Thrift-a-licious

This past week was spent on a mini-vacation. We went to podunk Indiana and visited some cemeteries of my ancestors, the Cass and Miami county courthouses, and the local libraries to look up obituaries. That might not sound like your vacation, but it suits us well! Our first hotel was right across the street from a goodwill. I secretly wanted to go in, however, that was not what we came for, so I didn't mention it. We did stop on the drive over at a rummage sale at this old music hall on Rt 33, but I didn't get anything. I almost got two things, but no one was around to ask prices or give the money to, so I figured that was a sign from above that I didn't really need the stuff. One was a vintage, green-handled apple peeler, and the other was, well I'm not sure. It was an old rusty something-or-other that looked like an antique bunsen burner (with two burners) with pretty metal scrollwork and legs, and it had knobs on it like an outside water spigot, but I think it was probably for gas or something. Anyway, I thought it would make a neat footrest because it was the right height and size. Oh well.

So anyway, here I was staring at this goodwill everytime we drove by, wondering what trash-to-treasures might be waiting for me inside. Instead, I got on the internet and read other people's blogs about their thrifting discoveries, thinking that might tide me over. Um, not so much. That just fueled the fire. When we got to our second destination, I looked online to see if there were any thrift stores near by, and to my great relief, there was two!

I told my husband I just had to go one, and he told me just to go ahead and go to both, but not to buy any chairs. Ok, it's a deal! So below are the goodies I uncovered. I actually went two days in a row because the first day I almost got the pattern below but didn't, and so the second day I went back for it, and also got twelve more dollars worth of stuff.


(From the top left) The adorable doggie I had growing up, $3. A tapestry hanger which will be perfect for the Crawford County, Ohio tapestry I have just sitting around waiting to be hung up, 50c. A Simplicity pattern for an apron, curtains, toaster cozy, place mats, potholders, etc., 50c. A small angel ceiling fan pull, because I needed one very badly in the sewing room, 50c. Two cardinal prints with ugly frames, but not to worry because I gave them a fresh coat of leftover off-white paint, and they look much better! I have the perfect place for them in the sunroom, which has a birds and blooms theme, 50c each. A clown head, perfect for making a small clown doll. You might not know this, but Miami County, IN (one of the places we visited this week) is the circus capital of the world. How appropriate that I would find a clown head! 29c. And finally, a brand-new metal firefighter sign, for Jason of course. He loves firetrucks. $3.


Other items not seen in the previous picture: brand new handbag handles from JoAnns, originally five dollars; I got them for a buck. A pile of foam, 50c or a dollar... I forget. A little stack of plastic letters, good for some craft along the way, 29c. A wire wreath frame, which I plan on spray painting orange (I have the perfect pumpkiny color of spray paint already purchased... waiting in the basement for a few years... I hope it's still good). Then I can wire on those little terra cotta pots as I accumulate more and more of them, 50c. A spool of orange and black ribbon, $1. I could use this on the terra cotta pot wreath if I end up using it inside. If it's left outside on the gate, I would not want to use the ribbon as it would get ruined.


Last but not least, I got one of those large candy containers I've been wanting for awhile, $3. A wooden jewelry box with a floral painted lid, $2. Unfortunately, the mirror inside was gone, but luckily, just moments before, I saw this heart shaped mirror at the thrift store for fifty cents. Everything just fell into place with that one!

A Panel Trio & Some Antique Photos

I was visiting a blog today, kimsbigquiltiingadventure.com, when I saw she made the three-panel wall hanging thing like I have in my living room. Mine is a little different than hers, so I will tell you how mine was constructed in a moment. She cleverly used hers as a faux headboard, while mine is used in the living room to make three small pieces of artwork really stand out. The artwork I used here were three antique photos framed in five dollar Big Lots finds. Well actually, they're photocopies of original antique photos, because I keep the originals in a fire proof safe. If my whole house were to burn down, heaven forbid, then I want my antique family photos to make it out alive. Not that they're alive, but you know what I mean. I got a ton of old photos, sadly mostly with no markings of the back to say who's who, but I do know they came from my Great-Great Grandfather Shumaker's stuff, so they're of his family. Anyway, here's the photo:



The photo on the far left is an old photo of my grandma's farm before she and my grandpa owned it. Anyway, what you probably want to know is how did I make it? Well I went to Lowes and bought the cheapest thing I could find, which happened to be that pegboard stuff. I covered it with some of the heaps and piles of quilt batting that I have laying around. (Isn't it the best when you find some brand new batting at a garage sale for next-to-nothing?!) Then I stapled on my fabric (I think my staple gun {and my glue gun too} are extentions of my right arm...) and finally attached a hanger-thingie on the back so I could hang it onto the wall. Then I hammered a nail into it so that I could hang a frame on each panel, and viola, there you have it! At Christmastime, I take down the antique photos and put up Christmas bulb wreaths that I made with tons and tons of vintage Christmas bulbs (totally thrifted of course) and some ribbon I had laying around. I'll have to show you a pic of that later.

This one has an old photo in the background, however this photo also shows the wall color. Notice how the blue on the wall matches the blue fabric covering the panel trio. Not bad for clearance fabric... I really lucked out!

I better explain something a little better though before you go wondering what blue wall I'm talking about since clearly the panels are hung on a butterscotch colored wall. My living room and dining room (which I should just call a great room because that's what it is, but I'm more traditional and don't really like the "great room" idea) are in two different color schemes. The living room is blue, and the dining room is red (see photos below) And how do I pull that off, you ask, since the rooms are connected? Well first of all, luckily there was this thing on the ceiling that comes down about a foot to divide the rooms, which enabled me to put up two separate borders. Secondly, I used paint to divide the room. The two long walls which the two rooms share are both painted the same neutral butterscotch. The smaller end walls are painted differently... a rich blue for the south wall, and a vivid red for the north wall. It works because when you walk in, you can never see both walls at the same time (unless you're a rabbit who has perfect peripheral vision... I'm not sure what Licorice {my bunny} thinks of it, but I'm pretty sure he likes it too since he's always trying to escape the kitchen to head out into the living room/dining room). When describing it to my mom over the phone, she thought it sounded terrible and even used the words "crayon box." But after coming over and seeing it, she agreed that it really does work! (And she's a tough critic, let me tell you!) Here's a quick shot of the red wall:

This one highlights the wonderful Hoosier Cabinet I got at an auction a few years ago.

And last but not least, here is a photo collage of antique family photos in the foyer for your viewing enjoyment:

Buy an American Flag made in China?!

Good for Gov. Ted Strickland. He and others like him are debating an Ohio bill that would outlaw the sale of foreign-made U. S. and Ohio flags. A father of soldier killed in Iraq had this to say to the Senate: "Unless you have stood before a flag-draped casket bearing the remains of your warrior son who gave his life in combat, you may never know of the pride and ideals that this flag instills in those of us who have." Pretty powerful words. Several others states, including Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Tennessee have already passed similar legislation.

People opposed to the bill say that passing such a bill goes against free trade agreements. This guy they interviewed on TV said that passing this type of bill sends a negative message to China and could end up closing our free trade with China "which we worked so hard to open." And why is that, sir? Why did we work so hard to open free trade with China? So that thousands, millions even, of Americans could lose their jobs? What we have with China isn't free trade. It's unequal, unfair trade. What does China depend on us for, seriously? We depend on them for a lot (practically everything sold at Wal-mart), but I can't really think of a single that other countries really need us for. Here we have a problem. Buy American, people. (And don't even stop there. Buy handmade American!)

I have so many Americana items in my house.... here's a set of star shaped boxed I got at a garage sale that houses some of my sewing supplies


A Clock I received as a gift


A couple pitchers I just had to have, and an antique duck that was my grandma's

This is a picture frame I picked up for a few dollars at an antique shop. Yes, it has some damage, but I love it nonetheless. Framed in it are pictures of my Great-Grandma's family.


A rocking chair with a handmade Old Glory pillow made by yours truly. It was really easy. I took a thrifted flag and sewed it onto a pillow. The fabric covering over the pillow was also added by me... I chose blue and white fabrics to match the flag :)

Linking to: Someday Crafts Patriotic Linky Party 2012

Toilet paper can be cute too

Don't ignore the most important room of the house! Check out this flea market find. It almost blends in with the wall color because the two shades match so well. Funny thing is, I painted neither the walls or this bird house-TP holder. Both came as is. It also fits perfectly in the little spot between the toilet and the sink and is even the same height as the toilet. It's like it was made specifically for this spot. I can't believe my good fortune!

And who doesn't like birdhouses? I have birdhouse lamps, jewelry holders, Christmas ornaments... what else can we make out of old birdhouses? I have two birdhouses in the garage that my grandpa built before he passed away. He fully intended them to be used as bird houses, but I bet we could come up with some other cool use for them. They have flat roofs- it's made for a certain kind of bird but for the life of me I can't remember which kind. They have removable floors for cleaning purposes, so I could make one into a bank! Just put the money in the hole intended for the bird's entrance, and you have an instant bank! What else can you come up with?

This was also a flea market find, however it was from one of those tents where they're selling all new stuff. This keeper-of-the-TP is put to good use in the upstairs bathroom.

But what if we have company?

What if fifty people were to just drop by the house, and we felt the need to throw an impromptu tea party? Just in case that scenario should ever present itself, I need to be prepared!

Each of these vintage, floral beauties was hand picked from flea markets, garage sales, etc for next to no cost at all. I have a few more tea cups, but they don't all fit in the cabinet anymore (plus I have my great-grandma's matching china set but I don't really care for the pattern-- it's currently in a box in the basement). I have an idea. Instead of downsizing on the vintage china, how about I just buy another Hoosier cabinet?

Inspiration comes from the darndest places

So I was reading the blog on iwannanewbag.blogspot.com (and holy cow that lady is a brilliant master of the craft!) and I saw a link for a beer shaped purse. I thought, "Hmmm, my brother's girlfriend would like that." So I clicked the link but no beer shaped purse was to be found. I was very confused and began to hyperventilate because I really needed to see what a beer shaped purse looks like. Then it hit me. Duh. The thing said bear shaped purse, not beer. But alas, the wheels were already turning. I tracked down a photo of what I imagine a beer shaped purse would look like (cylindrical like a can of course) and am totally going to make one. I am going to use Coca Cola fabric though because I have some lying around the sewing room. I could make the top of the cylinder metalic silver (I have some of that too) and even hotglue a pop tab on top. (Is that taking it too far?) Oh the possibilities!

I was even able to find a free pattern for my Coke bag at http://www.mccallpattern.com/freeproject/index.htm. They also have eight other projects for free, all you have to do is give them your email address, after which they will surely bombard you with unwanted solicitation for the rest of your emailing life. But hey, it didn't cost me dime and it's a bag pattern, come on.

More transformations

The lady who made this is the bomb. She is my hero, seriously. You should totally check out her blog. This is the inspiration for me to do something with this, if I could just bring myself to cut it up:

---

Here we have a small piece of wood, painted a lovely shade of green, to which I screwed in three vintage hooks. While I was still with my ex, his apartment building was being torn down to make way for a new university parking lot (that totally pissed me off but that's neither here nor there). Since it was being torn down, we took the hooks that had been hanging in the closet all those years. It was the least I could do save a small piece of history.

---

Here's my husband's not-so-attractive TV stand. We were getting rid of furniture when our two households merged, but I saw some potential in this one. I knew we would need more TV stands, since together we had six TVs. I knew just the corner where this one would work. Here it is mid-way to being done.

And here it is after it's paint job and new skirt (attached with velcro)