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Tuesday's Club G.W. {Goodwill} No. 16

October 11, 2011

The Club G.W. Boutique is now open!

Source: Google images

Well, hello! I apologize for being late in posting this party. I usually post it on Monday night but with the Columbus Day holiday I'm a bit discombobulated. Life has gotten SO much in the way lately that I don't even have time to do Features this week ~ even though, as usual, there was some awesome stuff last week! So please forgive me this time?

The short of it is, I have a big home improvement project starting next week AND I agreed to sell some of my jewelry at a local store. {yippee!} So I've been working frantically to get a line of jewelry finished for that, as well as get the house in order for the chaos that's about to descend upon us come Monday! I may even have to put my Etsy shop on vacation temporariliy until I can get the inventory back up. Hopefully I'll have sneak peeks of both projects coming up soon! Until then, I'm dying to see your thrifty finds and re-dos.

Par-tay Rules

Link up your thrifty finds, and your thrifty find re-dos.

Please link back to your post and not to your blog's main URL.

Please mention the party somewhere in your post or place the party button on your sidebar. That way others can find out where the party is and join in!

I'd love for you to become a follower so you don't miss the next party!

And be sure to visit the other party guests!

Don't forget to Like me on Facebook and Follow me on Twitter.

Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Link away!

xoxo

I'll be linking up here:

Free Pretty Things For You

500 Followers! Seriously?

October 9, 2011

Welcome to the party! Please, grab yourself a glass. Or two.

And a chair.

I really need someone to pinch me. Earlier today I was looking at my Blogger dashboard like any other day and what do I see out of the corner of my eye? The number 500. As. in. 500 FOLLOWERS! Thanks, guys! This so totally deserves a party!

The virtual party I planned is simply amazing. Champagne flows like water (I love champagne but it really gives me a headache ~ but that's ok because this is a v-i-r-t-u-a-l party!).

And trust me, the food is divine. I mean, I could probably live on macarons, couldn't you? {Plus, they're so French! Just like the ol' bubbly.}

But the best part is knowing that I have friends. Just like you. So here's a toast. To you.

Clink those glasses and pat yourself on the back for being such good friends. I'm grateful beyond belief. And who knows? If this keeps up I may just have to institute an ongoing virtual party.

You in?

Seriously, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. For following, and reading and commenting and listening and Goodwill partying and just plain making my day. Every day.

You guys rock.

xoxo

All photos courtesy of Pinterest.

DIY Dollar Tree Creepy Fingers Wreath

October 6, 2011

This is really simple, folks. I mean, my Dollar Tree actually has a packet of instructions for this wreath hanging from a display stand that holds all the materials! Some might say lazy. I say genius {okay, well, maybe not GENIUS, exactly} to take advantage of a cheap, simple and unique DIY Halloween decoration.

If you don't believe my good fortune just take a look at the free instructions I brought home from Dollar Tree.

They were so kind as to list the materials, so I don't have to! But I WILL show you what I used.

One old grapevine wreath that had seen better days as an Autumn wreath once upon a time.

Again, the rest were things from the Dollar Tree. "Creepy cloth," otherwise known as cheeseclothy-spiderwebby-thingy, bloody rubber fingers (I already had a set of three from last year so my wreath only has three fingers instead of five as in the example), and stretchy spider web with black plastic spiders included!

$1.00 each item

Wreath free

Fingers free

Total cost to me: $2.00

1. The instructions say to use a styrofoam wreath, and then just pin the creepy cloth to the back of the wreath. With my wreath, all I had to do was wrap it around, really, since the wood is kind of prickly and the cloth automatically stuck to it.

2. Again, the instructions say to pin the spider webbing to the back of the wreath and then bring it around to the front. I just stuck the web into some of the grapevine sticks on the back of the wreath, brought it around to the front and started criss-crossing it over the front of the wreath and behind the back of it, alternating. You do not really need a whole package of webbing ~ I ended up cutting quite a bit off because I found it to be a bit too much.

3. Now, the tricky part....positioning the fingers in the wreath. The instructions say to position them, with some webbing in front of them to hold them in place, and then to glue them to the webbing with hot glue. I couldn't be bothered to get the glue gun out so I just stuck them strategically into the webbing, hoping they would stay in place. So far so good.

4. Last but not least, they say to glue the spiders onto the webbing. As before (surprise), I skipped the glue gun and just "stuck" the spiders into the web. They really do stay put all on their own.

5. Add one creepy black rubber Dollar Tree rat (from last year) to the top of the wreath once it's been hung.

(Just wanted to add my own personal touch there.)

Don't you think this would be a great addition to your Halloween party decor? Sufficiently creeps me out! How about you?

Don't forget the Club G.W. {Goodwill} with Charm Bracelet Diva party is still going on here.

Have a great long weekend, friends!

xoxo

Club G.W. {Goodwill} No. 15 and "BOO" Blackboard Books

October 3, 2011

YOU CAN JOIN THE CLUB G.W. {GOODWILL} PARTY AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!

I am shameless. Kind of. When I see a good idea I grab it and run with it. And grab it I did from my friend Betsy over at My Salvaged Treasures. {Thanks, Betsy!} She had an "aha" moment recently when she put chalkboard paint together with a thrift store leather-bound book. Who woulda thunk it? I'm glad SHE did, cause it led me to my own little moment of crafty joy. Behold.

I just happened to stumble across some Reader's Digest Condensed Books at my Mr. Thrifty store the other day. Okay, so I went there "in-search-of" and good ol' Mr. Thrifty didn't let me down! Just so happened he had three books for $1.49 each. Sold.

This one's so pretty I hesitated to spray it.

But I got over that fast and got to work. First I used painter's tape from Dollar General to tape over the spine and exposed pages of the book to protect it from the paint.

Then I sprayed the cover with this.

It's advisable to spray multiple, thin coats of the chalkboard paint. Oh, and I didn't even prime!
{Can you say i-m-p-a-t-i-e-n-t?}
But it turned out beautifully anyway with three coats.

I left the spines alone since: 1. They're so pretty to look at and 2. If you get tired of the chalkboard thing you can just place them back on a shelf and they'll look fabulous from the side in their pre-painted state. But you can certainly paint the spine as well.

Just think of all the words you could spell out, depending on the season. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Happy Easter. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Okay, I guess 18 books is a bit much. But you get the idea! And Betsy took it one step further and embellished her books after painting them. They're so pretty you have to check them out here. Thanks again, Betsy, for this fabulous idea.

Now let's get to those features from last week's Club G.W. {Goodwill} Party

As usual I wish I could feature you all!

Lina @ Fancy Frugal Life

This Halloween vignette is made of thrifty finds and nifty ideas!

Vanessa @ Home Sweet Butterfly

Thrifty No Sew Ottoman Re-do

Mandy @ Wise Designs Inspirations

Thrifty Decorator Charm

It was nice to see some new faces this week. But it would be even NICER if you faithful souls could spread the word about the coolest thrifting party out there. The more who play, the more fun it is for all. A mention in your post is great, although not everyone does it. A shout out would be even better. I'll leave it up to you. And thanks for coming back each week ~ you know who you are. I love that you share your stuff, and look forward to seeing it every week.

Okay, here's the rules.

Link up your thrifty finds, and your thrifty find re-dos.

Please link back to your post and not to your blog's main URL.

Please mention the party somewhere in your post or place the party button (grab it from my upper right sidebar) on your sidebar. That way others can find out where the party is and join in!

I'd love for you to become a follower so you don't miss the next party!

You can also "Like" me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

Now link away!

xoxo

I'll be linking up here:

***FUNKY JUNK INTERIORS***

Not Just A Housewife
Today's Creative Blog
Midwestern Sewing Girl
Home Stories A2Z
No Minimalist Here
Decor to Adore
Someday Crafts
My Romantic Home
French Country Cottage
Whisperwood Cottage Talent Scouting Party
(see party button below)

Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Buy a PB Slipcover {Can You Say Ugly Sofa dot com?}

September 29, 2011

Okay (have you noticed I start a lot of my posts with "Okay"?) I really have a happy tale to tell here. So strap in and read on and maybe you'll even learn something!

Eleven years ago Mr. CBD and I bought a couch and matching loveseat for what was then our (second) new home. And let me tell you, people, I LOVED that furniture! Plaids and florals mixed together (I've always loved this combo), and I was in decorating heaven. We didn't have a lot of other furniture at that time (like nil, really) but I was very proud of our living room couch and love seat.

But three kids and one more house later that poor couch looks like something the cat dragged in.

Here, take a closer look.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the pattern when we bought it but the seat cushions are misshapen (which is why they're turned wrong-side in in this picture) and the fabric's faded and yes the down pillows have seen better days. I rest my case. The love seat still looked pretty much like new since NO ONE EVER SITS ON IT (reasons range from "it's too short" to "I can't see the T.V. from there"). But I knew I had to do something about the couch.

Then one day I started seeing blog giveaways for slipcovers from a website called Ugly Sofa {dot} com. I looked at their site and came to the conclusion that I had to have me some of their PB (ok I'm not supposed to say that) slipcovers! I entered a giveaway for one but convinced I'd NEVER win I ordered a white twill boxpleat slipcover for the loveseat (they were out of the white twill for the couch). I just figured once they got more in I would order one for the couch.

Lo and behold, people, I then WON a slipcover! Thanks to Today's Creative Blog and Ugly Sofa {dot} com I was on my way to a more civilized family room! Sorry I don't have a "before" picture of the loveseat but I was so excited when it arrived I immediately slapped it on and reveled in the transformation. Voila.

I took a few liberties with the picture in Picnik but I think you get the gist. A friend told me that she wasn't expecting "the sloppy look" but I told her that I like to call it shabby chic! Obviously I could have ironed the darn thing but who really has time for that? I like the way it looks just fine!

And thanks to the giveaway I ordered the couch slipcover. But I had to wait, and wait and wait for that slipcover to come in. Apparently the white twill boxpleat in large is quite popular! But Brent from Ugly Sofa {dot} com hung in there with me and fielded all my e-mails and made good on his promise! Voila.

I can not tell you enough how tickled pink I am to have these covers transform my family room.

The pillows make a motley crew with my Target grainsack pillow, my flour sack towel monogram pillow, two toile pillows (you KNOW I love toile!) and that big one in the middle is an Ikea goose down pillow I bought a while back, never expecting how well it would one day go with my (practically) brand new couch!

I've wanted to make the move to more of a French farmhouse look for quite some time and I think I can now say that I'm on my way! I used to be so afraid of white ~ what with three little kids under the age of five and a dog and all but now I say pshaw on that! I LOVE WHITE! {Psst, the fact that you can throw it in the wash doesn't hurt, either!}

Hope I've convinced you to check out Ugly Sofa {dot} com and see what you can do for your own ugly sofa. Fess up. You know you have one.

Have a great week, friends!

xoxo

I received nothing in the form of payment from anyone for this blog post. The opinions are all my own.

I'll be linking up here:

French Country Cottage

Club G.W. No. 14 and St. Peter's Barn Sale

September 26, 2011

YOU CAN JOIN IN THE PARTY AT THE END OF THE POST BELOW!

There are some annual thrifting adventures you wait patiently for all year long. St. Peter's Barn Sale is one of those adventures for me. Last year I scored a gagillion pieces of vintage jewelry for a song, as well as religious items I use in creating my vintage jewelry designs. On that front I have to say that this year was a big bust. {Hear me sobbing in the background.}

HOWEVER, I did manage to score something that I thought was pretty cool. Can you guess what it is?

I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure, either, but I knew that I loved it and had to have it! (Sound familiar?) I opened the lid and found this.

Hhmmm, I thought, pretty interesting. Do those metal baskets (for lack of a better word) come out?

They most certainly do! {Insert applause and happy dance here.}

I could only imagine what I might use this vintage tub for, as well as the metal baskets within. I did a little research and it turns out that it's a canning cooler! Each metal "jar holder" is made to hold 6 canning jars. But let's be honest. It's not like I do any canning around here, ever. So I was very happy to see that the jar holders could be used for something else.

That something else will be the subject of another post, hopefully soon, cause I can't wait to use them! And the tub itself will make a great storage container.

I reluctantly paid $15.00 for it. Just found it online for $55.00.

Time for features from last week's Club G.W. party!

Melissa @ Shabby Love

Office Re-do

Rosemary @ Villabarnes

Thrift Shop Chippy Iron Bed

Julia @ 551 East Furniture Design

Basil Secretary

All fabulous, if you haven't visited them be sure to stop by!

Whew! It's finally time to party, here's the rules.

Link up your thrifty finds, and your thrifty find re-dos.

Please link back to your post and not to your blog's main URL.

Please mention the party somewhere in your post or place the party button on your sidebar. That way others can find out where the party is and join in!

I'd love for you to become a follower so you don't miss the next party!

And be sure to visit the other party guests! (It's the right thing to do, y'all!)

Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Oh yeah, and I'm on Facebook now. "Like" me, please?

I'm even on Twitter. Yes, you read that right. Hope to see you over there.

Now link away!

xoxo

My Shabby Creek Cottage Windfall

September 23, 2011

A while back I entered A Vintage Affaire's 300 Follower Giveaway. And guess what? I won! Today I just wanted to share with you the goodies I chose with my $50.00 Etsy store credit to Shabby Creek Designs. Gina from The Shabby Creek Cottage has such a lovely store that I had no trouble finding something I liked!

Without a doubt burlap is still "in" (at least in my house!) so I couldn't resist ordering this burlap pillow cover.

{Photo courtesy of Shabby Creek Designs}

I absolutely fell in love with the big, fluffy white flower on the front! Just gorgeous.

I also chose another romantic decor item.

{Photo courtesy of Shabby Creek Designs}

These are cafe style curtains, hand-painted in French script:

"A house is made of bricks and beams a home is made of love and dreams."

I really thought that was a beautiful saying. They're now hanging in my kitchen window, over the sink. I like how they look, but I think for my purposes I might actually add an inch or two of burlap and/or cotton duck fabric to create a border along the bottom. {Call me crazy, I guess. How many projects do I really need to be juggling at one time? Don't answer that.}

My thanks go out to Sherrie from A Vintage Affaire for her generous giveaway.

And don't forget to follow/like me on Facebook and Twitter!

Have a great weekend, all!

xoxo

Club G.W. No. 13 and TAR-JAY Grainsacks?

September 19, 2011

I have to admit that I've become enamored with all things French, especially French grainsacks. I look for them on Etsy and Ebay, at flea markets and barn sales. Gotta be honest here ~ I haven't found a French grainsack for less than $90+ dollars. A little out of my league, to say the least. Enter Target.

Recently I've seen this Target dish towel all over blogland, but I have to say that I FOUND IT FIRST PEOPLE, I SWEAR! Seriously, I bought mine over a month ago (that's early August, people) knowing that I'd stumbled upon pure gold as soon as I saw them. I bought two at $3.99 each. My only regret is that I didn't buy more! They seem to be sold out all over. (H-E-L-L-O, of course they're sold out!)

I knew from the get-go I wanted to make pillows. So I measured the towels and then went searching for some pillow inserts. Lucky for me, I already had two neglected pillows that were perfect for the job!

I, of course, used Stitch Witchery, as I did in my monogram flour sack towel pillow tutorial here.

Stitch witchery is your friend, I always say!

I also picked up some precut Duck fabric at Wal-Mart (did you know they're selling fabric again?) to use as the back side of the pillow.

It was a nice match color-wise, and I think it worked out really well. And now, the piece de resistance.

I'm really loving it, and plan on making another one soon. And who knows? Ten more followers and there might just be a Target French grainsack pillow in your future! I smell a giveaway!

Hope you liked the pillow, and maybe ~ just maybe~ you'll have some luck finding these towels at a Target store near you. Bonne Chance!

And now on to last week's features and Club G.W. No. 13.

Thanks to all who joined in last week. Please know that I really do try to get back and comment on each and every blog. Unfortunately, I can't comment on your blog if your comments are not set up to be in a separate pop-up window (as opposed to embedded below the post). I don't believe I'm the only one with this Blogger problem, although I'm not sure why....you can easily change the settings through your Blogger dashboard page if you so desire.

Okay, lots of great stuff last week, but here's a few finds that I'd like to share with you today.

Craigslist and 2 bins of broken china later.....check this out over @ My Trinkets

Betsy @ My Salvaged Treasures really scored big on some nifty thrifty finds! Love these wooden rulers, don't you?

And go check out some Longaberger love over @ Grammy Goodwill. Did she say $2.95?

Well, ladies, go on and grab yourself a "Charm Bracelet Diva Featured Me!" button from my top right sidebar. Then please join in Party No. 13 below! You know the drill:

Link up your thrifty finds, and your thrifty find re-dos.

Please link back to your post and not to your blog's main URL.

Please mention the party somewhere in your post or place the party button on your sidebar. That way others can find out where the party is and join in!

I'd love for you to become a follower so you don't miss the next party!

And be sure to visit the other party guests! (It's the right thing to do, y'all!)

Can't wait to see what you've got this week!

Oh yeah, and I'm on Facebook now (Shocker, I know!) Show me some Facebook love (Or should I say "Like"??)

I'm even on Twitter. Yes, you read that right.

Link away!

xoxo