SunflowerHugs: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Secondhand Scores #18

When I was a kid my parents went to garage sales all the time. I admit I was totally embarrassed by it. I never really bothered going regularly until after I had my son. I realized I could get clothes and toys and things for him for pennies on the dollar and that is when my love for secondhand was born.

Garage sales are my favorite but I also go to flea markets, thrift stores and auctions. I am always on the hunt for furniture to paint, stuff for myself, my house, my kids and unique items that I could put to future use. I love the thrill of finding something that was once very expensive for as little money as possible.

In this series, I will share my scores to show you how much you could get for your hard earned money. Some days I hit jackpots, some days I get nothing, but I always have fun.

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On Friday I stopped by a small thrift store I haven't been to in a long time. I scored a couple of things I have really been wanting. First I got this awesome squirrel brass figurine for $3.50.

I picked up a pair of brass deer a few years ago and I have been wanting to add to the collection since. The only brass figurines I see are those same deer! This was the first time I came across another shape and I love that it was a squirrel.

The other thing I got was this huge wall stencil for $3.

It is three different stripes patterns. I can't wait to try it out on a piece of furniture.

Saturday I went to some garage sales. I normally do not post toys or clothes I get for my kids, but I had to put this week's scores in because the prices were so unbelievable! I wanted to show that this is the exact reason I am out there going to garage sales!

I know it takes time and you don't always find what you want, but I when I do actually go retail stores, it takes me just as much time and not only do I not find what I want, I certainly don't find the prices that I want to pay.

My daughter is three and loves Disney and dress up. These are the scores from Saturday.

A box of plastic jewelry for $.25! Tons of bracelets and necklaces that are perfect for her age.
Four Disney costumes--Minnie Mouse, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty--along with two deluxe pairs of shoes and six pairs of other shoes for $5!!
Stuff a bag of clothes for $5 (and boy did I stuff it)!

3 bathing suits and a terry cloth cover up
1 pair of winter pj's
2 long sleeve Disney t shirts
1 Disney sweat jacket
1 Gymboree summer outfit
3 pairs of Gap leggings
7 short sleeve t shirts--almost all were Disney
1 velour Christmas dress
1 winter jacket--Carters brand
1 Disney princess gold brocade dress with matching sweater

I probably took the same amount of time as it takes to go to the mall to find an outfit. But I got all of those clothes for less than what one of those items cost brand new.

Linking to:
Green Willow Pond
Polkadots On Parade
Southern Lovely
Saving4Six
Mom On Timeout
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Happy Housie
I Gotta Create
Lamberts Lately
Living Well Spending Less
The Real Housewives of Riverton
Domestic Superhero
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Redoux
The Shabby Nest
Liz Marie
Lovely Crafty Weekend
If It's Not Baroque
The Thrifty Groove
I Heart Naptime
Sir Thrift A Lot
DIY Showoff
Silver Pennies
I Should Be Mopping The Floors
Creative Home Expressions
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Rain On A Tin Roof
A Stroll Through Life
Kammy's Korner
Kathe With An E
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
Love Grows Wild
Elizabeth & Co.
VMG206
Cozy Little House
The DIY Dreamer
Yellow Bliss Road
Savvy Southern Style
Fluster Buster

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sherwin Williams Color To Go

There is a Sherwin Williams store right in town. I drive by it every time I am headed out to Home Depot. I just assumed HD would have better pricing on paint.

I finally went in to check it out. I did find that their gallons of paint are more expensive than HD, but they have Color To Go. It is their sample pot of paint and it is only $6.50 for 31 ounces of paint! (Behr samples are $2.95 for 8 ounces.)

I was told at the store that this sample paint is not formulated the same way the gallons are. That is just a sample for color and that it will not hold up like their regular paint.

They don't tell you exactly what is different about the paint sample, but you can see on the label how it says it must be topcoated? When I mix Plaster of Paris into the paint to make homemade chalk paint, I always finish the project with wax--which is a topcoat!

[On a side note, my dad painted his hallway with the Color To Go paint. He didn't know it was formulated differently, it was just the amount of paint he needed. He painted it almost a year ago and it has held up fine.]

The reason I am talking about the Sherwin Williams paint is because I had this shelf unit that I was painting.

It was already painted white and I chose to paint it a navy blue that I had a sample pot of. I painted one coat and it was very streaky and was definitely going to need at least two more coats.

Right when I was finishing up the first coat, I dropped my pot of paint!

I was never going to have enough paint to finish. I was also not happy with how streaky the paint was and figured it was time to check out a better quality paint, which lead me to the Sherwin Williams store.

I picked the color Seaworthy and mixed it into DIY chalk paint. It took one coat to cover all the streaks!

I am so happy with this paint and the Sherwin Williams store is so much closer to me than Home Depot. It is now my go-to paint when I need a color mixed!

Linking to:
Silver Pennies
Creative Home Expressions
DIY Showoff
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
Homemaker On A Dime
The Dedicated House
A Stroll Through Life
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Today's Creative Blog
Kathe With An E
Elizabeth & Co.
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
Rain On A Tin Roof
Love Grows Wild
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Yellow Bliss Road
Fluster Buster
Dorothy Sue And Millie B's Too
Green Willow Pond
Polkadots On Parade
Southern Lovely
Saving4Six
Mom On Timeout
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Happy Housie
I Gotta Create
Lamberts Lately
Living Well Spending Less
The Real Housewives of Riverton
Domestic Superhero
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Redoux
Start At Home
The Shabby Nest
Miss Mustard Seed
Liz Marie
The Dedicated House
Lovely Crafty Weekend
If It's Not Baroque
The Happy Housie

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Secondhand Scores #17

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There were only a few garage sales on Saturday. I guess most people would rather be swimming than roasting in the heat holding a garage sale.

I got this cutie chandelier for $5. It is small--more like a night light, but will go great in my daughter's room.

I went to the flea market on Sunday.

I got the dream shelf for $.50. I am going to remove the dream word and paint it to match my daughter's room.

The two other wood shelves were $2 each. I think they will work in my kitchen.

I got the stencil for $.25. It is a checkerboard and rope stencil. I hope I can use it on a piece of furniture eventually.

The stamps were $1 each. I thought that was a little expensive, but I really needed those phrases. I now make my own greeting cards and these are perfect for them.

It was my husband's lucky day with the scores I found for him.

The deer crossing sign was $15. He put it on the side of our shed. We get quite a few deer through our yard so he was really happy to add this fun sign.

I then got him the wheelbarrow for $5! That was a steal!

Speaking of a "steal", I have an embarrassing confession to make. Monday mornings is trash day for my neighborhood. I like to scope out the blocks to see if anyone is getting rid of anything good. (This is not the confession--this is normal for me)

A few Mondays ago there was a wheelbarrow at the curb of a house. It was next to their garbage can and it had other garbage on top. Since my husband needed one, I loaded it into my car.

I live in a community that has a property management office. They send out periodic emails to the homeowners with updates and events and things like that. Well, take a look at the email I received right after I got the wheelbarrow.

If it is too small for you to read--it says someone took a wheelbarrow and the homeowners want it back!

How embarrassing! I thought it was garbage! It was at the curb on garbage pick up day next to the garbage can, with garbage on top! I mean really, how could I not think it wasn't being thrown away?

My husband thought this was hysterical and kept telling me things like he has seen posters with photos of the wheelbarrow asking if anyone has seen it. Or he noticed people walking the neighborhood checking out yards for it. Really funny--not!

Since I got the wheelbarrow at the flea market, it was time I put on my big girl panties and return the other wheelbarrow. So I did...last night...at midnight...with all the lights off on my car.

Linking to:

Green Willow Pond

Polkadots On Parade

A Stroll Through Life

The Real Housewives of Riverton

saving4six

Living Well, Spending Less

The Best Blog Recipes

A Peek Into My Paradise

Creative Home Expressions

DIY Showoff

I Should Be Mopping The Floor

Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
A Living Space
Homemaker On A Dime
The Dedicated House
A Stroll Through Life
Sir Thrift A Lot
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Today's Creative Blog
Me and My Shadow
Kathe With An E
Elizabeth & Co.
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
Rain On A Tin Roof
Love Grows Wild
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Yellow Bliss Road
Fluster Buster
Dorothy Sue And Millie B's Too

Featured by:
Domestic Superhero
Elizabeth & Co.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Red Tables

I really like red painted furniture, but I don't paint pieces red that often. I painted two dressers in red a while back, but nothing since.

I came across a table that I thought would be perfect red.

I painted the legs and spindles with one coat of an oops paint in a dark red mixed into homemade chalk paint. The wood was very dry and soaked up the paint that it almost looked like I used a red stain.

I knew the top wasn't going to be worth sanding and staining, but I didn't want to paint the entire table red.

Then I remembered Martha Leone's gorgeous buffet she painted with a red base and white top! I used an oops paint red and Valspar Churchill Hotel Vanilla colors mixed into homemade chalk paint. I only distressed the top and finished with AS clear wax.

Red and white go so well together!

While I had the red paint out, I painted another small table.

I had already sanded down the top when I was sanding other pieces. [When I am sanding I like to sand a lot of things at one time so I have pieces ready to go when inspiration strikes.]

I stained the top with Minwax Dark Walnut and painted the base with two coats of the same red paint and finished with the dark wax "glaze" technique.

It's amazing how different the red looks like based on what color their tops are done in!

Linking to:
Silver Pennies
Creative Home Expressions
DIY Showoff
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
Kammy's Korner
Today's Creative Blog
Elizabeth & Co.
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
Dorothy Sue and Mille B's Too
Yellow Bliss Road
Fluster Buster
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Green Willow Pond
Polkadots On Parade
A Stroll Through Life
The Real Housewives of Riverton

House of Hepworths

saving4six

Mom On Timeout

Shabby Creek Cottage
I Gotta Create
Domestic Superhero
Lamberts Lately
Lilyfield Life
The Best Blog Recipes
A Peek Into My Paradise
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Start At Home
Miss Mustard Seed

Featured by:

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Secondhand Scores #16

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Driving home on Wednesday afternoon one of my neighbors put out these two chairs with a nice big FREE sign on them.

I slammed on my breaks and turned around to go get them. My neighbors were outside and I asked them if they were sure they wanted to give them away--I told them I think they are teak. They were sure and now they are mine. And I am so keeping these babies!

There were a few garage sales on Saturday.

Hollister duffle bag for $1
All the yarn for $.50
Two red and white curtain panels for $1
Two beach towels for $.50 each
Two mason jars for $.50 each

Linking to:
Not Done Growing
Southern Lovely
Polkadots On Parade
The Real Housewives of Riverton
I Gotta Create
Mom On Timeout
Today's Creative Blog
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Green Willow Pond
Domestic Superhero
Lamberts Lately
Living Well Spending Less
Saving4six
House of Hepworths
Dorothy Sue & Millie B's Too
The Shabby Nest
Liz Marie
Redoux
Lovely Crafty Home
Finding Fabulous
Funky Junk
Silver Pennies
Creative Home Expressions
DIY Showoff
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
A Living Space
Me And My Shadow
Sir Thrift A Lot
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
Kammy's Korner
Today's Creative Blog
Elizabeth & Co.
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
Dorothy Sue and Mille B's Too
Yellow Bliss Road
Fluster Buster
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style

Featured by:
Living Well, Spending Less

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Top 10 Dresser Makeovers

Dressers are the best makeovers! I love the process of painting them. My favorite part is after everything is painted and waxed, to put the drawers back in and attach the hardware. I spend so much time with the dresser separated from it's drawers that when it all comes together it is a fun reveal right before my eyes!

I have put together the Top 10 Dresser Makeovers I have blogged about. I hope it inspires you to try painting a dresser! (I did inspire my husband and BFF)