A few trips of thrift store finds

So I found a few things at our local thrift store when they were having 50% off day, but I really scored some finds when I discovered our Salvation Army. I went twice and cleaned them out of anything wood that I thought I could prim up. Here are some pics of items from one thrift store trip and two Salvation Army trips, one on their 50% off Wednesdays (love that!). The SA prices are already so low that I just couldn't resist some things on Wednesday.



Not so sure on the wicker tissue box, but we'll see after a spray of black paint. The pineapple thingy was cracked along the leaves so I got it for 20 cents cheaper. Nothing a little glue won't fix. Love the rooster and chicken! The sifter will be used during my first attempt at a shoofly cover. Little kitty will get a coat of paint for sure. I love expandable coat racks, so I grabbed two. One will go in my craft room for embroidery hoops and what not.




I couldn't resist these guys as they were already so warn. Unfortunately when I got home I saw the
handles stamped 'Taiwan' but that's okay. I will find a place for them near the fireplace in the living room.




Lots of painting to do here. I will be on the lookout for some prim honey labels for the little set. Love the mail slot
 box in the back right. It even has hooks on the side for keys. Maybe hubs can keep track of them!




The mug was interesting. I figured for a few pennies I will give it a coat of paint and see what happens.
Yes, that's a cheesy ice bucket, but with some love it will be the closest thing I will ever have to a firkin.




I have no clue what the original intent of this little guy was, maybe keys,
but I'm going  to hang salt dough ornaments from it.

 So that's about it. Oh, I did get a well-loved wooden trash bin that needs cleaned and some love, but he is out in the garage. My husband's aunt paid a bundle for her's, so I couldn't resist the $2.99 price tag at SA! Hub's was even happy with that purchase and wants to makeover that. : )

Enough collecting for a while, now it just needs to warm up so I can get to sanding, painting, and staining!

Have a good weekend.

~Michelle

We have kittens!

Born late Sunday or early Monday. Boy was I shocked! Sadly there was a fourth who didn't make it.


This was what I discovered when I opened the cat house on Monday morning! Had I know they were coming, I would've cleaned and put down a new towel. Poor kitties, born in filth.



Meet Pumpkin Pie (orange and white, on top), Nilla (middle), and Sugar (being used as a pillow, bottom). They were in this little box with a t-shirt while I cleaned their house. Cleaned, new hay, new towel. Happy sleepy kitties.



Pay it Forward

Wow! It's spreading like wildfire, this pay it forward idea! My blog list was full of people participating and I finally clicked on Tonya's site to figure out what was going on, why so many blogs had the same picture up.

I'm close to 100 followers and wanted to do a giveaway. I'm a procrastinator. I would've gotten to 200 before I got around to it! This just pushed me in the right direction. Here is how it works:

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Pay it Forward

The first 5 people who comment on this blog post will receive a handmade gift from me. In return, you must FIRST write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011. Then.... send out a handmade gift to the first 5 visitors who leave a comment on your post. Take your time...you don't need to send them all today or tomorrow.
This is such a sweet way to connect with friends or meet new ones, by sharing things we create with our hearts.

"It's not the size of the gift that matters, but the spirit of paying it forward."
Don't forget to include your email address in your post so that I can email you to request your mailing address.

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That's it, easy as pi (Happy Pi Day by the way). Now I just have to decide what to make and send on to my 5 followers. That just might be the only hard part!

The sun is shining and this is the first day of a new work schedule for me, minus one part-time job. It will mean less money in the bank, but more time with the family and I think that is more important, though happiness doesn't pay the bills, lol. It also means my sleep schedule is turned on its head, but I will get through. What I need to do is start exercising on the days that I sleep late but need to get to bed at a decent time (read: normal time like the rest of the world) so that I'm tired. Scrubbing floors, painting walls, and doing general spring cleaning will do the trick too. More dinners with the family! Yay! I will squeeze in crafting time and everyone will be happy. : )

~Michelle

Consignment Store Finds

I've been working a different schedule this week, helping out at one of my part-time jobs. I couldn't say no even if gas for the car is an arm and a leg! Today I'm home with a sick kid instead of working, so I thought I would blog. : )

I have had some time to kill between getting home from work and picking the kiddo up from track practice after school, so I've been roaming around town. I went to a shop I've driven by tons of times, but only stopped in once when they first opened a year or so ago. It's called Pieces. My tastes have changed since then and I thought I would see what they have that fits my new design tastes. Wow. I was tempted, but only walked out with a small $8 item this time. Here are some of the things I was drooling over, taken on my cell phone......



Old crock with a 5 on the side. 5 gallons?



These lamps reminded me of Pfaltzgraff. They look nicer in the shop and need shades. They are Ethan Allen.



I couldn't move back enough to get a full shot. Just an old box.



Wooden tray

Wow! This would be great to have as a decorative piece, but I have no place for it.



Little stool with a drawer.


One of my problems is that I don't know what's a good price for some items. They also have a tag system at the shop where as time goes on the price goes down, but you risk losing the item if someone else stops in before you get back and falls in love with it too!

The crock was around $50 and will go down to $33 at the end of April if it's still there. I have no idea if it's worth $50 or even $30, but either way I couldn't get it. I don't think I could have lifted it to get it in the car anyway, lol.

I almost bought that little stool with the drawer. It was $12. I would probably paint it and change the knob out, but I wasn't sure if I should spend $12 on it. So silly. So instead I spent $8 on a piece of "punched tin" that isn't handmade or probably even made in the USA. Oh well. I will stop in another day and see if the stool is still there.

Isn't that stove great? Oh how I wish I had a place to display it. I can picture a small crock of old utensils and other kitchen goodies displayed on it. I think it was only in the $200s which I thought was a good price. Again, not really a clue though, lol.

I'm glad I stopped in the shop. Lots of things to look at. There were even some matching pieces to the little Pfaltzgraff creamer that I found at the thrift store for 50 cents. She had the sugar and creamer for $6 and a bunch of other cups to match. I'm not sure yet if I want to collect more of this design, so I kept my wallet firmly snug in my pocket.

I do want to grab the lamps. I can't remember their price and I can't zoom in enough to see the tag. I do remember seeing that they are Ethan Allen and I wasn't shocked at the price. Maybe I will have to make a stop of there in the next few days. Our living room will be painted blue this summer, hopefully, and they would look great. The one table lamp we currently have is green metal and just doesn't fit. It's a hand-me-down from my in-laws and is actually kind of dangerous as it has these leaves wrapped around it that can be painful if you bump against one. I could use a lamp in my craft room so it will move up there when we paint.

I stopped into the thrift store yesterday and it was 50% off the entire store! I will post about that another day. Now it's time to check on the kiddo and fill my coffee mug. We have had nothing but rain for the past few days and I've managed to keep the headaches from attacking. Hope you all are staying warm and dry. : )

This week's thrift store finds

I have to pass the thrift store when I go grocery shopping (that's another reason why hubs is the grocery shopper in this family!) and of course couldn't help myself!

Not too many finds this time. A Pfaltzgraff milk bottle that is a soft yellow color and a Yorktowne creamer for $.50 each! No chips on either one. The creamer will probably be saved for after we paint our living room blue. Strange place for a creamer, but it will probably hold something else or just decorate a shelf. I can't find anything about the milk bottle online, but it is marked 'Pfaltzgraff Mexico' on the bottom so maybe it's not a popular thing here in the US.  Looking up the pattern name on the creamer, I fell in love with Village. I will be keeping an eye out for this pattern in the store from now on!

I also grabbed four small dessert-size wooden bowls (3 the same, 1 different) for $.90 that I can't wait to paint.

Since it was 50 cent day (on Mondays, a particular colored tag is only 50 cents), I checked out the wool sweaters as well. Two really nice men's sweater vests for - you guessed it - $.50 each. They felted/fulled up beautifully and will be the base of a few penny rugs in the near future.

I wanted to pass on this tip to anyone who felts/fulls sweaters. I ran them through the washer and dryer, and one of them didn't seem to budge. Hmph. 100% Merino Wool on the tag. I remembered something I read somewhere to cut the seams, so that's what I did. I cut up the sides on the seam and threw that sweater back in for round two. Ta-Da! It shrunk up nice!

A memorial

I've been saddened over hearing news of a woman, Lisa Roswell, who was washed away in her car a river here in NE Ohio due to the flooding we have been having. I was surprised to learn today that she was a cross-stitch designer. Of course I had to search out her designs. I did not know Lisa, but in memoriam I feel pulled to purchase a pattern and stitch. Boy did she have a thing for Halloween! "Gather" looks to be my favorite pattern out of all though. I think I will spend a little time reading her blog and getting to know this creative lady who is gone well before her time. Rest in peace...........