Easily Upcycle Vintage Window into an Inspiring To-Do List

My vintage window sat around with nothing to do. My uninspiring and sloppy To-Do Lists had too much to do.

I intend to be neat, but the excitement of crossing off items is too great. When I think of another thing that’s begging to get done, I race over and scribble before I forget it. That gives me just under two seconds.

 

My vintage window and my To-Do List needed a Happily Ever After story.

Ugly To-Do Lists aren’t inspiring. It was time to change.

This window is from my dream home, an older two story beauty in Minnesota.  We lived there less than one year before Mr. P was transferred to Seattle. Soon after we moved in we replaced the old wood windows with double-paned argon sealed windows. There were stacks of beautiful wood windows on my lawn. I SO craved keeping them and making something out of them. But, this was back in the Olden Days before DIY bloggers and Pinterest.

Ya’ know, the Dark Ages.

I kept one. (Yes, I am still kicking myself!)

It was used for a picture frame, then sat in the attic for years. For such a time as this.

Young crafty people think they invented UPCYCLING, but they just renamed it. I come from a long line of women who used talent and ingenuity to “make do.” You use what you have. Why do you think my mom was raised wearing panties that said “SUGAR” on the bum?

 Removing the paint from the vintage window~

 

First, I removed the bright craft  paint. A paste of Comet and water works well. Smear it on, walk away. Come back later, rub and scrape.

Smear on a little more and walk away. Come back later, rub and scrape.

Repeat until paint is gone.

I didn’t want to do this outside because I didn’t want the paint and goo in the city sewer drain. I didn’t want it down my drain, so I plugged the drain and wiped up the debris and threw it away.

Working on it off and on throughout the day gave me the ability to do other exciting things, like, you know, dishes, laundry, and cleaning toilets. The #momlife is a good life, isn’t it?

Almost  done!

 

Adding fabric to the vintage window~

I had a light-bulb moment when I remembered this vintage curtain I’ve stored away for…. ummm…nearly two decades?

I think it is Dotted Swiss. Nancy Drew had Dotted Swiss curtains in her bedroom, and why I remember this random details from decades ago is beyond me. Anyhoo, this curtain has dots but I don’t know if it’s Swiss.

Cutting up a perfectly good curtain was hard and it kinda’ gave me the heebie-jeebies. Knowing it was the perfect compliment to the chippy white vintage window, I snipped on.

Four squares were carefully measured and cut. I kept the scraps in case I need them in 20 years.

I smeared the back of each pane with Mod Podge. The majority of my life I called it Modge Podge. That’s what Kim in my High School Home Economics called it. I believed her. After all, she told me she was one of the Popular Kids. I stand corrected.

The fabric was carefully smoothed over the back of panes. The fabric is sheer enough that you don’t want to stretch it or cause it to unravel. Don’t put it in backwards. The pattern faces the glass. I used a ruler to make the rows of dots straight.

If you spill Mod Podge on brand-new carpeting, but wipe it up immediately with a damp rag, nobody will notice.

In case you’re wondering.

Using the vintage window To-Do List~

 

It was going to be a bulletin board, but the post-it notes fell off right away.

Remember post-it notes were invented because of a failure? Oh, you didn’t read that post? You can read it now. You’re welcome.

The post-it note failure created a better solution.

Dry erase markers work great on glass.

Vintage tatted edging and clip-on earrings were the perfect embellishments.

The final resting place, on an enamel topped table in my office. Yes, I still scribble, but now I’m scribbling on a surface that inspires.

The four panes organize four parts of my life.

See how easy it was to turn a vintage window into an inspiring To-Do List?

And we all lived Happily Ever After.