Makely

Let's Make Life Awesome

  • Home
  • Decorating/DIY
    • Create Your Decor
    • Decorate Your Home
    • Paint Your Walls
    • Transform Your Furniture
  • Healthy Living
    • Essential Oils
    • Family Wellness
    • Household Care
  • Project Gallery
  • Contact
You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » When Good Thrifting Goes Bad

When Good Thrifting Goes Bad

by Lindsay Ballard on January 4, 2012 20 Comments

An Open Letter to a Goodwill Donor –

I cannot thank you enough for donating your unwanted home goods to my local Goodwill.  With your donation, you are helping to provide jobs and training for people in Central Texas, and that is an extremely important and worthwhile endeavor.

However, I must ask if you recently found this black velvet painting in an attic or if it has been hanging on your wall since 1973.  Either way, putting it back into circulation for the general public to find was inappropriate.  You are lucky that I am the one who came across it.

My mantra for 2012 is to only bring things into my home that are useful or beautiful.  Luckily, I found this before the calendar had rolled over to the new year, so I don’t have to lose karmic points for this one.  Both the wolf and I are all smiles about it.

Because I brought this masterpiece in my home, I feel that I must incorporate it into my decor somehow.  So, I have extended and accepted a challenge to myself to work this beauty in somewhere by the end of the year.  Who knows?  I could end up with a 70’s kitsch styled room before 2013.  I do have a dead tree in my living room and a drum hanging from my ceiling, so I guess anything is possible.  I hope my readers have some good ideas about what I could do with this painting.

P.S. You don’t happen to be the genius behind the Britney Spears/Kid Rock coffee table, do you?  I’m still searching for the person behind that collaboration.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

« Allowing a Pillow to be My Guide
Mastering the Master Bedroom {Layered Frame Gallery Wall} »

Comments

  1. Monica says

    January 4, 2012 at 8:48 am

    LOL! I look forward to seeing what you are gonna do with this!

    Reply
  2. Sara D says

    January 4, 2012 at 8:52 am

    I think the frames is great!

    Reply
  3. Jen @ a place 2 call home says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:01 am

    Wow. Good luck. I would paint over the whole thing. Do a yellow frame with maybe a blue background over the wolf and some white chevron. If you are attempting to keep the wolf picture… I have NO idea!

    Reply
  4. Lindsay says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:17 am

    Wow hahaha that IS a good find!

    Reply
  5. murf says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:18 am

    Have to agree, the frame is a keeper. Smiling wolves are…oddly disturbing, however.

    On a completely separate note, have you seen these? http://pinterest.com/pin/287948969894716546/

    Reply
  6. Sara says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:45 am

    I would paint the frame a solid white, and maybe try to re-paint the dark brown in the picture to a light beige? And maybe try to lighten up the eagle and the wolf but adding light brown or grey tones?

    Whatever you do, I cannot wait to see what you come up with!

    Reply
  7. murf says

    January 4, 2012 at 10:03 am

    Make a throw pillow?

    Reply
    • vicki says

      January 4, 2012 at 2:07 pm

      Yes,
      A throw pillow. or a bag.

      Reply
  8. Sara {House Bella} says

    January 4, 2012 at 10:33 am

    Ha! Um…good luck? I know people who have similar in their house, but they are perfectly serious about it. I try not to look at them so my brain doesn’t fill will all sorts of questions.

    Reply
  9. t says

    January 4, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    hey, i painted that. i’ve been wondering where it went? oh! i’m just kidding 🙂 i honestly think TLC should run a show where designers have to center a room around an interesting find like this… i think it would be a hit. you can start the trend!

    Reply
  10. Heather says

    January 4, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    That painting is by one of my husband’s favorite artists! He has a wolf in his study by this artist. Signatures look the same. We love the wolves he paints! He set up a spot in town once with all his artwork and met the guy. Very nice artist!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 4, 2012 at 3:07 pm

      Ok, I totally didn’t believe you, because I thought this was part of the black velvet paintings that were mass produced in a huge factory in Mexico in the 70s. It even says ‘Hecho in Mexico’ on the back.

      But, I just googled it, and you are right! The artist is Ortiz – is that right? All of the frames I’ve seen with his work look exactly the same. Tell me more information if you have it!

      Reply
  11. amanda @ mommyiscoocoo says

    January 4, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    huuuuhhhhh! DON’T do this to yourself. I am sure the original owners only enjoyed this because they were getting high ALL THE TIME and they loved to stare at it.

    If you must… rip out that velvet WASH IT THOROUGHLY and give it to your son. My boys would love a wolf/eagle somethin’ somethin’. Then paint the heck out of that frame and make a magney board or cork board from wine corks.

    Reply
  12. Keri says

    January 4, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    How’s the weather in Texas right now? Cold enough for a good bonfire? =)

    Good luck with that…..

    Reply
  13. Kari says

    January 4, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    I assume you live in the Austin area, am I right? I have been in Georgetown for almost five months, and we’re looking to buy a house in Round Rock. Are you close?

    Reply
  14. Heather @ Eclectic Six says

    January 4, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    you could upolster the back of a chair with it – or cover a stool maybe? This totally cracks me up…

    Reply
  15. Jenny @ DIY Newlyweds says

    January 4, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    Haha! I say leave it as-is. It would be perfect for an office. The eagle says “soar to reach your dreams” and the wolf says “with determination you can achieve anything”. You may also want to get yourself a wolves howling at the moon t-shirt: http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Three-Wolf-Short-Sleeve/dp/B002HJ377A

    Reply
  16. Cindy says

    January 5, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    The only way to use that is to paint over it!!! or use multiple mediums and decoupage them over it. My daughters have been doing the neatest things on canvases lately. They do some painting…slap on some magazine pictures, newsprint, photos or something crazy…and paint some more. Everyone loves them.

    Reply
  17. kelly says

    January 6, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    I guess I would have taken a pass on it. But if your aspirations for it hold true, I may never shop GW the same way again!!

    Reply
  18. Kammy Wielenga says

    January 6, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    BAHAHAHA! Especially the crack about the coffee table at the end – that was a doozy I remember seeing on BetterAfter! Wow. And I need to adopt your 2012 mantra FO SHO!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


Archives

Categories

PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2009-2019 Makely School for Girls | All Rights Reserved | Posts may contain advertising content or affiliate links