Tightwad Tuesday: Thrift Store Key Pictures

Hello, friends! I’m introducing a new series today called Tightwad Tuesday, aimed at showing you how I transform thrifty finds for cheap. It’s no secret that I’m cost-conscious, which seems to be a quality many DIY bloggers share. We just LOVE to score something we can fix up. It’s in our nature. Many, MANY of my projects here on Home Made Modern fit into this category. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure all of them do. But the librarian-slash-English major in me just can’t help categorizing things…especially things for which I can think of a catchy title…and a title with alliteration is entirely too compelling a reason to ignore. So you see, my el-cheapo projects may not be relegated to Tuesdays, but I just couldn’t resist calling it a series.

My first Tightwad Tuesday feature cost $6 for TWO projects! I bought this pair of key pictures and this ever-so-stylish duck picture at our local thrift store. I didn’t really know where they were going to go in our home, but I love keys, and the frame was in good shape.

I framed some keys for our foyer last year, which, as a matter of fact, could’ve been a Tightwad Tuesday post themselves. Anyway, I don’t know how old these are…but I liked ’em, so I snatched ’em up. Then I had the idea to make them useful. I spray painted some cup hooks I already had with metallic spray paint we ALSO already had, and voila! A great place to hang our keys. Maybe my re-interpretation of this “art” was a tad literal, but it serves a purpose now, which is another one of my favorite things.

Next up, I disassembled the duck picture, spray painted the frame white, and covered the mat with burlap using the same technique I describe here. Then I printed out a map of the west coast of Michigan (our family’s vacation spot) and popped it into the frame. Again, I already had the spray paint and burlap, so seriously…this project cost me 2 bucks. I love this grouping on our new IKEA shelves. I plan to fill the glass jar with sand from Grand Haven this summer, and the driftwood is from the first trip we took up there. Good memories!

Check out that before picture at the top of this post, folks. I may not have created high art, but I think both projects are a huge improvement for the money.