My favorite thrift store folks, Charlie and Pat, gave me two ceramic wall hangings when they were closing up their shop for the winter months. I mostly took them because my granny taught me it was polite to take what is offered to you. I have since found this to be a cultural/regional thing. Southerners generally think you rude if you don’t take what is offered and Northerners think you rude if you do. Just my take on it, feel free to share if you have a different opinion (I’ll let you decide if I mean that in a Southern or Northern way!).
Before:
Anyhoo, the hangings were ugly not to my liking so I painted them. My original plan was to paint them one color but I couldn’t decide between the green or the blue and my craft group said go for it with both colors. I hope to do one more coat of a high gloss finish but for now I hung them up. I might have to take them down later as my husband diplomatically said last night, “I like what you have done with those, I’m just not sure if I like them enough to hang them in the living room.”
After:
I think I might need to move my hippo and green man if they stay but more than likely they are headed to the craft room. No worries. It really was about the process for me on this one. It was fun to paint and see them transform from fugly to less fugly (says me).
I had to stop myself from painting more things blue.
Ooooh! Me likey! Is it a green color? On my monitor one looks like a mustard yellow. Either way, very nice improvement, and if they need to my house that would be cool with me. 😀
{Thanks for adding me to the blogroll! I just noticed, forgive me.}
I love what you did with them! I would have never thought to cover up their rustic-ness so prettily. I love that they are two different colors too – keepers, I’d say!
I’d also like to ring in on the politeness issue. It’s definitely considered rude in the South to refuse a gift of any kind. This is probably why any good Southerners has a “junk room” or “junk closet” or “junk corner” that eats away at their soul. My grandmother called hers “the blanket pile”. To the tricked eye it appeared to be a large stack of blankets about chest high, just waiting to be chosen from by any overnight guests (who were never going to get cold enough in the deep South to take a blanket and reveal the ruse for what it was). In truth, there were four or five blankets stacked neatly on top of a draped blanket that had boxes and boxes of items underneath that my grandmother simply could not “bear” to part with.
Also, never compliment anyone too much on a possession in the South or we might just give you the item that you are complimenting on!
Oh, and when you are leaving with your item and you say, “Y’all come and go with us” (because that’s what you have to say), be ready for us to actually come because we just might pile in the car with ya! : )
love it, t! well done!
xo
oh WOW!! how cool. I love them so much more in the After pick. awesome job mama!
i love them! good call on using both colors. they look great together!
Just a complaint about your blog, I swore I had enough blogs on my reader list – then I stumbled across yours, love it and have had to add it! I’m a Mum of 3 boys, addicted to thrifting… Love your style!
That whole blue green theme in the whole room is working!
Much better. I love the color choices. They play off one another nicely.
A stroke of genius! I love how the colors look paired together 😉
My grandma had similar 3D wall hangings like that. Same water wheel, larger scene.
Very nicely done, I say! Loving those colors together – way to thrift and alter!
Hello,
Sorry I haven’t been by lately…can’t seem to catch up. I love how you changed these – they look much better.
Amazing what a bold paint job will do. Your pictures can now stay in the living room.
I am from the South, and I was always polite and took what was offered UNTIL I moved to Thailand and I keep getting offered Durian! I finally learned to say NO THANK YOU to that most disgustingly smelly fruit ( although some people love it)!
OK, he’s wrong. Those are super cool. I wouldn’t have thought of that. So clever. I will have my eyes peeled for something like that next time I’m thrifting.
I really, really dig ’em. They are SOOOOO fab – I’d be hanging them in my living room and then some. Tell your husband THEY ROCK (now, not formerly)!
oooooh! Love it! The colors you chose are PERFECT! thanks for linking up in the Trash to Treasure post!
Feel free to share another project next friday!
[…] Paper Dolls for Boys […]
Well, I must admit that I didn’t dislike them before. They definitely wouldn’t fit in with just any decor, though! lol I would have never thought, though, that a solid-colored coat of paint would work on them. They look terrific!