Benched

Look at what I found (well, bought anyway)!  Let's just say that I have a veeeeery patient husband... ha ha.  He sees me walk through the door with this over my shoulder and barely batted an eye.  Ok, he may have groaned a little when he saw this one.  But I can see the beauty in her!  I am hoping the fabric on those legs will be easy to remove (fingers crossed).  We have wanted a bench seat like this for the foot of our bed and this is the perfect size and the right shape for a very cheap price so I am going to have a crack at rehabilitating her.  I can't wait to see if the vision in my head matches the reality (sadly, a rare occurrence).

Makeover Monday - Thrifty Lamp

Remember my (potentially) pretty glass lamps that I picked up a while ago?  I bought a new lampshade for one of them and doesn't it look great now?  I love it!  I got the new lampshade at Ikea for only $10 so the lamp in total cost $14.99.  I love a good bargain too.

Pear terrarium

Received my fine white sand!  I need to rearrange it a bit but otherwise I LOVE IT.  Seriously love it.  Like 'walk through that room on purpose as a detour so I can look at it and smile' love it.  I think I especially love the tiny little starfish and shell that Robin Charlotte from Etsy included with the plants.  I can't wait for the plants to grow up a bit now.

I had some sand left over so A made one in my rose bowl vase.  I think his actually looks better and I really like the addition of twigs.  I might have to get the sweet boy to rearrange mine for me.

Of course, now I have to buy more sand so E can make one (twist my arm - not).  Oh, looky that, I have a good reason to go to the thrift store again for a suitable vase/terrarium planter!  Oh wait, I would have gone anyway.... :-)

Thrift Store Tuesday - a bit early

Phew, those last few weeks flew by... between school and after school activities and dog stuff and health issues etc. etc. it is crazy around here!

Ok, well I promised to show some more of my thrifty finds and here they are!  After this, there are going to be some fantastic crafts coming up so stay tuned...

I found a bunch more (ok, 14) of these blue mason jars and they were cheaper than the other three I bought.  Of course, I probably have too many now but I am sure I will find a use for them... they are so pretty I couldn't resist!  This sweet little apothecary jar was just $1.  I am not sure what I am going to fill it with but I now understand my sister's obsession with all things glass - I love the sparkle and reflectiveness of it.  I am still a sucker for porcelain as well but glass and crystal is definitely working it's way in to my heart too.

I found these two leaf prints and knew exactly where I could put them in our living room.  They really make this little corner of our rental feel much more homey.  Funny how little touches can do that.

I am picking up just about every clean white planter I can at the moment.  I am hoping my little collection of indoor plants survive the winter with me (not known for my green thumb...).  I really love having indoor plants as my daughter is horribly intolerant of flowers (bad hayfever) so I very rarely have cut ones inside.  Which is a pity when you have a husband who loves to buy them!

This lovely is a vintage (antique?) crystal lampshade that I kept on seeing at the thrift store over weeks and weeks.  I don't know why but it just kept whispering to me (ok, anyone who antiques/flea markets etc. knows exactly what I am talking about!).  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but thought maybe it might look nice upside down on a candlestick.  So I went to that section of the thrift store....

and look at what I found....  perfect size to make this......

They fit together perfectly thanks to a large'ish cloche on the candlestick.  I have been umming and aahing over gluing it all together but think I will leave it loose so it will be easier to change the candle.  I really love how it came together.

But, the piece de resistance is saved for last!  I was having a quick wander through one of my regular haunts when I spied this high on a shelf above me (which probably wasn't very high if you saw how tall I am....)....

for only $5!!!  I grabbed it so fast I nearly got injured.

If you have been here awhile you might recall I have been coveting this one from Viva Terra.  I could not believe my luck.  So I immediately went on line and bought some air plants (from this shop on Etsy) and am waiting for my order of fine white sand (from Discount School Supply - love these guys!) to arrive.  So, for the princely sum of around $25 (including the plants and sand and shipping) I have what sells for $79.  Not bad!  I will show you how it looks after my sand arrives.

Thrift Store Tuesday

Look what I scored at the thrift store last week - a perfect fit for my cute little cake stand!  Actually I did get some other beauties as well but I will show you them later...

Thrift Store Thursday

Yep, I have thrifty goodness coming out of my ears lately.  Just a quick post to show you my latest scores!

An Emile Henry jug I bought for $4.99 (that is retailing on Amazon for around $60).  It is perfect and I love it!

A West Elm faux bois patterned planter for $8 (no idea if this is a good deal - they no longer sell it).  I also got that cute geranium for just $1 at the thrift store too.

A complete game board of Mousetrap.  Lord A (I can't keep up with my nicknames for my kids either...) has been asking and asking for me to buy this for him so when I spotted it for $1 I snatched it up.

It doesn't take long for him to personalise how he plays though.

I actually got this before last Christmas (for about $5) but forgot to mention it.  It is not a great quality one but it works fine and the kids love it so that is good enough for me.  Only problem is, we have used up the candles and I can't find where to buy new ones.  Anyone have any advice about that??

Makeover Monday - Thrifty Mirror

Remember this thrift store mirror I had plans for?  The white kind of looks all fresh in this photo but in person it was looking a bit tired and tatty.

Here she is, all freshly painted and hanging in my entry way (some hints for indoor, poorly lit photography would be welcome Karen!).  It really brightens up this space and makes me feel cheery every time I walk past.  I love how little tweaks we do have that effect.  By the way, the paint colour I used was Martha Stewart's Cornbread.  The photo makes it look very bright but it is actually a softer colour in person.  Check out the paint swatch next time you are at Home Depot and you will see what I mean.

Thrift Store Thursday

Woo hoo, have I had some wonderful times in thrift stores lately!

Firstly I found this cute little bongo drum (which I recently saw in a catalogue for $25) for $4.

Then I found this gorgeous porcelain owl lamp.  Just $10 and it is in mint condition.

But lastly, I hit the mother lode yesterday.  All of this jadeite for $25!  I am still over the moon about it.

Anybody else had any thrift store luck?