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Goodwill Hunting: DIY Recyclable Roundup

by on Aug 7, 2008

There have been gobs of juicy good finds at Goodwill in the past couple of weeks.  Maybe it’s hot August doldrums and people feel like purging, but I’ve been hitting the jackpot on every visit.  Since my garage is overflowing with all kinds of  recyclable furniture, I decided to focus on accessory items for crafting and design for my weekly DIY newspaper column.   A few photos and some ideas are included for sparking your own creativity. 

1.  The oval mirror above was originally designed to attach horizontally to a dresser.  I love oval shaped EVERYTHING.  Ovals are harder to draw, bend, mold and cut than circles, squares or rectangles so if you find oval tables, mirrors or picture frames, buy them.

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2.  Metallic gold quilted bedspread.  You can see from the tag on the lower left, the previous owners were kind enough to have it cleaned before discarding it.  I can use this to upholster something.  Quilted fabrics are hot and I found this before I even knew it.  Metallic gold, no less!  Keep your eyes open for plain or bright colored quilted fabric or coverlets.  You could recover an entire set of dining room chairs for a mere $19.99.

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3.  The Japanese Screen straight from Wal-Mart.  This may look o.k. from this side but the other side was covered badly in some french quote fabric.  I’ll tear off the fabric and the flimsy white material, paint the wood and leave it open.  I love the lines.  As I remember, I talked the manager down to $4.99 after pointing out it’s loose screws. 

created on: 08/07/08

created on: 08/07/08

4.  Vintage drapes.  I don’t know what to do with these two panels, but I think with some edgy updating, this fabric could be useful for something fabulous.  If not, they were only $6.99 each.  Maybe it should be paired with the metallic gold quilted fabric.

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5. I included unusual ottomans in my last Goodwill Hunting post, but this vinyl hassock on wheels makes  a versatile ottoman base for slipcovering or reupholstering.  I have a plan for this but I can’t reveal it yet.  It’s good.

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6.  Wooden tray. I’ve seen some tricky fabric inlays done on trays, or I might paint the entire thing, buy clear resin and suspend something across the bottom. It’s a nice size for carrying lots of drinks or a couple of meals. It needs a little piece of wood to close the gap at the top.  It cost $1.99.

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7.  Yellow double dip plate. It has a few chips but this will be perfect for Thanksgiving at my house. I used to skip all the plates and dishes but lately I’ve been finding some unsual serving dishes that others may think garish, I think unique.

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8.  I journeyed up the road one evening specifically looking for clear, flat plates to decoupage like these.  I really was looking for an enitire set of coasters but at least I can practice on these two sets.

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9.  Heavy, stitched leather suitcase.  Other than attaching legs to make a table (ick!), there’s always the dog bed in a suitcase like the ones you’ve seen on other popular blogs.  I might make a dog bed from this for a column, but other than that, it just looks so cool.

And now for the grand purchase of the fortnight——–Over 100 books to donate to a family member  returning to a second year in the Teach For America, Miami program.  She called desperately asking for a few books for her students, she has next to nothing for the classroom.   After ransacking the children’s book sections in two Goodwill stores, I loaded up 106 books, costing from .69 to 1.99. Shipping cost me a fortune but I felt like it was money well spent.

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10.  A small sampling of wonderful books for children sent off to Miami.

There you have it for two weeks worth of DIY recyclable accessories and more.  Remember, look for good basic materials you can use as springboards for a variety of projects.  The best form of green furniture is vintage furniture.  You never know what you’ll think of until you walk in and see what unexpected junk (jewels) they have.

 

 

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1 Comments

  1. It’s not a tray, it’s a Lang calendar holder. I have one hanging in my kitchen, fill it yearly with one of their beautiful calendars.