Goodwill Makeover Monday

I'm back!  Hope everyone enjoyed a safe Thanksgiving with lots of food!  We sure did!

Last week was so busy ~ DD's pink eye made a return, but I think we finally have it cleared up.  We enjoyed catching up with lots of family and even had a "mini-vacation", as the kids called it, to celebrate Christmas with family that won't be able to return in December.  It was fun to travel a short distance and stay in a hotel overnight with them ~ the kids were able to get lots of swimming in!

Today a warm front has blown in and I'm frantically trying to finish up some more painting before the cold returns.  As I'm looking at the stash of makeovers ready to go, the stash that hasn't been touched is staring at me :(  I'm hoping that this winter isn't anything like last winter ~ otherwise it could be April or May before I'm able to get to those.  However, I do have one ready to finish this week. 

Here it is ~

This magazine rack is actually one of the first piece that I purchased when I decided to start my blog and makeovers.  It has just been patiently waiting for its turn.  I don't know exactly where it will be used, but I'm sure I can find someplace for it!

Today, along with the warm weather, I received some sad news concerning a friend from high school ~ her husband passed away over the weekend.  He had been battling brain cancer for the last year and a half.  She is only 34 and now will be a single parent raising 2 small daughters.  Thankfully, she is a physical therapist and does have a full-time job and is fortunate to be living near her family.  My heart aches for her and my thoughts are full of her and her family ~ many prayers are being sent up for her today.  Just another reminder of how short our time here on earth is and how thankful we should all be for what we have.  I hope that she will feel the arms of our Lord wrapped tightly around her and her girls in the days and weeks ahead ~ may He give her the strength she will need to cope and continue on.

Taking the Week Off

Well, pink eye has hit again.  DD woke up this morning with eyes full of gunk ~ so glad that there is medicine left.  We were able to get some in right away, so she should be able to make it to school tomorrow.

With the holiday approaching and a crazy, busy week ~ dentist appointments, school conferences, dance classes, family coming, etc., etc. ~ I have decided to take the week off from makeovers and thriftyness.  Time to focus in my sanity ~ or what's left of it!

Let me take this time to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  Take a moment this week and really ponder everything you have to be thankful for ~ it's too easy to get caught up in everything going on around us and forget how blessed we are.

Enjoy the holiday!

A Bushel and A Peck of Extras

So, I know that it's not Friday ~  I'm a little slow on linking up with Kelly at Kelly's Korner this week.  Her invitation this week is to show the "extra" rooms in our homes ~ and we have a few!  I thought I would start off with photos of our laundry/mud room.  What a blessing this room has been!  With it being right off the garage, it catches all the mud and dirt from the kids as they come in from outside.  Take a peek ~

Love the sink! 

One of our desks ~ this one is for the family

Hey ~ where did that gingerbread come from!

(Notice the makeover on the wall ~ it's working well for those bills!)

Coat/shoe closet

See ~ those gingerbread are starting to take over the house ~ LOL!

Now ~ onto the toy/game room.  This room has seen several "makeovers" since we moved in over 4 years ago.  The kids have outgrown sooooo many toys and it has "grown-up" with them.  It's in the basement which helps cut down on the noise level when we have friends over!  Welcome to Kid Central ~

Baby Land!

We love Little Mommy toys!

Hot Wheels!

Old dining room table ~ perfect for crafting and when friends come over ~ the kids can eat down here

(Linda ~ notice the highchair!)

The mini china cabinet was made by my great-great uncle for my mother when she was a girl.

Raggedy Andy and Ann

The dolls in the shelf were mine, DH, DS, and DD ~ the highchair was mine.

If you look close, you can find my childhood roller skates!

The kitchen, ironing board, iron, sewing machine, and playpen were mine.

Hope you enjoyed the peek into our "extras"!  I've enjoyed taking a look at everyone's photos this week ~ it's always fun to look at how others decorate and even find an idea or two to steal!

I have one more room that I would like to share, but time is running short this morning.  Hopefully, I can get photos taken and posted later this afternoon. 

Goodwill Goodie Finish Friday

Friday!  So, what was this week's makeover?  To be honest, I wasn't even sure what I would pick to makeover!  First, I thought a peg shelf ~ then, it was a recipe box ~ but finally, decided on this ~

It's a brand new cutting board that I picked up at Goodwill.  You can see where the label caused some discoloration.  I needed something to hide an outlet in my kitchen and this is the perfect size.  It was a bit tricky with the grooves, but in the end they just added some dimension.

Here's the result ~ (I included 2 photos because I couldn't decide which showed it better)

Here's how I used it to cover an outlet ~

Notice the gingerbread ~ they just seem to keep popping up places in our home!  I love how the grooves mimic the roll-top of the bread box ~ ties the whole display together, don't you think!

Thrifty Thursday

For today's Thrifty Thursday, I took a tour of our home in search of a perfect item to show.  I think I found it!  It's something that I came across while pulling out my stash of Halloween costumes a few weeks ago for the kids to go through.  I had forgotten all about this and am just thrilled to have discovered it!  It works in so well in the toy/game room.  Plus I received my January 2011 edition of Country Sampler today, and wouldn't you know ~ it's one of the top 10 collectibles for this coming year!  Now, mine is not that old, but my mom did make it and so it means so much more to me!  What could it be.....drum roll please......

A vintage dress with apron and bonnet!  My mom made this for me when I was about 3 or 4 years old ~ apparently I was obsessed with Holly Hobby. Can you believe how it matches the quilt?  We rescued the ladder from an old barn that we bulldozed on our acreage.  The rocking horse was given to my DS for his 1st birthday by my parents ~ I think it rounds out the display nicely!  I have a photo some where of my DD wearing this dress, but haven't been able to track it down.  When I do, I would like to frame it and hang it beside the display.

Who needs to go to a thrift store when you can just shop in your basement?!?!  I found a few more items down there that will be moving out of the tubs and into new homes very soon.  Decorating on a budget ~ love when I can re-purpose items I have!

Goodwill Goodie Makeover Monday ~ A Day Late :)

So it's Tuesday and I didn't have time to post yesterday.  For this week's makeover, I thought it would be fun to keep you guessing all week long as to what I am doing ~ no before photo!  I might add a sneak peek later, depending on how this one goes.  The paint is drying as I type this!

Christmas is just around the corner, and I can't wait to start decorating!  I usually try to hold off until December 1, but some gingerbread men have already started to find their way into the kitchen.  I think they must have climbed out of the tubs and up the stairs on their own!  I have a soft spot for gingerbread men ~ okay, maybe it's more like an obsession :)  Each year I tell myself that I am NOT going to purchase any more, and then I end up finding a few that I just have to have!  I have already purchased a new spoon rest, cookie jar, and hand towel for the kitchen.  Hello, my name is Michele and I am a gingerbread addict.

I think a post dedicated to all my gingerbread will be coming soon!  Cold weather has set in, and a few more snow flurries have arrived ~ glad they melted as soon as they hit the ground.  I'm hoping for at least 1 more warm day as I have a few makeovers that are half painted and need to be finished.  By the look of my basement, I should have enough started to last the winter.  Makeover Mondays and Finish Fridays should continue!

Any one started on their Christmas decorating yet?  I'm excited to check out everyone's blogs when they start to post photos!  Come back on Friday to see what I have ready!

Goodwill Goodie Finish Friday

Friday?  How can it be Friday already?  I think I missed the rest of the week ~ or maybe I was just that busy!  DD's pink eye has cleared up and DS escaped it.  DS and I both had eye appointments this week and my mom faced some medical issues that kept me busy for a few days.  So I didn't have a chance to post yesterday's Thrifty Thursday, hoping that next week slows down a little ~ good luck on that happening!

I put the finishing touches on this week's makeover this afternoon and LOVE the outcome!  Remember how I had posted that the first paint job and distressing attempt were a disaster?  Well, turns out it was really a blessing in disguise!  I have to share the photos ~

The first paint job was oxford blue over black.  When I sanded, big chunks of paint came off ~ the box must have had some kind of finish, I should have sanded before painting.  So I went back over the whole thing with black.  When I distressed this time, I sanded very light and the best thing happened ~ the blue started to show through under the black!  It looks perfect!  The photos just don't do it justice.

I have been looking for a primitive star stencil for a while, and found one last weekend ~ perfect addition to the box!  The blue paint I used for the star was leftover from our children's bathroom ~ what are the chances that it would match this well.  Everything I used for the top display is a thrifty find!  I just found the flag today for $.25, the pip berries and gingerbread men were Goodwill finds, and the grater was a consignment shop find.

It rounds off the spoon rack display and hides the school supplies that DS and DD use everyday for homework.  I love these bread box makeovers and will definitely purchase every one that I can find!  If anyone would be interested in purchasing a made-over bread box, please let me know ~ I'm sure we can work a deal out!

Rain and wind have set in here today.  We are under a winter weather advisory right now ~ I'm not ready for cold weather yet.  I have too many makeovers to get started!  It's a good thing that I have a few painted and ready to go!

Goodwill Goodie Makeover Monday

Yeah ~ it's time for another Goodwill Goodie Makeover Monday!  The weather has warmed up again and I'm in the mood to paint!  Today I have a helper at home ~ DD has pink eye in both eyes and has to be on meds for 24 hours before she can return to school.  We took her into urgent care yesterday so that we could get the meds going right away ~ she probably could have went today, but there is still some eye discharge going on, so she is having a day with mom!  It's always kinda nice to have a day like this ~ a little one-on-one time, but it shot her perfect attendance for the year :(  I'm hoping that DS doesn't pick it up.

This week, I have another bread box that I'm tackling.  Like I said in the last post, it was all painted and I tried to distress it.  However, it turned into a big mess!  The paint didn't stick and as I sanded, chunks came off!  So back to painting it went.  I have the inside left to paint and then once dried, I'll try again.  I had used a different color and paint brand than what I normally use, and won't be using it again. 

Here's the before ~

I almost forgot to take a before photo!  This is a nice bread box ~ very sturdy and well-built.  It always surprises me when I come across items like this at Goodwill or Salvation Army.  I guess others just can't see past the current condition to what a treasure it really is ~ great for me though!

Be sure to come back and see how I have made this one over ~ I think you will love it!

Goodwill Goodie Finish Friday

The makeovers are complete ~ love how they turned out!  The display looks terrific and I can't wait to share it with you, so here everything is!

I think everything really works together in this display.  The Americana baskets are Goodwill finds ~ $.50 for the top one and $.99 for the bottom one.  The scales are from family members ~ top one is from my paternal grandparents, middle one is from a great-aunt and great-uncle's estate auction, and the bottom one is from DH's grandparents.  So overall, an inexpensive, sentimental addition to our kitchen.

Brrr.... it's getting cold here!  I'm so glad that I took a couple days the last few weeks and painted up a bunch of goodwill goodies ~ not sure how many more painting days I have left this year!  Next week's is already giving me a hard time.  It was all painted and ready to go, so I started in on the distressing ~ turned into a big mess!  Back to painting for that one ~ hoping that it will dry over the weekend and I can give it another go!  Check back to see what it is and how it turns out!

Thrifty Thursday ~ Game Boards!

It's Thrifty Thursday!  Today I thought I would share about game boards!  I'm also linking with Tales from Bloggeritaville to share my thrifty finds.

I have many memories of playing board games, mainly checkers, with both sets of grandparents.  My great-grandmother had an old Chinese checker game that we loved to play with ~ even though none of us knew how to actually play Chinese checkers.  When she moved into town from the farm, the game disappeared and no one will 'fess up to having it :(  I'm always on the look-out for a similar game board, but have yet to find one. 

Country Sampler has become one of my favorite magazines and I love to see how game boards have been used in home decor.  Our children's "toy room" is in our basement and I have been wanting to find some game boards to decorate with.  DS and DD have outgrown the Little People and other "baby toys", as they call them, and so now is my chance!  Within the last few months, I have come across some boards at Goodwill and other stores at extremely reasonable prices.  None are original, all reproductions ~ but that fact doesn't bother me.  I'm not looking at resale value, I want them for sentimental value!

This first checker board was found at Goodwill for $1.99.

Another $1.99 Goodwill find!

This checker board was found at an antique store for $7.00 ~ still not a bad price.

This game board came from a local store that was going out of business ~ remember I paid $10 for the game board, 2 mini quilts, and the Americana basket (see next photo).

Here's the display ~ I added them to the wall grouping that includes the shelf I made-over.

This ring toss game is my latest purchase.  I found it at an antique store.  They were asking $8 and I negotiated it down to $6.50!  I just love the colors and those stars ~ I'm a sucker for stars!  The wood blocks were DS and the dominoes are wood and were found in one of our previous homes.

It's just a start, but I love the feeling that the boards are giving the toy/game room.  Now DS and DD ask to play checkers all the time ~ I love that those simple games can still provide lots of entertainment.  They can't wait until Thanksgiving when the entire family gets together.  Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma are first on the list as opponents!

Goodwill Goodie Makeover Monday

First ~ I want to thank you for the birthday wishes!  I had a a fantastic week.

Second ~ I would like to ask for some prayers for DH and myself.  Yesterday was an extremely trying Sunday School class again and we are feeling very discouraged.  I strongly feel that the Lord is calling us to lead this class, but at times (like yesterday) we feel like throwing the towel in.

Third ~ this week's makeover!  Once again, it's a double makeover.  I already have the perfect spot picked out and can't wait to get it hung!

Here's the before ~

I picked the spoon rack up at Goodwill for $.50 and the spoons from Dollar General for $1. 

We had trick-or-treating on Saturday and the weather was terrific.  A bit chilly after the sun went down, but no wind and clear skies!  DS and DD waited until the last minute to decide what to dress like, which caused a bit of stress for us all.  Thank goodness we were able to find 2 costumes and at 50%.  I usually don't purchase costumes ~ I have all the costumes my mom made for us and DD has 2 totes full of play costumes.  However, this year they decided they needed to be vampires ~ not my first choice, but they did look the part.  For safety reason (I'm a bit paranoid), I will not post photos of them that show their faces.  I do think these photos are safe to share.

I wouldn't mess with this pair, would you?!?