Twenty-First Century American Thrift

We spent a lot of time getting boxes unpacked and areas of our house settled over Christmas break. It was a blessing to have Mike home with us for seventeen days. We accomplished so much!

As a result, I've gotten my sewing room/guest room mostly organized and there are many projects just waiting for me to finish them. I'm starting simple and with the most obvious ones. My goal for the next month or more is (1) to finish projects I already have waiting, (2) try to use items I already have on hand to finish a project rather than spending more money, and (3) don't purchase any other goods/materials for new projects until some current ones are complete.

This is absolutely do-able. It'll take some mental strength (to not visit the thrift store and be willing to say "no" to a good deal!), some "stick-to-it-tive-ness," and a few late nights when the house is quiet to focus. Plus, I'm not bogging myself down with doll orders at the moment so I should have some time...

First project: re-purpose thrifted frames to display some vintage feedsack fabrics

I completed this project late, late one night. The lighting was poor and I only took one picture of the identical frames as I found them at the thrift store. So imagine me ripping off the backing paper, pulling out the staples, removing the cutesy potted plants, and reassembling them using tape to hold my fabric in place behind the mat board openings! Oh, also, I was watching a Hallmark movie while doing this and got distracted many times...he, he!

Here they are hanging on the wall the next day in our "library" which is actually a lovely landing at the top of our stairs. After I reassembled the frames the night before, I was thinking that they might need to be painted. You can see a twinge of peachy color in the paint color. After looking at it all day, I decided it definitely needed a pop of color!

before

after
I love how they turned out! The fabrics look much more vibrant with the green frames.

I love the fact that no one else has the exact artwork I have on my walls...the beauty of decorating in Twenty-First Century American Thrift...(he, he!)

The colors also speak very strongly about my ideas for decorating our home. Gone are the days of trying to duplicate someone else's style or preference or trend. I'm embracing the freedom to use what I love, to go bold and daring, to eliminate perfectionism and the consequent piling up of unfinished projects, and to just be me...

...and these colors and fabrics are so me!