Scavenger Chic

Thrift Store Transformations with Paint

• By Joan
• January 20, 2021
• 7 Comments

Thrift Store Transformations with Paint

I have 2 super easy  transformations today for you using  paint.  The green box is straight from the thrift store and the globe on the pedestal was a gift to my husband  from a coworker when he left his last job.

Chalkboard Globe

First up, I’m tackling the globe.  It’s rather tall for a bookshelf but it has a nice wooden base which I’ll keep.

You may be asking, why would you paint over a globe?  The globe is adorable, it’s a great size, but for its purpose as a globe it was kind of useless.  This is a closeup of North America. If I didn’t tell you it was North America you probably wouldn’t have been able to to tell judging by the shape.

Instead of the Atlantic Ocean, it’s labeled Northern Ocean. Louisiana is to the west of New York,  Miami is northwest of Virginia.  It’s really just a bunch of place names randomly stuck on a round ball.

I believe this is Africa and Europe. I can pick out Italy’s boot but not much else.  What the heck is Bar, Barie?

Lucky there was a notice on the bottom of the globe that it is not  to be used for education purposes.

The globe is getting made over to be a funky round chalkboard.  Use it for any little doodles or notes you want to make to yourself.

I did have to deconstruct the globe so that it would  look less like a trophy and so it would fit better on a shelf.

 I first gave the globe a coat of black chalk paint.  Chalk paint is really good at covering most surfaces, even one as shiny and smooth as this globe.

I followed the chalk paint with an additional coat of black chalkboard paint.

Once the chalkboard paint dries, season the paint with a coat of chalk.  Take a piece of chalk and holding it sideways. coat the entire surface.  The chalk will get into all the little pores and crevices.  If you don’t do this step there will always be a faint image of the first thing you wrote on the board.

Erase the chalkboard with an eraser or dry cloth.

Reattach the top to the now much shorter base.  The chalkboard globe is now complete.

Wooden Box Makeover

My second transformation is this cute little box from the thrift store.  It’s not old, it is just aged to look that way.  If I had any doubts about it’s age, the Hobby Lobby sticker still attached on the bottom ($24.99) removed any possible doubt.

I used to have a lot of sage colored things in my house but no longer.  A nice white will brighten this cutie up.  And it will also get rid of the grease stains.

The white chalk paint does a great job of hiding all the stains. 

Let dry.

If you like the scuffs, take sandpaper or a handheld sander to the edges of the box.  I don’t mind a little of the green peaking through.

Note: When I painted the straps I took care to not cover the stitching so the sewing would still be a feature.

Finish the chalk paint with a coat of clear wax.  When the wax is dry buff with fine steel wool.

These were such easy transformations, I had to bring you two.

Stay inspired.  Stay healthy.

Check out this little bunny’s after shot for one more thrift store transformation with paint.

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