Thrifty Instant Ancestors

Since I didn't get to do any "real" thrifting this past weekend I thought I would share a find from the recent past.

There is an older lady near here that had been a collector and has a garage sale each year that is just to die for!!

I picked up several items from her, put since I was rearranging tonight I thought I would share just one.

You might remember my fabulous chippy dresser  from this post.

Well it has looked like this.

And this

 

And this

 

Well most recently it looked like this

And after adding my instant ancestors

Here are a few more pictures of my picture

Believe it or not this fabulous vintage photo with the frame was only $3.00.  I picked this up in May during my birthday weekend.  I'm still amazed that I was able to get this for just $3.00 it is 14x16 inches.

Does anyone out there have any idea what era this may be from?  Also are these school uniforms or a children's choir?

Linking up to:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm

A Few Thrifty Finds

As sick as I was this past week, I did manage to hit the two area thrift stores before becoming violently ill with the stomach bug.

This was the reason that I needed to go to the thrift store in the first place.  Stay tuned for what I have planned for this.  It was .99 cents.

This cute little compote was supposed to be $1.99 but I was at my last stop and only wanted to use cash, so I asked the cashier if I could have it for .99 cents since I didn't really need it.  She said YES!  By the way the next time you see this there will be no flowers in it.  It will have fabulous vintage jewelry.

This was also .99 cents.  I bought it to display some of my vintage dishes.

This I got at the other thrift store it is missing the cap that goes on the end and has a dent, but I love the color.  I am a sucker for anything red.  They didn't wrap it at all and now it has a crack on the bottom :(  It was $1.50.

I have been looking everywhere for white egg cups.  I got these for just .50 cents each!

Well this is sure to be a busy week.  Check back to see what becomes of that tray!

 

I am linking up to:

Permanent link to Thrifty Treasures Once Again at Southern Hospitality

Happy Father's day!!!

Happy Father's day to my dad and Hubby and all the das out there!

Crib Rail Display Rack

Well I told you about what I did with the crib spring that came with the crib we ruined could no longer use.
Now I thought I would share what we used one of the rails for.
This was actually the first project that I did with the crib  way before I started blogging.
I told my husband that I wanted a rack for display of my ever growing collection of vintage kitchen collectables.  He told me it couldn't be done.  Silly Man.   So I went to my stash for the stuff to hand it.  Pretended like I was going to do it myself.  At this point he took over!
All I did to it prior to hanging was slap a coat of spray polyurethane.   He hung it using the chain and hooks that you use to hang flowerpots.






I also use this space to hide store stuff, notice the tape in the basket.
This sits above our kitchen table.   The kids eat their breakfast here.

Please ignore the mess of my kitchen, I have been sick with the stomach bug all day.  Now everyone except my husband has come down with it.
The best part about this rack is that nobody who has come over has been able to tell what it has started out as.
Linking up to:
Shop The House Sunday ! At Finesse your nest
Show Off Your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses

Copy me Challenge At Funky Junk Interiors

A Few of My Favorite Things!

I love the whole idea of a Hoosier cabinet.  Everything about it.  The look, the extra storage, the thought of generations of women before me using it to churn out delicious baked goods.  Everything!
So my husband and I searched and searched.
While I wanted to find the large Hoosier , Hoosier cabinet with the flour bin and sifter and spice rack and such, and would love to have one that looks like this.

on craigslist in Florida.
Or this one on EBay.

This one has everything I want and is being offered for $500 or best offer.  Pickup only and is 4 hours from my home.  I would have to sell mine first though and I'm not sure if I want to go through all that work right now.
Well anyway three years ago in August my husband and I went to the Bouckville  antique show.  This is a HUGE show that is known nationally.  There are over 1000 dealers.  It is so much fun!  We went up and down the rows and rows of dealers at the show and looked at half a dozen cabinets that ranged in price from $75 to $1000.  We finally settled on one from a dealer from Vermont for $300 he had wanted $350 but we were able to talk him down some.  My husband went back the next day to pick it up.

The depression glass cookie jar I got at an estate sale last year for $15 the tiered basket that holds the white ironstone cups and saucers was bought a couple of weeks ago for $2.00 at a garage sale the cups and saucers are from the thrift store and were .20 to .40 cents each.
I made the framed apple and fork.  I also made the moss balls that are in the dairylea box.  It was $3.00  from an estate sale.  In fact everything in the picture was from an estate sale or a garage sale and ranged in price from .25 cents ( the vintage cookbook) to $3.00 for the collection of cookie cutters.  The scale was only $1.00.  The transferware plate came in a set of 65 pieces for $20.00.... yes $20.....   hate me!!!
 




On top I have a geranium "plant" that I picked up years ago at a yard sale.
The pig cutting board was my grandma's.
Also up there is part of my husband's and my vintage coffee can collection.  The MJB is our initials.

The "Here's Johnny" mug was my grandpa's.  He had his coffee in it every morning.
The squirrel in one of the "cubbies" was my mom's toy.
The star and the gingerbread girl cookie cutters were my great grandmothers.
The ice crusher also came from Bouckville.

The box on the left holds are playdough supplies and the one on the write has the kids stamp sets.
Do you have anywhere special to store the kids art supplies?
Linking up with:
A few of my favorite things.
Show and tell  Friday at My Romantic Home
Flaunt it Friday at Chic on  a shoestring
Funky Junk Interiors Copy Me Challenge

So what happens when you are really busy?

YOU GET SICK!  I have pneumonia.  I have never been so sick in my life.  I am barely able to get out of bed.  Of course in addition to the  "normal" symptoms of pneumonia , I have a special one too.  I have a constant headache.  At first I thought it was a migraine so on day three I went to the doctors and she gave me medication for migraine and had me wait.  she came back in about 30 minutes later and asked me how I felt.  EXACTLY the same!  So she says it's not a migraine and gives me a shot of Nubane  for pain and to control the cough and a script for Tylenol w/ Codeine.  So I am pretty much higher than a kite in a slight fog most of the day.  On the upside before it wears off my head doesn't  hurt and I am not coughing.  Can't drive and am missing a week of work without pay.  Oh well could be worse.  I could have two children home from school throwing up......oh, yea I do!!!!

 

Well before I got sick I did manage to get in a project that I have wanted to do for a very long time.

.

We I had bought a crib at a yard sale when I was pregnant for our sixth child four years ago.  I had wanted to put her in it and keep my son in his.  My husband didn't like it and wanted to move our son to a toddler bed.

So we moved the crib to the basement for a year.  When we were cleaning out the basement we brought it up and tried to sell it and then just give it away.  Nobody wanted it so we sat it out back till we got around to donating it. 

Well it sat there in the elements so long we could no longer donate it.  So rather than throw it away we I decided to upcycle it!

I took the rails and used them first in projects that I will write about later.

The headboard and footboard still have not been used, but I have a plan for what I want to use them for.

However I had no idea what to do with the mattress springs..........until

I saw  this from the fabulous Donna at Funky Junk Interiors.  I knew what I was going to do with the crib springs that have sat in our backyard for over a year getting just the right amount of rust patina.

The wreath and the chalkboard were from a yard sale and were each .50 cents.

The red box was originally brown, had a rail that was crooked and the most hideous flowers (sorry there was no before picture).  It was .49 cents at the thrift store.

I had the rest of the stuff.

The mustard spice jar that holds the chalk was from the antique store and was one of three that I got for $1.00.

The milk glass vase was .99 cents and the flowers and greenery was .50 cents.  These daffodils are really cool because they are made of felt.

The "M" is really an upside down "W" I bough it from etsy, it was $10.95.  It was once a letter in a Marquette in the mid-west.

I want to do something to the light switch cover.

I lived with it like this for a little while.  Then I added some vintage coat hangers like Donna.

I didn't like it here.  So I shopped the house and found this little star hook that I had picked up at a yard sale for .5 cents.........yes five cents.  It is cast iron no less.

It needed something to balance it so I put on these little fry pans that I found years ago at a yard sale.

I also decided last night that I was feeling well enough to do a little decoupage.  So I went ahead got out my wallpaper book that I picked up out of a free box at a yard sale a couple of years ago.  Found a nice ticking to cover the light  switch.

I had also previously added a milk glass urn picked up before I got sick for .25 cents and in it I put an eraser we had on hand.

 

The easer also got a makeover.

I love how this looks!!!!  I may also be done screwing with tweaking it.

I am also very happy with how much I spent on this (I already had the "M" the vase and the flowers, and the spice jar).  Total for stuff bought for this project : $1.80.  I also was able to rescue something that would have ended up in the dump.  It makes me smile.

I'm linking up to:

Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring

http://decormamma.blogspot.com/2010/06/frugalicious-friday-giveawayloopty-loo.html Frugalious Friday at Finding Fabulous

SNS #35 brings you - old gates & Gitter Done date @Funky Junk Interiors

Busy Busy Busy!!!!

 

I can not believe how long it has been since I last posted.   So many things in my real life have been going on. 

Number one is graduating from high school at the end of the month.

Number two has pneumonia and has been out of school for almost three weeks.  She is ok as long as she is quite and doesn't do much.

Number three  and five have the end of the year parties that I am helping with.

Number four has his reading log that needs to be found and finished.

Number six wants to be outside all day long, which means that I have to be with her

 

 

In addition my camera ran out of batteries and we were out of AA's .  I was in the middle of photographing my thrifty finds for that week.  It was my BIRTHDAY and I got myself some really good stuff.  Like this child's church pew.  It was $3.00.  I had been searching high and low for something that would fit in this spot.  I wanted something that my kids could sit on when they put on or take off their boots in the winter.  This is a very small space and it needed to be short enough to fit under the hooks that hold their coats  and back packs.  I also wanted to still be able to keep their bins with their shoes under the coats still.  This fits the bill completely.  I LOVE it!!!

 

 

Well I had gotten the bench photographed, ran out of batteries, sat the camera down.........could not find it for over two weeks.  Yes two weeks.  I sat it on top of  a book in the bookcase.  My husband and I looked and looked for it.  No luck.  Then finally I was putting away a book and what do you know mia  camera.

 

So I have so much to post that I am not sure where to start.  So keep on the look out for me!  

Have you ever lost something that was staring you in the face?