Flashback Friday: Transformagic

Minnesota is the birthplace of the mall.  Did you know that?  (My husband and I have been making a sarcastic list of the awesome things about living here, and I CAN NOT BELIEVE I forgot to put this on it.)  Anyway, we have cold winters, and lots of malls.  The absolute most random mall I have encountered is the Knollwood Mall in St. Louis Park, with its hurricane-simulator "ride," its indoor pool for swim lessons, and a furniture store with a "classic car" corner, a "log furniture" corner, and an alcove full of actual, and gorgeous, asian antiques.  But perhaps the strangest thing in this mall is a full-fledged antique store, mostly featuring Victorian pieces.  It's not open every day, and I often find myself peering through the windows on my journey from Home Goods to Kohls to see if there are any amazing finds among the carved wood and fading mohair.

Well.  Last week, I finally got in.  And while the prices are high and the era wrong, I did stumble upon these funny little manuals called Transformagic.

They appear to be marketing tools to sell paint, with a section of designs and instructions in the back.  What struck me was the simple fact that transforming furniture through paint is back in vogue in a major way--and it never occurred to me that the 1940s might have been a hot time for DIY.  I mean: who would've thunk?

Anyway, since apparently flasback fridays are being reinvented to include all things old and crusty, I thought I'd share some of mt favorite designs.  Favorite being a loose term which includes "cute" "fun" and "ha ha ha made me laugh."

I especially love this little gem, where they took one room and did it up two ways!

What do you think:  feeling inspired?

I'll be back tomorrow--thinking about a new, one image, 25 words or less weekend series, small measures.  (Only 25 words: can I POSSIBLY do it?  Stay tuned to find out.)