The Janky to Swanky Challenge

Today I’m sharing a super fun challenge that my friend Julie and I have been doing. We find something janky and challenge each other to make it swanky! We’ve had so much fun with this and I just had to show you the fabulous results!

One of the best things in my life is to have a best friend who loves the same things that I do. My friend Julie introduced me to the world of antiques and vintage treasures and I am hooked! We are both pretty creative and we loved an idea that was inspired by some friends on Instagram: Farm Shenanigans and Design Central Project. It’s called janky to swanky. The way the challenge originated was our two friends would buy some thing that was janky but had possibility. Then they would exchange items and reveal what they did with them. We adapted our challenge a bit and here’s what we came up with…

The Janky to Swanky Challenge

Julie and I have loved the original idea but we thought it would be more challenging if we bought the same item and each came up with our own idea. And so our challenge began. We have done three now and I thought you guys might enjoy seeing them! I am also giving you the details of my projects so you can see how to do them.

First Challenge…

For our first challenge we were in Springfield Ohio at the antiques extravaganza and we found these metal contraptions. We still have no idea what they were. If you do you’ll have to let me know!

So we both got to work on creating our first Swanky Designs. They could not be more different! Julie made a Christmas tree stand and I made a little hanging light. I love how they both turned out! And they’re so different!

Second Challenge…

After this reveal of course we were excited to do another one so we did some shopping together and finally one day we were in Xenia Ohio shopping and found two table legs hooked to a board.

Julie’s husband cut the wooden brace in half and Julie took one and I took the other. And off to work we went!  of course remember this was a secret so I did not get pictures of her process but I did get some pictures of mine that I can share with you.

I couldn’t bring myself to cut the original piece apart. I envisioned a very unique shelf! So my husband attached some trim that I bought at Lowe’s. It fit perfectly around the edge and made it prettier.

It took the trim that I chose and I wiped some gel stain on it to make it look original to the piece. Then after the stain was dry I began painting the entire piece. For this I used a milk paint that you mix with water because it supposed to chip off and take on a messy look. I had never used milk paint before but I thought for a small project like this I couldn’t hurt it.

It was crackling and chipping as I went but I loved the look that I was getting. After it was dry I added a little hemp oil just to give it a slight shine and seal the paint. I happen to have a little caster wheel that fit in the hole perfectly. Then I hung it on my wall and decorated it and I still love it!

I had found this swirly piece of wood in Columbus at the Country Living Fair and so I put the two pieces together just to add more interest. I decorated it myself with old clock faces and I love how it turned out. Now to go to Julie‘s house to see what she did…

Check out Julie’s creativity! She made a layup with the table leg and with the base she cut the part that I used as a shelf and stacked it. She painted it up with chalk paint and scuffed it then added the egg basket that she found online and an old door knob for the top finial. Then the very bottom of the leg and the very top of the leg became stands for her vintage lace Christmas trees. She made two projects out of one!!!  I could not love them more! Now I wish I had another table leg so she could make me a lamp too!!!

Third Challenge…

Now for newest Janky To Swanky Challenge we found four spindles while shopping in Amish country. The spindles were medium sized and they had beautiful twists here and there in the wood. 

Here they are dry and a little cracked and not all matching but we thought we could come up with something to save them. So I went to work and did a little shopping and I found a cool old wooden crock lid. When I saw that I knew exactly what I was going to do with my spindles. On that same shopping trip in Amish country I found some really pretty greenery that I knew would finish off my project. And here’s what I came up with, a cute little table scape for winter.

I made a three legged pedestal with my crock lid. In order to use up the rest of the spindles I made a couple candlesticks and then just a cute spindle with a lamp finial on top to put with the grouping. I added the greenery that I had found. Then I cut down a couple of candles so they would not be too tall and added my decorated bottles that I love to do. To finish this collection I added old typewriter keys that I made into a ball.

Now let’s go see what Julie made…

Dang!!! Check this out!!   She took the spindles and made a chandelier. Remember I told you they were not all matching spindles? Well, she was able to use part of the spindle for the very top and found this electrical cording online. She added some decorative pieces that we had found in Springfield. (You know when you’re digging through things and you find something that’s a possibility so you keep it and throw it in your stash to use someday? Well her someday came, and that’s what she used for the bottom of her chandelier.)

You can watch the video of our final reveal below! And you can find the other reveal videos on our Instagram page Our Vintage Treasuries.

The Wrap up…

So now it’s time for us to start looking for our fourth project! If you are out and about and see a couple crazy girls laughing and digging through a bunch of junk, it just might be us trying to find our next janky to swanky item that we will treasure. Be sure you are following us on a little Instagram page we have together called Our Vintage Treasuries so you won’t miss the fun!

I hope this challenge gives you some ideas! Do you have a great crafting friend? This could be something that you enjoy doing together!

Looking for more decor inspiration? Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram!

If you love creating vintage treasures as much as I do you can also join my membership group, Tami Loves Creating Vintage Treasures. There you will get exclusive tutorials that will teach you how to create beautiful and unique pieces that will fit perfectly with your vintage decor!