Your friend, Spray Paint.

So, this blog will be somewhat short and sweet! I just wanted to do a quick blog about the beauty of Spray Paint! I think we often see things at Thrift Stores and think to ourselves, “I like that, but not in that color, and it would be a pain to paint.” and we forget HOW SIMPLE SPRAY PAINT IS! So, I just wanted to show you a few things that I’ve done to remind you that spray paint is simple, easy, and relatively cheap!

This first “Simple Spray Paint Upgrade” was crazy cheap! The two picture frames were .45¢ each and the sconces were .75¢ each from my local Salvation Army Thrift Store. HOWEVER, they were super chincy, the off white looked dated and cheap, but I KNEW they had potential! Two layers of metallic gold paint later and they look like this! The picture frames will soon hold ultrasound photos of my little one 🙂

“Simple Spray Paint Upgrade” number two was just as simple as number one! I was given these drawer pulls for my dresser (For Free!) they are a beautiful French Provincial style, but they didn’t look good AT ALL with the dresser. The dresser is pure white and grey, and these pulls were a kind of strange off-white color that just looked completely off with the dresser. SO, just like the above project, I sprayed those puppies gold (since it’s the accent color in my nursery, anyways!) and now they look awesome!

AND on top of the fact that I spray painted the drawer pulls, I also spray painted these drawers grey! The whole dresser used to be white, and I wanted to throw in some grey to make it match my crib, which I ALSO SPRAY PAINTED! So, if you’re keeping up, that’s now number 3 & 4 for “Simple Spray Paint Upgrades.”

I could probably go on for a really long time, but y’all probably wouldn’t actually appreciate that. So I’ll leave you with these simple thoughts:

1. Spray Paint is your friend.
2. If you see something that you’re not in love with the color, remember that changing it is relatively simple.
3. Don’t ever let a color get you down!
4. Spray Paint isn’t just for color, it’s for texture and style too! So don’t forget that you can make something look like stone or metal!

Thrift Haul-January 13th

SO, today I had some time to run out to a few thrift stores and see what goodness I could find, and let me tell you, the thrifting odds were ever in my favor! I was hoping to find some things to help me organize my craft room (my weekend organization project) which I did, but I found SO MUCH MORE!

I went to a thrift store that I hadn’t been to before and y’all, all their baby clothes were .59¢. FIFTY-NINE CENTS. I won’t bore you with pictures, but I got 1 shirt, 2 onesies, 3 pairs of pants, and 4 cardigans for about $6.00. Yeah, you read that right. SIX DOLLARS for TEN items for my daughter.  Seriously, that’s awesome. But, I also got these two vintage pictures for 59¢ a piece and I’m in LOVE with them.

I also picked up this vintage suitcase for $2.00 that I’m going to use in my craft room to store all my wrapping paper, gift bags, and tissue paper.

So, after I left “New Life Thrift Store” I headed over to “Blessingdales Thrift Shop” and was able to find some awesome deals on clothes! Since I’m pregnant, finding comfortable clothes that accommodate my growing belly is harder than it seems. Maternity clothes at thrift stores are usually really ugly, and buying them new is really expensive. And I’m just not paying $45.00 for a pair of jeans I’m only gonna wear for another 3 months! It’s just not worth it for me. So, at the second store I went to, I was amped to find clothes that were cute, affordable, and comfortable. Not to mention! I found leggings that look exactly like Cords. (Like, I thought they were cords until I picked them up!) The sweater was .99¢, Maternity shirt and Vest were $1.50, Leggings were $2.00. Total-About $6.00

I also picked up this little vintage case for .75¢! I’m going to use this for my craft room organization as well.

My “Splurge” of the day was this blue plaid double breasted Old Navy Peacoat that was $6.00. I typically don’t spend that much on any one item but this one fit really well and since I just moved to a MUCH colder climate, warm coats are a necessity, and a necessity that I don’t want to spend $50+ on.

So, there you have it! My Thrift Haul of the day! I’m super proud of my new finds!

My .99¢ Goodwill Chair Makeover

So, I’ve been a little MIA with the whole pregnancy, moving across the country, and the fact that there is NO GOODWILL where I live now!!!! So, I’ve been frequenting the smaller thrift stores in my area, but their hours are shorter, they don’t have as much product, and furniture is definitely at a minimum. There are some great little stores, but chairs and tables seem to be a very real struggle. Which is exactly what I needed! Before we moved, we donated our dining room table and chairs to our local goodwill because they weren’t in great condition and they just didn’t seem worth moving. I figured I’d just get new stuff here at Goodwill. But y’all. Seriously. Tables and chairs are REALLY hard to find here unless you’re willing to shell out some serious cash. Of which I am not…like, ever.

Anyways, a few weeks ago my husband and I drove 45 minutes to go to a larger town because we wanted to got to Barnes & Noble (because, no, we don’t have that either. I know. It’s very sad.) While we were there we popped over to Goodwill because it was just up the road. As I was in the front looking at picture frames, my husband had disappeared to the back. He comes up and tells me “Honey, come look at these chairs they have!) I walk to the back to see these chairs. They weren’t anything special. I’d call them typical “church chairs.” The kind they pull out at church when they need extras.

Not perfect, but, wait until you hear how much. Take a guess. 99¢!!!! Yep. Not even a buck each! So we grabbed those babies up and I figured that I could recover them.

(Yes, that’s my husband with our prize chairs.) The chairs needed some serious love, they were torn, and the metal was a little rusted in places. So we went to the local hobby lobby and grabbed some fabric at TWO DOLLARS a YARD! (Clearance Shelf!) And then I bought some grey spray paint (which I had a 40% off coupon for! Brought the chairs home and used my drill to remove the screws so I could take the cushions off the chairs.

Once the cushions were removed from the chairs, I took the frames outside and spray painted them. The paint was nearly the same color as they were originally, so it only took one layer of spray paint. After that, I had to pull that ugly maroon vinyl off of those cushions. This part was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know how people usually do this (I’m a total rookie) but I used a screwdriver to kind of work the staples out of the wood and then I used needle-nose pliers to pull the staples out. Some of the cushions were really easy, but one had rusted which led to serious issues. Staples breaking in half, sticking in the wood, and my growing frustration. Eventually, I got them all out!

I cut my fabric so I had about 3 inches on all 4 sides of the seat. I laid the cushion down, then put the seat over the cushion so that the soft side is completely covered in fabric. Pull the fabric tight on one of the “straight” sides and staple it down using a heavy duty stapler. (I was using a Stanley T-50.) I am so mad t myself, but I totally forgot to take pictures while I was doing this, but I know there are tutorials online!

The chair backs were more difficult to cover because they were smaller on the top than the bottom and I had to work to keep the fabric from wrinkling. For the back cushion I took the fabric and folded it over the top so that the top was completely smooth. The biggest goal is to keep the staples where they wont be seen, so for the back cushion, that was on the sides and the bottom, but not on the front, back, or top.

I reattached the cushions to the chairs, using the screws that were with the chairs when I got them.

And here we go! Here are my Goodwill chairs! Here’s the breakdown of what I spent:

Chairs: .99¢ each (x3)= $3.00, Fabric: $2.00 a yard (2 yards)=$4.00, Spray paint: 1 can (40% off coupon)=$4.00. TOTAL: $11.00!!!

 

Thrift Haul! Christmas Sweaters and Jeans and Shoes, OH MY!

I’m REALLY cheap. So I usually don’t have much to speak of as far as a “Thrift Haul” would go. I tend to walk around at a thrift store, pick up everything I like, then sit down with it all, convince myself I don’t need it, put it back, and buy maybe one or two things.

But not today.

So, today, my local goodwill was TEEMING with Ugly Christmas Sweaters. Ya’ll. People pay a lot of money for these things. So, I was pretty amped about finding a bunch. They are in beautiful condition, barely worn, and I can totally resell them in my etsy shop after I wear them. What is better than that??? Here are my 3 Christmas beauties!

ALSO! For some reason, all the shoes were 25% off today and I found a super precious pair of Sam Edelman Ballet Flats that are my Sister-in-law’s size. Sam Edelman shoes are typically at least $100 at Neiman Marcus, if not more, so finding a pair in perfect condition for $4.00?? I was thrilled!

And then I found an awesome Aztec sweater with a teal dinosaur on it, and there’s no way I could leave it. It was way too awesome. I mean, Aztec AND a dinosaur?? Shut up and take my money.

I also picked up a super cute little frame that was brand new. I’ve been looking for something to put our first ultrasound picture in that was kind of vintage-y and cute. And this baby was only a dollar! It clearly had a sticker on it at some point that someone had tried to peel off without much luck, so I have the glass sitting in a bowl of warm soapy water. That sticker will be gone in no time!

PS: I also picked up a pair of maternity jeans cause sadly, my pants don’t really fit so well anymore 😦 But, I didn’t really feel like taking a picture of them. haha

SO, there you have it. Four sweaters, a picture frame, a pair of shoes, and a pair of maternity jeans all for $38.00. (Which the jeans alone would have cost, had I bought them new (which I never do) and again, I can resell those when I’m done with them!)

What do you think? Decent haul?