Oldies, but Goodies from Around the House

I was thinking about all the stuff that I have acquired over the last few years, (while putting off actually packing something) and I wanted to show you some of my favorites. The armoire is in my front room and holds my tv, satellite, all our dvds, and madison's v-tech stuff, etc. Keeps everything hidden when people come over. I love it. I bought it at K-Mart a few Christmases back when I worked there for the holidays. It was the only one left and it was on extreme clearance. Lucky for me, they lose things in the back and then try to clean out everything and sell it for cheap. This was $125 on clearance and I had won a $50 gift card for something I had done at work and so it ended up only being about $75 dollars. Yay! It is uber-heavy and it took my husband hours and hours to put together. THEN - My friend who also worked there had bought one for $50.00 a few years prior to that and had never put it together. She was moving and didn't want to move it so I bought it off of her for $50.00. Double Yay!






K-Mart was good to me. I miss the great stuff I got with my discount and clearance watching skills. I got this set of wrought-iron stuff for $50.00 total. It came with the half-table, huge picture frame, gorgeous lamp, and matching picture frame.


I took one of my huge mirrors (K-Mart $50.00) and had a lady sand-blast our name into it. It says Skabelund est. 2002. I like how it turned out.


When I lived in Nevada, I found this little shop that I absolutely loved. They had this cute wrought-iron recipe holder and I got it for $15.00. I use it all the time in my kitchen. Love it.



My parents came to visit last month and I've been begging them to bring my middle school instruments with them. Well, they at least brought one. My old clarinet. It was also my oldest sisters too. It's like 50 years old and I love it to pieces. Can't wait to get it all oiled up and try it out again.



This is the last piece I bought at K-Mart. It's a super cute vanity set that I ended up going clearance and discontinued. It was $200.00 and I used my discount on top of convincing the manager to let me have it for even less because it was the last one. So, long story short, I used a coupon on top of all that and got it for $45.00. It was Madison's Christmas gift. She still uses it everyday to do her hair. I have some plans to add a pink toile skirt to the bottom or something like that, but my sewing machine is packed away and I have never gotten around to it.



I found this cute little wrought-iron wreath holder thingy at the same shop in Nevada for like $8.00.

Thrift Store Finds

This is the project that I'm working on for my husband. He found both of these pieces at the DI for a total of $15.00. He wants them to use as map drawers for all of his fossils. So, I get to fix these up for him. He wants the top and the drawer fronts to be stained an oak color and then the sides of the dresser are formica, so they have to stay black. It has taken forever to sand down just this much, but I'm slowly working on it. I have already filled in the holes in the top of the dresser with wood filler and sanded it down, and then fixed the front edging that was falling off. It might be a while before this is done, but I'm working on it.


This beauty is also from the same DI that I got the desk from. I love it! It needs nothing done to it but a new drawer pull. I hate gold stuff and that was the first thing I took off. It does have very tiny/few scratches, but this sofa table is perfect for only $20.00. It's something that you just can't pass up when you find it.


This is the desk that I found at the DI by my sister's house. It was $45.00, way more than I usually spend on anything, but I have been looking for something exactly like this to go in my laundry room. I love it and it is the perfect size and shape for the narrow room. It is really old and sturdy, too. It has great molding around the bottom too. I have sanded down all of the dent and scratches from the top, but I haven't decided what color to make it. I'm not sure if I should do it off-white or if I should just restain it. I hate staining, I'm horrible at it and it is very messy. I really am trying my hardest not to just paint it black since that would match everything else in my new laundry room. Ackk!!! I can't decide.

Thrift Store Finds & Makeovers

This cute little silver-rimmed condiment tray was only $5.00 at DI. One more thing to add to my collection of real silver. It came with three silver plated italian spoons. The whole thing just needs to be shined up and it will look great.



This is the pencil cup that I found at tj maxx. It just needed something to make it pop, so I painted the "S" white.


I've been collecting these little stacking baskets. Every time I see them I grab them up. I have four so far and they all fit perfectly together. I want to put them in the new pantry, I think. Each one was $1.50 or less. I've priced them at wal-mart and they are close to $9.00 each.


This small pitcher was only $1.00 and the two glass caraffes were the same price. These will actually stay in the kitchen because they are glass and the hubby wouldn't dare take them to the garage. At least, I hope so. It has worked so far. Then, there is the four cute glass jars that I'm going to put into my kitchen on the counter. All were under $1.00 each.




The lazy suzan was only $2.00 at the DI. It needed the bottom bolt tightened, because it was lopsided, but it works great now. I painted it black and decopaged the paper cutout onto the top. I want to add some sparkle or silvery paint over the top, but haven't gotten around to that yet.




I found all these fleur-de-lie and other stuff at Hobby Lobby's 80% section. They ranged in price from $1.90-$2.90. I wanted them to go on my mantle above the new fireplace. One was a mirror and I still want to add a silhouette to it, and the other two were gold. I hate gold stuff! So, black spray paint is what they got.

Thrift Store Finds & Makeovers

I found some great stuff that I just needed to spray paint. Boy, I love to spray paint. The whatchamacallit thingy's that support a bar, finials?, are going into my laundry room so I painted them black to match the desk I'm working on. These only cost me .75 each so eat your heart out!



Then, there are the pillar candles that I found for $1.00 each to add to my collection. They were painted black and so were the salt and pepper shakers. Only the outsides, so yes, I can still use them for food. They were only .50 each.




The little side table we acquired somehow, can't remember, when we were first married and it has been floating around the house for years. I painted it black to match the new reupholstered chair and the cofee table in the front room. Does it look like I paint everything black? I don't really, but that is all I've shown you so far because it is the fastest way to finish a project. I always have a .97 can of spray paint on hand.



There are the completely gaudy gold plant shelfs that I scored for .75 each and I also spray painted them black. I wanted something to put some greenery into at the new house.




The crazy lime-green cabinet door that I found for $2.00 is destined to become a message board. I spray painted it black, no suprise there, and haven't gotten around to actually adding the coarkboard to the center. I think I'll put it above my desk in the kitchen - at the freakin' new house when I move in - if it ever gets done!!!!!?????



I also found this cute little cupcake holder for $2.00. Not sure if I ever will make that many cupcakes cut enough to display, but it will come in handy someday, right?

Thrift Store Finds, Cookie Jars & Chalkboard

I saw this picture frame and knew right away that I had to have it. The picture inside is a little odd. I mean, who would hang this in their house? It was only $10.00 so I lugged it home and started painting. I painted the frame the same color as my vintage sewing table. Then, I went to Home Depot and had a piece of MDF cut to the right size to fit the frame ($8.00 aprox.) and a can of chalkboard paint ($5.00 aprox.) and put it all together. My girls love it and they color on it all the time.



I found these glass pitcher's at the DI for $2.50 each. I can't keep any pitcher in my kitchen for long. The plastic ones end up in the garage with my husband and his tile saw and they are ruined and broken before they ever make it back to the kitchen. I was super excited to find these ones. They are NEVER leaving my kitchen and the best part is, they were cheaper then plastic ones from Wal-Mart!


These cute little cookie jars were only a few bucks each at the SAVERS near my sister's house. I can't believe I found these. I painted the wooden tops red and next I think I'll add some black ribbon around the necks, but I'll wait till we are in the new house so I know if they match everything else.

New Coffee Table

I found this great little coffee table at the local DI for only $10.00. THe only thing wrong with it was the track underneath the drawer needed to be nailed down better. One nail, that's it!


I sanded down the top and used wood filler to fill in the gap around the edge. My girls would have that filled up with crayons, crumbs, etc. in no time and I didn't want to have to clean it constantly, either.


Then, I spray-painted it black. I love spray-painting! Super fast, easy and it turned out so great!

Thrift Store Treasures

My sister, Kathy, bought me this great black-colored jar for only a few dollars at the thrift store by her house. Love it! Then, the cute FHE sign with flat nails for pegs I found for only $1.00, too. I love the color already, so no need to change it, but I will have to make some hangers with our names on it.


Okay, complete splurge!!! I found this at the DI by my sister Kathy's house. I spent way more than I normally spend on anything thrifty. It was $40.00, but it is gorgeous and an original Ethan Allen piece. It has two sides that open up for extra storage, stuff, etc. I'm not sure if I will put it at the foot of my bed or at the foot of the stairs at the entryway in my new house. Love it! Stay tuned for the color transformation!


I've been looking for some cute words like this to go in my new house. I found these at TJ MaXX for $3 and $4 dollars. More than I would have liked but they will work perfectly on a shelf above my staircase and the S box will work for my desk in the kitchen.


Holy Crow!! (Twilight fans tribute) I have been wanting to buy a radio flyer wagon for my girls forever and almost did the last few Christmas's, but I can't seem to stomach the $50-80 price tags. I found this beautious creature for $8.00 at the DI by my house. Perfect for rust remover in a can!

Thrift Store Treasures

My parents have been visiting from Oregon for the last few weeks, so I have been in the SLC-area quite a bit and I couldn't resist going into the local Deseret Industries in some of the more affluent neighborhoods there. Love it! I found so many goodies that I had my trunk full everytime I came home.


I found several really nice, super heavy pots that I'm planning to put on the front steps of my new home. Sigh. Someday soon I'll be in it. Also, this super cute bird cage that opens at the top. I keep seeing lots of these in blogland and thought I could try that too.


I found some cute little cans that I want to use as pots in my new kitchen window. It has a place for plants and I want to grown some herbs. We'll just have to see how that goes!? Also, this super amazing SILVER!! gravy boat/thing-y that was only a few dollars. I'm starting a collection of silver pieces.


This booster seat I scored for $2.00. I am soooo sick of my youngest daughter's high chair. It takes up half the kitchen and doesn't fold up in any way! Stupid design. So, I'm going to paint it pink and get that dang high chair out of the way.


We have a spare bedroom in our new house that is blue and I wanted some storage for toys, etc. to go in the built-ins in the closet. These bad boys are heavy duty metal and only $2.00!!


I have some great old picture frames that I found at the thrift shop. I've got tons of empty walls in the new house to fill. Stay tuned to see what I do with them.