Reuse and Recycle

Need an easy craft idea and something that will liven up that drab wall in your bedroom??? I have just the thing.

With recycling being the new "trendy thing to do" I thought I'd show this easy pick me up for your room.

First, I must give props to my friend Nikki who gave me this idea. With just a few steps you can create one person's garbage into your own art work!

The hardest part of this project will be finding the actual windows. These were found on Blake's property in Pittsburgh, where there are many more waiting for me to save them :) Just the other day I saw some sitting out on the street ready to get picked up by the garbage men!!!!! Some dumps will let you walk in and take what you want, others may make you pay 5-10 bucks for an item. You can also find these at flea markets, garage sales, and like I said before, the side of the road.

The most important thing to do is take the glass out of the window frame. Most of these windows are 50 years old, and the glass is no longer secure. Taking the glass out will also make it lighter and easier to hang on your wall. I simply screwed right through the window frame and into the wall, but you could also pick up brackets at your local hardware store.

After taking out all of the glass, put on a mask to prevent inhaling any of the paint chips. Scrape off as much excess paint as possible and finish by sanding. After scraping off the excess LEAD paint, wash it thoroughly (WATCH OUT FOR SPLINTERS - I would recommend wearing work gloves at all times). Let the window frames dry completely for at least 24 hours or more.



After the window frames have dried completely, spray a thin layer of clear varnish (I went with the spray paint style in Satin). You'll also notice that I left on some of the existing paint to keep the vintage flair. If you wanted a specific color window you could always scrape off all of the paint, re-paint it the color you want, and then sand off spots to give it the antique feel.

If any of you try this out, let me know how it goes!