Thrift store haul// Gold giraffe and Rattan

Hey guys :)

I know when you begin your journey into thrifting, it can seem a little daunting, especially when you don't know what to look for or where to begin.

Most thrift stores are awash in vases, candle sticks, fake flowers, and hideous clothing; so you have to really look to find the good things.
The best part is when  you find those things. It's almost like a treasure hunt, and you just want to show off your scores!

Here are some of my finds from this week:

When I go thrifting, normally my mentality is something along the lines of 

'If I saw this at Target, would I buy it?'

For those two giraffes, it was a resounding YES!

They are lovely, and incredibly tall. Perfect for holding bracelets or just hanging out sniffing my flowers.

-Plus, they help fuel my brass animal addiction-

I also spied those flowers hiding in the back of the bin. I know that fake flowers that size and quality normally run around $5 each at the craft stores, so at $1 for the bundle, it was a no brain-er. They instantly spring-ified our livingroom. Its amazing how much a little bit of greenery can change things!

I also found that beautiful gold trivet. We needed one anyways, but I think the hardest part is going to be not hanging it on the wall!

I also snagged some books from one of my favorite stores.

These were picked because of their entertaining titles or their actual use.

My favorites are:

It could have been a kumquat

How to get along with people

The 'adjustable' diet cookbook

I don't know what an 'adjustable' diet is, but it sounds fun!

Check out this bad boy right here.

For our wedding we are collecting hundreds of vintage teacups to turn into candles.

Someone else must have had the same idea, because these are wonderful. I think they went for a lilac scent as well, and they work fantastic in my office. :)

(please excuse Bandit the dog photobombing my pictures ^^)

And finally, what I am the most excited about, this rattan chair.

 Its similar to this one found on Amazon, but it was only forty bucks!

I will keep you posted on what happens with him, but I am taking ideas for what color the cushion should be.

Are you a fan of keeping rattan natural or painting?

All of these finds typically come from one of the four stores in my 'Thrift store rotation'

One is good for furniture

One is good for knick knacks

One for dishes and books

And the last one is usually a suprise. Never know what I will find there!

What kind of things have you found in thrift stores?

Do you have a rotation as well?

Well, that's all for today folks.

As always,

Hello spring! DIY moss letters

Hey Ya'll!

Spring is finally here in our little corner of the world.

There is nothing more wonderful than waking up to the sound of birds chirping and a beautiful day ahead of you.

Our home has been busy with all the crafts happening recently, as well as some spring cleaning.

So time for some fresh new spring decor to get us in the mood!

I have seen these all over the blogosphere, and I have got to say, I love them. Anything typography has my vote, and plus, you don't have water these!

Supplies needed:

1 moss mat. I picked mine up at Jo-anns,

I got the six foot roll, and it totaled 17.00. If you are only doing one or two letters, you could likely get away with only 2 ft.

Letters, Normally $3 each, they were a dollar off, so $10 on letters.

You will need hot glue

Green paint or spray paint

a sharpie

and scissors.

Total money spent on this project: $27 and about two to three hours of time.

To begin, Paint the backs of your letters with green paint. If you want to skip the drying step, feel free to use spray paint. I used plain acrylic paint and mixed 3/4 paint and 1/4 water to make a dark wash.

When the letters have dried, place them on your mat and trace around them with your sharpie.

Don't worry about marking on your letter, you will cover it up!

After your letter is cut out, you may want to shake it vigorously into the garbage for a second to remove any extra moss.

Hot glue the moss to the letter.

You will not want to cover the bottom of the letter unless you plan on hanging it on a wall.

Mine are just going to be shelf decor, so I left the bottom plain.

After I glued the front of the letter, I measured the sides and cut long strips to go around the border of each letter and add dimension.

And just like that, you're finished!

Ready to hang on your wall or shelves!

What kind of things do you do when spring comes?

Till next time;

Making your own sunburst mirror for less than $20

I, like many others, have been drooling over the recent sunburst mirror trend. It seemed like every store I went to had some version of them, often sporting a $100-$400 price tag as well. I wanted one that was going to be very large and take up the most amount of blank space on my wall, but I did not want to spend a large amount. With a little creativity, I came up with this one. It cost me less than $20!

First, Gather your supplies.

You will need:

3-4 packages of wooden skewers (around $2 each at target)

A Plastic plate (Michael's carries thick ones for $2)

A Beveled mirror -this one is 14 inches (Michael's, $7.99)

A hot glue gun and hot glue

Spray paint (I used Krylon brushed nickel, $3.95)

Mounting supplies (I used a picture mounting kit from the dollar store!)

Get your hot glue gun heated and begin gluing the skewers onto the plate.

I started with each four corners and just went from there.

I free-handed it, but if you want a specific design, I recommend drawing it on the plate in sharpie before beginning, just to have something to follow.

-Also, if target is out of plain hot glue sticks, hot pink works well in a pinch-

 At this point, I was on skewer number 100. 

Time to break out the thin mints and wine and jam out to some Jewel.

Side note: Some skewers are bent and won't stay on no matter how much hot glue you use.

They just won't. So don't despair, you will use those later. :)

I went around the plate twice, once when I thought that I was doing it right, and a second time when I realized how many gaps there were.

And here he is finished and ready for a coat of paint.

At this point, jump up and down with joy and go put some band aids on those fingers you burnt.

I laid down my piece on the floor and covered every surface I could with newspaper.

It was late at night, and we don't happen to have a garage, so I used my living room and opened all of the doors and windows.

I sprayed the top with two coats of the brushed nickel, and when that dried, I flipped it over and painted the back.

After everything dried, I wrestled with trying to figure out how to put the mirror on.

The mirror was just large enough that it only touched the edge of the plate, and I needed it to touch everywhere.

So I took the remainder of my skewers and glued them horizontally across the plate, creating a flat surface so the mirror would stick to that.

Then I covered the back of the mirror in hot glue and stuck it on.

Everywhere I had read about making these, people said not to use anything other than mirror approved glue, or it could rip the silvering off of the mirror.

So if you want to go another route, you could use another glue and weigh it down while it dries.

After attaching the mirror, I attached my picture hanging kit to the back by following the instructions

And here it is! It ended up being very large, about 36 inches across, and it took about 90 minutes to make, paint drying and all.

I think it looks rather fetching, don't ya think?

So tell me about what trends you have DIY'ed?

Have you been dying for a sunburst mirror too?

Thanks guys! 

Till next time;