Thrift Store Goodies-Tin Planters & Decor

One of my favorite things to do is go to the thrift stores in my area and see what treasures I can turn into unique additions for the house.  It takes quite a bit of time to go through the store, sometimes even a couple of hours.  I know, that's crazy, why not do garage sales and Craigslist?  Well, garage sales today are kinda depressing with people selling things because they really need money due to the economy and they jack their prices up.  Craigslist is iffy at the best of times.  You never know who you are going to meet.  With thrift stores, the items are donated because the people needed to get rid of it rather than sell it.   This month I have been focused on not only decor for the house, but also planters.  I am unable to get my green thumb on because we moved in about a month ago, so I started hording planters until we plant our garden.  I cook as much as I can from scratch and love having fresh herbs a few feet away on the deck.  I am not a big fan of the Terracotta planters and like to see what I can reuse.  Here are some of the tin planters that I found.

As you can see, my mini garden on the deck is filled with some unique planters.  Others I used around the house as decor for the guestroom.  The lamp and end-tables you see are heirlooms.  But the rest is from thrift stores, even the guest towels in the basket.

I found one for outgoing mail, although Josh's Gamefly doesn't quite fit.  This was a brass colored tin and I painted it with Rustoleum's Metallic Bronze paint.  Caution it is oil based!

And even in the dining room on top of the china cabinet.

As a side-note, all of the decor you see on top of the china cabinet is second hand from the tulips to the candelabra in the back.  This is proof that if you spend your time looking past all the usual items that are in a thrift store and use your imagination you can find some great things for your home at a great price.

Happy hunting!

Molly

Home Sweet Headache

One of the things that I love about our new home is that it is pretty much a blank slate for all our projects and ideas.  One of the things that is giving me a headache is that our home is a blank slate for all our projects and ideas.  Since the furniture that we have needs to find a new place, and the fact that I went a little crazy in procuring newish furniture for the new house, some of the furniture has acquired a new purpose.  We had a wooden filing cabinet that was given to us.  It worked great at the old house; but here, we have no room.  So, I came up with a brilliant plan to redo it into a bench for at the foot of our bed...a week later I am still working on the project.  In the midst of all this we are also replacing all the light fixtures in the house, redecorating the fireplace, wallpapering the basement, making curtains, and watching a very precocious 1 year old.  It is an absolute mad house, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  

Wall Sconce Facelift

After moving into the new house, I finally came across my box of home decor.  My wall sconces that I purchased from Target years ago seemed to be out of place.  Looking at them I knew they needed a bit of a facelift.  I took some scrap-booking paper and placed behind the sconces.

It gives it a pop of color that was needed.  Once they had the scrap-booking paper behind it I needed a place to put them.  Voila!  We hung them on the brick going up the stairs to the top floor.

It makes the brick wall stand out even more.  We did have to pre-drill into the brick with a masonry bit and for good measure we put in a wall anchor before the screw.  It is a relatively easy project and makes a big change for a little bit of money.

Happy Crafting!
Molly 

Ottoman Project

Prior to our move I picked up two matching club chairs at a thrift store for less than $10 a piece.  I loved the chairs and so did Josh, even though he referred to them as girly.

As you can see, our wee one, Liam, loves the girly chairs.  The pattern is blue country toile.  There was something missing though, matching ottomans.  The hardest part was finding matching fabric to the chairs.  Thank goodness for Ebay!  The chairs have a accent of blueish gingham and blue cording.  The blue cording I purchased from Jo-Ann fabrics, the lumber, legs and hardware came from Home Depot.  First thing first, I put Josh to work making the frames for the ottomans while I painted the legs to match the legs on the chairs.

The legs were around $2-$3 a piece.  The lumber was less than $15 and the hardware was around $5.  When the frame was done I secured the gingham fabric around the frame with my staple gun.  It overlaps around the edges and I secured them with upholstery tacks to cover up the staples.

After the gingham was attacked, I secured the blue cording to the top with staples.  All it is missing now is the top.  The top was fairly easy as well.  I secured the matching toile fabric to the top with staples, leaving a side unsecured so I could place the stuffing inside.

The top was secured using 90 degree brackets.  And my husband used U-shaped brackets to secure the legs.  Though the fabric is not the same design, you cannot tell unless you really look.  And here is the finished product.

The whole projects cost around $30-$40 all together, including the chairs.  This is why I love shopping at my local thrift stores.  You never know what you will find if you look.

Happy Crafting!
Molly

Hello gorgeous....

So, in the midst of all my repining on Pinterest and coming up with my own evil genius craft ideas, I decided to start my very own blog.  You may be wondering "who is this girl and why should I read her ramblings in the form of a blog?"  Well, I, Molly, am a writer and ethnohistorian by trade and a stay at home mom by choice.  I married my best friend and the love of my life, Josh; we have a wee one named Liam, as well as a dog, Jack, and cat, Guinness.  We also just bought a newish 1970s era classic split level that we are currently doing some sweat equity on.  I figured I would also share that with all of you people in cyberland, as well as some recipes, D.I.Ys, and general randomness that is pure Molly.  I hope you enjoy.