2023 UpScale ReSale ReCap - Part 2

As I promised last week, here is a recap of how I repurposed, upcycled, and styled objects from the Habitat ReStore to be used in the UpScale Resale. If you missed last week’s post about the furniture I upcycled or what exactly the UpScale ReSale is, you can find it here. Let’s get started, shall we?

Let’s start with this jug lamp. It started out extremely dated but functional. I decided to do a faux pottery finish on it. I used various colors and textures of spray paint to achieve the effect. Now the piece looks aged rather than dated.

This faux skate deck started off a little cheesy. I painted a base coat of off white spray paint and then completed a linocut block print technique. I started with a palm leaf block I had carved. However, due to the paint and texture of the board, the board was turning out more splotchy than I had hoped. For the monstera and hibiscus layers, I started with the block print and then filled in the designs with more paint and accent paint. Now instead of a generic mass-produced piece of decor you have a piece of original artwork!

I had grand plans of doing all kinds of fun things with some records but as it turns out, I don’t have the patience to complete a lot of the projects (I have the blooper reel to prove it). It was probably a good thing because Pudiwitr Designs did some amazing work with records! I decided the thing that would be most achievable for my skill set was to do a small piece of art in the center of the record. Once I was almost completely done, I decided to add something with matte Mod Podge however when I did that, it essentially ruined everything I had done and I had to start over. Good times! Trust me when I say that for every successful DIY project I present, there are PLENTY of mistakes I made to get to that point!

This beautiful drum light was found at the Ogden location. It wasn’t until I got it home that I found a small water stain. After a quick and gentle scrub with warm water and dish soap, the stain was gone and the light was back to mint condition. I had considered adding fabric or caning to the outer ring. Luckily I practiced on an old lampshade I had and it did not go well. I decided the light was beautiful enough as it was and didn’t need any further changes. This particular piece got a lot of attention throughout the weekend and there were many people who were disappointed that it sold at the start of the first night. Multiple people also asked where I had bought it and assumed I had bought it new. Nope! Just another ReStore gem! (I found the same one on eBay for about $200 and sold this at the UpScale ReSale for $100.)

I found this hexagonal wall hanging/shelf and thought it would be great for a kids room. The color that was painted on the inside was perfect but it was definitely homemade and needed some finishing touches. Once I found this wallpaper I knew it would be a fun touch to help make the piece look more polished. Because the piece protrudes about 4 inches from the wall, the sides are just as much of a feature as what is in the inside. I applied the wallpaper with Mod Podge. You could use Contact paper, wallpaper, giftwrap, decorative nail heads, really anything you want to add some excitement!

This flamingo print was cute but the frame was broken. I found another frame with a mat that would work but needed to remove the poem that was framed in it. I heated the mat to remove the poem and replaced it with the flamingo print. I decided to make the flamingo print a bit more youthful by adding pearls, shoes, and sunglasses. The sunglasses didn’t really work out so I swiped across them with some paint in the style of the trend we are seeing where a stripe is painted across the eyes of a famous painting. I added some Rub N Buff to the frame to add a gold accent. Now the flamingo has an equally glamorous frame to match her sassy new look!

So there you have it! A brief overview of some of the DIYs and upcycles I completed for the 2023 UpScale ReSale. Would you try any of these? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

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