Well, the day I placed my new spring wreath on my front door, the temperature dropped 30 degrees, there was crazy wind, and oh so cold, but the calendar tells me it’s spring.
Today a short and simple post sharing a $1 thrift store find and a $2.49 hyacinth.
I was attracted to this odd shaped container right away, not only the shape, but the fact it was white.
Scrubbed the container and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
White, of course!
One of my local stores had a display of spring bulbs outside as you entered the store, some were already starting to bloom.
I chose a pink hyacinth for my new pot.
Oh how lovely my little spring project turned out.
Adding a bit of moss to the top finished it up.
For $3.49 I have a sweet spring and Easter piece for my home.
It brings spring inside with a lovely fragrance.
Simple as I said, in fact, there were two of these odd pots but I only brought one home, I’m now thinking I need the other one!
I have been busy putting away, and trying to organize my Christmas decorations, but I took a well needed break to finish upcycling some thrift store items.
When I was a child, my Momma gave me a shoe box.
I loved my simple box, filling it with my favorite things, pencils, crayons, scissors, and papers.
So funny, these are still some of my favorite things.
With that simple gift, my Momma started a crazy thing I have for boxes, all kinds, with or without lids, no matter.
Wood boxes are one of the first things I look for at the thrift store.
I found these 3 wood nesting boxes and an old recipe box on one of my visits.
The nesting boxes were already white, but after cleaning I still gave them a couple coats of white paint to freshen them up.
The recipe box needed a bit more work.
I cleaned and sanded it to remove the lettering, and then painted it as well.
To make them special I added white and gold knobs to each one.
I added the same knob to the nesting boxes, but selected a larger one for the recipe box.
Now that I have them fresh and new, what to do with them.
I used the recipe box to hold and display all the Christmas cards I received this year.
I remember my Momma would always display all her cards around a doorway during Christmas.
There are so many other ideas for my boxes.
On my desk.
I surrounded a candle with some snowy berries, evergreens, and pine cones, in one of the boxes, for a winter piece in my living room.
I am getting ready to update my linen closet and I have an idea they will work well to hold so many things and give the area some much needed order.
They would be perfect on a dresser as a catchall, or to hold towels or pump soaps in the bathroom.
Just so, so many ways to use them.
Hope you all liked my first post of this new year.
Thank you Momma for starting this crazy fun thing I have for boxes.
Digging through stacks of treasures hoping I will find that something I can turn into a wonderful piece of my very own.
Sometimes I see an item for a great price and just bring it home, not knowing what in the world I will do with it.
This was one of those items.
Until I saw this photo.
I love these trays, I would love to have them, but they are $75.00 for both.
Yikes!
Well, that was not going to happen, and then I remembered that old tray in my garage stash.
It was pretty scratched up so I sanded it several times.
Gathered the right size wood beads, and 4 wood pieces for legs, found at Hobby Lobby.
Painted the tray, and when dry, I used E6000 glue to add beads all around the inside edge of the tray.
When the beads were dry and secured, I painted the beads, the tray, and the legs, with several coats of paint.
Not exactly like the $75.00 ones, but pretty darn close.
Love the final results of this project.
It really is amazing when you look back at that beat up old tray I started with.
I am sure my decorative tray isn’t the quality of the ones shown in the photo, but the fact I could take something someone discarded, and turn it into something beautiful, gives me so much joy.
We had our first bit of snow this past week and the temps have been so very cold.
Brrrrr……….
On one of these stay inside days I tried a snowman project that I have seen on Pinterest for many winters, painting a cute snowman face on burlap.
I had all of the items needed.
A thrift store frame, a piece of burlap, scissors, Mod Podge, craft paint, and brushes.
I cut a piece of burlap to fit the glass on the frame, added a coat of Mod Podge to it, and then the burlap piece. This holds the burlap in place and stops it from fraying on the edges.
I drew a snowman face on the burlap and painted.
First the white for the face, and then the black hat.
I drew the mouth with a black marker, added a nose, and of course painted it orange.
When completely dry I added a piece of ribbon to the hat and two button eyes.
Pained the frame black to finish up the project.
Seriously, how cute is he?
Just perfect to keep out during the winter to hang in a special small space.
I have a confession about this project that I want to share.
When I had finished the entire piece, I somehow dropped black paint on the burlap, so to cover up my boo boo I added another piece of plaid ribbon across the burlap to hide my paint accident.
Is that being creative? I don’t know, but it saved all my work and my sweet snowman project.
Love my snowman burlap picture. It was so much fun!
Today I will be sharing a few thrift store or flea market finds that require 3 steps or less to complete.
I found this cute little box at the thrift store for $2.00.
Unfinished wood, with white ceramic drawer fronts.
Cleaned it, inside and out, sanded, and painted.
I also added at piece of scrapbook paper to line each drawer.
My plan is to use this piece in my craft area.
Maybe a place to store all the old buttons I have collected over the years.
I remember my Grandma had a large button box, I loved looking at all the different colors and shapes. I often wonder where her box is today.
This second project required very little work.
I had a beautiful turquoise birdbath a few years ago, but unfortunately, I left it outside during the cold months, and the bowl cracked.
At first I thought of trying to make a lamp using the base, but a lamp is not really needed.
So I found a plate at the thrift store for 50 cents, the exact color of the base, and decided I would try to use the two pieces to create a plant stand for our back porch.
After cleaning both pieces, I attached the plate to the base using E6000 glue.
Wonderful!
The color is perfect with the pillows I am using this season on our porch.
This last project only required cleaning.
It was a bit expensive for a thrift store purchase at $5.00, but I have seen this piece for as much as $39.00 in stores.
So many uses, but I see flowers, small pots of colorful Impatients, or maybe a centerpiece at a summer cookout filled with utensils, napkins and such. Or maybe as a caddy on my potting bench to hold garden tools.
A fortunate find, love this piece.
I am hoping that these simple projects might inspire you to visit a thrift store or flea market, or now with the warm weather coming, some local yard sales.
How rewarding it is to use something you might have thrown away, or find someone’s throw aways and upcycle them with very little work.
Thrifting is a great hobby too!
Good thoughts to all on this beautiful spring day.
Just like many of you folks, I have done some cleaning and organizing of my cabinets, drawers, and closets during this stay close to home year.
Having extra time is one good thing that has come from this past year, time for chores we have put off doing.
I worked on de-cluttering my kitchen cabinets and found two salad bowls.
Two that used to be four.
What in the world happens to things!
Where do they go!
Before I put the bowls in the “donate” box, I tried to think of ways to use them.
So, using the bowls, two pedestal pieces, from my thrift store stash, and some wood beads, I decided to try to make some serving risers.
Yes, I know you are thinking, not another project with wood beads!
Sorry, but I love the simple look using them.
I glued the beads around the pedestal pieces with E6000 glue.
The next step was to paint, one white and one gray.
When painting, I used a sponge brush overall, but a stencil brush to sort of “puddle” the paint around the beads, which helped to fill in any gaps.
It worked great, and gave the pieces a unique look.
I did not paint the inside of the bowls to keep them safe for food.
Tried different ways to use the pieces, and decided one should be a cake pedestal, by adding a wooden plate to the top, and the other as is for serving.
Added a second row of beads to the white piece, and I pretty much decided it should be the cake pedestal.
I love cake pedestals, I have several.
Maybe it is because I love cake!
I turned the pedestal upside down and glued the wood plate to the top with E6000 glue.
It turned out so nice.
I love it!
Don’t you think it will be beautiful on Easter Sunday with a yummy coconut cake, or maybe chocolate sitting on top!
I really was surprised that the two lonely salad bowls turned into two beautiful, useful riser pieces.
