It's only Monday and I feel like this already,
I can't wait for Thursday - taking a 4 day weekend and leaving town!
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Aug 13, 2012
Aug 9, 2012
Thrifty Thursday
I wandered into Goodwill yesterday with a plan. Since this past weekend was a long weekend, I figured people would be cleaning out their closets and donating like crazy. And I figured it would take a day or two for the staff to get the good stuff on the floor. (Plus I was busy on Tuesday.)
Well, I didn't find any spectacular $15 sideboards or $10 chairs, but I did find some things I "had to have."
I found this metal lock box piled in with a bunch of wire racks. It's made of heavy steel and has a military feel about it. Can you believe it was only $2.50? To give you a frame of reference for the pricing in my local Goodwill - a reproduction milk can painted navy blue was $88. $88!! This was indeed a bargain. I took it home to Tom. His response? "I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I like it!" The boy could be a thrifter at heart.
These two bottles were 99 cents each. I adore the shape of the stoppered one with the deep indentation in the bottom. I removed the stopper and took a whiff - it used to hold cider vinegar. I think I'm going to use a paint wash on the inside of it - maybe blue or green.
This little elephant jumped out at me and I snatched it up so fast. You don't understand just how excited I was. I've been looking for some ceramic animal to take home and spray paint but so far haven't found a thing - unless you count those precious moments-type figurines, which I DO NOT. But this is even better because Tom & I have a tradition of buying a carved wooden turtle every time we go on vacation to a tropical place. We've also added two carved wooden dogs to the collection, so this little guy will fit right in. Don't worry, I won't paint him. He's perfect just as he is.
This sign/wall hook/decoration was hiding in amongst a bunch of wooden cast-offs. Doesn't it just remind you of something Donna from Funky Junk Interiors would have? And Lord knows I envy her decorating style. The best part? It was also only $2.50. I wish the kid in charge of pricing this past weekend worked all the time.
Well, I didn't find any spectacular $15 sideboards or $10 chairs, but I did find some things I "had to have."
Care to see?
I found this metal lock box piled in with a bunch of wire racks. It's made of heavy steel and has a military feel about it. Can you believe it was only $2.50? To give you a frame of reference for the pricing in my local Goodwill - a reproduction milk can painted navy blue was $88. $88!! This was indeed a bargain. I took it home to Tom. His response? "I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I like it!" The boy could be a thrifter at heart.
These two bottles were 99 cents each. I adore the shape of the stoppered one with the deep indentation in the bottom. I removed the stopper and took a whiff - it used to hold cider vinegar. I think I'm going to use a paint wash on the inside of it - maybe blue or green.
This little elephant jumped out at me and I snatched it up so fast. You don't understand just how excited I was. I've been looking for some ceramic animal to take home and spray paint but so far haven't found a thing - unless you count those precious moments-type figurines, which I DO NOT. But this is even better because Tom & I have a tradition of buying a carved wooden turtle every time we go on vacation to a tropical place. We've also added two carved wooden dogs to the collection, so this little guy will fit right in. Don't worry, I won't paint him. He's perfect just as he is.
Ready for my jackpot find?
This sign/wall hook/decoration was hiding in amongst a bunch of wooden cast-offs. Doesn't it just remind you of something Donna from Funky Junk Interiors would have? And Lord knows I envy her decorating style. The best part? It was also only $2.50. I wish the kid in charge of pricing this past weekend worked all the time.
Just check out that gorgeous rust. And the detail on the taps. I swoon.
Tom rolled his eyes when he saw it. He has no vision. It's going to look amazing.
~~~~~
Been thrifting lately?
I've been trying to limit myself to once a month but sometimes the urge overtakes. It doesn't help that all three thrift stores in my town are within the same block.
Aug 8, 2012
Editing Images for Transfer to Freezer Paper
I've had a few requests for a more detailed tutorial on how to edit an image and print it in order to do a freezer paper transfer. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it, and hopefully these instructions will make it clear enough that you're doing your own transfers in no time! I've included screenshots from my computer to help you along - click on any shot to make it larger if you're having trouble seeing a detail.
(Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert in photo editing or an expert in computer programming/software. If I use the incorrect terminology I hope that you'll understand what I mean.)
1. The first thing is to find the image you want to transfer. I can't really help you with that except to say that I usually just do a Google image search. If you go to Google.com, enter a description of what you're looking for and then click on "Images" in the black bar near the top, you get pages of pictures to choose from.
For the transfers I've done so far I'll play around with word combinations like "french grain bags", "vintage french signs", "old postage marks", etc., until I come across something I like. The only rule I follow is that I try to avoid taking an image from someone else's personal blog. Though The Graphics Fairy is a good source and you can use any image there for free.
Let's pretend this is the image I chose (I think it was!)
Click on the image to get it to full screen, right click, and then click on "save image as", and save it to a location that you can find later. I find it easiest to save images as jpegs as they can be read by almost any program.
2. You'll then open the website PicMonkey.com. It's a free graphic editing program that is very user-friendly. While you're using it, any changes you make can easily be undone by clicking the undo (back) arrow above your image.
Once at the PicMonkey site, click on "Edit a photo" on the left-hand side. Your file directory will open and you can choose your file.
I hope you remembered where you saved your image! Find your image and double-click on it, or click once and then click the "open" button. This will open your image in PicMonkey and it's ready for editing.
I'm just going to do a simple colour change and image flip, but feel free to play around with any of the options on the left hand side. Each of the symbols on the far left will open up more editing choices.
Click on the Effects menu (the bubbling beaker symbol) on the left, and scroll down through the effect choices until you get to "Tint". Click on Tint and the box will expand downwards.
Position your mouse pointer over the circle in the rainbow-coloured box, hold down your left mouse button, and move the mouse around the box. You'll see the colour of your image change as you move.
Once you have your image the colour that you want it, let go of the mouse button. If you want to change it, just start moving the circle around the box again. If you're happy with the colour, click the "Apply" button. I decided I liked the bright red. And if you forget to click the Apply button, the program will prompt you. (Isn't that nice of it?)
Go back to the main edit menu by clicking on the molecule symbol on the left (above the beaker), and click on "Rotate".
Click on the third box from the left - the one that has two arrows going left and right - and your image will flip vertically. Is your image now backwards? Then click Apply.
And you're done! Well, first you have to save it! Click on "Save" up above your image. You can rename your image here if you'd like to. It's a good idea so that you still have your original for future editing. Click on "Save photo" and you can then choose where you want to save it.
And now you're really done. You can close PicMonkey and print your image on freezer paper. For instructions on how I prepped my freezer paper for printing go here.
I'll warn you that transferring images like this can get addictive! You'll be slapping graphics all over the place!
Hmmmm, is it obvious I have a drop cloth addiction to go along with my freezer paper (and twine) addiction?
(Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert in photo editing or an expert in computer programming/software. If I use the incorrect terminology I hope that you'll understand what I mean.)
1. The first thing is to find the image you want to transfer. I can't really help you with that except to say that I usually just do a Google image search. If you go to Google.com, enter a description of what you're looking for and then click on "Images" in the black bar near the top, you get pages of pictures to choose from.
For the transfers I've done so far I'll play around with word combinations like "french grain bags", "vintage french signs", "old postage marks", etc., until I come across something I like. The only rule I follow is that I try to avoid taking an image from someone else's personal blog. Though The Graphics Fairy is a good source and you can use any image there for free.
Let's pretend this is the image I chose (I think it was!)
Click on the image to get it to full screen, right click, and then click on "save image as", and save it to a location that you can find later. I find it easiest to save images as jpegs as they can be read by almost any program.
2. You'll then open the website PicMonkey.com. It's a free graphic editing program that is very user-friendly. While you're using it, any changes you make can easily be undone by clicking the undo (back) arrow above your image.
Once at the PicMonkey site, click on "Edit a photo" on the left-hand side. Your file directory will open and you can choose your file.
I hope you remembered where you saved your image! Find your image and double-click on it, or click once and then click the "open" button. This will open your image in PicMonkey and it's ready for editing.
I'm just going to do a simple colour change and image flip, but feel free to play around with any of the options on the left hand side. Each of the symbols on the far left will open up more editing choices.
Click on the Effects menu (the bubbling beaker symbol) on the left, and scroll down through the effect choices until you get to "Tint". Click on Tint and the box will expand downwards.
Position your mouse pointer over the circle in the rainbow-coloured box, hold down your left mouse button, and move the mouse around the box. You'll see the colour of your image change as you move.
Once you have your image the colour that you want it, let go of the mouse button. If you want to change it, just start moving the circle around the box again. If you're happy with the colour, click the "Apply" button. I decided I liked the bright red. And if you forget to click the Apply button, the program will prompt you. (Isn't that nice of it?)
Go back to the main edit menu by clicking on the molecule symbol on the left (above the beaker), and click on "Rotate".
Click on the third box from the left - the one that has two arrows going left and right - and your image will flip vertically. Is your image now backwards? Then click Apply.
And you're done! Well, first you have to save it! Click on "Save" up above your image. You can rename your image here if you'd like to. It's a good idea so that you still have your original for future editing. Click on "Save photo" and you can then choose where you want to save it.
And now you're really done. You can close PicMonkey and print your image on freezer paper. For instructions on how I prepped my freezer paper for printing go here.
I'll warn you that transferring images like this can get addictive! You'll be slapping graphics all over the place!
Let me know if these instructions work for you.
And I'd love to see the projects you come up with!
Here are a few of mine so far:
Hmmmm, is it obvious I have a drop cloth addiction to go along with my freezer paper (and twine) addiction?
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