Make Them Wonder: rugs direct giveaway

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Repurposed art turned DIY "masterpiece"

The previous owners of our house left behind a huge framed poster of the Rat Pack. It sat in our garage forever and I was a little ticked that they hadn't taken it with them. It's BIG and the frame was busted which is, I'm sure, why they opted to leave it behind and make it ~~our problem~~ our treasure.

Fortunately, I had an "ah ha" moment the day I was dreaming of an oversized piece of art for our dining room but, unfortunately, didn't have an oversized budget.

This moment consisted of me ripping off the back of the framed art to see what lay beneath. Here's the front...

And, here's the back...a beautiful blank canvas in my eyes!

It's hard to tell in the pictures but this frame is HUGE and would cost a fortune to have made. Hence, why my brain kicked into overdrive trying to figure out a way to save it since it had seen happier days.

While I problem-solved, I also began searching for the perfect art to fill my new canvas with. I did a google search for abstract line drawings and quickly ran across one that peaked my interest...

{Abstract Line by Japhycat}

While I give absolute credit to the original artist, I figured this was a fairly simple piece that one (namely me) with limited art experience could pull off with minimal effort. I drew it in pencil initially then busted out the black paint and had at it. You should really give it a try, I'd put this DIY art project in the "beginner" level for sure.

So, back to that pesky busted frame...

Each corner was coming apart and needed special "V" staples to properly pull it back together. I didn't have special "V" staples so I loaded this giant frame in the back of our SUV and walked it into Hobby Lobby only to find out they didn't have the special "V" staples either. Man, I knew I should've called first! It was no small task walking this piece of art that's about as big as I am into the store and all the way to framing department which, of course, was located in the back of the store.

I was super bummed when they told me they didn't do frame repair. What?! They must have felt really sorry for me as I stood there and looked at them with a complete blank stare, trying to figure out my next step, because they decided they'd "give it a try" and call me if it worked. I figured this was going to cost me a fortune but they tallied things up and said it'd be $37. I said "sold!" and ran back to my car to say a little prayer.

Obviously, things worked out in my favor and that's the story of how I scored my first piece of oversized art for a mere $37. One man's junk is another man's treasure!

By the way, if you haven't entered the Rugs Direct giveaway, make sure you do it today. The winner will be selected Friday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

$300 Rugs Direct Giveaway

Today's the day!! I'm excited that one of you has the opportunity to win a whopping $300 to Rugs Direct.

I can already hear some of you saying, "I'd never order a rug online. It's too risky!" That's what I used to think too. I'm not going to lie, I was very hesitant to order online even after being approached by Rugs Direct. I didn't have high hopes and I seriously thought I'd be sending back at least one, probably 2, rugs before finding one that worked. And, let's face it, sending back a big 'o honkin' rug would not be fun!

You probably share some of my concerns. Like...
*Color, color, color!
Since my paint color was already selected and I was in l.o.v.e. with it, I didn't want to have to change things when the rug arrived and didn't quite work. I held my breath.
*Appearance.
I kept thinking, "What if it gets here and looks cheap?" Once again, I held my breath.
*Softness.
I don't know about you, but I'm very tactile. I walk through stores and touch everything. It was hard, hard ordering a rug and not knowing what it felt like. Guess what I did? Yep, I held my breath.

Good thing the rug arrived quickly so I didn't die from all that holding my breath stuff. Much to my surprise the color was perfect. The appearance looked even better in person. And the softness, was awesome. What a relief! Would I do it again? Absolutely.