Saturday, November 20, 2010

An Interesting Adventure

After months and months of actively looking at photos on the Internet of well organized craft spaces and finding out that many of the organizational pieces used were old items found in thrift shops, I decided to venture into the world of thrift store shopping.

At the end of the day, I walked away with 5 interesting pieces. After a thorough cleaning, I was very excited at the possibility of incorporating these pieces into my craft room.

When I found this piece, I knew that it had a definite function in it's first life. There are holes that were once used to organize something and the top level spins. Hubby thinks that it was once used for holding test tubes. Of course, thinking like a true crafter, I thought that it once held craft supplies. Either way, it was in tip top shape with little sign of wear.


The next step was to figure out what to do with it. Even though the investment of $2.99 was minimal for this piece, I knew that it had the potential to be of huge organizational value to me. So, there it sat on my table for a few days while I thought of every possible item that would fit into those 7/8-inch holes.

A couple of years ago, I emptied my collection of small beads into these bead organizers.


I was left with a slew of empty bead containers. To my delight, they fit perfectly in the holes.


I slowly developed a plan to pretty up my newly acquired organizer. I wrapped the tubes in pretty scrapbooking paper to hide the labels that were securely attached to the tubes. I used ink on the edges of the paper to give it an aged feel, and tied ribbon to the holes in the top of each of the tubes. Since the handle of the organizer was black and teal and was made of rubber, I knew that I couldn't paint it without the paint eventually chipping off. Ironically, the colors of the tops of the bead tubes were teal and lavender. So, by default, my color scheme was born.


This is the base of the unit. The plan was to paint it and to give it a crackle finish. Although I haven't painted anything in more than a decade, I think it turned out pretty well.

Going for a vintage look, I inked a paper doily and decoupaged it onto the center of the base. Ink and shimmer stained lace glued around the perimeter of the base seemed to be the perfect addition and completed the look perfectly.


I am sure that you already knew what was coming. Flowers, of course. I decorated the top of the unit with handmade flowers and embellishments.


I used lots of ink, shimmer mists, and a gold paint pen to add color and highlights to the flowers.


I love the bright, luminous effect of the shimmer spray on the flowers.


This is the finished piece. It turned out even better than I had imagined it would.


Now, to figure out what to put into each of the tubes.


Hmmmm.....I think that this may be the perfect organizer to hold my embossing powders and Perfect Pearls.


Something tells me that this organizer was originally made to hold these bead tubes as they fit so perfectly inside the holes.

What do you think?

I hope that you're having a fantastic weekend!

Aloha!


Post edited on 11/21/10 at 5:51pm

28 comments:

Hazel said...

My Dad had one of these it was to hold his pipes ,maybe thats what this was for. Looks soooo much nicer now that you decorated it .I to am blessed not to have to go to thrift stores out of necessity ,but darn I love looking for a bargain in these places .

Pokey said...

Your use is much better than the original use, that being a gentleman's pipe rack. Bravo for your creativity!

Vicki ♥ said...

I love how you made it looks so pretty :) It is gorgeous now :)

Mayen said...

Looks great, good idea!
Mayen

NessaKnits said...

Oh, I would love one of these for my buttons. And you have to look past in thrift shops and imagine the possibilities.

Nile e Richard said...

Oi Lettie.
Adorei.O seu está lindo,um trabalho compenssador em vista do original.
Bom domingo para voce.
bjtos no cor~ção.Nile.

Mary @ Neat and Tidy said...

Welcome to the world of junking.

The first time I entered a thrift store, I prayed no one I know was watching me. I've overcome that thanks to Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren, and Dooney and Bourke - I mean things I've found with their names on. I buy only mint condition items with no wear. I figure if I don't tell where the things come from, no one needs to know.

FlourishingPalms said...

What creativity! It's a beautiful accessory now. What fun it would be to go to an antique mall with you!

Elzaan said...

What a great find, and a creative way to make it pretty. Almost looks like a well decorated birthday/wedding cake! (I love cake to that is a compliment!!!)
Elzaan

KaHolly said...

You are very clever!! Good job!

Janine said...

That was a good idea and so beautifully done.
How great when the things get oranized so neat and pretty.
Have a great sunday
Janine

Nancy said...

Wow! this turned out wonderfully. Such a vision you had for it.

Sian said...

Your treatment of the 'pipe rack' is nothing short of fantastic! It's lovely now and I'm truely impressed. 'Thrifting', as my son calls it, is an adventure we often enjoy together. I think of it as a sort of treasure hunt anad am often rewarded with great finds.

emy said...

Great job!!! Brava Arlette!!!

Buona settimana!!!

Emy

Ladydy5 aka: Diane Yates said...

Some are very lucky that they can buy retail but now with the economy as it is, there are more and more people thriftstore buying. Yes, sometimes the stores are crowded with clothes that should be thrown out or just given away which is what we did in the thriftstore I worked in.But "One mans junk is another mans treasure"

I think that was a pipe holder which my Dad had also.Very pretty treasure you made out of junk.

Anonymous said...

Thrifting to me, is definitely "treasure" hunting and everyone should be proud to show off their new finds...I used to be embarrassed to go to these shops and now I can't get enough of them! People of all walks frequent my area thrift shops. There are incredible finds out there....and to say that you found it for $2.99....let the whole world know. Thankfully my shops aren't so stinky (but I've been in some that were awful)
Love the crackled stand!! patti ;)

Kay Lynne said...

What a neat find and makeover! I love to go to garage sales once in a while. I found three antique quilts for $15 this summer!

Little Ivy Garden said...

You have done a beautiful job on your new treasure. I have several of these that I purchased at thrift stores. I do have one, however, that I purchased new. It was filled with decorative scissors. I bought it as a present for my daughter who likes to scrapbook and make paper crafts.
I am glad to have you back. I have missed your posts.

Ru said...

What a fantastic makeover!!!

tlnovak said...

I have an organizer exactly like that, and it came filled with decorative edge scissors. I'm still using it to hold the scissors, but I think I need to give it a facelift now that I've seen how pretty it could be. :)

sweetiepie said...

Lettie, you have such great vision. I could have never imagined what to do with such a thing. You made it beautiful.

Take care.

Kelly L. said...

I have one like that and it is for scrapbooking scissors. I love how you decorated yours!

Ms. Craftsalot said...

I too own one. I bought it from the scrapbook store owner who had used it for scissors, but they all sold and then she sold the spinner display too. So I use it for scissors, but now know it can be used for other things as well. Wish I payed what you paid though. Oh, I also use it to hold hole punches.

Ava K said...

Lettie, you are so clever!

Irene said...

What a fantastic idea. Even if you leave it empty, it will look great in your craft room.

suz said...

You are so amazingly creative! The transformation is wonderful and your planned usage is a great idea!

Fonzareli said...

I have something that looks very similar and it holds all my scrapbook scissors. I think I might have to doll mine up a bit now. VERY CUTE!

passionfruitprincess said...

Hi! I love your blog, specially your
yo-yo flowers.
And like other ladies said, I think this is a scissors holder. I got the my several years ago from my mother-in-law. I think you used it in a very clever way! I am going to recycle a spice rack also for store beads and buttons. I am deciding how to do the makeover.
Take care,
Ana Paula.