SunflowerHugs: August 2013

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Secondhand Scores #21

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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No furniture this week, but I did get lots of pretty cool stuff.

$2 for the embroidered art on the left. I love the frame--it looks like old barn wood.
The framed daisy art is at least three feet tall! I bargained it down from $3 to $1.50.

Both are going to be chalkboards.

The two deer heads are plastic and were $.50 total.

I am going to mount them on wood plaques that I got at garage sales last year. I may cover them with gold Rub 'n Buff or something awesome like that.

The three taxidermy deer hooves were $1 each.

I am on the fence about them...I mean if you can mount the head of a deer, why not the hooves? But they are a little bit on the creepy side.

All this amazing fabric was $1!! A quilter was getting rid of her excess stash and I was able to fill a bag for $1.

Do you see that funkadelic penguin fabric? I could not pass that up!

The birdhouse picture was $.50.

I will change out the picture for a photo.

The cork board was $1.

I plan to cover it in burlap and try to do something with the frame.

Wood jewelry box was $1.

Six pairs of the most high waisted 80's looking jeans (pleats and all) for FREE!

I am going to hack all of them up and make this amazing blue jean table cloth.

Mary Kay Andrews book for $.25. Love her!
My son needed an alarm clock so he can get himself up for school and he wanted me to run to the store to get one. I told him to just wait, I know I'll find one at a garage sale. It took a few weeks, but I scored this one for $1.

Last, but not least, my husband found these lanterns on some one's curb.

The hooks are totally rusted, but nothing a little cleaning and spray paint can't fix.

Linking to:

Polkadots On Parade
Real Housewives of Riverton
The Happy Housie
Sweet Haute
I Gotta Create
House of Hepworths
Lamberts Lately
Shabby Creek Cottage
Liz Marie
The Shabby Nest
Finding Fabulous
Living Well, Spending Less
DIY Vintage Chic
Rain On A Tin Roof
A Living Space
Table For 7
The Winthrop Chronicles

Sunday, August 25, 2013

A Painter's House Is Never Painted

I started painting furniture over a year ago now and I had yet to paint a piece for my own house! How crazy is that? Until now...

We have made quite a few changes in my daughter's room since removing her crib. One of the things I did was paint her dresser.

My BFF gave me this dresser more than six years ago. It used to be her daughter's. It is pretty old, but very sturdy. It looks like it has at least ten coats of white paint on it.

It started out in my bedroom, but eventually I was able to give it to my daughter. The two top drawers had huge brass knobs on them. When I gave it to her, I replaced them with the clear plastic knobs I got at Target. I added all the tchotkes and stickers to cover up flaws in the dresser that, at the time, I didn't know how to fix.

Now I know better and it is fixed! I gave my daughter the choice of color and she picked a yellow oops paint.

I wiped the whole thing down with deglosser (because the existing paint was very slick) and then painted it with two coats of homemade chalk paint.

I chose to paint the dresser with the dragonfly decals because I couldn't get them to come off without breaking.

They are actually plastic mirrors and the paint stuck to them without a problem.

I finished the dresser by distressing lightly with a sanding sponge and Minwax Finishing Paste. I didn't change the handles, but I am thinking to eventually spray them white.

I can't believe it took me so long to paint a piece for my house. It only took a Sunday afternoon to make the transformation and make my daughter super happy (looks like the dresser is smiling too)!

Linking to:
VMG206
DIY Showoff
Twigg Studio
Silver Pennies
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
Homemaker On A Dime
Rain On A Tin Roof
Homecoming
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
Table For Seven
Kammy's Korner
Love Grows Wild
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
A Stroll Through Life
Kathe With An E
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
VMG206
Elizabeth & Co.
Savvy Southern Style
DIY Dreamer
Fluster Buster
Green Willow Pond
Yellow Bliss Road
Polkadots on Parade
Real Housewives of Riverton
The Happy Housie
Sweet Haute
I Gotta Create
House of Hepworths
Lamberts Lately
Shabby Creek Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Liz Marie
The Shabby Nest
Finding Fabulous
Living Well, Spending Less
The Grant Life
DIY Vintage Chic
Start At Home
Too Much Time On My Hands

Featured by:
BeBetsy

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Federal Blue Chest

I got this Lane Cedar chest from an auction back in April for $1! The inside was in perfect condition, but the outside--not so much.

I originally sanded down the top in the hopes of staining it. I did stain it, but there were very deep scratches that made it so I had to paint it.

I painted it with two coats of Federal Blue Safe Paint (milk paint for walls) from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. and distressed with a fine sanding sponge. I found that this paint, once sanded, shows a neat texture to the piece if you sand vertically and horizontally.

I was going to leave it all the blue, but you could still see the scratches on the top under the paint. I taped off the pattern with 2" painters tape around the edge and 1" in the middle and painted with the Valspar Churchill Hotel Vanilla to hide the scratches.

I also painted the back because I think this chest could be used as a coffee table. The paint even stuck to the metal hinges!

The back was stamped and I love the way it looks painted.

Honestly I hadn't planned on painting the chest this color and was pretty nervous with how bold the color is. I think the cream color on top helped tone it down. Luckily it did sell--I wonder if maybe it was used as a toy box in a little boy's room.

Linking to:

DIY Showoff

If It's Not Baroque...
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
Silver Pennies
Twigg Studios
Creative Home Expressions
Rain On A Tin Roof
Home Coming
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
Kathe With An E
Kammy's Korner
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
A Stroll Through Life
Elizabeth & Co.
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
VMG206
Love Grows Wild
Fluster Buster
DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Yellow Bliss Road
Green Willow Pond
The Real Housewives of Riverton
Polkadots On Parade
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Sew Much Crafting
I Gotta Create
Sweet Haute
Lamberts Lately
House of Hepworths
Saving4Six
Start At Home
Living Well, Spending Less
Domestic Superhero
Redoux
The Best Blog Recipes
Liz Marie
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
The Grant Life
Today's Creative Blog
Funky Junk Interiors
The Dedicated House
The Happy Housie

Featured by:
Rain On A Tin Roof

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Secondhand Scores #20

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There was a neighborhood sale this weekend that I was able to park my car and walk to most of the sales. I love when that happens!

I paid $2 for the pot with the colander. I have been wanting one of these for the longest time!
The tiny serger was an impulse buy. It was only $5 and I couldn't pass it up for that price. Now I just need to learn how to use it...
The yellow thing is an alphabet stencil I got for $.25.

I got four 61" length tab top curtain panels for $2 total. They are a little faded, but I then found the bottle of navy blue Rit dye for $.25 to fix that problem. These will be perfect for my son's room.

The life jacket was $3.
The black shelf was $1. I just bought the same shelf at Home Depot for almost $5, so now I can return it and save some $$.

The two small square containers were $.25 total.
The set of three spatulas were $.10.
The rest of the containers were $4 total. I don't think they were ever even used. It will be great to replace all my other containers with these matching (unstained) ones.

Linking to:
Green Willow Pond
Polkadots On Parade
The Real Housewives of Riverton
Southern Lovely
Sew Much Crafting
Sweet Haute
The Shabby Creek Cottage
I Gotta Create
Saving4Six
Lamberts Lately
Living Well, Spending Less
Domestic Superhero
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Nest
If It's Not Baroque...
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
Silver Pennies
Sir Thrift A Lot
Creative Home Expressions
Rain On A Tin Roof
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
Kathe With An E
Kammy's Korner
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
A Stroll Through Life

Featured by:
Sew Much Crafting
Living Well, Spending Less

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Orange Side Table

The backing on this table was already coming off. I gave a few more tugs and the whole thing popped off with no damage.

Because the backing was off, I wanted to cover it with fabric. I went through my stash (nice word for hoard) which consists of various sizes and patterns of fabric I find at garage sales for $.50 to $1.

Once I decided on the fabric, I went to my paints to see what I had to match it. I have a bunch of oops paint samples, one of which is an orange that matches the fabric perfectly!

I got that paint a long time ago and never thought I would use it for furniture, but it matched so perfectly I had to do it.

I mixed the orange into DIY chalk paint and painted two coats. But before I painted, I sanded down the top to stain. The top was in nice enough condition and I didn't want the piece to be too orange.

I stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut. I lightly distressed the orange and finished it with Minwax Finishing Paste.

I Mod Podged the fabric to the back piece. I liked how you see mostly yellow flowers with the orange centers. I was able to put the backing on with my staple gun.

I also added the fabric to the drawer and you get more orange in here. I think it came out very happy and fun for summer.

Linking to:
Homecoming
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Rain On A Tin Roof
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
DIY Showoff
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
A Stroll Through Life
Kathe With An E
Not Just A Housewife
VMG209
Kammy's Korner
Elizabeth & Co.
DIY Dreamer
Yellow Bliss Road
Fluster Buster
Savvy Southern Style
Green Willow Pond
Polkadots On Parade
The Real Housewives of Riverton
Southern Lovely
Sew Much Crafting
Sweet Haute
The Shabby Creek Cottage
I Gotta Create
Saving4Six
Lamberts Lately
Living Well, Spending Less
Domestic Superhero
House Of Hepworths
Start At Home
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
Funky Junk Interiors
Today's Creative Blog
Redoux

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Secondhand Scores #19

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I actually didn't have any secondhand scores to share this week until last night. I was driving home and passed a consignment/thrift store and they had this in their parking lot!

Even though I had my misadventure with the wheelbarrow the other week, I really don't have much shame when it comes to free furniture. Especially when it was very clearly marked with FREE signs.

And to prove my point (that I have no shame), there were two men across the street looking at the stuff when I pulled in the parking lot. I quickly snapped some pictures and that's when they started to heckle me.

They said--that's right, sell it on ebay! And--we were just going to fix the signs to say $10 each payable to us! Did I care? Heck no! I told them free is my favorite four letter word and that this stuff was awesome.

I grabbed the best things out of the pile and started to cram them into my husband's car. Of course I had to have my husband's car when I hit a jackpot of free stuff! You know, the whole square peg fitting into a circle problem.

I was able to fit three wood(ish) tables, a metal/glass table and the chair. I didn't take the other chair in the top photo because I didn't know how to do that kind of reupholster job. The rest were all press board type storage items. I probably would have taken the shelf, but I had no more room.

One of the hecklers, after seeing me load all this stuff up, said--that stuff is starting to look a lot better to me now! I was thinking--you snooze you lose--but who was I to rub it in?

Linking to:

Green Willow Pond

Polkadots On Parade

The Real Housewives of Riverton

Southern Lovely

Carrie This Home

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Lamberts Lately

Living Well, Spending Less

Redoux

DIY Vintage Chic

If It's Not Baroque...

Today's Creative Blog

Funky Junk Interiors

Homecoming
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Rain On A Tin Roof
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings
DIY Showoff
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
A Stroll Through Life
Kathe With An E
Not Just A Housewife
VMG209
Kammy's Korner
Elizabeth & Co.
DIY Dreamer
Yellow Bliss Road
Fluster Buster
Savvy Southern Style

Featured by:
Maison de Pax

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Buttermilk Waterfall Dresser

I found this waterfall dresser on the side of the road when I was out garage sale-ing a few weeks ago.

The drawers had that amazing veneer and I didn't want to paint over it. I sanded them with 150 grit to get the old varnish off and smoothed them out with 220.

I then painted the body of the dresser with two coats of Safe Paint (milk paint for walls) from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. Because it is meant for walls, it will not chip and does not need a bonding agent added.

After I distressed the paint I used my AS Dark Wax that I mixed with paint thinner to make it a glaze consistency. I used it all over the paint as well as the drawers.

It gives that aged look to the paint, especially light colors. The veneer on the drawers was already great colors that the dark wax just enhanced the beauty.