Guest post by Dee Fleury – @ReNewedByDeezign on Instagram.
After meeting the very sweet daughter of one of my co-workers, I automatically thought to myself, “She’s such a sweet girl, I must make her something.” That’s how it works for me, I like you…I make you something!
So off to Goodwill I went for inspiration. I had no idea what I wanted to make, but a good 15-20 minutes in the store is usually all it takes to run into a project waiting to happen.
I almost always go straight to the frames section because there’s never a shortage of good, quality frames with art people no longer care for. What they don’t realize is although the artwork itself may no longer be desirable, the oftentimes custom-made frame they’ve discarded is money going down the drain. Have you seen the price of custom framing?
I challenge you to take that next family portrait to a framing center and get a framing quote, then go to your local Goodwill and find a gorgeous frame in the size you need, ignore that 1970’s velvet picture inside, and locate the price. I guarantee you’ll run straight to the counter like I do and never pay for custom framing again!
But I digress…back to my shopping trip.
A quick glance led me to a discarded 24 in. x 36 in. framed canvas priced at just $4.99, which normally retails at $24.99 at other stores – a whopping $20.00 savings right there.
Immediately I knew I wanted to make a memo board for her, but the artwork painted on the canvas would not work. I’d now need some fabric, so off to the household linens section I went in Goodwill. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found exactly one yard of pink velour fabric hanging up with the table linens priced at just $4.99.
I’m on a roll now, so I check out the miscellaneous shelves that hold all kinds of treasures and sure enough, I came across some spools of ribbon and found a soft lavender color for $.99. So now I have my board, fabric and a ribbon for the memo board project and I’m sure I have plenty of options for embellishments in my craft stuff at home, so I check out and go home excited to get started.
Here’s How I Made It:
Lay your fabric out on a flat surface and place your canvas on top, making sure the fabric is distributed evenly around the frame on all sides. 
Fold the fabric evenly over the top side of the frame. 
Staple the fabric to top side of the frame using a staple gun. 
Pull the fabric nice and tight, and staple the remaining sides, folding the fabric as you would gift wrapping at the corners. 
Trim away any excess fabric with fabric shears or scissors you have that are sharp enough for cutting fabric, making sure the blades are clean first so as not to soil the fabric. Then smooth the fabric out. Now your board is ready for embellishments. 
Next I added the ribbon. I cut four even strips of the lavender ribbon that I will lay in a crisscross pattern on my board. Before attaching them, I lay them out to make sure I have it placed exactly where I want it. 
After you have the ribbon where you want it, wrap the ribbon around to the back of the frame and secure with a dot sized amount of hot glue. You can now add your embellishments. I happen to have these gorgeous Christmas ornaments in my craft box that I got on sale at Target during their end-of-season clearance for $.70 each. Perfect for adding a little bling to my board, however you can use whatever you want to jazz up your board, just remember to think outside the box. 
I still wanted a little more bling, so I added some rhinestones that were in a package I found on a separate trip to Goodwill (but you can also find them for $.99 at Walmart). Goodwill has tons of options for this. You can check out their jewelry counter for cheap bling to use such as a vintage broach. The options are endless if you use your imagination. 
Here’s the finished product and the new board along with some other “ReNewed” and repurposed items she can use to accessorize her teen bedroom makeover. 
Tip: Jewelry boxes are almost always on the shelves at Goodwill, so make sure you look for them on your next trip and give it a makeover if you prefer a different finish. 
So get out there and spend some time in your local Goodwill store for some inspiration for your next inexpensive DIY project that even teens will love.
Dee Fleury is a Philadelphia native now living in the South and enjoying the inner “country girl” that was always there. She loves to hunt for treasures old and new, and incorporate her thrifted finds into her home décor. She blends a little bit of French country, farmhouse, vintage, glam and contemporary, all mingled nicely together. Dee is an aspiring small business owner with dreams of owning her own shop offering painted furniture and home décor featuring some of her found treasures.
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