Thrift Store Remake: Headphone Book Ends

For this TSR (that's our fancy short-hand for "Thrift Store Remake"), we wanted to add a little humor to some inexpensive metal bookends.  We looked for an object that has two obvious halves to it and saw a couple of pairs of retro headphones.  And, as you can imagine, we kind of flipped out when we came across these yellow ones.   How perfect are they?! 

We'll admit, it took us a little while to get up the courage to cut the headband in half.  We knew that we only had one chance to get it right and we weren't convinced the headphones would stay upright.  But much to our amusement, they worked just fine.  We spray painted some utilitarian metal book ends a bright contrasting color and then glued the bottoms and headbands to the metal.  So keep your eyes peeled for some funky retro headphones and you're half way there to a finished project!

xoxo Zandra & Karen June

Thrift Store Remake: Plaid Portraits in Fancy Frames

Don't pass up those hideously framed copes of crappy art you find discarded in bins at a thrift store!  The ones that are probably a sickly pink color and came from grandma's powder room and were framing dried flowers from the 1980s.  If the frame has an interesting shape, buy it and start collecting them.  Then, when you realize you absolutely must have custom-made theme-related decor for your walls at a party you're hosting, you just have to dig into your stash of horrid thrift store frames.  I mean, how many times have you said to yourself, "Gee, if only my walls were adorned with artwork related to my theme for this customized party I'm throwing..." All the time, right?!  You can quickly take a can of spray paint and do 'em up in gold or black or whatever, cut out some decorative paper for your "mat" and find an interesting image online or create a little collage of your own.  Done!  

Liquor Cabinet Before & After

This month at LYC, we have been busy clinking glasses and gathering with friends and family to celebrate the holiday season.  As we prepared for our own Cocktail Party, Zandra and I started to talk about more intimate gatherings in our homes and cozy winter nights where a hand crafted cocktail would be just the thing to toast a blustery evening.  Inspired by Jason's affinity for homemade infused bourbon and bitters, I decided that a liquor cabinet would be the perfect edition to our home.  I also knew immediately, that I wanted to transform a mahogany record cabinet that had been passed down to me by my Great Aunts Mary & Harriet.  I love the lines of this piece and the low mirror adds a bit of depth and reflection.  However, it has been sitting in my basement for over 10 years waiting to find its new purpose.  

For this transformation, we first removed the door and the back piece.  Zandra worked her decoupage magic to cover the back panel with decorative paper.  We chose a vintage inspired aqua and white paper with touches of glittered gold and silver.  The print is reminiscent of atomic era design and fit well with my favorite cocktail era.  I then removed a few of the shelves and decided to silver-leaf the remaining two.  Because I had decided to leave the dark mahogany wood untouched, I wanted to change up the shelving so that it was lighter and reflective.  I put Jason to the task of installing the lighting ... four LED lights (we used Dioder from IKEA) tucked away on the sides.  After a brief drum roll, we flipped the switch and I did my happy dance that I pull out when one of my visions first comes to life.  LOVE!  

Now Jason's cocktail creations and our favorite bar ware have a place to shine.  

Cheers!

Karen June

Thrift Store Remake - Hand Warmers

You can search the racks of any consignment or thrift shop for a plentiful supply of cozy flannel shirts.  (You might even have some in your closet).  We used kids’ sizes and each shirt made about 5 pairs of hand warmers.  

We mixed and matched flannels on either side of our warmers, but a single fabric will do.  After cutting out palm sized squares, we sewed them right-sides together including a small length of grosgrain ribbon for a thumb loop.   We then turned the whole thing right-side out, pouring in dry rice and hand stitching closed.   To keep your hands cozy, toss warmers in the microwave to heat them up.  You might want to experiment with the length of time, depending on the strength of your microwave … our pair only needed about 20 seconds.  

If you’re hosting for the holidays, stitch up a bunch for your guests and display in a bowl allowing guests to help themselves before they take a walk outside. Hand warmers would also make a nice hostess gift if you’re the one visiting, or tie them to a present for an extra special embellishment!  

Stay Warm and Cozy!

xoxo Karen June & Zandra

Thrift Store Remake - Travel Candle

Both Zandra and I love to travel ... whether weekend jaunts with our families or broadening our cultural horizons overseas.  The excitement and novelty of someplace new inspires us to try new things or just experience things anew.  However, when traveling, we both find that there is something comforting about bringing a bit of home on our journeys.  A simple way to do this is with a small travel candle.  Lighting a candle with a favorite scent in your hotel or guest room can not only relax your travel weary self, but bring the comforts of home to your temporary lodging.  For our travel candles, we melted down the scented wax from our used-up jar and pillar candles.  We repoured them into small tins - easy sizes for adding to your luggage.  Bon Voyage!  

Supplies: 

• small tins
• used candles for repurposing
• pre-waxed candle wicks with clips (we recommend 2" wicks from Create for Less)
• wick adhesive tabs (we recommend wick accessories keeper 15mm from Create for Less) 
• melting and pouring container (we recommend 8" seamless pouring container from Create for Less) 
• large cooking pot for boiling water and setting melting/pouring container into
• scissors for trimming wicks

Here is a great tutorial on how to melt and pour recycled candles via  Sew Tara .

Thrift Store Remake ... Catch-All Tray

Earlier this month, we shared with you the 5 Essentials for a Happy Entrance ... among those essentials was a tray.  At Little Yellow Couch we love to be thrifty and add a handmade touch to the vintage treasures we pick up in our travels.  Metal trays are aplenty in local thrift stores and come in all shapes and sizes.  Unfortunately, they also can come in some pretty uninspired designs.  Instead of color and pattern, pay attention to the overall shape.  A quick coat of spray paint and some contrasting paint or paper gave these trays a whole new look.  Place one on your entryway table, dresser, desk or any place you need a catch-all.  

*Check out the Paper Source for a great selection of decorative papers for decoupage.  We used the Feathers  and Glasses for our trays.