Making Beautiful & Creative Wall Art Decor From Thrift Store Items

Have you ever walk into a store and see a piece of wall art decor and just fall in love with it but then see the price tag attached and just have to pass?  Well, with a little creativity and shopping at a thrift store, you can make a beautiful piece of art to hang in your home that will be one of a kind!

People always say, "Oh, I can't do that!"  Yes, you CAN!!

When you shop at a thrift store, you can find many items to create a really unique piece of art for practically nothing!  Just because an item may have been used for one specific purpose, doesn't mean that you can't change it to be used for an entirely different purpose all together.

For this project, I found a really nice wood candle plate and some glass beads at my thrift store.  Total purchase was $2.  Went to my local hardware store and purchased a tube of clear silicone and picture hanger....off I went to create my new piece of art!

Don't be afraid to be creative or make a mistake...sometimes your mistakes become your greatest designs!!

First, I attached the wall hanger to the back of my wood plate so I will be able to hang it once I have finished.  You can also use an old picture that is framed for this project. Play around with your glass beads and create a design that feels good.


                    Attach your beads with the silicone being careful not to put to much silicone on each bead.

  

                              Once you have attached them all...let sit to fully dry for a few hours.


                                    All finished to hang and enjoy!!  This project only cost $4.59!

             

If you happen to be in our area, stop by our thrift store:

 Hers & His Thrift Store LLC 

74 N. South Street

Wilmington, OH  45177

or visit our online thrift store   www.hersandhisthrift.com

Native American Turquoise Sterling Silver Jewelry Hallmarks

Native American jewelry is a highly sought out and collectible item.  We run across a lot of this type of jewelry in our online thrift store and thrift store.  Everyone is always asking me how to find information on hallmarks for the Native American pieces.

First of all...What is a Hallmark?

A hallmark or Maker's Mark is a stamped or carved marking on the inside or back of jewelry or other handcrafted items that identifies it's maker or also silver or gold content.  Hallmarks are a way of identifying the maker, time period pieces were made in, metal content and other related information.  Hallmarks alone do not provide positive proof that you have a highly sought after designer's work represented by the hallmark it bears.  These marks are easily copied and duplicated and can represent multiple people when just initials are used. 

                                                            

                                                Visit our online thrift store to see this item!

 Many of these works of art are also hallmarked with type of material (silver, gold, Turquoise, etc.) that the work of art was made with. When it comes to jewelry specifically, it is required by law that the silversmith or goldsmith stamp the piece with the percentage of metal in the piece. In Native American jewelry it is common to see .925 or Sterling meaning that the piece contains sterling silver which is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. In anglo jewelry and some Native American jewelry the artists may work with different kinds of gold such as 10k, 12k, 14k, 18k or 22k. This is the amount of gold that is in the metal.

                                                      

                                              Available now at our online thrift store!

Many Native American's adopted this system in the mid 1950s when this type of jewelry became more popular. In the beginning Native American jewelry hallmarks were just the initials of the artist or a symbol they loved such as an arrow or buffalo or the like. Today many artist use their full name, there initials with a symbol, or more detailed stamps or hallmarks. 

Here is a website that I reference to when researching hallmarks.  A to Z hallmarks on silver to identify Indian Native American Jewelry for Hopi, Navajo and Zuni jewelry.

Familiarize yourself with the jewelry that you are thinking about purchasing. Are you curious about Navajo jewelry, which has a strong emphasis in stamping metal, very detailed silver metal work or are you more interested in Zuni jewelry? The more you know about the jewelry that you are purchasing, the less likely it is that you can be fooled.

Here are some more pieces that are available through our store Hers & His Thrift Store.  Please feel free to email us at hersandhisthrift@yahoo.com for more information or pictures on what we currently have available.  You can also "LIKE" us on Facebook for great deals, giveaways, and more!!

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Turning Junk Into Cash!

Now a days, with the economy the way it is, everyone is looking for bargin! When I hear the word bargin, I immediately think of a Thrift Store! I rarely ever buy anything new anymore. I first search high and low at every thrift store I can find and if then I can not find what I am looking for... then I will resort to buying new.

I was talking to my daughter about a new bathroom project I am working on. I am turning an old ugly dresser into a nice storage piece for my bathroom. She told me she didn't know how to do something like that and that many people just don't know how to do a project like this and wished they could. So this got me thinking that I should create a blog of all the really great finds that are just over looked in a thrift store. You can re-use and repurpose items that are kind of ugly or what looks like junk and turn them into something everyone loves or some extra cash in your pocket! It's really cheap and easy. It may take a little time and effort but so worthwhile!

For this project, I found a poor ugly dresser that nobody wanted because it just wasn't eye apealing. The drawers were functioning and all made of wood but this poor thing looked just sad. I paid $5 for the dresser. Went out and chose the color of semi-gloss paint, clear coat paint, sandpaper, cabinet & drawer paint roller and now I am ready to start.

First remove the drawer knobs and place all the drawers on newspaper with the front of the drawer facing upward.

Using the sandpaper you either already have in your garage or just purchased...lightly sand the entire outside of the dresser or other piece of wood furniture you are wanting to refinish. You don't have to sand all the paint off. You are just sanding the finish enough to give the paint something to adhere to.

Once you have finished, with a damp cloth, wipe down the entire project to remove all the dust and let sit to fully dry for about 20 mins.

Now you are ready to start painting! Make sure you used a cabinet and drawer roller. It's a special foam roller that leaves a nice smooth finish. Start rolling the paint on all in one direction covering every corner. Don't put the paint on to thick or else it will run and you will have to sand down and paint over. A nice thin cover will do. I painted this dresser about three times letting it fully dry in between each time I gave it another coat of paint.

This is what the dresser looked like after the first coat of paint.

Once you are satisfied with cover, let it completely finish drying before putting on the clear protective coat of paint.  Cover with clear about 2 to 3 times to help seal the paint and protect it from peeling.  After the clear coat has finished drying put your handles back on to the drawers.  I found a great set of drawer knobs at a thrift store.  You can get really creative with your knobs to really add just the right touch to your refinished piece of furniture.

Before and After...quite a difference and it only cost me $15 total for this entire project!  Now that's a bargin!

For more thrift store bargins, check out our website www.hersandhisthrift.com

Thanks...Stephanie :)