15 Thrifted Makeover: Mini Abstract Art #SwapItLikeItsHot

You guys, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for today’s post. It has been far too long since I've posted anything tutorial-wise so I'm hoping that this post will curb some appetite.

You see, I've been following this super rad challenge called #swapitlikeitshot since its inception back in June when a good friend of mine, Dena from Hearts and Sharts told me all about it. Basically, a bunch of bloggers virtually get together, hit up their thrift stores, and send their blog partner a couple goodies to revamp. Then, we all repurpose those fun finds, come together and swoon over the clever transformations.

One of my favorite makeovers to date was this bird house turned herringbone mini-shelf from the super talented Alice from Thoughts from Alice.

Flea Markets, Thrift Stores, Estate Sales, and the like are beyond up my alley (hello, #thriftscorethursday much?!). So imagine my surprise when I opened and email from the hosts Charlotte of Ciburbanity and Jessica of Gourley Girl and Guy inviting me to play along. I may or may not have attempted some outrageously awkward adult cartwheel, which are so much easier when you’re young.

If you follow along in Instagram, you may recall a peek of this sweet thrift score package I received from my BFF/Thriftscorethursday/thrift sister from another mister Brynne over at The Gathered Home. Here’s another look:

The mini artwork, with those gawgeous gold ornate frames, called to me.

 I’ve been itching to create some home-made artwork for some time now and really wanted to experiment on patterns, sizes, shapes, mediums, and styles keeping black and white as the only consistency. And in order to make these mini-masterpieces fit my style, these were my weapons of choice:

Supplies

• Ruler
• Cardstock (I used 80lb)
• Scissors/Paper Cutter
• Mini Washi Tape (mine was from Amy Tangerine’s line)
• Paint
• Paint Brush
• Thin Sharpie
• Printer

Painting over these sweet little portraits would personally sadden me. So I took the whole, no harm no foul route by setting aside the originals and replacing with thick cardstock to fill the frames. These paintings had the wire staple looking guys, nothing a flat head screw driver couldn’t pry open:

However, if you’re pressed for time or lazy, I’m not here to judge. Simply measure the old painting, and cut your paper to size or close your eyes and paint over that sucker.

Here’s the part where you get creative. These are the methods/styles I chose:

Abstract: I practiced on a few pieces of regular printer paper until I found the right “look.” I fell for the one where I dabbed the paint brush in paint and painted a straight-ish line keeping the natural brush lines. Imperfections are your friend here dots, running out of paint, adding a little swoosh.

Curve stitching: Remember middle-school geometry?! Well you’ll be putting it to use with this guy. Simply measure the dimensions of each side of your paper. Then either pick a number of ‘points’ or find a number that’s easily divisible by your dimensions. Remember the more points the tighter the curve. More lines can get messier so I would suggest a super fine sharpie (or other drawing tool).

Striped Graphic Lines: Since these paintings were pretty small, I used mini/narrow washi-tape to tape off random striped sections. Then slap some paint on, wait a few minutes and peel away. Touch up if necessary. They’re not equidistant, and there’s some imperfections but like it that way.

Spiral Triangle: I whipped this ditty up in Photoshop inspired by this snippet of video with an ever so light edge around the image to aid during the cutting process. Then simply converted to PDF, and carefully cut to size.

We plan to add these fun mini-masterpieces to our Skylark Travel Trailer once we actually have walls this spring.

Now it’s time to head over to Ciburbanity to see what Charlotte did with the items I sent her:

I hope you enjoyed these makeovers as much as I did!!

Here’s a list of creative makeovers our group completed:

Day 1- Monday

Run to Radiance | Decor Adventures | Year of Serendipity | 58 Water Street | Don't Disturb This Groove | Like Saturday | Artsy Chicks Rule

Day 2- Tuesday

Two Purple Couches | While They Snooze | The Gathered Home | Black and White Obsession (You’re here) | Ciburbanity | Restoration Redoux | Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer

Day 3- Wednesday

Primitive & Proper | Queen of Everything | That's My Letter | Finding Silver Pennies | Migonis Home | Windgate Lane

Day 4- Thursday

I Am a Homemaker | Town and Country Living | Thoughts from Alice | Our Southern Home | Chic Little House | SG Style | Two Thirty~Five Designs

Day 5- Friday

Gourley Girl & Guy | The Thinking Closet | The Charming Farmer | 2 Little Superheroes | Shades of Blue Interiors | Live Pretty on a Penny

Remember...