Trash to Treasure...

When I found this guy on the side of the road, my niece asked my son why I was picking it up. He simply said, "My mom likes garbage. She's an artist." I'd like to defend it by saying that I KNEW it wasn't garbage...at least not to me. :)

So here's what he looked like when I got him off the side of the road. Bird poop, dirt, basically gross. I could see the potential though, especially loving the eaten away parts of the mirror. I've been wanting to make something similar to these, and this was the perfect opportunity.

I started off with a good wash.  This is not super fun for me, because of the location of our hose knob. See how creepy Indiana Jones-ish it is? Every time I turn it on, I think of that part where she has to stick her hand in that big hole full of bugs. Gross. :) ANYWAY, back to the redo...

 I picked this fabric because of the muted-but-still-bold floral print, and I loved the gray background, even though I wouldn't be using much of the gray. I cut out each "bunch" of flowers, piecing them together on the back of the mirror.

Enter the Mod Podge...

 I did one thick layer on the back of the mirror, laying the fabric on top and smoothing it flat.

And then one good thick layer on top of the fabric.

When I flipped it over, I got a little nervous...it looked gross.

Dispite the disappointing first glance, I kept on with the repairs. I used some wood filler for a few holes and cracks, and then used some great chair glue on the side pieces that were pulling apart a bit.

If you do much furniture repair, I'd highly recommend this glue for chairs. You can use the syringe to get it down into cracks and it really holds well. I used it for all of my dining room chairs that were really lose and wobbly, and they are nice and sturdy now.

Now comes in the paint. I got a little impatient on this part- trying to paint around the clamps. I wouldn't recommend it.

Here I took a little break on the mirror to refinish this hope chest my mom gave me. It was hers before my dad and she got married- close to 50 years old. :)

Now it matches my kitchen cabinets, and will sit by the entryway as a bench.

All nice and red (Cherry Cobbler by BEHR) I did a bit of sanding/distressing here, not too much, but enough to notice.

In comes the glaze. This isn't my usual glaze, but I ran out and this is what I had on hand. I mixed it so it was a light gray color.

Once everything was all finished. I still have a varnish coat to add, but overall it's finished. I love it. Not so trashy anymore, wouldn't you agree? :) Total cost for this project: $3.23 for the fabric. Everything else I had already. Always fun to do cheap projects!

*Notice this little bat flying in the tree in the last picture? Yeah, that's from Halloween- he's all tangled up there, so I think it'll be up there for a while. :)