Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Thrifty Thursdays

Something a little different for this Thursday

Because I just cleared out a lot of stuff at the flea market last weekend,to get my house cleaned up for company. I think my hubby would freak if I started coming home with car loads of thrifty finds.

So for my Thrifty Finds Thursdays I am going to share the thriftiness of others. starting with this lady


I just discovered this blog and this talented lady the other day, and I love her projects.

YOU KNOW THOSE WOODEN PALLETS THAT YOU BREAK UP AND USE FOR FIREWOOD, WELL STOP DOING IT

LOOK WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH PALLETS.................WHO KNEW



Look at this amazing coat rack


And who wouldn't want one of these pallet benches




And what a great conversation piece, build yourself a pallet coffee table



And what is sturdier than a pallet box




And I saved my favorite for last
A pallet island, I love this and I want one
This is freakin awesome

All of these gorgeous pallet creations are the work of this lady
Becky at


 
check out her blog and you will be amazed
While you do that I am going looking for pallets, I will be checking back alleys and behind factories, where else do pallets live ?
 
 
Happy Thrifty Thursdays
happy picking and painting and pallet hunting
 
hugs
 



 

Monday, July 23, 2012

Mason Jars




I saw a contest on one of the blogs I follow and part of the prize was a painted mason jar.  While I was entering it, it made me think about how much I love Mason Jars and how I am probably not alone in this. They don't necessarily have to say Mason, I have many styles of  Jars, Atlas, Benardin, Imperial, Kerr and the list goes on.


I just painted these two jars with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg Blue
I love how they turned out and will be painting more


My daughter also has a collection of Mason Jars in her apartment
One day I would love to do a post on her apt it is so cute
It's a mixture of industrial meets innovative up cycling
(that she gets from me lol )


Here she is on the show Come Dine With Me Canada


 Isn't she gorgeous, she loves to cook and bake from scratch
(She definitely does not get that from me)


Here she is singing on stage with her band
She is so talented and I am her biggest fan, I am always in awe of the talents of my amazing daughter
I could go on and on about my lovely daughter, and trust me I do lol
but back to mason jars
I have Mason Jars in the bathroom to hold my toothbrushes, as well as a soap dispenser in the bathroom and the kitchen






Holding all of my spare change in the bedroom, and my collection of buttons. Mason Jars are on my counter top holding spices and what nots.





And they are in my fridge and cold cellar storing all of my yummy preserves



I love using Mason Jars in my workshop for my paint brushes and small hardware.






I also use these little cuties just as a decoration, I love finding old Mason Jars with coloured glass.




I even have a small mason jar in a homemade candy dispenser



And this idea that I saw online that I must try to keep the mosquitos away, citronella

So is it any wonder that I would enter a contest on The Ugly Duckling Transformations that included winning a gorgeous basket full of goodies that included a darling Mason Jar soap dispenser.




do you see why I want to win this, it is so so cute


So how many Mason jars do you have in your house, check around, I think you will be amazed just how many you use. I know I was surprised to see how many I have in my house.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, I had a great day at the flea market, then spent sometime at the beach with the dog. She loves to run in the water and follow babies in strollers and lick their feet. She is such a gentle soul my little Maggie

till next time
hugs





Saturday, July 21, 2012

Flea Market Sunday

I just finished loading my truck inside and out and am already for the flea market tomorrow. They are calling for rain and thunderstorms late in the day and I hope its after the flea market is finished.



The inside of the truck is full of lamps and mirrors and knick knacks, and the back is full of furniture
We have company coming to visit next month and I am trying to clear out the basement and make room in the garage for some painting.

I don't know how some people can set up at a flea market every weekend, this is a lot of work. I am tired and sweaty lol, I guess if your just selling little knick knacks it might not be that bad, but when your hauling furniture its a lot of work.I hope I am not bringing any of it back. SELL SELL SELL


I have been so busy getting the house ready for company and organizing everything i have not painted anything this week. I think I did find the fabric for my chairs, you remember the garage full of chairs lol. I hope to finish painting those chairs this week and then recover the cushions.



Do you see that cute purse on the right with the little owls, I think that would be so cute on my chairs. What do you think, hubby isn't sold on it yet, but I love it, I collect owls,and it has lots of colour to pick up on and its fun. I think it is perfect
these adorable shoulder bags are made by my talented friend Bobby Jo of Sew Tied Up, find her on facebook


She is one talented lady, her and her Mom make so many beautiful items from recycled material.
They just started this business a few months ago and they are doing fantastic and I think these ladies are going to be even busier than they are now. please check out their stock and you will see what I mean



I have seen other people painting mason jars with ASCP and I thought I would give it a try. I love the look you get when you lightly sand off the lettering. I plan on doing some more once I get a few more colours to work with. Still have to coat these two with clear wax
They are painted with duck egg blue


Hope everyone had a great weekend, I missed out on the yard sales this weekend, and I missed it believe me. But my poor house will only hold so much
Hope to sell everything in the truck, than next week look for some more lol
you know how it is


Happy painting and picking my friends

hugs




Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Auction Goodies and Chair Hoarding

Before I show you my thrifty finds and the goodies I picked up at the auction. I wanted to show you a few things I have added to my little bird cage. No birds yet, I have been looking just don't know what kind of bird I want yet. I have looked at love birds and doves (hubby said doves are too noisy)
I have had cockatiels and budgies before, maybe canary's?




I added a little cafe curtain around the bottom of the bird cage, I picked it up at the thrift store for 99 cents


Birdies need mirrors right? I took out the typical little mirror, I had this frame so I cut the mirror and glued it on. I thought the bird cage needed a little vintage look

I am making birdie a little chandelier, will show you when I am done
yes I said chandelier, what bird doesn't love a chandelier


Auction Goodies

I was only going to support the girls that own the store, was not planning on buying anything lol
But you know the saying, you sit in the barber chair your gonna get a hair cut


I got this table and chairs for $5.00 dollars, when I saw how cheap things were going I had to start bidding

I plan on keeping this table, it will fit perfectly with my colour scheme and I love the details of this table, I would like to keep the bottom painted, will give it a fresh coat of white paint. I am hoping to stain the top once I see what the wood looks like

 

Two of the chairs match my other chairs that I have painted with Old White
Don't tell hubby but now that I have these I like the brighter white and have decided to repain them all with pure white
I bought a paint sprayer at the auction too for 5 bucks, I am hoping that once I get a compressor it will all work, sure would speed up the painting process
I plan on keeping these chairs and painting them and recovering the seats, all of these will be great at holidays when all the kids and grandkids come over


Aren't they cute, they definetly need new material, not sure if I want to paint these or not


Saw these two chairs at the auction and thought they were interesting looking, the metal wheels are just on the front, which I thought was weird, but I love the twisty wood


I have officially become a chair hoarder



I had no plans on bidding on this one but when it was going to go for $10.00 dollars I had to bid
It is called a nursing chair, but I think it would make a great vanity chair
I think I can sell this without a makeover

A few months ago I cleared out the garage and now we are full again
Promised hubby I would set up at the flea market this weekend and try to make some room in the garage
Not that he ever goes in there, he knows I will put him to work


Do you see the NO EXIT sign well I think I need a NO ROOM sign too.
But that's the life of a picker, you fill up, you clear out and you fill up again
I have about 30 ads online right now and with that and the flea market this weekend that should clear out quite a bit of stuff
That is till the next auction

Will be nice to have more room in the garage to get some painting done next week
hope you all have had a good week
what kind of bargains have you found this week?

hugs










Lauren Lane Decor


I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to the family and  friends of Tara Jamieson, founder of Lauren Lane Decor, who passed away July 8 following an accident.


 


She will be missed by many, she was a very talented woman and her life was cut too short.

This is very very sad


Reminds all of us to live your life to the fullest and always let the people you know that you love them. Stop putting off those get togethers with family and friends, take sometime for yourself and enjoy life.


hugs



Monday, July 16, 2012

Bird Cage

This post is about a bird cage that I bought recently. I have been thinking about getting a bird but really had not done anything about it. I love feeding and watching the wild birds in my yard, so I knew I would enjoy a bird of my own. I had birds before when the kids were at home but was always too busy to enjoy them. I saw this bird cage at a local thrift store and it was pretty cheap. I did walk away from it a few times, but decided that I had to bring it home.



Birdcage from salvation army



Bottom stand of birdcage
(don't look at my messy sun room)
When my husband got home and saw the bird cage he gave me that weird look again. Yes I get that look alot lol. He looked at the bird cage and said is this another decoration or is there actually going to be a bird in this one. lol (I have to back track to last year, so you will understand why he said that) Last year I came home with a vintage bird cage and I hung it up in our bedroom. It is off white and wooden and looks so cute in our all white bedroom.

I want to share the conversation with my husband after he came home from work and walked into the bedroom.

Hubby : are we getting a bird?
Tobey: No, we are not getting a bird
Hubby: than why do we have a bird cage
Tobey: It's a decoration, I have seen them online and i wanted one
Hubby: But what does it do?
Tobey: It doesn't do anything it just looks pretty
Hubby: I think its weird having a bird cage with no bird in it
Tobey: Its not weird it's vintage and I like it
Hubby: But it doesn't do anything, don't you think its weird to have a bird cage with no bird in it
Tobey leaves the room comes back with cast iron statue of a bird, opens bird cage door puts in, looks at hubby and says now there's a bird in it

That was the end of that conversation. lol




This is the bird cage with my cute little fake bird

Ok, now back to the birdcage which is going to house a real bird, not sure what kind of bird yet.

Yes it got a good cleaning, but that's not all its going to get


If you have been following my blog you won't be surprised at the colour that I have painted the birdcage. I sprayed it with Kilz primer and then gave it two coats of Krylon spray paint.
But I am not done yet, future birdie needs more stuff for his or her little palace.
How do you tell the sex of a bird anyways?
Maybe I'll get two birds one of each, love birds?
just like me and hubby lol
(laughing really hard right now )

 
If I don't get a bird I seriously think my hubby will have me committed



Will post the completed bird cage as soon as I ad some more stuff and the bird of course
Hope everyone had a great weekend

I was very bad, I fell off the I won't buy anymore stuff wagon
Went to an auction today and came home with two car loads
the deals were just to good to turn down
Table and chairs for $5.00 was one deal, yes i said 5 bucks
wait till you see it, sweet deal

will post pics soon
Hope you all found some great deals this weekend too

hugs


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Thrift Store and Flea Market Obsession

Well so much for cutting back on my Thrifty Finds

I had good intentions when I promised my hubby that I would start cutting back on my purchases. We know we are going to be moving back to Ontario within the next 6 months (we think, the company keeps extending the contract). And the garage is full of stuff that I need to paint and finish. I really do need to start clearing stuff out.
But.............. I think my fellow bloggers will agree, that it truly is an obsession and it is hard to walk away from good bargains and furniture that calls to you. Like these chairs I found today, I could not walk away from them. I knew with a little bit of TLC they would look great, and the price was too cheap to leave them behind.
 (I will just tuck them at the back of the garage and pretend they were already there lol ) sshhhh



I think with a paint job and some new fabric on the seats these chairs will look great. I love the look of them and I hope when they are finished someone else will too

 

And I found this little cutie at the flea market, got this at the end of the day for 5 bucks
love it

 


 

 
I saw these blue metal chairs at the flea market and had to have them. The pictures really do not do them justice, they are gorgeous. I am limited to what I can do and where I can put stuff in the yard (because we are renting). so for now they will join the rest of my collection. Until we move back to Ontario and I find them a permanent home



 
After this heat wave passes I promised hubby I will get back to painting and clear out some of my projects in the garage. And I sure hope when we move to Ontario we can find a garage with air conditioning. It has not been fun painting the last few weeks in this heat.  I think until the heat wave passes I like the idea of shopping in the air conditioned stores for now. Even poor lil Maggie is getting tired of the hot weather. Here she is trying to convince me that she should go swimming in the pond, the fish won't mind she says lol (I know what your thinking, she can't talk but she does communicate, and I spend 24 hours a day with her and I know what she is saying) no the heat has not fried my brain. Maggie is very smart and she is my buddy and trust me I know what she is thinking



Come on Mom let me go swimming with the goldfish


Maggie would also like to join Lucy and Ricky in the river, but bulldogs can't swim so that one is out too. Sorry Maggie your going to have to settle for your swimming pool for now.




poor little girl I think a trip to the beach where she can run in the water is definitely in the plans this weekend. Hope everyone is keeping cool, will post these chairs and the other ones I have been painting as soon as they are done.

Keep cool and have a great week, and welcome to my new followers. I am always flattered to have people join my blog. Glad you are here, please share your thoughts and your projects. I love to hear from you.

hugs