I love projects. I tend to have a problem with starting TOO many projects at the same time and get overwhelmed!
So the invention of Pinterest definitely hasn't helped me in this department!
There are so many projects I want to do! I have become a pinning fool in the last year! Pinterest took over my life the way wedding planning did (Note: I really, REALLY wish I would have known about Pinterest when I was planning my wedding....it would have made things a lot easier!) When I got my iPhone in February and saw that there was a Pinterest app, I was doomed!
The past few months I made myself get away from Pinterest. I needed a breather. I was pinning too many things and not working on any of them. (Yes I am that person that has a ton of pins and slack off actually DOING them).
Well now that the kitchen remodel is complete (I'm saving that for another post on another day), I decided I needed to start working on some pins. Enter "Old Window Project".
Two years ago I discovered a hidden gem in my town. It is a store, called EcoStore, that sells used building materials. The first time I walked into this place I was a little shocked, a little awed, and a little grossed out. The place was over-loaded with stuff...mostly junk! You definitely are going to get your hands dirty digging into piles upon piles of materials, trying to find that hidden treasure.
Well I found my treasure, old windows!!
The best thing about these old windows? They. Were. FREE!! Yep, free! I was giddy with excitement, I was like a small child finding out they were going to Disney World (okay, probably not that excited - but you get the point).
Being the nice sister that I am, I shared my treasured find with my two sisters, Kara and Laura. So I only had the one to work with. And this little beauty sat in our garage. For two whole years!
Fast forward to this past weekend. Ted was in Kansas City and I had the house to myself. I decided I was bored after he was gone for only an hour and decided I was going to start decorating our kitchen. So off to Hobby Lobby I went. There I found a cute little piece that I loved, but wasn't loving the price of $49.99 (even if I did have that 40% coupon, I wasn't loving the near $30 price tag either). So I decided to make it myself. I bought a wrought-iron scroll and off to the EcoStore I went to see if I could find a piece of lumber that would fit (Call me a tease, but I'll post this project once I complete it :))
At the EcoStore, I found some lumber that I needed. Since I had time to kill, I started snooping at the windows they had, in hopes they might have some more of those treasures. No such luck. But I did find some old doors that would be great for a Pinterest project. Since I didn't think they would fit in my Altima, I decided I'd wait on those for another day when I could persuade my hubby to come with me!
I decided I wanted to paint the window I had, so I looked around at their used paint (weird I know), but then I found this Heirloom White paint for a whooping dollar. That's right $1...a whole George Washington.
I drove home and got to work. I went out to our garage (that is still a mess from our house remodel since we threw everything in there) and set up the saw horses and placed the window on it. I decided to work with the stained side of the window instead of stripping the white paint off since it's hard telling how old it is. Plus I knew I wanted to distress the window, so I wanted that stain to show through.
First: I sanded the wood down to get the varnish off.
Second: I taped the glass so I didn't get paint on it.
Third: I took off the hardware (probably should have done this first)
Fourth: I started painting. I did two coats of paint.
Fifth: I let the paint dry overnight. The next morning I took my sandpaper and put some elbow grease into it. (Note: It was 106 outside, probably hotter with the heat index, so I was a hot mess working in the garage. I'm sure my neighbors thought I was crazy).
Then I took off the tape and wiped it down and took it into the house. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with it and how I wanted it displayed. I found some decor that I was actually thinking about getting rid of that I decided I'd hang from the window.
Remember that hardware I took off? Well I decided to use it as a hanger instead of tossing it (it looks old like the window so I wanted to keep that theme going).
I went and bought brackets and nailed them to the back of the window for easy hanging.
Here is the finished project (all I have to do now is hang it up).
So how much did I spend on this project? Here is the breakdown (Note: I rounded to the nearest dollar):
Window - Free
Paint - $1 (EcoStore)
Hanging Brackets - $2 (Michael's)
Decor - Free (already had it)
Twine (to hang decor) - $2 (Michael's)
Painters Tape - free (already had it)
Sandpaper - free (already had it)
Grand total - $5!!!
So what do you think? I'm pretty happy with it. Just need to hang it up in our dining room!!
