Unforgettable Upcycled Projects With Graphic 45

Hello G45ers!

Happy Friday and welcome to another fun-filled day here at Graphic 45. We hope you are all resting comfortably after a big Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Or if you are in a place where Thanksgiving isn't a national holiday we hope you are enjoying this fun glide into the holiday season. Wherever you are there are lots of reasons to celebrate and feel some gratitude for the good things in your life. Since it is our mission to continue to bring you great craft inspiration during this magical time of year, today we've got some fabulous upcycled crafts from Tara Orr and Nancy Wethington. These gorgeous creations are going to knock your socks off! But first we have a winner to announce for this week's fantastic blog prize! Chosen randomly from the comments left on the Graphic 45 Facebook page this week, our winner is...

-  Suzanne Thomas

Congratulations  Suzanne Thomas! Please email us with your shipping information at info@g45papers.com to claim your prize! Big thanks to everyone who submitted comments this week. Check out the Tropical Travelogue prize from this week and remember that we have a new blog contest happening every week! There's always a chance to win something amazing here at Graphic 45!

Today is all about upcycling. What's upcycling? That's when you take an ordinary object that might have otherwise been thrown away and you turn it into something new and beautiful! It's a lot like altered art only you're giving new life to something that you might have found at a thrift store or at a garage sale. This first creation is by Tara Orr and she is the queen of finding thrift store gems and fixing them up like new. Get ready for some major inspiration! This gorgeous rocking horse is decorated in Le Cirque and makes awesome use of our Ornate Metal Door Plate and Knob Staples and Metal Button Staples! This just goes to show you what some pretty paper, some good glue and twine and a lot of care and imagination can do!

"I found another thrift store treasure!! This rocking horse was originally a cherry wood with a horrid, white yarn mane!  I just loved the playful feel to this and knew it must be altered!! i was originally going to use the Christmas Emporium collection, but decided upon the brightly coloured Le Cirque papers instead.  The tail is made from twine and attached with a Graphic 45 metal button!" -Tara Orr

Supplies:

Le Cirque Collection: Bohemian Floral, Le Cirque, Greatest Show on Earth, Extravaganza

Staples: Metal Buttons

Staples: Ornate Metal Door Plate

Aleene's: Tacky Glue

Plaid: Mod Podge

Misc. Twine

Next up is this super clever and adorable upcycled schoolhouse desk. Of course An ABC Primer is the perfect paper for this little treasure! You wont believe your eyes when you see what a stellar job Nancy Wethington did to turn this old desk into something magnificent! So the next time you find an ordinary object or even a piece of furniture at a garage sale or thrift store just think of the amazing ways you can dress it up in Graphic 45! Here Nancy gives some fun and helpful tips on how she beautifully upcycled this sweet little desk.

This is what I started with . . . a found desk at a recent neighborhood garage sale.  I couldn't pass it up, especially with Graphic 45's An ABC Primer dancing in my head.

 

This was a simple cut-and-paste project using An ABC Primer and Claudine Hellmuth Matte Medium.  I didn't want to cover every inch of this school desk as I do enjoy the integrity of the wood.

As you can see in the previous photo as well as this one, I very simply covered 2 notebooks and a cigar box with more ABC Primer paper.  The cigar box holds colored markers and pencils so my nieces can write in their *books* when playing school.

The back of the school desk with more Graphic 45 An ABC Primer paper.

Supplies:

Graphic 45 Papers: An ABC Primer: An ABC Primer; One Two Buckle My Shoe; Grammar School; Jumping Joan; Alphabet Soup; Games and Playtime; Bedtime Stories; Building Blocks

Partner Products: Decades Photogenic
Other supplies used: Claudine Hellmuth Matte Medium

Thank you all so much for joining us today for this very special blog post. We hope you got inspired by today's marvelous upcycled crafts! We have to admit, there is something so uniquely satisfying about turning something old and unwanted into something that beams with beauty! We highly recommend trying it out with your favorite Graphic 45 papers and embellishments! Big thanks to Tara Orr and Nancy Wethington for their gorgeous contributions today! We hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

Happy Upcycling & Papercrafting!

Team Graphic 45

Comments

[Jane O]

was is done with modge podge?

[karine]

coucou, très beau relooking, bises

[cat lacigale]

fabulous !

[snazzyoriginal]

Wonderful ideas - as always many thanks for the inspiration xx

[Jeyatha]

It is soooo beautiful.. Woow..

[Heidi Mireles]

Both are great but that horse is so cute.

[Sharron Solberg Higgins]

Absolutely amazing. My creative juices just got a huge shot in the arm. I'm off to cover something!!!

[Dorothy McCarthy]

Great work on these!!!

[heidig]

Love these!

[Charee Filimoehala]

Jane O, the horse was done with Plaid: Mod Podge. As for the desk I think it was done with Claudine Hellmuth Matte Medium. Mod Podge is what I always use for these types of projects and it works great! email me if you have any more questions: charee@g45papers.com. Thanks for following our blog! Happy Papercrafting ya'll!

[Rosann]

Love both projects ... they bought back memories! what awesome inspiration!

[Bartemous Black]

I'm just lovin' this Tropical Travelogue line. I'm working on a few of my own Mod Podge projects. So much fun, so little Pime!

[auntie em]

Wow, both projects are so creative and beautiful! I love the bright colours on the sweet little rocking horse and the little desk and accessories are just precious. They are both certainly up-scaled with their lovely new trims.
Thanks for sharing and inspiring. Wonder what I can scrounge up around here to cover??? :)

[Donna Vere]

What amazing projects. Both are so very creative. Thanks for inspiring us...Donna

[Barbara Johnson]

Unforgettable for sure!! Just beautiful! That desk makes homework almost fun!!!

[Natasha G.P.]

WOW, what a cool idea (the desk). The paper was MADE for it!

[sharon gullikson]

Your projects are just the best. I'm always excited to see them....NICE

[b. poteraj]

How cute. I'd love to have a desk like that for kiddos.

[Anne McIntosh]

These are just too cute for words!

[Rea Custer]

Great projects, cute rocking horse, but, I'm lovin' that desk. So cute, and reminds me of my elementary days.

[jocelyn]

INCREDIBLE PROJECTS! The horse is amazing.

[JoyceAnn]

Your altered items are gorgeous, wonderful inspiration!

[JOYCE]

The chair and desk are great. Love the saddle.

[Jerri]

I love to see upcycled projects. These are both amazing.

[{vicki}]

OMG!
The rocking horse is my favorite EVER!!!

[Eniko DeLisle]

These are over the top!

[ReNae Allen]

I got rid of two desks like this last summer and now I could kick myself. I just didn't think outside the box. ugh!
These projects really got me thinking. Thanks for the inspiration!

[kathyc/northcarolina]

I love it! How perfect is it to take something old and ugly and turn it into something fabulous and fancy! Both projects utilise the perfect paper. So inspiring!

[Donna]

That is just fantastic~!!

[CatMyers]

The rocking horse is awesome! Love the school desk too. Great ideas.

[Michelle Reaves]

WOW!! I've got two of those school desks from the school my Husband attended back in the 50's and 60's. I was going to paint a design on them but now I'm going to use my ABC Primer Papers on them instead. Love it!