You’ve altered books, tins, CDs and other random thrift store items. Take a close look around the house . . . what else do you have sitting around waiting for your crafty touches?
When I asked myself this question, the first thing I spotted was the second-hand dresser where I keep my sweaters. Chipped pink paint and wobbly drawer pulls screamed out, “Give me a makeover!” In fact, playing with paper and one of the handles gave me an idea for a whole new look for the dresser. I carefully covered the drawer pull with decorative paper and was quite pleased with the look. Of course, what gal is truly finished with a project before she adds sparkles?
Here’s a “before” photo of the drawer pull and also of a wooden bead pull chain handle, just with the paper covering. This is a perfectly lovely look all on its own if you want to stop here. A coat of clear finish will protect the paper covering.
Since my sweater drawer is handled frequently, I had to come up with a surefire way to make the beads stay put. I utilized two different adhesives to make the drawer pull and the bead pull chain. Both work equally well, but each with a different effect, as you can see from the photos. The drawer pull was decorated by applying a healthy coat of diamond glaze with a brush and then rolling in the beads. The pull chain handle was done by applying the beads with a sheet of O’So Sticky Tape carefully wrapped around the bead.
And switch plates! These are very appealing little collage canvases. Think about what you might do to an ATC (Artist Trading Card), and then transfer it to a light switch plate! Small 3-D embellishments could be very interesting on switch plates. This is another item that will be touched often, so be sure to give it a good coat of your favorite clear finish when you’re through.
Finally, I offer you the humble Pringles can. At Christmas I was obsessed with turning these into Christmas “stockings” for my family. This can will serve as gift wrap for mom’s Mother’s Day gift. I took an old photo of Mom and photocopied it to get a good contrast from all of the color on the can itself.
Think about whether your altered items are for decorative purposes only, or if they are to be used as functional household items. Here are some other altered items you can consider: Alter your broom handle for a little arty lift even during the most boring of household chores. Or how about scouring the thrift store for old kitchen tools, altering them, and displaying them on your wall? Turn a wine bottle into a flower vase. I recently saw an altered toilet paper roll, believe it or not! The sky is truly the limit when it comes to altering. Have fun!
