Thrift store decor

Last weekend I came across these pretty little babies at the thrift store just sitting there waiting for me to take them home.

The walls in my house have been pretty bare since we moved in three years ago. So it's about time I just start putting things up and make our house feel like a home. I thought they would add some interest. I saw those Disc things on the Shanty2Chic blog and ordered them up from Disc Changers (they are company that sells them)as soon as I got home. They arrived yesterday. Super fast shipping especially since they came from England.


Here they are on my wall.



My house is so bare and boring. WOW. I never noticed until I started taking photos. So more projects to come to jazz it up. I think I need some curtains around the door to soften it up a bit. ALso the table needs to be refinished. I was thinking white? How about you? What do you think? Love those Discs. They worked like a dream. They do recommend you let them sit overnight before you hang your plates to allow time for the glue to dry. Have great weekend.

I did it! Sewing Class

I finally made it to my sewing class last night. I signed up to take a class back in February but the day the class was held we had a big snow storm come in. So I had to reschedule. I was so excited. I brought my new sewing machine with me. Found some fabric at Walmart. I was kind of bummed, I wanted to buy some fabric at the shop where the class was being held but they wanted you to pre-wash all the fabric. I live in the country so it's hard to drive 40 minutes just to get some cool fabric. SO you got to work with what you have and Walmart was my only option. I found a pretty cute fabric for $1.50 a yard. Can't beat that! The ticking stripe was $2 a yard. So for my first project it worked great! My niece went with me to the class also. Her bag turned out super cute as well. So here you go, this is the tote I made.



The class was held at Crafty Planet in Minneapolis, MN. It was the cutest little shop. They also sell fabric online. Everyone was super nice and very helpful. I can't wait to take another class and start making some cool things for around the house. I really want to get this fabric for some pillows. I just love it. We have wild columbine that grows in our yard and our woods it it would just fit our home.



I showed my boys this morning what I made and they could not believe it. They were so excited. Now they have all sorts of ideas floating through their heads. They really want me to make them Super Mario Bros. dolls. I'm not sure how soon that will happen, but I'm sure they won't let me forget about it.
Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

Easter Topiary

Around the blog community I kept seeing wreaths made from cupcake holders. They really caught my eye. They are just adorable. Well one day I was at my local thrift store and happened to come across these little topiary foam thingies for $.50. I couldn't pass them up. They made me think of the wreaths everyone had been making for Valentine's day. I thought I could make a topiary instead. Then a few days later I had to run to the drug store and they just happened to have the small Easter cupcake holders marked down to 3 for $1.00. SCORE! I couldn't pass those up either. The lady asked me what I was going to do with all of them. She was very interested when I told her I was going to make a topiary out of them.



One night my friend Andrea from Do's to Choose and I had a craft night together. I knew this would be an opportunity for me to actually finish a project.


So I just twisted the bottom of each cupcake paper and applied them to the foam with hot glue. I ended up using 3 packages of 75 holders. So 225 cupcake holders. Yes my fingers hurt after a while. I think it turned out pretty darn cute. Grand total spent$2.00. I already had the green grass (from a gift,) buttons and ribbon (also from a gift). I spray painted the $.50 pink pot that was in my thrift store loot. I used Heirloom White by Rustoleum.


Here it is sitting in our house. Another idea I had for it was to use moss instead of the shredded easter paper. I didn't have any moss so I used the paper instead.



Shared this link at:

Mantle and Fireplace touch up

Just another project that was on my to-do list. Since we have lived here I have disliked the brass everywhere! I think the first week I replaced all the lights in every room. It was all 1990's decor. So the fireplace was on my list. That brass strip had to go. Greg used to install fireplaces way back in the day. So we had some heat tolerant spray paint sitting in the garage just waiting to be used. One snowy day back in January, I had Greg turn the heat on in the garage and we spray painted all sorts of things. The mantle has sort of been the same since we have lived here too. Just stuck in a rut. Here is the before and after of the fireplace and mantle. What do you think? There are so many things I would love to do but being a SAHM not everything is budget friendly. So you work with what you got.




Not new but impoved. I have rearranged the room recently. I should show you a picture of what it looks like now. I need to recover the little couch and chairs. I want to add some curtains to the windows too. I will post a picture later.


Thanks for looking. Tell me what you think. Any suggestions? A group of thinkers are better than just one. Oh, I recently repainted that vase that sitting on the hearth. It looks a little awkward just sitting there doesn't. I will post later about that too. I don't have a Cricut so I just used a Exacto knife for the number 5. I will write again soon. Have a great day!

Repainted Secretary

Hi all. Just got back from spring break with our family. We drove to Oklahoma and back. Quite the adventure. Here are the boys playing Wii in our hotel room.


I wanted to share with you my little project I completed before we left. My husband always used his lap top on our dining room table and it was beginning to drive me nuts. I remembered I bought this little secretary desk a few years ago at a thrift store for $12 and it was sitting waiting to be painted in our spare bedroom. So I brought it down and cleaned it all up and painted away.


I love that it has those little storage spots inside. We are going to use them to hold our cell phones while they charge. Greg drilled a hole in the back so the cords can be plugged in. The chair was another thrift store find for $3. I did a little updating on that as well. Just to tie the two together. Still looking for a cute fabric for the cover. I haven't had a chance to go look for some.



So here is what they look like now. The only bad thing is I can't find two of the knobs I took off the piece. I guess I put them in a safe spot. DRRRR...

Small Budget Master Bedroom Redo

It has taken me 3 years to finally redo this room. We bought ourselves a flat screen for x-mas so that's what started it all. It's by no means fabulous but MUCH MUCH better than it was before. It was just done on a very minimal budget. Here is how the previous owners had the room.

We had it set up differently before. I didn't take any pictures because I hated it. I love it now. We spend so much more time in here now.


Comforter set from Target $50
Red Velvet chair from thrift store $25
Random Pillows from thrift store $2 each
Pittsburgh Paint (Applesauce Cake) $20
Pictures on side wall: Frames w/mats $1.50 thrift store, images are post cards I bought on our anniversary at the Milwaukee Art Museum $6.
Picture above the bed. Frame I had and removed old print. Put this signed watercolor inside found at a thrift store. $3
Pastel Painting of our twins kissing painted by our niece. It was a gift.
Set of Lamps from target $25
Fan from Home Depot $50 (old one, glass was broken and it was all white)
Curtains from JC Penny $20 per pair, 95"length
Leather Ottoman found at the thrift store $2
Fruit crate behind chair for my magazines $1
Curtain rods I already had but painted them black.





So the next thing I would like to do to this room is remove and replace all the furniture hardware. That is a must. The brass NEEDS to go. Thanks for looking. If you have any ideas for my room please let me know. I would love to hear what you have to say.