Way too much fun for just a dollar!

Before:

After:

It's baaackkk...

my thrifting, goodwill, repurposing, crafting addiction, that's what. It had been on a little break since I moved from Plano and wasn't familiar with the good junky spots around the new home. But, once I went to goodwill and found a few good things, it becomes a little bit of an obsession. There's one right by my work, so I'll pop in there on lunch or right after school and quickly walk through to see what's new... also, my parents have my boys for a few days this week while I'm finishing up school, which is freeing up some time. Today on my mind was a baby shower coming up this weekend...so I got motivated to try my hand at a personalized gift, and then with no little boys to want to get in on the painting fun, I painted a little more, and a little more...

All of these plates were from thrift stores or mismatched ones from my own cabinets.. I spray painted them a cream color and experimented with the painting and lettering... it was really fun... the C is for the new baby, Caroline. P.S. the white chair was a goodwill find last week for less than 5.oo. Great bones! P.P.S. the hydrangeas are from my backyard. I love them!

GOODWILL Hunting

Sara at Thrifty Decor Chick is hosting a Good Will party. I'm all over this... on a two-teacher income I'm all about what I can find a second-hand stores and make pretty!  Plus, It's a lot of fun, and I also like to think I'm recycling and being "green" when doing this, too.  What to share?  Well, I was inspired by all the linky posts and did a 15 minute project tonight. I'll share that, and then post a few of my thrift store finds that are proudly part of my home.

I bought a 99 cent urn on my lunchbreak today at Goodwill.

Then, following inspiration from another blog

 I stalked earlier this week. I searched throug

h my kids' toys until I found a ball the right size to sit in the urn.

About the right size, but my kids still play with this... 

Too small, and too squishy...

JUST RIGHT!!! It's an old Magic 8 ball!  

And, Ta Da, this is how it turned out. Not bad for 99 cents! (I'm already seeing some things I want to perfect on it, but not bad for a quick project. I can always add to it later. What I'd like is for it to look more topiary-ish.)

And, as promised, a few of my other thrifty treasures throughout my humble home... 

Dining Room- Thrift store plant stand and plant, which I need to re-pot since it's suffered a very shattering falls as three little boys run through the house. Round Mirror.. big Canton bargain!!!  

Hall Bathroom... Black shelf off of Hobby Lobby clearance aisle.. 3 bucks.. not goodwill, but just wanted to make you jealous... 

Lamp, lampshade, frames, and Cross all from garage sales, flea markets, or thrift stores.

Not really sure why, maybe b/c it was already painted black, my favorite spraypaint color, but this is one of my favorite 2.49 Thrift store finds.. it's a cute bulletin board I hang in my kitchen.  

Chair bought for a couple bucks.. I spray painted it black and I use it at my desk or as an extra kitchen table chair. The paint is starting to wear, but I think it kinda' adds to the charm... 

top of armoire in my bedroom... never can get it right. Thrifty candle holder collection.. and my grandma's antique books... too cheap to actually buy candles for the candleholders, though;)

I love finials.. I find them everywhere and they are spread throughout the house.  

Decor Diva

It's the only kind of Diva I'll probably ever be, so I'm going to claim it.  I'm not just into Decor, it has to be thrifty, creative, and fun. Recently, I've found some very cool blogs of others like me who always have their eyes open for "someone else trash."  I love thrift stores and garage sales, and my favorite is repurposing something to be a one-of-a-kind accessory.  Since I've recently been inspired by some cool thrifty diva blogs, I thought I'd share some of my favorite thrifty finds.

This is most recent "creation." Nothing fancy, but on a whim I decoupaged old book pages that my dog had chewed out of one of my antique books (ahhh! a whole other story) to a spaghetti sauce can. Today I clipped some flowers from a bush outside and used it as a vase. Not too shabby... well, it is shabby, that's kinda' the idea!

I can't really take credit for this one. My husband made this headboard for our foreign exchange student. We were really excited to decorate a teenage girls' room. Now that she has been here almost a year, the memo board style headboard is covered in pictures!  

My black frame collection is only because of the power of spraypaint. I spraypainted my mix matched collection of frames and hung them all over the house. 

Aahhh.. the red chair. One of my thrift store finds. When I bought it, it was cream colored with stenciled flowers. We made it match our decor with red spray paint.  Don't kids love furniture in their own size? This piece cost a couple bucks!

Curtain in my old bathroom (Oh, how I miss my former master bathroom!). I never did get around to dying it chocolate brown before we moved unexpectedly, but I was still proud that I waited until I found the perfect valance at my favorite thrift store for $1.99. It's hung in my "new" house, but I don't have a picture of it. My 1960's master bath is a work in progress, not yet ready for pictures!

That's just a few of my "treasures!"  My whole house is decorated with like items. We have the basic quality items that we purchased many years ago, but everytime I get "itchy" to change my style or try something new, it's always done with these kind of fun items.  Maybe since I can't seem to give up water bottles, this is my way of being "green!"