New to Me shelf

Every summer I go through this phase where I want to redo every room in the house. Of course, that's not practical for us - AT ALL! Some days, thrift stores are too expensive for us. Thank goodness for garage sales.

I'm been looking for things to help me organize my little precious keepsakes for a while and thought a shelf would be perfect. I have searched a few garage sales and while they have had plenty of shelves - some of which were sooo perfect- the asking price was more than I wanted to pay and since the person wasn't wheeling with anyone on deals (I overheard- yes, I eavesdrop but admit it- you do too!).

One warm Saturday morning, my son and I left my sleeping husband to go looking for treasure.We did too! I found a shelf that wasn't perfect, but could certainly work for allowing me to hold a few items on different levels. Is it the most beautiful shelf, no. Is it good enough to get me by for a little bit until I can afford something better? Absolutely! Here it is:

So not beautiful, but $0.50 for my little keepsakes? Sure.

When I brought this home, my husband laughed at me and said "It's the ugliest thing ever - no wonder why it was so cheap." My response "For 50 cents, I'll see what I can do with it. If I don't like it, I'm out 50 cents."

Here's what I did (I had everything except for the paint I used which I bought for this project and a few others).
1. Remove the ugly decoration at the top. Whatever that's called.

I was left with an ugly box with holes in the top of it. Yippee!!

2. Fill said holes with wood filler. (PLEASE DO IT FAST!)

I made sure to smooth out the filler so there were no bumps for the person at Goodwill who may get this item. It's not looking promising, but a little better.

3. Paint it. This took a few days. Remember that heat and high humidity we had... yep. I couldn't paint in that kind of weather. The shelf would never dry then. First, I tried painting it white. It didn't match the room- I didn't bother with a picture because it looked hideous in white in a room filled with wood trim and furniture and other paintings/pictures that were dark framed. Time for new paint. I got the Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and went to town. Here's the end result that is holding my precious keepsakes:



Is it the most spectacular thing ever seen? No. Is it better than in bought condition? I think so. Does it serve its purpose? Yes. Each of these keepsakes has special meanind to me:  a Holly Hobbie figurine I've had for years that my dear grandmother gave to me, a Rhino from Africa from an old friend - yes LO, I still have it, a turtle figurine from a dear colleague at school who introduced me to costuming and one of the best times ever, and lastly a wonderful plaque about motherhood from my stepfather's mother (stepgrandma- Is that a word? Should be in today's society). These items would otherwise still be homeless if it weren't for my $0.50 shelf. I think it's a keeper even though it's not fantastic. I have another idea up my sleeve for it, but I've got to finish the rest of the room first! Up next, painting the frame on the $5.00 mirror I found. :) 

Do you have trinkets displayed in your home? I didn't really, but didn't like that they hid in a box. What do you do with your trinkets and precious keepsakes?