Update: New Mantel.... Again!!

Yesterday Mom came over to Gainesville to do a little junkin'.  I wasn't feeling well, but we found cute stuff anyway!  While we were talking, I brought up my mantel dilemma that I talked about on Thursday... You know, wanting some Drama up there.  She said "what if you paint it black?" I instantly said "Yes!!"  So.... Thats what I did yesterday afternoon.  I used high gloss black paint (that, by the way, was free! It was left in the garage by our landlord... I used it in the master bathroom too, for trim! More on that later :) )  

And...... Here it is! Again.  :)  I'm sure there will be more changes... but not for a while~  

Happy painting!!~

Hey y'all!! So for the last week and a half, or so, I've been working on my fall mantle.... It is of course going to be tweaked until it's time to put up the winter/Christmas mantle! Anyway~

So, here's what I started with (now remember, this was thrown together about a week after we moved in with just whatever was lying around the house :) next summer's will be MUCH better!!)...

It's pretty much your basic wood mantle-over-a-brick-fireplace :)

I have been thinking about painting the bricks, but since we're renting, I don't know about that! But I REALLY want to!! **We'll see if Corey agrees with me in time for Christmas** :) :) :)

The pictures on either side of the mirror came from K-mart if you can believe it, for maybe $2 a piece, they might have even been only $1!! They used to hang in the stairwell in an our old townhouse. The mirror came from Homegoods a few years back for $15. The rest was just other odds and ends that didn't have a home yet!

Oh, and disclaimer time: Sorry for the picture quality and all that jazz~ I have just a standard ol' digital camera for the next few weeks... I'm researching DSLRs and stalking stores and websites to find a good deal! However, I read an old post from Centsational Girl about the photo editing software Picasa... so I downloaded it and am trying it! We'll see how it goes. I do have iPhoto, but it doesn't upload directly to blogger like picasa :) So again, bare with my as I tryout my editing and picture taking skills!

And here's what it looked like for a few days....

The sticks came out of my yard.  Corey did some yardwork and was going to put these out for the trashpeople!! I stopped him, because look how fabulous they look! Such potential! PS--these are some of the same sticks that I have used in my master bedroom :D don't be afraid to root around in your yard for free decor!!  

And here is what it looks like today:   I think it still needs something behind it all.  Maybe some sort of paint treatment in the same color as my bedroom? (a greyish-bluish sort of something :) ).... hmmm... I don't know!! Thoughts?

    (also, my walls are a  light aqua color.  I can't remember the name right now, artic something by behr.  I'll look it up.  But it's not as light as it looks!)

<~ My stick transformation! I glued fall leaves from Michael's ($4.99 for LOTS!) with E6000 glue :) Cute right?!

This wreath is hung from one of those 3M hooks that you can remove and it doesn't cause any damage.  It's one that has a wire hook on it though, not a plastic one, and its stuck into the foam :)                            ~>

So the hurricane vignette... Let me just tell you~ Those are $.49 brass candlesticks from Goodwill! Yes, you read correctly.  49 CENTS!!! and $1 hurricanes from the dollar store glued together with some trusty ol' E6000!!!!  I then just took two white pillars that I had laying around and stuck 'em in there with some of those leaves from Michael's and some cinnamon scented mini pinecones in the other.  The hurricane behind those is of similar fashion...It's some sort of metal candlestick from a thriftstore with the same type of hurricane glued on.  I have a collection of wine corks, so I thought they'd be fall-y up there :) 

Then the picture next door has not been retouched AT ALL!! (actually, to be honest, the only ones that were were the very first one and the close up of the wreath).  Aren't the colors gorge?!

Anywho~ That's my mantle for the moment.  What do ya think?  It needs something.... and it's definitely getting a fresh coat of white paint soon, I'm just not sure what else yet!

Hopefully I'll work some more on my bedroom this weekend and share that with y'all! In the meantime, I'll put up some of the other mini-projects I've been working on =)

Happy painting!

The $2 Hutch Cont.

So, I finished painting the little hutch, and then distressed it a bit---although now I am thinking of covering up the distressing---and had Karl hand it on the wall for me over the little white chest of drawers that my SIL gave to me. I put about 100 things in the hitch, and still am not satisfied, but for the purpose of this picture, I put my pieces of Ironstone inside. I did not even realize I owned any Ironstone until I read Miss Mustard Seed's post this morning.

I know over the next week or two I will change the look of this sweet little hutch several times, so once I settle on the "fall" look I will take another photo.

Thanks for stopping by---
Oh yeah, this weekend I will be shopping in Savannah, so Monday I look forward to sharing my finds with you!
Have a great weekend,

Good Morning!

Hello blogland!
Since this blog was my idea, I thought I would stop in and say hi.....Just recently my daughters, son and I have discovered the world of thrifting. It wasn't anything that ever interested any of us before. After scouring the web for interesting blogs to read (because I had been hooked on fabric blogs for 2 years. They were the only ones I ever read, the only ones I even knew existed!) I finally searched one day for decorating blogs, and was overwhelmed. The ones that most appealed to me were the ones who used many vintage and second hand items. Their rooms truly were unique. I mean, really, anyone can call up Pottery Barn (and I do love you, Pottery Barn) and order $7500 worth of stuff and call their room gorgeous. And it would be. But what is the fun in that? Using vintage items makes every room extremely personal. No two are alike.

So, one early Saturday morning Ashlie convinced me to come to her neck of the woods and go garage saling. Truthfully, I felt a little funny. What if I didn't like anything that people were selling. Wouldn't I feel bad leaving a sale without a single purchase? Would I feel like a second-class citizen looking through other peoples junk? I was skeptical at best. So, the first one or two sales, I did feel a little anxious.....but I quickly got over it, and we had a blast! Did I feel bad when they didn't have anything I wanted, heck no! And, did I feel like a second class citizen, Heaven's NO! We were having a grand time. So the first ever garage sale excusion was awesome. That day I spent probably $80, and we had my husband's truck slam full! I bought a dresser for Hunter's room, I bought a Thomasville sofa table (which I painted white and distressed for the summer, and now have painted it black for fall and winter----because with a $20 table you can do all that to it and not think twice!) and we bought so much other stuff, it was a riot. We were hooked.

That is when I decided we should start writing about our little escapades. Write about the thrill of the hunt. Some Saturdays we load up, sometimes we don't. This past Saturday I went out early all by myself, I spent less than $20, and again loaded up with some cool things. One of those purchases was this solid wood hutch--$2. I knew I had the perfect place for it when I saw it...I also knew it would have to be painted white and distressed just a bit....this is a pic of the work in progress, I hope to have it finished and hung in its place this afternoon.

What about you, do you love to garage sale? Have you found a fabulous thrift store? Leave us a comment, we would love to hear from you!

Have a great week!

Bedroom, Part 2!

Well, since we last spoke I've added some style to my newly-dark bedroom! :)
First I thought I'd share some of my inspiration for this room....
I happened to see this blog because Mom sent it to me to show me all of her blue & white decorations, since that's what Mom's house is. I journeyed through some of the older posts and have looked at almost every day since... I LOVE her stuff!! The name of the blog is "Focal Point" <~click to visit =) I highly encourage to scroll through & go several pages back. It is fabulous. Anyway, here are two pictures that I loved and that inspired me~

I love all the frames and mirrors and layers and contrast of light and dark... Just love!


Same with this one... I also love the lines, the branches, the perspective.. again, just love it all!
So armed with these, my previous ideas I had, and my dark painted walls, I went to town!
My mom and I bought a mirror at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store a month ago for $5 and I knew it was going in my bedroom, it just needed a makeover....

Before.....

After! (and in the room)

Great what a little white paint and Windex will do! While this mirror isn't normally my style, I liked that it would feel whimsical and add something almost playful to these dark walls. It turned out to be a nice contrast to the straight lines and played off the curves of the bed.























So, here's another sneak peek of the room~ Sorry for all the teasers ;) Ok. I'm not really lol. That little table with stripes is a current project. When I first got it (for $5, from CraigsList), it was laminated particle board... yuck! But cute.. just wait until it's done!!


Ok, here's the duvet, shams, sheets, etc I NEED!!! I posted it on Facebook one day in hopes Corey would see it and get it :) No such luck... However, I happen to agree with him that $228 for a duvet cover it a little expensive... Praying for an Anthropoligie sale soon!!


It doesn't show well in this picture but it's called "Love Letters". It looks like letters all placed haphazardly, overlapping each other...all kinds of writing, stamps ... OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE! I have to have it...and I will, one day.... Until then, it's all white bedding (I know, I know--with 3 dogs.. crazy!) with a few black and white pillows.
Well, the Gators won today!!! After giving me only a couple minor heartaches. And tomorrow I have several projects I want to work on, I'll be sure to take pictures and share! Until then, Happy Painting!