Thriftstore Makeover

It's strange how your views in life sometimes change. Until recently I would never think of going to a Thrift Store as being "fun" - digging through piles of unorganized mess for one or two gems wasn't appealing to me... and the smell of those places kinda gets to me. But after seeing through blogland some of the fun things you can find to fix up and give new life to, I decided to give it a try. They always say that to be successful you really have to go frequently but is just too much of a headache to navigate with a double stroller. I went with my mom a while back and what do ya know? I found something. This not-so-cute little topiary was just calling my name, begging for a makeover.



So, I stripped it down, gave it some new moss, put it in a clearance container from Hobby Lobby (went there for the first time and it's HUGE!), and for a total of $12 here it is in all its glory. I'd say she likes her newly resurrected state :) I'm still trying to decide on whether I want to paint the container and put a little decorative flair on it... we'll have to see.

Creativity Strikes Again...

See this floral arrangment? You wanna know how much it cost? A whopping $30, maybe even a little less. I'd say it's a big improvement since my first attempt back in October of last year. All it took was a container that I bought for doing this project 5 years ago (it takes me a while to catch the rest of my vision), a bunch of fall bushes 85% off after Halloween, and some green foam. I LOVE creating things and adding a splash of color and beauty to my home all with such a small cost. This arrangement has already had a few resting places in our home, but for now it is happy in this little nook.

From Drab to Fab...

I'm into the "spray painting" age, are you? Once you see the transformations I've done you just might want to join in!

First there's this 4ft by 6 ft-ish mirror that I found on Craigslist (shocker, I know) for only $85. What was once gold and red became black and gold with a little spray paint and then gold "dry brushing." I can hardly wait to hang it on the wall in my front room!





Then there's this little dresser that my mother-in-law gave us (which was given to her by another friend). Anyway, it came to us in a county blue. My original plan was to spray paint it black and change the hardware, but then I saw a refinishing project on 320 Sycamore and I just had to try it out. So I used paint stripper to get off all the layers of paint on the top part of the dresser - it just bubbles right up and wipes off! The only problem was that the original finish was not just normal latex/oil paint so the stripper wouldn't take it off so I resorted to sanding which took more time, but still effective.





After getting off all the paint from the top, I taped off the sides and applied a few coats of Dark Walnut stain.



I had decided to spray paint the sides cream initially but after painting it cream, it wasn't achieving the look I wanted. It was too light. So back to Home Depot (that's the store we go to most often now; sometimes multiple times a day). This time I came back with an Oregano green. Much better!



I wanted to highlight (or darklight :) the details on the door. So I tried to q-tip some stain in the grooves of the doors, but of course it blurbed everywhere. When I tried to wipe it off I couldn't wipe it off clean. Lucky for me I unexpectedly liked the look of the stain distressed on there so I did it to all of the green surface. I LOVE IT! The final step is adding a polyurethane coat to the top to make it look more finished and more durable... I haven't got that far yet, but I hope to soon. The weather is so favorable to doing these re-vamping projects!



Go breathe new life into some furniture that you're not crazy over anymore. With a fresh coat of paint you can get the look of FAB with something that was quite DRAB!

A first attempt...

I've been wanting to have a nice floral arrangement to go in our bedroom on our dresser. I thought it would be fun to make one, but was afraid it would turn out hideously since I haven't the slightest clue as to how to do it. I kept my eyes open for ideas and any steals (since buying one would be considerably easier). But I was completely unaware as to how expensive arrangements could be. If I liked an arrangement it was usually at least $150. Yikes! So I bought some flowers at JoAnns and Michaels when they were 50% off. Then at my favorite home decor store I found the best tin flower planter box for only $5! So, I took a leap of faith and tried to make an arrangement all by myself. It was SO MUCH FUN! I'm pretty sure I've found my #1 hobby -- doing crafty things makes me happy! Here are the results. I'm pretty pleased considering it was my first attempt. I think this just might be too cute to keep in the bedroom... maybe it'll stay on the kitchen table. Total cost = $35. Not too shabby!