Recent Thrifty Finds & Lamp Revamp

Hello!

I went out garage saling Saturday morning and must have hit 8 or 10 houses without finding anything good. All I bought were these three books from one seller for $3. Believe me, the last thing I need are any more books. I must have 50 stacked up beside the bed. For real.

I decided to call it a day but on my way home I stopped at another sale where I found some good stuff! This canner was only 50 cents!

These turquoise glasses were also 50 cents (for 8 of them!) And are my favourite find of the day.

Some vintage linens, also 50 cents each. I will use the table cloth and brown and white pillow cases. I think I will make linen napkins with the other set of pillow cases.

I also grabbed this watering container for 25 cents. These always come in handy.

 

Here's another favourite from the week. A vintage waste paper basket I found at Value Village for $4. Our son had a lacrosse practice nearby and I *introduced* my husband to VV on Friday night ;).

Oh, and a couple of frames picked up last weekend. $2 for a large frame still in it's package and $3 for a shadow box.

And finally, my lamps. I saw these guys for $5 each and looked them over. As I was driving away I thought they might work for our bedside tables, if painted. I've been looking for lamps for a while. However, I want something silver or glass, and definitely not want wicker shades, but I haven't been able to find anything I really *love*. Remembering that I have metallic spray paint I turned around and went back to get them.

Here they are after meeting a can of Krylon Brushed Metallic in Aluminum, and with a couple of new shades to top them off before heading to our bedroom. (And here's one more peek of my blue cabinet I recently finished tee hee).

Here's the before again:

And in their new home:

(check out my 50 cent pillow cases!)

I'm pleased with how they turned out, a big improvement over what we had before and these will work great until I can find the perfect lamps. Or, maybe I will just keep them! (Oh, and I told you I had a few books stacked up!) Anyone else have that problem...buying them faster than you can read them?

Thanks for visiting. I'm linking up to Rhoda and Linda's parties!

Little Blue Cabinet

eta: also linking up to Debbie Doos Summer Colour Paint Party

 

I picked up this little cabinet off Kijiji in February. It was my first Kijiji purchase ever and the guy was creepy and a bit of a hoarder. I was happy to have my hubby with me,  I seriously could have disappeared forever in that place.

Anyways, 4 months later and I finally painted it and changed out the hardware. It took me THAT long to build up the energy to paint again after this experience. I don't know how the furniture bloggers do it so frequently and so well.

I also spray painted the hinges. I intended to distress it (and still might) but for now am happy with it as is. It fits perfectly on a little staircase wall and we will use it to store our platters and serving ware, stuff we don't use every day. It will also be nice to have a little display space on the top, although I am not sure what to put there yet. I'll have to be on the lookout at the garage sales!!

Thanks for peeking! I'm linking up to Primitive and Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday party. Such amazing inspiration over there.

Porch Additions

Hello there!

My friend Char and I were back in action yesterday. It wasn't the most successful garage sale-n day, I think because of the neighbourhood we were in or maybe because it's getting later in the season. But I did manage to find a few things, including a couple of items for our front porch, which got a face lift last month.

I found this wrought iron hanging planter for $1.50. It matches the one one we have on the side railing (another great garage sale find).

Here it after I added my hanging plant to it.

I also found this little plant stand which I knew had some potential. For $1 I couldn't leave it behind and I am so glad I didn't.

Here's what it looks like after a $4 can of spray paint and some accessories.

And yes, that ivy *IS* in a loaf pan and the flowers *ARE* in one of my beloved vintage pyrex dishes. As the plant stand is pretty small I had some difficulty in finding pots that would fit on the shelves. These kitchen items are a temporary fix, but I kind of like them.

 

The mason jars are filled with river rock and tea lights. I've seen many people in blog land make candles out of mason jars, sand and tea lights. I love the look but I didn't have any sand. I did, however, have some polished river rocks I picked up at a garage sale in the spring.

When I mentioned the mason jar candles to Char she suggested adding lids when not in use so they stay dry (great idea). I found three jars with glass lids in the garage. Love it when you can use items you have lying around. Sort of justifies holding onto stuff!

 

So, with just a few items and some spray painting our front porch is a little cozier (is that even a word??). I hope you like it!

I'm linking up to Rhoda's thrifty party on Southern Hospitality and Debbie's garage sale-n party.

Thanks for visiting!

Thrifty Notice Boards

This weekend I finally got around to completing a project I have been meaning to do for ages. I picked up these two frames last summer at a garage sale for $5. I knew I wanted to do a blackboard in one of them but wasn't sure about the other. I decided on a cork board and cut the cork out of a cheap board I picked up on clearance for $2.88. With the chalk board paint the project cost about $12 for both notice boards.

Before:

During:

I did spray the chalkboard paint right on the glass using several light coats. I realize these DIY blackboards are getting to be old news by now but I'm happy to have finally made one!

After:

Not sure where these will go yet. I originally thought my craft room but perhaps our hall off the garage would be better. We got a new stainless (aka non-magnetic) refrigerator this winter and I miss having a surface to put up important notices. As we exit the house thru the garage that might be a good place to put up reminders...or chore lists for my guys (ha ha).

Oh, and check out this cute vintage canning jar I'm using for chalk. It has a glass lid and was another garage sale find.

Thanks for visiting! I'm linking up to Rhoda's party on Southern Hospitality.