Day One of Spring Break :)

Hello,

I posted a few of my new projects yesterday. Today it has been rainy and gloomy- so I didn't get a chance to paint anything until this afternoon when the sun came out for a bit.

Here are my 2 before items. They were both lovely, just a bit dated for my taste:

I gave the smaller picture a coat of brown spray paint, covered the picture with some tan fabric I had laying around, and painted the fleur with some copper paint. Not too shabby considering I didn't pay anything to make it :) .

I am not finished with this one yet. I painted the frame brown (big surprise, huh) and then covered the picture with some brown/green fabric. Not sure what to put in the glass yet though.

They both compliment my wreath I made- using Tatertots and Jello as an inspiration:

it is a lot cuter in person- will try taking a pic of it when the sun is out tomorrow.

So, what should I put inside of that frame??? Would love some ideas. Thought about overlaying with a brown paper and perhaps putting the word Laundry (or maybe something else). I am going to hang it in my laundry area.

PS: The people who are able to neatly wrap twine/jute/etc around items must be more talented than I am. I have tried it 5-6 times today and decided to save it for tomorrow.

Linked to:

~This Week's Thrifty Finds~

Okay... the week before Spring Break is a period that strikes fear into the heart of any teacher (similar to school picture day, the day before Christmas Break, or any time during the last month of school). The clock almost seems to go backwards. The weather was warm, and the meetings were plentiful, but I did manage to find the following this week:

1. Check out the assortment of glassware I found. The big blue glass vase will be covered in jute or something- but it was FREE! (yes, free) A woman on our local Craigslist copycat had a yard sale yesterday and was giving away most of her leftovers.

The other glass items were .59 or .99 at our local Goodwill and Salvation Army. They are getting makeovers as well this week. We just got a new computer and desk and my husband's tacky desk items are going (haha).

2. Here are 2 other items that the woman mentioned above gave away. They are SO not my style- but I have plans for them :)

3. Check out this diamond in the rough. I was strolling the isles at the GW and spotted this huge bag. I wondered what it was and saw that it was a massive bag of jute-like material.

$1.99 people!!!

There is about 1500 ft of it!!!

So that is what I have found in the past week. I have a few more things in the upcoming week during my break (including my plan for Living With Lindsay's 5 dollar challenge).

Linked to:

What Have I Been Up To- Crafty Makeovers

My husband finally found my camera usb cord... so now I can post some recent re-do home makeover projects.

First, I had noticed a couple of months ago where some bloggers had the CUTEST organizers in their kitchens. I kept an eye out and found this "beauty" at the G-Will for 1.99.

Oh, yes... those scratched 1980's ducks were just calling my name- not!

So, I sanded it (not as well as I should have, but it is in a low light area)-Sprayed it with brown spray paint, mod-podged some cute scrapbook paper on it and called it a day.

LOVE it!!! Still want to put something in the very front... not 100% sure yet.

My next craft isn't finished yet- I am not sure what I want to put inside of the glass yet. I found the glass (candle holder) and the top and thought they would look cute together. Any advice?

Then, I found this cute hanging N yesterday for 3.99 (a bit more than I would normally spend, but I liked it. Also bought the jute for .50 (yes!!!! fifty cents!!!!! It is a huge ball of it). They do not look cute together- will have to come up with a plan B.

I went to the new Goodwill in Franklin, TN yesterday and found these 2 Baldwin bronze candle holders for .99 and .49. I think they are actually worth something... anyone know?

So, that is all for today :)

Linking to:

Favorite Makeovers So Far...

Hi,

I am going to post my 5 favorite makeovers in my home (so far)... Have about 100,000,000 more to go! Don't forget my upcoming makeover/blog redesign giveaway!!! My followers will have two chances to win :) I will give you a hint... it will make your new year special.

Makeover # 1:

Before:

here is a photo board that I had for about 5-10 years- it was past its time! Dusty and dingy and not my decor anymore.

Here is the after=love!!

Makeover # 2

Before:

The owl and frame were finds at our Goodwill Outlet

Combine them and what do you get???

After:

Makeover # 3

Before:

Boring table from my bedroom (matched the photo holder above)

After= brown and white stripes...

Makeover # 4

.50 Makeover of old picture frames...

Before:

After:

and last but definitely not least... my favorite makeover... # 5

Before: Scary pink kleenex holder

After: Super cute dryer sheet holder! All for .25!

So0000- I hope you check out the Great Ideas post at Infarrantly Creative

Before & After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick!

Also, take a look at all the fabulous makeovers at

Don't forget about my makeover/giveaway! Have a great day!

~Thrifty Finds~ Shopping in my own House

Today I decided to share two projects that came from my own house.  My hubby and I did manage to pick up a few things at the Goodwill 50% off sale, but no photos yet (guess that will come next week).  Also bought some CUTE things at the Goodwill clearance center in "the big city" including a tin owl and a shabby frame for some vintage keys from dh's grandfather.  Will post pics soon. 

I have been redoing my bedroom.  I used to have more of the "Shabby Chic" green & pink look.  In the past few months, I have moved towards browns/reds/cremes/some greens.  

I had these cubes that I had gotten from Target forever ago for super cheap.  They were holding some old photos and not very cute.  They were a shabby green

I sprayed them grey, then gave them a coat of brown.  Getting better!

Then, I went to Hobby Lobby & got the cutest white paper.  Cut it out to fit the back.  

Then sprayed it brown.  Love them now!!!  I need to flip the paper around on the smaller one- accidently sprayed the wrong side instead of the glossy one.  

I had bought the white paper to cover these frames:

I also got them at Target for cheap after an Easter clearance one year.  Liked them, but they didn't fit anymore.  I had also bought a brown/creme printed paper for the back of the boxes- but since I used the white on them, I decided to try and use the print paper on the frames.  After a few swipes of my glue stick, here is what I ended up with.  

Not bad for under $5.00!!!  

Join us over at Southern Hospitality and check out all of the thrifty finds this week! 

Ohhh Lamp, how do I love the?

Okay,

So, I have been a bit obsessed with decorating lately.  I blame spending the past 10 months working on my masters, and spending every spare minute working on schoolwork (one hour a week my tush... when they presented the program that is what they said)- more about that later).  Only 10 more months to go

Anyway, I was surfing a local craigslist-copy cat site and saw someone offering a set of lamps with the shades for $10.  I thought she meant each, and asked her if she would take less.  She emailed me back that she would take $7 for the pair.  Score!  When I got them, I was a bit taken aback, because the gold was a lot more shiny in person, and the shades had seen better days.  I put them beside the bed, and waited (figured I would strip the shade & recover).  A few days later, I saw a girl had the CUTEST shades that matched my bed set for $10.  That was a bit more than I usually spend, so I asked her if we could work out a deal.  By the time all was said and done, I got both of them, and a plant rack for $8!

Took the shades, swapped them out, and gave the lamps a shot of copper spray paint.  

What the lamps originally looked like:

Original gold lamp with new shade:

Lamps painted:

Lamp turned on at night beside bed:

  Here is what they look like beside my bed.  The basket holds all my school books & was .99 at Goodwill, as was the iron basket.  I found the smaller one (that I am using as a candle holder) at a Goodwill clearance center in "the big city" (where like I posted below, they charge by the pound. This added a bit of weight).  Everything is sitting on one of the end tables I scored for $20 off of the same site. I filled in the 80's wood carvings and painted it a chocolate brown.  The paint is still a bit tacky though.  Everything I paint turns out that way (with real paint- spray paint is fine).  Anyone know why?

So, I figure I spent about $15 for both lamps.  More than I wanted to spend originally, but I love them!