Outdoor Bakers Rack

July 31st and the summer is half over already. Just like that. And it's been a great one so far. Lots of time with family and friends, incredible weather, a mountain getaway, lazy weekends at home, thrifting and projects...I couldn't ask for more, really.

But I never seem to find the time to blog what I get up to. However, this recent project of mine is a current favourite so I wanted to be sure to share.

I've really been enjoying my container gardening this summer and even planted a few perennials. Although we have a garden shed in the back yard to house everything, I decided a potting bench would be nice. We have a walk out basement and an under utilized 12 x 18 patio that I decided would be a good place for it. But nothing turned up on kijiji.

What did turn up was this bakers rack. At 3 feet wide and with no glass I knew it would fill the space I had in mind perfectly. And at $35 it was reasonably priced. It's very solid too. I've seen a few of these online used outdoors.

A before shot of the space as a whole, not very pretty and like I said under utilized.

Here is the bakers rack freshly spray painted and ready to hold all my stuff. But before I decorated I decided to spruce up the space a little too. I found some funky Martha Stewart pillows (the smaller ones) on clearance for $8.50 each and an outdoor rug for $14.44 for the seating area.

And here are a few shots with some potting stuff on the bakers rack.

I love how the gardening tools sit nicely on the wine rack.

Some thrifty items on here:

Galvanized tub for my potting soil, $2 garage sale find

Galvanized vases 25 cents each, garage sale find

Terracotta pots 27 cents each at our local greenhouse

(And everything else I had on hand)

Here's the entire space, it's a little more welcoming now.

Do you see that planter? That might be the most thrifty item of all since it was FREE. My office hosted a lunch time gardening session in June where they supplied all the plants and flowers to make a large planter.

Love it.

But I wasn't so sure I loved the bakers rack all junked up with the potting stuff. I think it can also be used as an outdoor space for drinks and snacks (lots of people do this from what I saw online). The tub would be great with ice for canned beverages and there is lots of shelf space for snacks, dishes, etc.

I still think I like it better as a potting bench.

So there's my bakers rack redo. I think I spent about $90 with the spray paint to revive the space. And the best part is we have been using it. It's been incredibly hot this weekend and this seems to be the best outdoor space to keep cool.

Thanks for visiting. I am linking up to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures party and Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.



Recent Thrifty Finds & Lamp Revamp

Hello!

I went out garage saling Saturday morning and must have hit 8 or 10 houses without finding anything good. All I bought were these three books from one seller for $3. Believe me, the last thing I need are any more books. I must have 50 stacked up beside the bed. For real.

I decided to call it a day but on my way home I stopped at another sale where I found some good stuff! This canner was only 50 cents!

These turquoise glasses were also 50 cents (for 8 of them!) And are my favourite find of the day.

Some vintage linens, also 50 cents each. I will use the table cloth and brown and white pillow cases. I think I will make linen napkins with the other set of pillow cases.

I also grabbed this watering container for 25 cents. These always come in handy.

 

Here's another favourite from the week. A vintage waste paper basket I found at Value Village for $4. Our son had a lacrosse practice nearby and I *introduced* my husband to VV on Friday night ;).

Oh, and a couple of frames picked up last weekend. $2 for a large frame still in it's package and $3 for a shadow box.

And finally, my lamps. I saw these guys for $5 each and looked them over. As I was driving away I thought they might work for our bedside tables, if painted. I've been looking for lamps for a while. However, I want something silver or glass, and definitely not want wicker shades, but I haven't been able to find anything I really *love*. Remembering that I have metallic spray paint I turned around and went back to get them.

Here they are after meeting a can of Krylon Brushed Metallic in Aluminum, and with a couple of new shades to top them off before heading to our bedroom. (And here's one more peek of my blue cabinet I recently finished tee hee).

Here's the before again:

And in their new home:

(check out my 50 cent pillow cases!)

I'm pleased with how they turned out, a big improvement over what we had before and these will work great until I can find the perfect lamps. Or, maybe I will just keep them! (Oh, and I told you I had a few books stacked up!) Anyone else have that problem...buying them faster than you can read them?

Thanks for visiting. I'm linking up to Rhoda and Linda's parties!

Krylon Watermelon!

A recent trip around the blog world lead me to this post where I was introduced to Krylon Watermelon. **SWOON**. I was worried I might not be able to find it in Canada but I found some at Canadian Tire yesterday. I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it.

The tags are from Papertrey Inks Button Boutique set. Last month I went away for a girls weekend with two dear friends and one of them (the Amazing Char) had prepped these tags and brought out ink, buttons, and embellishments for us to put them together. It was such a fun evening, sitting around crafting, chatting, eating (oh, and drinking wine too). I knew I wanted to do something special with my tags to remember such a great time.

I had bought this frame a couple of weekends ago at a garage sale (posted here). I covered the insert with some burlap and used scor tape to adhere the tags. Easy peasy. And doesn't it look great in all it's watermelon glory? I ADORE it.

I hung it in my craft room near my button and ribbon storage.

Thanks for peeking!

I'm linking up to Sarah's spray painting party. I know it's just a simple frame but I LOVE it (have I mentioned that yet??) and want to share it :).

This Week's Thrifty Finds

 Hello!

I finally got to go garage sale-n with my friend Char yesterday, and we had a great day. We hit up some neighbourhoods in the south part of the city.  My first finds of the day were these cool frames at 25 cents each. They are 11 x 13. I can't wait to spray paint them.

I also picked up some unopened Avon bubble bath for my mom for $1 each.

Here's some odds and ends I picked up throughout the day: 

The blue vase was $1, unopened case of Bernardin canning jars $3, retro table cloth $1, coaster sized doilies $2 in all, and an old set of wedding cake pans ($2) that I will use for storage in the craft room.

Next up is this decorative (and heavy) iron grate that I may spray paint and distress. It was $3.

And here's my FAVOURITE find of the day. A cute wrought iron plant stand for $3. I already have a plant in it! :)

I also found these wire baskets for $1 each. Not sure what I will do with them yet but I am sure they will come in handy. Maybe for fabric in the craft room.

This box of 12 permanent markers was $1 and the date stamps were 25 cents each. If I ever get around to scrap booking I plan to date the page or the photo.

And finally....I found some Pyrex!! And a pattern I don't normally come across, Horizon! These were actually from an estate sale and were $23 total...my splurge of the day. They are in mint condition too.

I'm linking my finds to my two favourite thrifty parties. So nice to know there are other crazy thrifters out there like Char and I to share our finds with. We were saying yesterday that shopping retail isn't even fun anymore and we would much rather thrift!

Thanks for visiting!!

Thrifty Finds

Spring has finally sprung and the garage sales are in full swing here in Calgary. Between garage sales and the thrift stores I've found some fun stuff recently and thought I would share.

I picked this up from Goodwill yesterday. At $8 it wasn't the thriftiest find, but I couldn't leave it behind and have already found a home for it.



This frame was a great garage sale find at $1.50. I have a fun project in mind for this.

I'm not sure if I will actually wear this skirt but I picked it up for $2 at a garage sale last weekend.

50 cents for these metal measuring spoons from a yard sale. I can never have enough measuring spoons.

I paid $1 for all three of these Styrofoam pieces. I am thinking of making some funky trees for Christmas decor with the cones.

The cake plate below was $5 at Goodwill and the cloche dome was $1.50 at another thrift store.

And last but not least I found this amazing vintage Pyrex divided dish with lid at a thrift store in Okotoks yesterday for $2.

LOVE it.

 I'm so excited to be linking up to Rhoda's and Linda's Thrifty Parties this week. Thanks for hosting ladies! It's been months since I've participated in a party and I can't wait to see every one's fabulous finds. Thanks for stopping by here!