YARD SALES, THRIFT STORES AND ROAD TRIPS

I have spent the majority of this summer with family and friends visiting me and me visiting them, not leaving much time for any of my projects.  But back home from my latest road trip I plan on having time to get some ideas out of my head and to fruition.  On this road trip I had the opportunity to hit up some yard sales and visit some out of state thrift stores.  Knowing I have plenty of projects to complete I focused on bringing home storage items.

 

I plan to use these items in my sewing/craft room and will update you as I finish them.  I cannot leave a room alone until I become happy with it and my "fun" room is home to so many items and I am constantly researching better storage and use for all my fun stuff. 

 

I love being able to get the things I want for a fraction of the retail cost.  I was able to pick all these items up for less than the cost of two storage jars at the craft store and combined with other things I have been hording I am planning on some pretty and colorful storage.

LET IT GO......LET IT GO......

If you have little girls in your household you can finish this song and how fortunate am I that I have two little girls in my life that LOVE Queen Elsa and asked Granny for Queen Elsa dresses.  When I have these requests the first thing I do is some research and thanks to a mom on Pinterest I found the inspiration I needed and headed out to the fabric store and hit up my stash to gather supplies.

 

Putting something together without a pattern isn't always the easiest thing for me to do but once I got started these little dresses went together very fast.  Thanks to my Pinterest inspiration I started with a t-shirt and added to it and I know my little ones are going to love them.

 

  FRONT

                                                                 BACK  

 

Now add a long blonde braid

 

 

and Queen Elsa will be coming to a home near you !!!!

 

P.S.   Mom's if you don't want to build anymore snowmen or ride bikes around the hall, don't worry the girls will eventually move on to something else.

 

I CAN'T DRAW......BUT.................

As I have said many times I was not given any artistic talent.  I say I can't draw, but I am pretty good with stick people, not sure that counts.  I was blessed with some creative talent and the love of making things.  I do have the ability of seeing things in my head and for the most part am pretty adept taking my visions to fruition, so yesterday I pulled out some canvases and hit up my paint supplies.
.

                                                   Gave each canvas two coats of paint

 

Added some stickers and painters tape

 

                                            Another two coats of paint of another color

 

And then added a few little embellishments and when all done I have a beautiful little art work grouping and since I keep a supply of canvases on hand, which I purchase only at a good sale and collect many things yard sale shopping, this little grouping was made for under $3.00.

 

Art is anything you love and you don't have to be an artist to give any room some personality.  Your walls are only limited by your imagination.

BED SPRINGS AREN'T FOR BEDS ???? WHAT !!!!!

When I see something or get an image in my head sometimes it stays with me until I can pull together the item.  This is what happened to me a month or so ago, when I saw something made with old bed springs.  Now, I don't sell or horde junk, but fortunately for me I have several friends who do just that, so after a making a few requests one of them came through for me and I got my bed springs.

When I was done with this board and bed springs, they made their home at my bar.

In my case I wanted a home for a couple of bottles of very special wine and this fit the bill perfectly.

Now that I have finished my project, I have had a few requests for these and fortunately my "junker" friend hooked me up, so I still have a few to make.  Don't you just love using things for other than their intended purpose, I sure do !!!

WHAT CLEANING OUT JUNK DRAWERS CAN LEAD TO.........

Cleaning out a drawer awhile back I found a collection of boot hooks that I have had for several years and I knew I wanted to do something with them,  just didn't know what until this morning when it came to me  I was in need of a new coat rack.  So I gathered my hooks and supplies.

 

 The board I wanted to use was a little too long for the space I chose to hang my new coat rack.

 

Out came my jigsaw, although I don't like using the saw in the house, our weather has been so wet the past week and it was such a small cut, so I cut the board to size, painted it to match the existing wall, attached my hooks and then screwed the completed project into the wall.  Now I have a unique coat rack that comes with my memories of the places and time spent collecting these hooks.

 

With summer just a day away, I do hope I won't have a need to use this much for the next three or four months.

JUNKER/CRAFTER IN TRAINING !!!!!

I have had the pleasure of having some help the last few weeks.  A three year old granddaughter who appears to share my love of crafting.

 

She had a lot of fun painting and adding sparkly things to her horse.  Of course, you know Granny will do what she can to keep her interested in expressing herself in her own way.  Couldn't be more proud of her !!!

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH..GRANNY GETS OUT HER GLUE GUN !!!!!!

Started my day wanting to put some of that self stick "caulking like" adhesive to my bathtub floor, but we all know it won't stick for long, so I needed to come up with another plan, aka my glue gun.

 

I love my glue gun, I can't remember how long I have had this one, but it has been years.  I also own a few more, one must have back-ups.  Some of my back-ups I have had 25-30 years and they are still going strong.  I took this little puppy into the bathroom and finished up my project in no time.

 

 

Since I had the glue gun out, I used it for a few more projects.  Cut down and covered a cereal box with a piece of scrapbook paper to use as a holder for some paper hand towels.

 

 

And with rodeo season starting here in Belt next weekend and 4th of July right around the corner, I figured it was time for a new wreath for the door.

 

Hubby often teases me about my "Barbie" tools, but my reply is always "a girl can accomplish many things with a high heel, butter knife and a glue gun".  I for one cannot get through my weeks without my glue gun, but did retire my high heels a few years ago.

MORE FREEBIE LOVE ......

You know I really like when I can make something new for nothing.  I have had this idea in my head for awhile and decided today was a perfect day to put my plan into action.  I shared a few days ago about some mason jar storage for a bathroom and wanted to add more to the space.  I started with all of this

and finished with this

 

For this dispenser I simply made a hole in the lid of my jar, removed the pump from the store bought soap and used my hot glue gun to attach it to the jar lid. Then emptied the soap into my jar and screwed the new lid on and voila, a free new soap dispenser.

 

I liked this one so well, I headed to the kitchen, this time wanting something a little different, so I hit up my jar stash and came up with this

 

 

Now doesn't this look so much prettier than a store bought plastic bottle.

 

A few little secrets I have learned over the years, when re-using bottles or jars with labels that leave a glue residue after you  remove them, peanut butter is my go item to remove the sticky.  Most jars/bottles also have dates or numbers stamped on them, well a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will remove that ink with barely any scrubbing, and will remove whatever residue is left after you wash the peanut butter off, it really does work like "Magic". 

 

For my bathroom jar I had to cut down the pump, but that is easily accomplished with a sharp knife or razor blade.  The jar lids and pumps can be painted, I chose to go natural, just be certain when painting plastic you use a spray paint that is for plastic, otherwise you will get chipping.

 

Remember once you make your dispenser, you simply unscrew the lid and refill your jar with soap, should last for years or at least until I want something different.

GOOD MORNING !!!!!

This time of year I love to keep the window in my bedroom open at night while I sleep.  I love to listen to the sound of the water running and smell the fresh cool air.  Okay, an occasional skunk can bring me out of a deep sleep, but fortunately that doesn't happen often.  My bedroom window is pretty sheltered from the elements, but provides a beautiful morning view and since we no longer set alarm clocks in our house, mornings are some of my favorite times regardless of the time I start the day.  All of this has had me singing  one of my all time favorite songs so I thought I would put it on a sign to greet me each morning.




DO YOU KNOW THE SONG ????
 



WINDOW TO THE PAST........................

I have become the keeper of many generations of family pictures, some dating back to the 1800's and my great-great grandparents.  Fortunate for me my grandparents had the foresight to label and date many of them.  I have been wanting to display a few of them for some time, one that could tell yet another story for all my future generations, therefore, I have been contemplating and researching how to display them and have finally come up with a plan that I am very pleased with.

 

Going through my "junk" stash I came up with an old window.  Once I cleaned all the dirt and cobwebs off of it, I attached the old photos, using photo corners,  and hung it on the wall.  I really like the way it came out and it just seems appropriate for the "window to my past".......

TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR KIDS

You can find many things at auctions, yard sales and flea markets and I like to bring home any number of items, but some of my favorites are old toys.  Several years ago I was able to score not one, but three little red wagons.

 

They have been hanging out in my backyard for the last two years just developing more character, aka rust, waiting for something special to happen to them.  This weekend seemed like the time to bring a little summer inside and  one of these little wagons was going to help me with that.

 

I chose the smallest wagon, took the handle, wheels and all the dirt off of it.

 

 

I wanted to keep the rust, but I wanted to stop it from rusting further, so I put a thin coat of polyurethane on the entire wagon.

Painted some wooden balls and hot glued them to the bottom of the wagon

Used my leftover mason jars, added some flowers, raffia and charms and now I have a cute new summertime centerpiece for my table.

 

I just love it when I can use things for something other than their intended purpose and when I can have something new for very little money it makes me even happier.

WHAT I DON'T DO !!!!!!!

There are a few things that I don't normally do or have never enjoyed doing.  This weekend just felt like a time I should get out of my comfort zone and attempt some of those things "I don't do".

I don't garden, have never enjoyed playing in the dirt and really don't like all the worms and bugs that live in the ground, but I wanted flowers, so ........

 

I planted flowers.  A couple of years ago I took advantage of a promotion that Home Depot had and was able to score a lot of garden soil as well as three hanging planters for FREE and you know how I love cheap.  These things have been sitting in my garage stash until I dug them out and filled them with flowers, now I no longer have that clutter in my garage and (fingers crossed) I will be able to enjoy flowers all summer long.

 

I have told you I'm a seamstress not a quilter but I tackled a t-shirt quilt, well I'm also a cook, not a baker, but a few months ago I obtained a cookbook from two of my favorite cooks and it has been their inspiration and recipes that have made me feel like I can tackle some baking challenges.  I have been learning to make biscuits from scratch and am  becoming quite adept with them, but this morning I thought it was time  to take on a new recipe, so I made cinnamon rolls from scratch.

 

They turned out "to die for" !!!!

 

Hubby is very happy and I'm feeling inspired to do a little more baking, but probably not much more gardening.

FINALLY FINISHED !!!!

I've been quite busy the last few weeks wanting to finish started projects as well some new ones. 
Spring has sprung, trees have leafed out and lilacs are blooming and with that will come all the yard sales, craft fairs and festivals, summer visitors and road trips that will be planned.  My list of yard sales and the first festival of the year are planned for the weekend and I hope to get out and do a little yard work in the next few weeks.

I have spent years planning the shadowboxes I have recently been working on and even though I'm certain I could fill a large museum with all my husbands memorabilia I wanted to put some together to be able to display and tell a story and now I am finally finished.

I treasure what I have of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great, great grandparents and it is with all of this in mind that I hope some of the stories we have to tell will survive us for generations to come.

STORAGE OR ART ????

I love to attend craft fairs, junk markets and anywhere that the items sold are handmade.  I love making things myself  but am also a huge fan of those that enjoy the "making" process and selling to those who don't share their love of hands on.  There are some things that I know I should just let those that do the making do the making and I should just do the buying.  Well today almost turned into one of those days, but I persevered and accomplished something gorgeous that provides another piece of artwork and also serves as storage.

My first yard sale of the season I was able to score a roll of chicken wire for just a buck and was so excited because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I dug into my "stash" of collected picture frames and got out a can of spray paint for it.  Then it was time to unroll that chicken wire and get out the wire cutters.

Once I had my piece of wire cut, it was time to attach it to my painted frame and during the process I thought of all those pieces I had seen that someone else had so painstakingly made and thought this is one of those things I should have just bought when I saw it.  But since I wanted one, had my electric staple gun and wire cutter outs I decided to go ahead and finish.  This is what my new bathroom "art" now looks like and I am very pleased.

Of course I can't use plain clothespins, so another project to ponder !!!!

NEVER ENOUGH STORAGE

One of the things I have been trying to accomplish in recent years is having enough storage for all my treasures.  With the help of auctions, flea markets and yard sales I have been very successful at little to no cost.  My favorite storage pieces are dressers, you can turn an ugly unloved piece into something beautiful with a little paint and some new knobs and/or drawer pulls.  That is what I have been able to do with these pieces.

 

I shared awhile back that I paid $7.00 for all four of these pieces at an auction last fall.  The desk and two small dressers have been given a wonderful makeover and now make their home in my back bedroom.  The five drawer chest has been sitting in my garage stash until this past week when I got out my tape measure and realized I could utilize the storage in my bathroom. 

 

 

I found some brown paint that matched the existing vanity and set to work first sanding the piece then painting it.  I didn't do any "aging" or waxing on the piece instead used a latex paint since this is in a bathroom.  I wanted to replace the drawer pulls to match the vanity as well and that proved a little challenging but after a long search I was able to come up with something that works well in the space and on the piece.  So basically for the price of some new drawer pulls I have much needed additional storage and again this piece has gone from "ugly" to "lovely".

TABLE AND/OR STORAGE

I recently inherited this blue trunk and I wasn't sure what I should do with it but I knew I wanted it to be versatile as I am known for changing things up on occasion.
 

 

I thought it would make a cool table so I went to Home Depot and bought some legs

 

 
Gave them a paint/wax treatment

 

Attached them to the trunk.  I had also purchased metal plates, which were screwed into the trunk, then the legs screw into the plates.  The cost was just under $20 for the 4 legs and 4 plates.

 

 

What an awesome coffee table this would make but right now I had a need to corral some boots and this trunk seemed perfect for the job.

 

 

 

Although this little trunk is currently being used for boot storage it is ready to serve a number of purposes.