Thrifting in the Mountains! With Jake!

We went on a little vaca in the mountains two weeks ago. My husband was working so I was flying solo with my 15 year old, Jake, and his friend Patrick. The boys golfed every day so I had lots of time to read and relax, not a bad deal.

I did not even have thrifting on the brain but saw a sign that the local Lions Club were having a big garage sale on the Saturday morning. Jake asked if I thought they would have any golf clubs. He hadn't played since the summer before and we hadn't realized he had outgrown his junior set. We were in Fairmont Hot Springs, BC and the place is a mecca for golf (the resort we were at had three courses alone, plus countless others within a short drive). Seriously, if anywhere was to have golf clubs it was there.

So my son got up with me bright and early while Patrick slept and we hit the sale. Within minutes Jake worked out a deal with one of the volunteers for a set of clubs for $10. TEN DOLLARS!! For an entire set of clubs including a great bag with a stand. He was pretty pleased with himself. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ;). Here's a shot from the iPhone.

And I managed to find something myself for $10. This glass and iron shelving unit. I knew this thing had promise.

But it didn't *quite* fit into my Honda Civic (especially with the third bag of golf clubs!). But I was determined to bring it home and for the entire 3 hour highway drive it stayed securely up top thanks to the 100 feet of rope I picked up at the hardware store and the Mexican blanket I always keep in my trunk, along with some strategic rope tying.

The boys thought I was NUTS. I suppose I am. But look at how this thing prettied up with a can of Krylon Fusion Hammered Finish spray paint.

It was absolutely worth the time it took to mount it to my roof and the stressful drive home worrying if it was staying secure. And the fact that the drivers behind me left lots and lots of room was A-OKAY too. Kidding. I tied that sucker so tight it didn't even BUDGE.

Thanks for visting! I'm 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!

Little Blue Cabinet

eta: also linking up to Debbie Doos Summer Colour Paint Party

 

I picked up this little cabinet off Kijiji in February. It was my first Kijiji purchase ever and the guy was creepy and a bit of a hoarder. I was happy to have my hubby with me,  I seriously could have disappeared forever in that place.

Anyways, 4 months later and I finally painted it and changed out the hardware. It took me THAT long to build up the energy to paint again after this experience. I don't know how the furniture bloggers do it so frequently and so well.

I also spray painted the hinges. I intended to distress it (and still might) but for now am happy with it as is. It fits perfectly on a little staircase wall and we will use it to store our platters and serving ware, stuff we don't use every day. It will also be nice to have a little display space on the top, although I am not sure what to put there yet. I'll have to be on the lookout at the garage sales!!

Thanks for peeking! I'm linking up to Primitive and Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday party. Such amazing inspiration over there.

Tim Holts Word Keys Project

Hey there,

I bought a pack of Tim Holtz Word Keys ages ago...not because I loved the words so much, more the shape of some of the keys. I actually spray painted these last month but only now got around to finishing this project.

The shadow box frame is from Ikea and I have photo'd without the glass in order to avoid the glare. Hope you likey!

Thanks for visiting.

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!