Upgrade Your Thrift Shop Find

Upgrade your new thrifty find easily and for very little money! I don’t like spending lots of money because, hey I’m cheap. If I wasn’t so cheap I wouldn’t be shopping at thrift shop, right 😉 Yes I adore shabby style and this little thrifty upgrade is going to transform this crappy little table into a shabby treasure!

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I must admit that I have a wondering eye. When I am out and about, traveling or treasure hunting my eyes are always drawn to things that are imperfect. And it’s not always a piece of furniture, or architectural piece. Sometimes it’s an old home, the colors, the shape and style. And sometimes it’s a brick wall.

Have you ever heard of ghost signs? I’m not talking about an actual ghost making sounds or signs that a ghost is present. But a ghost sign on a building. Let me explain what a ghost sign is, since I don’t have any photos to share. A sign is the remnants of what’s left on a building from an old advertisement. If you google this, you’ll find photos of what I’m talking about.

I wish I could share photos, but I can’t share photos on my site that are not mine without getting permission from the photographer. Anyway, you can see that even those old advertisements are an inspiration to me. A few months ago I was treasure hunting at a local thrift shop. And I stumbled upon this piece. Most people would have walked away thinking it’s just a piece of crap. It’s ugly, has no style….etc….

It’s not very pretty, but I really love the bones on this piece and the texture. See that shape, it was a heart. And I truly heart this piece, even when it looked like this. Let’s take a closer look.

It’s pretty heavy, I’m not sure what the top is made out of, but I knew that a little paint and creativity could transform this sweet little table. And this little table will show why it’s so important to recycle and reuse. This could have ended up in a landfill. Since this had sweet little hearts on it, I thought it would look beautiful with Posh Pink. I painted this table with two coats of Posh Pink.  I wasn’t looking for perfection. So, what should I do with this piece, leave it as is, just painted? Nope. Instead, I printed out a photo that I had taken a few years ago.

Upgrade A Thrift Shop Find

Supplies Needed:

• Copy of photo ( Use your
• 1 Gel transfer
• Posh Pink paint
• Muddy Pond
• Wax Brush

First step, I  went into picmonkey, cropped and sharpened the photo. Then I printed it out on my copy machine.

Next, instead of cutting the photo out, I tore the edges of the photo off. Remember just as with any project that I share, I’m never about perfection.

This is where those old ghost advertising signs inspired me. After I tore the edges off of this photo, I applied Heirloom Traditions decoupage and transfer gel on the front of my photo.

Then, I flipped the photo over, face down on the center of my painted table.

After I applied this to my table, I made sure to work it into the table, pressing on the paper. But not too hard, just enough to make sure that it’s on the table. Once this was completely dry, I lightly sprayed water on my transfer, and then with a light touch started working in a circular motion, taking the paper off of this transfer.

This is where you need a very light touch, don’t rub too hard.

I kept working until all of the paper was off. Next I decided to add a dark wax to the transfer only.

But after I applied the wax (Muddy Pond), I realized this needed to be on the whole piece.

I added more Muddy Pond to my entire table, working a section at a time.

Then, I used a wax brush to really work it into all the imperfections. Once this was completely dried, I buffed it out using my buff brush, but you can use a white cotton t-shirt. And here’s my finished table.

Isn’t this a sweet table! Here’s the before and after photo below. Now you can see how easy it is to upgrade and add shabby style to a thrift shop find. Just open your mind to the possibilities when you come across a unique find!

If you were shopping at a flea market and you spotted this piece, I bet you would grab it. Well, I guess if you loved pink as much as I do you would. As you can tell, I love this color pink. And, yes the fact that I had something to do with creating the color has a little something to do with that ;-). I painted that French cabinet using this same color.

 

I love the details on this piece, those imperfections that were a part of this piece, added to the charm.

I love the little hearts on the sides of this sweet table. For some reason, the hearts have broken off of the front section, both sides of this piece. And only remain on the side. But hey, that’s why I love it so much. All the imperfections.

Resources for supplies contain affiliate links:

Posh Pink

Muddy Pond

Clear Spray Wax