More Thrifty Finds...what a Haul!

Hi All!  I am so behind on this blogging thing.  I had hoped to be sharing a few makeovers that are already in the booth but that will have to wait a bit longer again.  Maybe I'll share those later this week, hopefully.   This past weekend the Mr. and I took our camper and our motor boat out to a nearby lake campground for a few nights away.  It was quite a bit different camping experience being so close to home, but we had such fun.  Since I spent the weekend camping I missed out on going to some yard sales to find more bargain goodies.  I was feeling a bit behind on stocking more items to sell so I hit a few local thrift stores yesterday.  Boy, am I glad I did!

Here's my haul!  With the exception of the large box in the back, everything on this table was what I picked up yesterday.    As I was shopping yesterday there were two other ladies nearby and  I overheard one say to the other..."Do you see anything here?  No, replied the other.  All I see is a bunch of old junk!"  

Hehee! At first glance I saw a bunch of old junk too.  Then I put on my creative cap and began to see a few new things that I just cannot wait to put together! Let me show you everything I got.

Love this cute little clock.  All booths should have a few clocks right?

This basket is going to get a makeover.

Now I am very excited about these shutters. They are definitely going to get a very fun makeover!

This piece I plan to leave as is to start with.  Sorry, but it's turned sideways in this picture.  It actually stands up and has a curved top.  I believe it's either a small spool holder or a thimble holder.  Very attractive to those who are creating craft rooms. I would love to keep this but I think I'll try to sell it first.  

I have big plans for this one too!  Can't wait to get busy on it!

And this one is going to totally change as well.  Funny thing is, I was wondering how hard it was going to be to get that tile out and when I was taking pictures I turned this upside down to set another piece on to get a better shot and plop, out fell the tile!

Here's the goodie I set on top of the wood basket to photograph.  Do you like it?  It's not my style but is very farmhouse looking and I know lot's of people like that so I snapped it right up.  I do have to say I really do like the scene on it and the color of the vase though.  It's going up for sale!

I love how this little box looks already but...I see a nice change for it as well.

This cutie had some faux leaves on a Styrofoam base wrapped around it which really was not too appealing, IMO.  So, I pulled those off and saw some potential here without the extra adornments.  Still thinking about this one.

There's the greenery I pulled off the other piece.  I wanted to show you this frame too.  I love the size of this and have a great idea for a makeover for it as well.

Hmmm???  I can't imagine what I might do with these, can you?  LOL!

In all honesty this joyful piece is going to make a very slow entrance into the booth.  I was like, OMG! when I saw it.  It's in perfect condition without a chip or scratch on it. Hehe, no pun intended there!  I really don't own any tex-mex style dishware but this has me thinking it may be time. 

Here's the markings on the underside of the hat chip and dip bowl.  I love when there is a good mark and you can look up what you have.  I knew I found a great piece when I saw this, especially because it's made in the USA!

Finally, the last thing to show you is this sweet little pineapple lamp.  Actually, it's more of a midsize lamp then small.  She's made of metal and needs a new shade that's for sure. 

Here's she is again with a good wipe down and sporting one of my shades off another lamp in the house. I wanted to see how she would look and already I can see how much better a new shade will be.

As you can see, it was quite a nice day to go on the hunt.   I've got so much to do now and can hardly wait to get started with these makeovers.  I will try to post a few more makeovers from the last haul soon.  

Don't you just love it when you find things and can really see the potential for changing them up into something more appealing.  I know I sure do!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope your having a great week!

Join me here at the following party;

Inspiration Exchange Party

Dream Jars for Sale!

Well, I just couldn't wait any longer.  I just had to sneak this post in here today because I am soooo excited about this little craft project.  Why?  Because it touches at the very heart of my dreams!

Did you happen to notice the dream jars in yesterdays post?

Well let me tell you how they came to be.  I was in Michaels looking for a few embellisments to add to some frames to put in my booth.  I have decided to add in a few crafts to the booth to give it a more creative and decorative appeal.  I know I love to see booths with handmade crafts in addition to all the other goodies.

Anyway, when I was at Michaels I came across these jeweled stick on words and was instantly drawn to these.

I love the colors and love, love, love, the message.

I had no idea what I would do with them until I got home.  Then I remembered I had several of these vases that I had literally been hanging on to for about 20 years.  I kid you not! I bought mulitples of these back in the day when everyone was putting christmas lights in them with doilies on the top.  LOL!  I've been wondering for years what to do with them.

After applying the letters....

I then simply wrapped twine around the top, made a bow and hot glued a flower in the middle.

Then I added one more embellishment.  Love these precious butterflies! I bet you think that's it right?  Well hold the button ladies, don't click away yet.

Did you happen to notice there was something inside of the jars?  That's right!  I felt like these adorable jars needed just a bit more.  I considered adding stack of paper scraps to write your dreams on but then I decided to do something else.

Here's what I came up with.  This little poem literally just popped out of my head.  I kid you not!  I told you I have been on a major creative streak lately didn't I?  LOL!  I do not mind if you choose to borrow this but I would ask that you please let me know and that you give me credit for my poem.  Sorry, but  I am trying to run a business here!

And there the first two are just before I took them to the booth.  

Oh, and I forgot to show you my tags.  I've decided to add a handmade tag to everything I make to help it stand out a bit more.  

Sooo....what do you think?

Love it right?

I sure hope so!  

We should all be so lucky as to follow our dreams!

Have a great weekend Everyone!

Thank you so much stopping by!!!

My Booth is up and Running!

Hey All! I've been working very hard to get my booth up and running over the last few weeks and thought I'd give you the tour.

To recap it's only 5x10 in size but plenty big for what I wanted.   I was very lucky they had a few shelving units they allowed me to use.  I am now on the hunt for more shelves of my own.

Here is the left side.  I have mostly started my business using things of my own that I no longer wished to to keep.  I have so much more, but find I am just not ready to part with them yet.  

I really need to get over that and just let it go!

I've also added in a few recent craft projects that I will share with you soon.  I am so excited about those!  You will seriously love the Dream Jars....so please come back to check them out in detail.

I would like to say that my booth has a certain decorative style or theme but....

 ...as you can see it does not.  The best I can hope for is to keep similar items together like I did on this top rack.  It's the wine shelf.  Well, it was until I added another craft that belongs in the kitchen.  Don't worry, I'll be showing you that one in more detail too.

The bottom shelf was to be more home decor type items but I've had to add a few outdoor lanterns here to get a better show.  This is why I am hoping to get more shelves.  

I do know that mixing it up quite a bit often works when things have been sitting awhile.  So with that in mind the groupings may not always be able to stay together. 

There's one of my latest redo's in the back there.  I finally delivered the refinished clock yesterday. I am thrilled with how it came out.  It's a battery operated clock and to my surprise even has chimes that ring.  I've got it listed at $45.00, which I think is a steal!

The one constant I was trying to do was to give my display pieces either a black or white finish in appearance.  The brown shelves I could not change since they are not mine so I added this black and white polka dot fabric to the back. I like how that turned out.  The other two shelves were already white with the exception of a very dated wall paper border that was on the white shelves to the left.  I remedied that by adding a black and white cabinet drawer liner to the top to cover up the other border.  It's nonslip and can easily be removed so I can keep it as well, and it was purchased from the dollar store.  Pretty thrifty, huh?

I also made my own sign using stenciling letters and added a few embellishments.  I think a sign goes a long way as to describing what your customers can expect don't you?  And yes, as you can see I finally decided to go with the name of my blog.  I hope to make a few changes soon on my blog to feature the booth on here as well.  So many ideas!

Finally, I decided to leave the white tulle up around the entrance and just added a few bits of black and white polka dotted ribbon to give it some extra contrast.  

Well, there she stands folks!  If you are ever out and about this way I'd love for you you stop by and shop a bit with me. My booth is located in Almost Antiques in Irmo,SC. You never know what you might find!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day everyone!

Decorating the Top of the China Hutch

Does anyone remember last week when I said I was on a creative roll?  That was when I showed you my picnic basket vignette.  No?  Well, that's okay, that just means you probably haven't stopped by in awhile.  Can I just remind you that I'm still here!  I'm still blogging and styling and have lot's to share. I know I fell off the grid while I was working but I'd like thank those of you especially who have remained constant and faithful blog friends.  It really means a lot to me!  For the rest of you, I'm sending out a sweet reminder that the door is always open around here and I do enjoy hearing from you! So, I hope you come on in!

We are back in the dining room ladies, where I was inspired to create this little vignette on top of my china cabinet.

Here's what inspired me!  

I have seen these herb boxes all over blog land and wanted some for so very long.  I about flipped when I came across them at a Decor Warehouse that I visited with a friend last month.  They were priced so well, that it was no doubt they would be coming home.  I had no idea they would end up in the dining room of all places but I love because it keeps my dining room from looking too formal.

After hanging the three boxes on the wall I needed a place for the fourth box and decided on top of the china cabinet was perfect.

I stored a few platters that I rarely use in the box to give it even more height.

The I also decided that the top of the hutch was a great place to store those other pieces I love that I rarely ever will use too.

I added some greenery and few flowers for color and a nice summer show and I was done.

I love to say it was as easy that, but...that would not be the whole truth.  You see the top of my hutch is very arched.  Getting my vignette set the way I envisioned was a bit of challenge.  I finally ended up using cotton batting of all things to create height and a flat surface where I needed it on the curves.  Pretty crazy huh?

Wanna take a peek inside? I added some color in here too!

This butterflie dish and the forget me not dish were my MIL's.  I just love these!  

Speaking of sweet look what I saw out of the window when I was snapping pics of the hutch.

Do you see her now?  Isn't she just precious!

Speaking of precious, did you happen to notice my new plant?

I had been wanting to get a real plant for my stand in the dining room for awhile now and was thinking of getting a fern until I discovered this at Lowes.  There was only one and of course I snapped it right up.  It's a good thing I did because I had several ladies asking what it was and where did I find it?

It's called a Lipstick Twister, or Aeschynanthus Radicans to be more accurate.  I just fell head over heals in love with those lacy little ringlets.  It does have blooms that will look much like lipstick. 

It requires indirect sunlight so this little spot in the dining room will be just perfect. 

I am joining the following parties today;

Inspire me

Fertilizer Friday

If you happened to stop by thank you so much! It's always a pleasure when you do.  I love company, don't you?

 Be sure and come back again real soon.  I've got several more projects I've been working on for the booth and have lot's to share!

Have a great day everyone!