Great Craigslist find!

I bought this little hallway table off Craigslist for $10. There were slots where drawers used to be, so I just bought 2 baskets to fill the space. Looks great .. and now I have a place to put my keys every time I come home.

 <3

Made my sister some birthday presents.

I spent the afternoon making my sister her birthday presents yesterday. (I hope you don't see this blog post, Jessca!) :x

Anyways, I made a pumpkin spice sugar scrub & some candy dipped spoons with a mug and hot cocoa.

I think the sugar scrub turned out FANTASTIC. I used it last night in the shower and not only does my skin feel soft and smooth, my bathroom smelled amazing as well.

Ingredients:

     - 1 1/4 cup Safflower Oil (or Sunflower oil) *Olive oil should not be used due to the smell.
     - 1 cup granulated white sugar
     - 2 cups brown sugar (I used dark)
     - 3 tbs pumpkin pie spice (I used McCormick brand)

Just blend all the ingredients in a bowl .. I mixed the oil in last after thoroughly blending all dry ingredients. Then just pour into a jar and enjoy. It will stay good for months as long as you keep it air tight and out of sunlight. :) Love it!

I was shopping at Target and found this little mug with my sister's initial on it. It also just so happened to be her favorite color! Not wanting to just buy an empty mug as a present I decided to fill it, too!

Using durable plasticware and various candy/chocolate, I dipped the spoons and coated them with candy. I also included a few packets of hot cocoa in the mug. Just use the spoons to stir coffee/cocoa and enjoy the flavor!

Mmmmmm .. 




I hope she enjoys her presents! <3

The view! Oh my.

This bedroom view inspired me more than anything I've seen!
If I could choose any breathtaking view for my bedroom to look over .. it would have to be winter woods.

Sigh .. :)

Thrift store finds of the week!

I was able to find 2 great articles of clothing while thrifting this week.

Here they are:


Beautiful blouse (I'm wearing it right now :D)
$6.00

And this lovely purse:
$8.00

$14 dollars for two beautiful items. Definitely one of my new favorite shirts of all time!


Happy thrifting!

Good Morning ..

England Vacation.

Reminiscing about the solo trip I took to London 2 years ago this week.

Here are some picture I took while I was there!

Played around with the colors on this one 

Had a stranger take my photo at Stonehenge :)

Big Ben!

 This was the lovliest night of the whole trip.

Just thought I'd share. xo

Hello Kitty for dinner, anyone?

Heh!

I'd like to share some drawings with you.

Sometimes the things you have and love can inspire artwork. I think these three pictures I made in the past few years are some of my favorites. 

 "Curious Planet"

"Leaving Dreamtown"

This one was just a random sketch I like. 

xo

Old photos, good memories.

Browsing through an older photo album, I came across a few pictures of my past bedroom. Although it is slightly too juvenile for my taste, I sure miss this room now. The colors and antique touches were gorgeous! I wish I could go back in time for a few days. *sigh*

Notice the R-Patz obsession ;)

Art festivals

A few years ago I managed to snag an antique ring at an art festival for $10.
It is the only ring I ever had (expensive or not) that hasn't tarnished or turned color even slightly.

I get compliments on this ring all the time, and it is truly my favorite piece of jewelry.

$10 vintage ring. Nice!

Oh, how I love garbage picking.

Found this oil painting in the garbage of an antique store. It has an adorable gold and white frame, and a cute wintery cottage painting inside. I'm not sure how old it is. I love the old wire hanger on the back.

It definitely gives my room a cute cottage feel!

approx. 8" x 11"

French Doors .. Simply Breathtaking!

Looking at pictures of French doors on the internet, my jaw dropped when I saw this photo.

    

These have got to be the most beautiful French doors I have ever seen. So inspiring! One day I shall have these in my home. For now I'll gladly accept the French door cabinets in my kitchen :)

Necklace hanger DIY

Looking for a budget-friendly way to hang your necklaces? You can easily display your jewelry in a way that is both useful and appealing to the eyes. Using key hangers is a great alternative to expensive jewelry hangers. There is almost always a few to pick from at any thrift store I go to.

Total cost: $1.25

Nice glass!

I was lucky to find a 4 piece set of glasses with my initial on them while thrifting at The Salvation Army. Best part - the set was only $4.

 Sweet and sophisticated!

 

DIY lamp idea

This DIY is really simple. Not so much of a DIY, but more of a clever positioning of household items.

I recently moved into a flat in a downtown area, where you sacrifice size for location. My living room is pretty small, and only has electrical outlets on the left side of the room near the front door.
In desperation of a cheap yet chic lamp that would illuminate the whole room, I had to get crafty.

I originally bought this paper lantern lamp kit at my local TJ Maxx on clearance for $4. (Such a good deal, I had to buy two!) After bringing it home I realized the thought of having a cord hanging across the room as soon as guests walk through the door made me cringe.

In a jiffy I grabbed a basket (also bought at TJ Maxx on clearance for $3) and put the lantern inside the basket.

I think it turned out to be very unique and beautiful!

Get inspired & the rest falls together. DIY Dresser antiquing.

This dresser has so much character, I bought it on the spot when I saw it at an antique store for $75 dollars. The price had me worried I would have to spend a lot of money to find furniture to coordinate with this dresser. Instead I attempted a little DIY project that proved successful.

The inspiration:

I found this nightstand in the trash of the same antique store I bought the dresser at. Yes, I said it. I garbage picked this thing. It was ugly laminate fake wood I could literally peel off in one piece.
Hoping to coordinate my bedroom I decided to try out an antiquing kit they sell at Michael's. This one gave furniture a brushed ivory finish.

It is a simple process of sanding, painting, sanding areas again, and topping off with a finishing coat of clear-brown paint. This nightstand took me about 3 hours total, mostly because I was sanding laminate. Laminate does not really sand well, instead I more roughed up the surface so the paint would actually stick.

The finished product:

Here is an up-close view of the texture that was created by sanding laminate:

Next I found a piece of naked furniture at the craft store, and used a 40% off coupon to get it at $16 dollars. I then used the same antique kit. This time it took about 30 minutes due to the fact it was naked furniture and no sanding was required from the start.

Here is the finished product:

There it is! I was able to have a 3-piece matching bedroom set for $91.
Very vintage-inspired shabby chic! Gotta love it!!

These boots are too cute.

Came across these boots last week for $10 at a resale shop by my home. They have that look and feel of being perfectly broken in, right from the start. I can't wait to wear these ones out!

One of the easiest DIY gift ideas.

When rushing to find a gift for someone when short on cash, this DIY gift idea is a must.

Take a trip to the thrift store, find a decent picture, and ignore the hideous frame it is wrapped in.
The next part is even easier. Once you get the picture home, take some sandpaper and sand the frame down. Use a DIY Antiquing kit (I got mine at Michael's for $9 with a 40% off coupon, and 2 dressers and a billion frames later I am still using it) and antique the frame yourself. The outcome is always adorable and vintage-inspired.

This picture only cost me $.75!

Homemade Canopy for under $50.

A few years ago I came across a picture on Tumblr of a canopy bed. I thought about that picture for weeks, dreaming of how much fun it would be to draw the curtains close and hide in your own private space.

I wasn't sure how to make something like that myself, so I gave it a go and winged it.
Here was the outcome:

All it took was a trip to Target and a few hours.

Supplies:

4 curtain panels at least 84" in length: $20 for 4.
1 pkg. fishing wire: $6.99.
3 sheer curtain scarves (for billowy ceiling cover):  $12 for 3.
2 curtain tie-backs: $10 for 2.
Total: $49

I simply nailed the curtain scarves from wall to wall, making it billow in random places.
I then hung fishing line from one wall to the other going straight across. You can use two screws to hold the fishing wire, or add hooks like I did. You want to add another screw in the ceiling directly half way between the two walls and add a support wire from that screw/hook to the middle of the fishing wire.
Make sure you add the curtains to the fishing wire before you secure each side to the wall.
You basically have your canopy after this step. You can then use the tie-backs to keep the curtains parted as above, or close for your own private bedroom cave.

I have since moved into a loft, but I sure do miss that canopy.

Almost as good as a thrift store find.

I was clearance shopping at Payless a few weeks ago when I stumbled across this lovely pair of boots. For $12 dollars, these boots are a lovely addition to my collection.

Great handmade gifts for under $5

Last Christmas I was short for cash, but not short on people expecting presents. I visited my neighborhood Salvation Army and got all the supplies I needed to make multiple presents .. all for under $5.

This homemade picture frame is the perfect vintage-inspired addition to your dresser or desk.
I purchased a box of dried out flowers and hot-glued them to a thrifted picture frame I bought for $.50.

I used the same flowers and glued them to a candlestick holder that was also $.50 ..

Lastly, I had some scrap ribbon laying around and wrapped it around various mason jars and candle holders. This one I glued a crystal to that was part of a 10 pack I bought at Michael's for $2.00. Nice!

Sometimes price is worth the product .. in this case it was!

I was searching online a few years back for a swanky new swag lamp & I stumbled across this gem. It was listed at a resale store a few miles away for $50 and I just couldn't resist. In this case the higher price was definitely worth it! Every guest in my house raves about this lamp, and I enjoy looking at it too!

$1 pair of flats. That's what I'm talking about!

I managed to find this adorable pair of flats at a thrift store on my lunch break at work. They were on the clearance table marked for $1.
Best part is they're a pair I'd probably pay full price for.