When you choose to be a one income family, for the sake of your family, you learn a lot about being thrifty.
Fortunately for me, I can truthfully say that has always been my nature anyway. Practical. Thrifty. Boring. It's true. One year, when I was 12, I gave my mother rubber gardening shoes for Christmas because the price was right, and it was so very, well...practical. I thought she could use some shoes.
Then I accidentally told her what her gift was. I said I needed a box to wrap the shoes in. Then I cried. And she kinda laughed, in a sympathetic kind of way.
So anyway.
I'm also a very visual person. I love to decorate. On a shoestring budget. One of my favorite things to do is visit thrift stores and antique stores. You can find the neatest things at those places...
Like these...
I love beautiful, old things. They have a story. So, of course, these framed prints caught my eye from across the room at the local ReStore. I also loved the size, shape, and color of the wood frames.
I had been looking for something to go on either side of the china hutch. I knew I would use the frames at least.
They were marked $2.00 each.
But. They were 20% off.
Even better.
When I got them home and showed my girls (trust me,my son wasn't interested...), they said Don't cover them up! And the more I looked at them, the more I loved them.
Upon close inspection, I realized these were actual magazine pages from an issue of Harper's Bazar...
dated December 5, 1885.
Yep.
And we are currently studying that era in history.
Instant connection. I love when that happens.
We had so much fun reading the ads on these pages...
including the back when I took them apart.
It really shows what was relevant to people at that time.
So much better than just reading about history in a textbook!
To freshen up my vintage wall art, I decided to paint the mattes. I used a can of white semigloss and a sponge brush, because that's what I had on hand.
The pages were so well-attatched to the mattes, that I didn't want to disturb them, so I covered the pages with scrap paper and painted the mattes. I used three coats of white (allowing for drying in between coats) because I wanted the mattes to look crisp and new, since the prints are aged and the frames are rustic. I like contrast.
I reassembled everything, and that was it.
So for a grand total of $3.20, I bought framed, matted, pieces of antique wall art...
and a history lesson to boot.
I hung them in the dining room.
I think they'll make nice dinner conversation and have every guest squinting to read all the fine print.
For $3.20. Take that, Restoration Hardware. ;)
Just kidding, RH. Thanks for the inspiration. :)
If you're feeling inspired, feel free to pin some pics and leave a comment!
