It’s already November 1st, and that means a few things: October flew by, the holiday season is on its way, and also our first Thrift Store Challenge is finished.You may remember a couple of weeks ago I started out the first challenge with the items above. I used the basket as a container for all of our mail because I couldn’t find anything that I could use that wasn’t super expensive. Although I haven’t gotten to it yet, I intend to transform the spice rack into an acrylic paint holder (I’ll post pictures when I make it!). And though I haven’t found an “upgrade” for the little clock yet, I did find a use for the Suntory Whiskey bottle and the big clock.                       I put a handmade paper flower in the whiskey bottle–easy and pretty!

Before: the big clock

When I first came upon this clunky hunk of a clock at the thrift store, I nearly passed it by. But once I took it on as part of the challenge, I got to thinking long and hard about what I could do with it and started to get excited about its potential. I decided, first of all, that I hated the look of the numbers, so I tried to sand them off.

Despite my best efforts, a faint outline of the numbers remained. I had gotten an idea to use the clock as a birth announcement for a baby with a space-themed room, but with the stubborn numbers remaining on the clock, I had to re-imagine my design.    Inspired by vintage colors and some tattoo designs, I set to work with my wood burner. When I was satisfied, I used watered-down acrylic paint to fill in the planets, stars, numbers, and a little portion of the letters. I thought the numbers turned out looking much better than they did originally!

Next I stained the wood and let it dry before adding a glossy coat. All that was left was reassembling the clock pieces and getting a battery. I just loved hearing the satisfying tick of the clock when the project was finished. It was fun making something for a friend.

I really enjoyed hearing a few stories via email and Facebook about your approaches to last month’s challenge. This month, find something related to the kitchen and use it in a project. Bonus points: relate your project to Thanksgiving! The due date is December 1st, but please email me, post on instragram or twitter, or leave a comment with your ideas or questions in the meantime! And don’t forget to use the hashtag #littlesnailthriftchallenge!

Good luck!
xxCaitlyn