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.

> 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 :)