Here’s a little Friday creative inspiration to carry you through the weekend (I’ll be back on Monday).

I like to look for discounted and overlooked items when I’m in a thrift store–look above and below the average person’s sight line, and you might just spot a treasure. {There’s something I love about taking something a bit derelict & useless and transforming it into something wonderful–that’s what God does with our lives, right?!} I found this little gem hanging on the wall in the basement of a local consignment shop.

This shop has a three-tier ticket pricing system, so you have the start-out price, then dates with corresponding price reductions on the tag. I think this started out around $50 or $60, but the lowest price was dated over a month ago, so I asked an employee if it might be marked down further from $26. He said, “$13.” And I said, “Deal.” I sometimes consign at this shop, so I happened to have a seven dollar credit, bringing this little beauty–or, er, soon-to-be beauty–in at $6.18. Wheeee!

I flipped the whole thing over and removed the tape, staples, urn print, & glass. Ahhh, better already.

{click to enlarge thumbnails}

Next, I slapped on a coat of creamy white with a stiff bristle brush (to get in all the nooks & crannies).

The urn print was actually mounted to a piece of thin fiberboard, so I decided to just paint straight onto that and save having to measure & buy or build a canvas! Score. First I covered my “canvas” with a base coat of creamy white… Then I started painting in one direction, changed my mind, and ended up with this (below right).

Meh. I didn’t love it. But no worries, it’s just paint! Get tangled up, just tango on! Or–you know–just PAINT on! First I recovered the background in something BRIGHT… then doodled a few funky flowers…

Oh yes, feeling much better about this already…

Hmm, can’t imagine from whence my inspiration came…

Then I added some detailing (basically just very loosely outlining everything with the brown) and (after it dried) a coat of crackle finish.

Pop it back in the frame and there you have it!

Fun! Here’s the before and after:

I’m thinking of adding a verse… perhaps Jeremiah 29:11, like this?

Wheeee! What will you create this weekend?! Go for it! You can do eeeet!