My mom visited me last weekend while Kevin was away in Mammoth on a boys trip. While she was in town, we went thrift shopping! I hadn’t been to any of the thrift stores around here, so I’m glad she was willing to go with me to check some out.
We only ended up going to two, but we were in the first one for quite a while, and we hit up TJ Maxx in between the first and second store, and we literally spent an hour browsing around TJ. I had never been in a TJ Maxx before, and that is now my new favorite place! I got some pretty neat stuff, all on clearance! Score!
Anyways, the purpose of thrift shopping was because I’ve been wanting to do this project that I saw on Shannon’s blog, Bless Our Nest. Basically, you can get any old platter (or plate for that matter), paint the inside with chalkboard paint, hot glue a ribbon on the back, and there you have it! This is my first attempt. I got this platter at a thrift store in Truckee back in February.
As you can see, the middle is pretty beat up. So I used one of those sponge brushes, painted the inside of the platter with my chalkboard paint and here you have the finished product! I’m usually a super perfectionist, but I didn’t tape off the edges. The sponge brush is pretty easy to paint with, and if you mess up it’s super easy to scrape off whatever doesn’t look good around the edges.
I loved doing this project so much, that I went back to the the thrift store the next day after my mom left, to get a platter that I saw there but didn’t get at the time. I ended up getting the platter the next day because I wanted to make one for my Grandma Ruth. Her birthday is this coming Saturday. Here is her platter before
Her favorite colors are blue and white, so I thought this ribbon was cute for her. Here’s the platter after!
While I was at the thrift store for the second time, I came across this platter and thought it was so cute because it was a little different looking than ones I’ve seen. I wasn’t quite sure where I would put it, but I found the perfect place! Here’s the little platter before.
And after. I ended up putting it in our front bathroom and I think it looks like it was meant to be there!
You’re probably wondering why nothing is written on these platters. Well, I haven’t for the life of me been able to fine just plain, white chalk anywhere! All I can find is the fat, colorful sidewalk chalk, and that’s not what I want. It’s become very frustrating. Ideally I can pretty much write anything on the kitchen tray; a bible verse, the menu for dinner, a happy holiday, etc. On my Grandma’s tray I’m going to write “God Bless,” and on the bathroom tray I’m going to write “Wash Room.” Since I enjoyed making these so much, I’m going to continue to hunt for trays throughout the year and I will be making them for Christmas as gifts. It’s super cheap, easy and thoughtful all in one!
Here are some other thrift store finds…
I found this little picture at the thrift store in Truckee. I ended up hanging it next to our coffee maker because it has that, sort of, cafe feel to it. I took some light sand paper to it to give the edges a little older look. You can’t really tell in this picture though.
Here it is from far away.
I found this old-fashioned candle holder last weekend. I absolutely LOVE it! It’s in the guest bedroom.
I think I’m going to start collecting these glass containers. I got the tall one on the left from Kevin’s mom’s garage! :)~ She’s getting ready for a big garage sell and let me go through her stuff first. Then I found the smaller container last weekend. I think I’m going to put some colored pasta in the large one, and maybe some rice in the smaller one. Still deciding.
So that’s pretty much it for now. While being crafty this weekend, I was also able to find my brother and mom their birthday gifts. The reason this is noteworthy is because their birthdays aren’t until May 8th (yes, my brother was born on my mom’s birthday, as well as Mother’s Day at the time)! I usually wait until the very last minute to buy gifts, but I found the perfect gifts for each of them and I can’t wait for them to open their gifts next month!
