Tag Archives: thrifting

My Flea Market Finds

I’m getting ready to have a yard sale at the end of the month and will be clearing out a bunch of stuff! I will be making room for some of the new old stuff I found recently at the flea market. Twice a year, in the spring and fall my friend Joyce and I have a standing date to hit the flea market together in the nearby town of Sparks, KS. Here are some (almost all) of my flea market finds this spring.

Kitties always find the smell irresistible. My neighbor’s cat, Bella comes to see me almost every day. Sometimes I think about getting another cat but Bella’s visits give me the benefit of enjoying her company without the responsibilities that cat ownership has.

I don’t have a “Bethany” but for $1 I wasn’t about to pass up this ironstone plate. The name + the cracked place + the brown staining add tons of character!

The bottles and rusty iron screen will easily find their way into the rustic French farmhouse style I’m bringing into my décor.

If only my feet were a size 6! I would wear these vintage rubber boots in a heartbeat! I’ll have to display them instead. I think they’ll be perfect in one of the guest bedrooms when we get around to that project.

There’s a lot of cleaning to be done to these dusty treasures, especially the rustic wood box. It will make a great magazine or tp holder in the bathroom. Or maybe filled with flowers for a table centerpiece.

My irises are in full bloom now. They bloomed just a few days after I showed them in their budding state. My peonies will be in full bloom in the next day or two. What perfect timing for Mother’s Day weekend! My mother is not living but if yours is I hope you are able to enjoy the day with her. I will enjoy the day with my kids. Happy Mother’s Day!

Thrifting Tips, Tricks and Secrets

I love thrift shopping and today I want to share with you some of my best thrifting tips! I’m using the word thrifting to include shopping at yard sales, thrift shops, estate sales, flea markets and even antique shops. After years of having this activity occupy my time as a business, a hobby and a way to furnish my entire house I have learned a few things, things that I would love to share with you! Rather than listing some of the more obvious tips such as getting to sales early and hunting often, I have compiled a list of things that I have gleaned through my own experience and observations. These are the tried and true methods that have worked for me. Of course nothing is fail-proof and luck plays a large part in finding the goods.

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Search as if someone hid a treasure and dared
you to find it.
A lovely heart shaped chair might be concealed behind a big sloppy piece of upholstery tacked on loosely, when closer inspection reveals its true shape.

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Don’t overlook piles of new when looking for vintage.
Hidden treasure can be found in unlikely places. Never assume a collection of items on a table that looks like all new doesn’t have a vintage piece mixed in. Sometimes it pays to take a closer look.

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Keep an open mind and try to see potential.
A dirty, grimy trophy vase bought for a dollar can be shined up to become the perfect vessel for a bouquet of pink peonies.

THE NEXT FEW TIPS APPLY SPECIFICALLY TO ESTATE SALES:

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Scan each room with your eyes before looking intently at smaller sections of space.
Time is of the essence! This will enable you to zero in on specific areas of interest before methodically walking through.

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Don’t get caught up in the frenzy. Take a deep breath!
I’ve seen frantic people with similar interests as me pass right on by items that I was able to pick up by remaining more calm and clear headed.

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Leave no stone unturned.
Look under tables at items on the floor. I once found two gorgeous architectural pieces dated 1905 under a table on day three of an estate sale for $5 a piece.

Yes, it’s true. When I saw the pair of heart shaped French chairs at a flea market, they were completely camoflauged by pieces of needlepoint canvas that someone had tacked on. They appeared to have square backs and seats but when I peeled back the canvas just a little I could see the heart shaped seat and back. I wonder how many people walked right by them before I got there! I found the architectural pieces when I walked into a very picked-over estate sale. I looked under one of the tables and saw them. I was sure they must’ve been put there on hold for someone. So I asked about them and was told that they weren’t sold. My lucky day!

Have you developed your own strategy for scoring great finds? I would love to hear about them (if you want to reveal your secrets). And for more tips, check out this article that I was invited to contribute to.

Happy thrifting!

Purple and Pearls

I almost titled this post Purple, Pearls and Pudge because that’s how I feel right now! I have been indulging in fattening foods while hibernating during this long cold February. As a result, my jeans are fitting more tightly and I don’t like it! It’s time to shake it off, eat less and move around more.

Just a quick outfit share, not particularly inspired. I purchased this sweater during a thrift shopping spree several months ago. It has a sweet look that is more fitting with how I dressed a few years ago. I was drawn by the pearls and the price and the desire for new things in my closet.

I paired it with a white button down blouse, giving it a slightly preppy feel. I added a simple pearl bracelet and a pair of my lace covered ball earrings.

I’m okay with the overall look for a casual day, but I’ll probably pass the sweater on after a couple more wears.

I’ve been doing the hula hoop for exercise. I’m bored with the treadmill and other “regular” exercise. I can’t wait to get out and bike ride when the weather gets nicer. What’s your favorite non-exercise exercise?

Cheap, Easy DIY + New Series Announcement

Hey readers! Today I have a cheap, easy DIY project to show you. Now that we’re on the other side of January, it feels like there’s light at the end of the winter tunnel. It’s the perfect time to get out some of those projects that you keep meaning to get to before the really nice weather gets here and all you want to do is play! This project is one that I planned last summer when I was putting the finishing touches on the wine cellar / man cave. Keeping with both the masculine look and the minimal budget, I hunted through yard sales to find some “manly” animal figures. Since I was going to paint them gold and white, I didn’t care how ugly they were. A little paint can do wonders!

Here’s the before picture of a few pieces I came up with. Some plastic deer, one that had flocked “fur” and an eagle cologne bottle.

How different they look with just a couple of coats of spray paint!

I didn’t prime the items, I just roughed them up a tiny bit with sandpaper and sprayed metallic gold paint on some and white on the others. They won’t really be handled, so it should wear fine.

And for a really cheap (like free!) but impactful display just gather some branches and spray.

Now I have some exciting news! I’m teaming up with Heather of Woods of Bell Trees for a brand new series all about DIY!

We’re calling it DIY Double Dip Flip. We’ll take our queue from a trending technique in fashion and show you our 2 takes using the same inspiration on a decor piece. And sometimes the decor piece will be our inspiration for some fun DIY twists with fashion.

Our first flip will be this Monday. Stay tuned for a double dip of DIY inspiration!

DIY Home Goals 2015

The amount of DIY projects my husband and I did on our house in 2014 was minimal compared to other years. If you’ve read my blog long, you might know that we live in a home built in 1856 that we purchased in a dilapidated state, both inside and out, 20 years ago.

In that amount of time, we have worked and worked…..AND WORKED on making it a place we love. We aren’t finished (you never really are, are you?) but with what I would call 80% completion of the goals we initially had, and feeling beyond burned out with all the remodeling mess over the years as well as physical and mental exhaustion, we took it easy last year and tried to spend more time enjoying what we have.

I don’t have a lot of home improvement goals for 2015, because I’m still in the “enjoying” mode. The horrible laundry room with the falling apart plaster ceiling and walls and seriously inadequate surface and storage area will have to wait. But there are a few things I would like to change this year.

Such as:

**Paint the dining room. I loved the pumpkin walls for a while but I want something lighter. In fact, I would like to lighten the feeling in all my rooms one way or another. I’m looking at Benjamin Moore Tranquility but it might have too much blue, or Benjamin Moore Grey Wisp.

**Make the two guest rooms guest-ready. This will be the most costly, both money-wise and time-wise. It will require fresh paint, new carpet or other flooring and new mattresses. I plan to accesorize mostly with things borrowed from other rooms and things I have stored in cabinets for future use. But almost all of that is vintage and I really want to balance it out with some modern accessories too. I have a small budget to work with, so that means I’ll be doing some thrifting and couponing. Of course I can’t thrift shop for the big ticket items. Have you shopped for mattresses lateley? Sheesh!

**Introduce more natural elements into my decor.

I love nature! By using more of it in my decor I hope to give the entire downstairs a more simplified and unified feel. I’ll have to let go of some of the things I have to make room for the new so it won’t feel cluttered. For me, that’s easier said than done since I have carefully culled and curated each item over years of hunting. I’m hoping that by “donating” some of the things I now have downstairs to the guest room cause, it will all balance out.

So those are my 2015 DIY goals for our home. Can we accomplish all this AND build in some R&R? It seems reasonable. Only time will tell. As we get to each item on the list I’ll show you the “before” pictures and promise to keep you updated with our progress.

Wine Cellar REVEAL ~ Part 2

In a previous post, I showed you the before pictures of our wine cellar as well as some after the renovation. My husband got the idea to have his man cave located in the space a few years ago. But we had way too many other renovation projects to think about so like all good DIYers we kept the idea on the back burner. Well, a whole lot of thrifting and a whole lot of WORK later…

I still want to hang dropcloth curtains at the bottom of the stairs. The space needs that softness and it will also help keep the drafts out. And I can tie them back for a different look.

I showed you the lanterns I bought with the intention of having them electrified. My husband made this one electric but when it came down to it, I decided to keep the other two to use with candles.

For the table above, we married a huge circular grate with a drafting table base. We already had the chair and the stool that weren’t really being used properly, so I pulled them in to “up” the industrial feel of the room.

As with the rest of our house, we stuck to a very minimal budget for the furnishings and décor, using mostly thrifted items from garage sales and flea markets, as well as repurposing items we already had. The circular grate was on our property but wasn’t being used. It made a perfect table top for two.

Fireplace #2

The above vignette from top to bottom including the cart (but not including the wine) comes in at under $100. There’s a lot you can do on a budget! The cart, skull, mirror, and frame were found at the flea market. I picked up the metal screen, wire baskets, glass bowl, ice bucket, and wicker basket for practically pennies at yard sales. The glasses came from the dollar store, the faux flowers are some I’ve had for many years, the tray was a clearance item and guess where the corks came from?

The hanging shelf was inspired by one we had seen at Restoration Hardware. Theirs used heavy rope and slabs of wood. We had the rope and decided to use the shelves from a storage rack we had. But don’t worry, the rack had several shelves so we didn’t rob it completely.

Ping pong storage ~ a must-have for this ping pong loving bunch!

Now we can reap the rewards and enjoy a very cool (temp stays 65-ish in the summer months) place to hang out with friends and family.

I still have some tweaking to do but it will have to wait. I’m tired I tell ya.

Tarnished Royalty

Design Your Life