Several years ago the mirror on my great grandmother’s vanity was mysteriously broken (no one has confessed) so when I called my uncle who happens to be in the glass business and asked for a replacement, it was going to be about $200 and that was the “family” discount price. UGH!

It was never replaced and I finally removed the frame.

I was driving past one of the thrift stores that I frequent this afternoon and thought I would see if there was anything worth giving a makeover to. I walked up and down the isles and found nothing worth the 10 dollars I was willing to spend. Then my youngest daughter spotted a diamond in the rough. It was marked $15.75. Solid wood and not much needed to be done.

I carted it home and started right to work on it. Since I am a master of innovation and resourcefulness (wink wink) I thought,

“I’ll  slap a coat of spray paint on this and hang it up.”

I planned on removing the top arch and using it horizontally, but as I looked at it, I decided to use the whole thing since it was going to be hung rather low and I would be able to reach the top of the mirror. Thus, the idea to make a place to hang jewelry was born.

I removed the wicker, and gave it a coat of primer. Then found that I did not actually have any black spray paint. Apple green was available but that was not what I was going for. :) Oh how I dislike not having the correct supplies or tools, but with four creative children, there is never enough spray paint to go around and the tools quite often disappear “mysteriously”.

I thought I had a can of black latex from a former mural project, but this could not be located either. So this is where resourcefulness kicks in...

I scraped through my paint drawer and found three tubes of acrylic artists paint, barely 1/4 of a cup between all of them, but with a little water, I had more than enough and the brush strokes hid all the blemishes.

Then I covered the wood area in the arch with some vintage black and white paper. There was a large gap where the wicker had been, so I grabbed a long piece of 2 inch wide black gross grain ribbon and used quilt batting to create a thick piece of piping. I knew it did not need to be perfect, just fill up the gap. I just sewed the edges of the ribbon together as I held the batting in place, trimmed the ends, ran a bead of glue in the gap and stuffed the piping into the gap with the sewn seam inward. It worked marvelously!

Then I went looking for cup hooks to screw into the arched area for necklaces, but alas another missing supply. Innovation demanded to be recognized again...

I used 1 inch drywall screws and glued three matching buttons on the heads of each, then I wanted a narrow bar to hang earrings from. I thought, “ooo, a tiny dowel would be perfect.” Did I find one? NO... but I did miraculously find a very narrow piece of bamboo that had been ripped off of a piece of flooring I installed this summer, laying on the ground. I painted it black and slipped it in between the wood and piping on the arch.

Magnifique!

What is your latest diamond in the rough project????