I absolutely love thrift stores. While some people see them as a junk store filled with other people’s useless castoffs, I see it as a treasure hunt. One man’s trash really is another person’s treasure.
I love to shop resale stores and thrift stores to find gently used clothes for my family, but I also love finding unique treasures and projects. Recently, I’ve been on an ironstone kick. I love how it looks but I don’t love the price. You can fake it fairly easily.
I spotted this Christmas planter not long after I arrived at the store. I loved the size and shape of it.
I used two coats of antique white spray paint to make it look like ironstone and I loved how it turned out.
I even used it in a fall display with a mum and some pumpkins.
I also sprayed this pitcher to make it look like ironstone too.
When we last left you, our beautiful antique mantle with its faux firebox looked like this:
Nothing was painted, no stone was laid. Things were kinda bare. And unfinished.
Our first item on the agenda was to paint it.
First, we caulked any cracks or areas we felt needed filling in. We painted the mantle and the adjoining boards behind it with white paint in satin finish.
Next, we installed Airstone to the surround and the bottom of the hearth.
This stuff is amazingly easy and fun to work with. Simply spread the adhesive on the back of the stones like you’re frosting a cake and press into place. You can also cut the stone with a hacksaw or circular saw.
We then laid faux slate vinyl tiles across the top of the hearth. We may upgrade it later to real slate but I am loving how this looks, and how little it cost.
We then painted the faux brick paneling with some matte black chalk paint. I just like the finish.
We still have a few areas to fill in and some trim to add, but all in all, I am loving it!
Stay tuned! The rest of our living room is about to change in a big way, and I can’t wait to show it to you!!
I have had this old picture frame for ages, and while I knew I could make something cool with it, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do.
I had painted it green at some point. I initially thought about painting it another color, but I found some old scrapbook paper that matched the color perfectly.
I found some really cool drawer pulls in a basket of junk parts that we never seem to throw away. I promptly drilled some holes in the side of the frame.
I brushed the dust away and then made two more holes on the opposite side.
I then screwed the drawer pulls to the tray.
I am pretty pleased with my cute little tray. It’s currently brightening up a corner of our office.
Pardon the snow pictures; since my server crashed earlier this year, I’ve lost many of my pictures.
Not bad, but this eyesore wasn’t doing a thing for our home’s facade.
Our garage door was big, white and booorrrring. I’ve been crushing on Coach house garage doors since forever, but because they run in the upwards of $2,000, they aren’t exactly in the budget right now.
I promptly ordered them and, thanks to Amazon Prime, I received them two days later. All pieces were 100% magnetic, so if you make a mistake, or like me, can’t seem to get your “window panes” straight, you just pick them up and move them…no nail/screw holes, and no damage 🙂
It took me about 30 minutes to put them all on the door. I would recommend having a “spotter” to stand back and help you determine if you’re putting your “windows” on straight. Other than that, these things are easy-peasy to install.
I texted a picture to all my family when we were finished and several of them asked when we got a new door.
Doesn’t our house look so much better?
Let’s see that before and after:
before:
after:
Isn’t that a thousand times better? It’s amazing what just a simple, $50 change can do for your home.
Join us this week for the following features:
Wednesday: a super cute study space
Friday: Farmhouse Friday: Repurposed and recycled decor
Saturday: Simplify Saturday: Your paper clutter problems solved!
Remember when I made these Spanish moss topiaries? After making them, I had tons of Spanish moss left over, so I decided to make something else. Grapevine and moss spheres can be costly if you buy them, but did you know you can make your own?
I had these supplies left over after making the topiaries:
I simply coated the styrofoam spheres with the Mod Podge and popped them into a Ziplock bag filled with Spanish moss…and shook it.
Just pretend you’re making Shake and Bake pork chops. Remember those?
They should be covered and look a bit like this:
Now, let them dry for 24 hours and then pop them into a pretty basket or bowl.
Making these spheres cost me nothing, since I had all the materials already on hand, but if you were to buy them, you’d spend less than $10.
I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Have a fabulous week!
