SO many layers of paint underneath i couldn't fathom one from another. This window had clearly been used over and over again. It didn't reveal much but my window is old!

> When i had sanded back as far as i dared to go i taped the glass panes (to avoid any paint spots) and stained the wood with a dark oak, as there were such variations in colour i wanted to get the darkest colour as possible underneath (i didn't want any blue peeping through - yes blue!)

> When the varnish was dry out came the chalk paint. I used the chalk paint recipe below. It was great as always, i applied 3 thick coats and let them dry thoroughly between coats


> Fun time! Sanding. I had been waiting for this bit for ages. I used a combination of a fine sanding pad on my sander and also used a fine sanding pad for the edges which were done by hand. I gave extra detail to the corners and ridges for effect.

> When i was happy with the chalk paint coating i gave the mirror two really good coats of clear sealant.




Fixtures & Fittings
To fix this little beauty to our wall we opted for black 'rope tie' fixings (apologies i don't know the correct term for these, you can see them in the photographs though) Core bolts and a impact driver were used to fix the mirror securely to the wall, this mirror is certainly not light so securing it correctly was a majorly important (and timely) task. We used a thick rope which was looped around the 'fixing' levelled and then looped through the holes drilled into our mirror.
Corner brackets were added to the top outer edges and a black 'pull handle' at the bottom of the frame for an added 'edge' little things are important :)




Additional Decor
I wanted my mirror to look 'pretty' but the original features to still be visible. As the frame was now white and our walls are also white colour was a must. I debated on this for a while. The answer came from Pinterest (as many answers do - haha) I saw the most beautiful old mirror with a gorgeous green floral wreath. With this also came a DIY project. 
The wreath i made is a version of the DIY project which is one of my featured contribution posts with Jen at Pinkwhen.com - You can find the link HERE.



Along with this beauty of a wreath i added this super cute DIY - 'No Sew' Burlap Bunting Tutorial - HERE. This is SO easy to make, it really is. As a 'non sewer' (can't sew, won't sew) i think this bunting looks amazing. Its also reversible - two looks in one, win!
This will be online next week...



I just love this beautiful window. 

Trash to treasure :)




LINK PARTIES 
Inspire Me Please | The DIY Party | Made it Love it | The 36th Avenue | HomeWork | MondayFunday | Keeping It Simple Crafts | MopItUpMonday | Sweet Anne | Nifty Thrifty Things | Flamingo Toes | byStephanieLynn | Minettes Maze | The Casual Craftlete | Serenity You | Chic On A Shoestring | Funky Junk | Bewitch Me & Titi Party | Craft-O-Maniac | Its So Very Cheri | Skip To My Lou | Mod Vintage Life | Nancherrow | Redoux Interiors | CraftberryBush | Miss Mustard Seed | be different act normal | Just us Four | The Pin Junkie | Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons | Craft Dictator | Practically Functional | Living Better Together | Play. Party. Pin | Mommy on Demand | Cherished Bliss | From my Front Porch to Yours | Organized 31 | All Things with Purpose | A Delightsome Life | Foody Schmoody | White Lights on Wednesday | Table for Seven | My Girlish Whims | Sweet Silly Sara | Ginger Snap Crafts | JAQS Studio | The DIY Dreamer | The Life of Jennifer Dawn | Ducks 'n a Row | Someday Crafts | PinkWhen | A Pinch of Joy | Cupcakes & Crinoline | Sugar Bee Crafts | A Stroll through Life | My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | Our Home Away from Home | Nap Time Creations | Designed by BH | designsbymissmandee

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13 comments:

  1. Amazed by this up cycle! Lovely ;) Just found you via All things with a purpose linky ;)
    come visit me at
    http://kraftmint.com
    Ursula

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    Replies
    1. Hey Ursula, thank you I'm so glad you like it
      Its so beautiful, I'm so happy i stumbled upon it :)

      Sarah
      PS. Your blog is lovely!

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  2. Wow! This is gorgeous (like everything you create)! Thanks for sharing! Also wanted to let you know about a new linky party starting this Saturday at 8pm called “Found & Foraged” Can’t wait to party with you at http://www.houseofhipsters.com

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  3. Sarah, this is absolutely gorgeous - love the leaded window, the chalk paint transformation and how you decorated it! I will be featuring your post in this week's Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  4. Edea, Every time I see this project I just fall in love with it over and over again! It's absolutely beautiful! PINNED! And thank you for joining the Found & Foraged link up party. We hope to see you again this Saturday!

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  5. So I loved this project so much I'm featuring it on Found & Foraged this Saturday night (tomorrow)! Hope you come back with another amazing project at http://houseofhipsters.com

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  6. Lovely! The whole grouping is lovely!

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  7. This is just adorable! By the way, I would love to have you post on my new blog hop—the Weekend Blog Hop at My Flagstaff Home (www.myflagstaffhome.com). It begins on Thursday evenings and lasts through the weekend, if you're interested.

    Jennifer

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jennifer :)

      Thanks for the link too, i'll check it out

      Sarah

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  8. Just SO beautiful! Featuring this evening on The Painted Drawer Link Party! Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Hey, thank you for the feature and hosting a fab party x

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  9. What a great upcycle. Love it.

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