Hybrid and Thrifty Craft: Pear Art Wall Decor

So, remember the 5x7 black, distressed frame I found at Goodwill for a couple of dollars?

Well, I decided to try my hand at some wall decor, using pears -- an idea I got from the Thrifty Decor Chick, who got HER idea from The Happy Homebody. (I also thought I could make the color scheme work with the colors in my kitchen.)

Luckily, I didn't have to distress the frame (not that I needed to, but it lends some charm) and then had to search for some fake pears. Not all fake pears are created equal! Some have this sand core that is impossible to cut through. Yikes! But, my second attempt proved better.

So, after some time promised with showing you my thrifty finds re-worked, we have:

The before...

And, after...

Cute, huh? Something you could easily find at some little home decor place for like, what $15-20? (Altogether this was less than about $5.)

Now, you're wondering how this craft could possibly be considered hybrid? WELL, the paper I used to put behind the pear was digital scrapbook paper (from Shabby Princess' "Damask and Dots" kit) printed on matte photo paper. Hah!

Hopefully the weather will cool down some soon and I can get to some of my other projects, which involve spray painting.

Thrifty Finds

I recently found an awesome person and site -- Sarah, the Thrifty Decor Chick. What I love about her, is that some of her decorating style is similar to mine, but more importantly, she tries to be very thrifty about it (from inexpensive moulding that makes her home look like a million bucks, to thrift store finds that she re-purposes).

She finds a lot of her home decor items at thrift stores and she does amazing things with spray paint (no lie!). Since I'm trying to make home more homey I decided I would try this out. I have ventured to a few stores, but so far my luck has been slim. Either there wasn't anything really worthwhile (although it could just be I don't have a keen eye like her and some of the other bloggers she reads), or the stuff was a little overpriced.

But, I managed to find the following 3 things at Goodwill. I admit, some I prolly overpaid for, but, eh, I totally saw a use for them right away. I'll be posting the "AFTER" pics and posts of what I ended up doing with these items some time soon. But, for now, you get the BEFOREs.

For $1.99 ...

I got this black, distressed frame that fits a 5x7 photo. What I liked was that it was already distressed, and any extra nicks and scrapes from being in a pile of frames just adds to its character. This frame will be going in my kitchen, as another item to complement my valance.

For $2.99 ...

I got this little shelf. All wood and never been painted. We've been looking for a short shelf to put in our bathroom because we lack immediate vanity storage. Everything I found at hobby/craft stores was too long (and MUCH more than this). Some paint, and it'll be good enough for now!

For $3.99 ...

I got these drapery holdbacks, WHICH I'm actually going to use as something different, as soon as a give them a new color. Interestingly enough, I saw these were from Target, and apparently they are still on Target's site for $9.99. So hey, not a bad deal, eh? (Apparently, Target sends a lot of their clearanced-out items to Goodwill -- people have been able to find brand new items from Target for just pennies on the dollar.)


So, that's it for now. Brian has off next week (since our wedding anniversary is coming up and he hasn't taken a decent vacation er, well, ever), so I plan to hit a supposedly really good thrift store which is a little farther off, but we shall see what I find. Honestly I don't really have too many things I would like, although my dream find would be a set of parson's chairs for my dining room table (I found one at one resale shop, but they only had the one, argh!). We shall see.

How about you? Do you like to go thrifting? Any good stores near where you live?