Do I have a fun thrift store transformation for you all today!
You never know what you're going to find at thrift stores, garage sales and such, which of course is part of the "thrill of the hunt."
I've gotten into the habit of making quick walks up and down the aisles every couple of weeks just to see what I can find. I'm usually in and out in about 15-20 minutes and I typically find one or two items on these quick trips, though I have been known to come out empty handed.
I try to be very careful not to be on a "junk hunt" but to look for items I really can use (for me or for gifts) or that I think are really beautiful.
Of course when I have extra time or if Brian and I are on a "date" (I think I've mentioned we enjoy visiting these stores together?), I love to take my time looking at things and figuring out ways I could use them differently. Ahh, now that's my definition of fun.
Thrifted Apothecary Jar
Here's what I discovered on one of these quick walk-throughs: a ceramic apothecary jar, marked down to $1.99.
Even though it was blue and white (have I mentioned I'm not a blue person? For some reason this really bothers my daughter, but I've never worn or decorated with blue - it's just not me) ceramic made to look like enamelware, it kinda reminded me of this from Pottery Barn:
I thought - very briefly - about putting a French image on it to knock it off properly, but I read that I'd need special water slide paper, and there were all these steps, yada, yada.
Since I wasn't sold on the French part anyway, I decided to go a simple route and use something I already had: stickers.
Quick & Easy Apothecary Jar Transformation
Step 1: Paint the blue edges with black craft paint (I used Martha Stewart's all-surface paint, which I LOVE). And notice I didn't even attempt to paint the lines perfectly - the blue lines weren't straight either, so I just continued the hand-painted look and didn't sweat it. (Of course if you're into blue, you can leave it!)
Step 2: Apply stickers to create a numbered image. These are a calligraphy font, but obviously use any font you like.
Done and done. I think this is one of the easiest transformations to date - don't you?
And guess what?
I discovered the new jar coordinated with another ceramic faux-enamel jar we already had in our main bath!
So I slapped some stickers on that baby and, ta-da! A set of bathroom apothecary jars a la Pottery Barn.
Oh, and just a tad less than the $39 and $24 price tags, too.
I really like the clean and simple look of the numbers versus the French labels on the PB jars, especially since there are two. I think that might've been a bit much for our little bathroom.
This was so easy I almost feel like it barely counts as a transformation. But the jar does look different (and better for my no-blue world), so I'm going with it.
Plus, makeovers like this always get me excited to troll the stores again and see what other treasures I can unearth!
What do you think - a transformation or no?
Update: After putting these in the bathroom, a guest laughingly pointed out the No.1 and No.2 with regards to what you do there - sheesh! It never even occurred to me, lol. So I changed the numbers to 3 and 4!
