This into that: Imagination Has No Limits

Webster defines the word imagine as: to form a mental image of (something not present).  As I look around my house, I have several items that once were used for their original purpose but I imagined them as something else and then with a stroke of a paint brush or the steam of the iron they became what was once a figment of my imagination.

I like the challenge of needing an object but using something that’s not standard to create the solution.  When I first decorated my bedroom, I had a difficult task of finding art to go with the yellow, green and blue color scheme.  It was a challenge to find artwork with these colors and not too feminine since I share the space with my husband.  I searched far and near but I just couldn’t find what I was looking for.  One day while shopping at one of my favorite home décor stores, I saw two placemats that were the right color and had the look that I was going for.  I decided that they would look nice framed and would be perfect as art for above the bed and I ended up only spending about thirty dollars for two pieces of instant art.

If you’re like me, you hate paying bills but even more hate keeping track of them.  I needed a place to store the mail until it was time to pay the bills or toss out the junk.  The only mail containers that I could find weren’t the right size or color so I decided to make my own.  I found an old sewing machine cabinet drawer at a consignment store.  It was the perfect width and length with an ornate detail on the end that would look fantastic in my kitchen.  All it needed was a coat of paint and instantly I had the perfect mail basket and I only spent about two dollars on the entire project including the paint.

I have a lot of items that are sentimental to me including two fork and spoon sets that were my grandfather’s and my dad’s when they were babies.  I found them one day while cleaning out an old drawer and decided they needed to be displayed instead of tucked away never to be seen.  I didn’t have any idea of how to showcase them until my husband decided he didn’t like the knife display case he had bought and was going to toss it.  It was nice and thick with batting in the middle to display knives but I instead imagined it to be more.  I had some fabric that was the right color and size and with a little needle and thread, I sewed the fabric onto the batting to give the old display case a facelift.  I needed a way for the forks and spoons to stay in place so I once again used the needle and thread to lightly sew the utensils onto the fabric covered batting.  Once that was complete, I inserted it into the frame and now had a nice display for my treasured items that can now be enjoyed by everyone.

A lot of the items I made can be bought but where’s the fun in that?  It’s a lot more rewarding to make it yourself than to buy it and you end up getting a more customized look that will work with your taste and décor.  The next time you start to throw something out, you may want to take a second look at it.  You never know what other purpose it has in store.

Carleigh Carmichael is a local writer whose philosophy is why buy it for more when you can make it for less.