This past weekend I went to one of Rochester’s most anticipated annual events among the dedicated deal seekers and crazy collectors: the Gold Rush flea market. I am talking acres upon acres worth of salvaged goodies… truly a thriftanista’s dream!! Although I sadly left empty-handed, I walked away with plenty of inspiration which later came in handy for my latest DIY project.
Scroll through a few of the flea market photos I took, or head straight to the bottom of this post to see my DIY!
Why, thank you!
I loved so many of these old lanterns but they were a bit on the spendy side so I had to pass.
This card catalog had me swooning! It would be perfect for a study or in a living room for a cool conversation piece. I just couldn’t swallow the price tag.
Cool rustic medicine cabinet, no?
Crates, crates and more… crates! I currently have a few at home that I stacked on top of one another to make a side table in our living room (see it in the second picture of this post).
“I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my biiike!”
Great for a project like this or this!
Table after table of stuff… a bit overwhelming to say the least!
I am a sucker for window panes but I passed this one up since I already have three. (Check out this one that I turned into a chalkboard + key holder!)
Piles of street signs.
All of the timeless trinkets and old-fashioned finds that I passed by had me wanting a cool antique piece to call my own, but without the expensive price tag to go along with it. When I returned home from the flea market that day, I came across a small rectangular piece of wood laying in our workroom from our kitchen construction project this past winter. Suddenly I had an idea: make a vintage-inspired sign!
I didn’t take pictures of the process of making it, but here’s a summary of what I did to get to the final product that you see here:
The piece of wood was already painted an off-white color so that saved me a step. To give it an “aged” appearance I roughed it up and chipped off some of the edges.
Next, I bought a packet of 4 inch stencils from the local craft store for $5.99. I traced “market” with a pencil and filled it in with some black chalkboard paint I had laying around. (The chalkboard paint also gave the letters a nice matte finish). I hand drew the arrow and painted it red to add a pop of color.
To finish, I attached some picture-hanging wire to the back of the wood and hung it above our back door. (The arrow is pointing toward the kitchen which I thought was fitting.)
To give it a bit more of a distressed look I might go over it with a belt sander, but that is what it looks like for now!
If you’re looking to embark on a relatively easy DIY project, I would say you should consider making wall art out of a scrap piece of wood like I did; it’s simple, unique and best of all — cheap!
simply chic. 