Monthly Archives: February 2012

Accessorizing is too fun!

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in decorating, Goodwill, paint, thrift store, Uncategorized

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I found a few more cute accessories for my shelf and wall display!! I was perusing the aisles of Hobby Lobby this morning and found some birds and I fell in love!  That gave me the idea to do a bird theme in the new bathroom/laundry room.  I spent $28 and got 2 metal birds for the wall, 2 vases for the shelf, a glass bird for a different shelf, a picture frame for the shelf and an adorable metal bird hook for a towel hook!  All of it of course, was on sale because I never pay full price for anything!

Hopefully you are not sick of seeing my shelf because here is another picture of it!  I really love all of it!  I needed to add some color to this space and I feel like it is just what I was wanting!

Since I have been posting like crazy about this shelf, I figured I would also include a couple of funny pics of Mr. Luke from this morning.  He was so freezing that he decided to wrap himself up like a burrito (as we call it).  It just cracked me up and I had to share!  I am sure he will love me for this!

Shelf Appeal

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in decorating, Goodwill, home decor, paint, repurposed furniture, thrift store, thrifty

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The shelf I posted pictures of yesterday is complete.  It is shockingly different from how it looked yesterday!  I was going to spray paint it, but then I realized that it is far too cold outside to do any spraying painting and I really didn’t want to die from inhaling too many fumes by doing it inside.  Not too mention the probable mess it would create!  I went with a plain old paint and brush and it worked just great.

Just for a refresher here are the pictures I posted yesterday…

Now the moment of truth! I will be planning to add some more accessories to the shelf soon, but I need to find just the right things.

As you can see on the close ups, I did an aged patina effect by wiping black glaze over the notched parts and then wiping the excess off with a damp cloth.  I like the effect it gives to an old piece of furniture.

Do you just love the saying in the frame.  It says, “At any given moment I have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end.”  I just love it and it is so fitting for the year we have had.  Now that this shelf is hanging the laundry room/bathroom, it feels like the room is coming along nicely.  More in the near future on the progress of the space.  Slowly, but surely!

I suppose I better give a break down of the cost of this project.

Shelf $2.99 at Goodwill, Paint $6.00 at Walmart, everything else I already had.  Total cost: $8.99  (Pretty crazy that the shelf was cheaper than the paint!!)

 

Image

What could it be?

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

I found a new treasure at the thrift store and I just had to share.  I am not entirely sure what I am going to do with it, but I am sure I will come up with some plan.  I was sort of thinking a shelf in the laundry room/bathroom, but first I need to do something with it.  As it is, it is pretty much ugly!  So anything thoughts on what this could become?  Or what it once was?

Don’t you just love the sage green and cream color of this piece?  It really screams 1990′s to me, but not for long.  The spray paint will be making a comeback and this little treasure will be pretty once more.  But, you will have to wait until tomorrow or the next day to see it!

Posted by | Filed under All Things Thrifty, deal of the day, decorating, Goodwill, home decor, spray paint, thrift store, thrifty

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Winter Is Fashionably Late

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Uncategorized

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Winter has finally arrived in good ol’ No Dak!!  Usually the sights you are about to see would be familiar from November to March, but this year, we have lucked out.  This morning, February 26, 2012, we have our first measurable amount of snow.  Just thought I would share with all you of you!  Sorry if this is the sight from your own window and this is not what you wanted to see!  Happy Snow Day!

Hail To The Chief(s)

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in America

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Today, I was able to witness 8 Presidents and 9 First Ladies all in the same room at the same time.  No, I didn’t have a time machine and no, I wasn’t at a museum in Washington, DC.  Actually, I was at Luke’s 4th grade Presidential Ice Cream Social.  It was so much fun to see the students dressed as Presidents and First Ladies of times gone by and to learn interesting facts about many of them and had some ice cream to boot.

Now, you may be wondering why on earth we celebrated this event with ice cream and after today, I can tell you the answer.  According to a student in Luke’s class, Dolley Madison was the first First Lady to serve ice cream in the White House.  She actually served ice cream at President Madison’s Inaugural Ball in 1813.  Very interesting little bit of information from the 4th grade President Social.

At one of the student’s display boards, there was bowl of jelly beans.  This student was dressed as Nancy Reagan (decked out in a white suit and black shirt with an 80′s style tie and a Just Say No pin) included on her board was a tidbit about the fact that President Reagan’s favorite treat was jelly beans.  Another little known fact about a great leader of our nation.

A girl dressed like President Taft’s wife, Helen, displayed a board all about President Taft and his accomplishments.  Of course, the information that stood out to me was the fact that while in office, Taft got stuck in a bathtub in the White House and had to be helped out by 6 men.  A new tub was installed for him that would accommodate 4 normal sized men.  What an embarrassing piece of information that has been passed down from generation to generation!

Luke’s board was all about President Herbert Hoover, who unfortunately was blamed for the Great Depression, but had many great contributions to the US including the Hoover Dam and signing into law The Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem.  He was an accomplished man, who was actually one of the richest Presidents in US History and a very successful engineer.  Now if only he didn’t have to be remembered for Hoovervilles and the Wall Street Crash, but alas, that is what most people remember of his time as President.

Here is a list of the Presidents and First Ladies who attended this fine event in no particular order!
Presidents:
George Washington, Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan, and Ulysses S. Grant
First Ladies:
Frances Cleveland, Dolley Madison, Abigail Adams, Nancy Reagan, Grace Coolidge, Pat Nixon, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, and Helen Taft

It was a great day filled with lots of fun for the students and a day of bragging over our oh so smart kids!  Thanks to Mrs. Anderson for putting on such a great event!  I salute you for a job well done, 4th graders!  Now go home and wash the gray hair spray out of your hair!!!

 

Ladder Update

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in decorating, spray paint

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Yesterday, I posted my ugly ladder failure, but tonight I am here to tell you that my vision has been accomplished and it looks awesome!  I can’t take the credit for it though.  Patrick @ Sweet & Flour Patisserie has some mad spray painting skills and has saved the day!  Check it out…

From this:
To this:

Thanks again, Patrick!  Your skills and my vision made for a great outcome! 

Ladder Gone Wrong

17 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in home decor, paint, spray paint, thrifty

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Most of the time when I have a major flub on a project that I am working on, I don’t post it.  This project, though, just has to be shown.  I had this great idea (stolen from Pinterest) to turn an old ladder into a shelving unit.  It is going to be used at Sweet & Flour Patisserie when it finally looks good enough to use!  I started by getting a free ladder that was in pretty poor condition and had wooden shelves built for it (not pictured yet).  My plan was to spray paint it a pretty lime green color and imagined just how great it was going to look.  Well, it didn’t start out so well!

I thought I would be able to just spray it green right away, but realized that the plan was not going to work.  The spray paint was really runny and it just looked horrible!

After this mess, I decided I should take my own advice and prime it. 

Well, I primed and sprayed it green again and it still looked horrible.  I think there was something wrong with the spray paint.  It was so incredibly watery and didn’t cover at all.  I have never had that issue with spray paint before.  Oh well.  Fortunately, I was saved by the owner of Sweet & Flour who has an amazing husband.  He sprayed the ladder and the shelves for me.  It looks great!  We decided to go with white to make the display cakes on it really pop.  I will take a picture today of the finished product.  See, mess ups do happen (often times frequently) and you just have to go with the flow and hope that in the end they turn out okay!   

Free (Almost) Cabinet Fix Up

17 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in bathroom, paint, remodel, thrifty

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This is the picture I took of the bathroom the day that we closed on the house.  

We are no where near finishing this project, but it is looking better.  One step at a time, right?  I decided today that since we are trying to be very budget conscious with the basement remodel that I should try to paint the bathroom vanity instead of replacing it.  The cabinet was in pretty decent condition, but the sink had seem much better days.  I got out the heavy duty cleaner, gloves, and a little elbow grease and set to work trying to revive it.

First of course, I had to take some pictures of the filthy sink!  Just so you know, this was not just dirty, but stained, paint covered, and so much more.  I used a heavy duty cleaner, a scraper, and a scouring pad to get it clean!!

And now for the cleaner….

I bought this off an infomercial many years ago and only use it for the tough job!  It is amazing!
ALL CLEAN (and stain free)!!!  

The next step was to paint the cabinet.  I decided to go with black as I thought it would look really nice with the paint color that I picked for the walls.  At some point, I am going to pair it with a nice vanity mirror in black as well!

But, before I show you the after, you better see the before!

And now for the finished product!

Don’t mind the gross floor and half painted wall!  Some day it will all be complete!
A close up of the shiny knob I bought at Hobby Lobby!

In the end, I used paint that I already had, cleaner that I already had, and polyurethane (that I already had).  What did I buy?  A knob from Hobby Lobby that was 50% off and cost me $3.00!!!

Movie Theater Birthday Party

03 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in thrifty

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Luke’s birthday is tomorrow and I am always racking my brain to come up with something different to do for his special day.  He wanted to go to the movie theater with all of his buddies from school, but that costs some serious $$$ when you figure 8-9 kids.  The popcorn and pop alone could easily set you back close to $80-90.  I just couldn’t stomach that cost so I have come up with another idea.

Some good friends of mine own a photography studio in town and they are willing to let us use their space on Saturday evening.  We are borrowing a projector and with the help of my laptop and some speakers, we should be good to go.  We will project the movie on a white “screen” and it will be just like being at the movies!

For food, I have to be creative as well as there are a lot of food allergies in the group.  Besides Luke’s gluten intolerance, there are dairy, egg, nut and flax allergies.  I have decided to serve hot dogs (goes with the movie theme and I can get gluten free buns), non buttered popcorn, and an assortment of candies and drinks.  I am also going to try my hand at some allergy free rice krispie type treats.

Should make for an interesting adventure.  Stay tuned for the pics of the big event!

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