Saturday
Feb092008
Finished!
Sat, 9 Feb 2008
At last that #*%*# credenza is finished. So much work for a $39 thrift store find! I can't complain though because we needed the rain. Here it is with my tarted up lamp. (Just wish I had remembered to turn the seam away from camera.) The chair is a Grant Featherston R152 from the 50s. The artwork is a mixed media I made from vintage Penguin paperbacks. Papua New Guinea spirit house pole and stool, West German floor vase, vintage Portuguese copper coffee set and one of a pair of Murano glass vases round out the group. Except for the New Guinea pieces and rug everything is from a thrift/secondhand store or made by me. (I'm trying to furnish my apartment on thrift or handmade.) OK that's one piece I can tick off my "to-do" list. What's next?
Reader Comments (13)
Now we're talking! Great job Jo.
And worth every ounce of effort, I'd say! That lamp is stunning, too.
Looks great! Want to sell me that lamp and artwork? :)
Jo, I am so glad you know what seems to be EVERYTHING about revamping thrift finds. I am totally coming to you for tips when I start on all my projects. :) The space looks incredible. All your hard work has paid off.
The credenza turned out great! Love the artwork too.
I'm really into how you and Kim recycle old furniture. I like the whole idea of vintage pieces reducing our need to consume. Kudos for your green approach
Thanks everyone. I'm glad it's finished. Now I wish I'd painted it white. Maybe next time. I don't know who much is a green ethic anonymous and how much is just plain lack of money to buy anything else :)
Jo, it looks oh-so-nice. May I ask how you created the piece out of the paperback covers? It's so cool!
I LOVE ARt, can we see a better picture of the whole thing??
Liss grab yourself a large canvas from a discount store and start hoarding covers. I used PVA glue but was far to hasty and glued the whole thing at once. This caused the large canvas to twist.
Solutions
*buy a more expensive thicker sided canvas with more bracing
*take your time and glue small sections at a time
*do what I did and brace the back with timber after the fact :)
Wording is just paper printed on the computer finished with water colour or markers glued on. Cup and some lettering is black gloss enamel left to run. Finish the whole thing with a sealant like the PVA glue, impasto medium or varnish. I like a flat finish. That's it. It's basically a large lazy person's decoupage. SO easy.
Jennifer I'll try but the piece is so large and my apartment so small that I can't get far enough back to fit it all in the shot!
Thanks so much! I'm definitely going to try this!
Jo, you are my hero!!!