Fall is in the air

I love love LOVE this time of year!
I love the fall leaves and the cooler weather.
I adore the fall fashion including boots, sweaters and scarves.

I had the chance to go up to the mountains to my family's cabin over the weekend.
The drive alone was worth the trip! GORGEOUS!
It seriously takes my breath away...

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures, but this one of my brother fishing is my favorite:

Water like glass, beautiful mountains and sky...
Wish I could have stayed there longer. Much longer. But, alas, our lives must go on.

I wanted to bring some of the beautiful fall colors and leaves home, but I just couldn't do that; so I came up with the next best thing.

I bought some metal topiary stands at DI (thrift store) a couple weeks ago that I thought I could give a facelift to.

One of them had some awful fake foliage wrapped around it.  I took it off right away...

I went to the dollar store today and bought some leaves in various fall colors:

I went to work snipping each strand with my wire cutters and sticking them in the grassy straw stuff {that's a technical term} I scooted the leaves all the way to the end of the wire.

 

 

 (mental note: get a manicure)

 

Bottom half done.  (You like my daughter watching Baby Einstein in the background?) 

I ripped out all the moss that was at the base and hot glued some new moss. (from the dollar store)

Final touch, had to tie a ribbon round the old oak tree  maple leaf topiary. (ribbon also from dollar store!)

My original thought was to put these outside my front door, but I don't know if they can stand the crazy wind where I live...I think they found a new home by the TV.

It's certainly not as vibrant as the real trees are right now, but it allows me to take a small part of the outdoors and bring it inside for the season.  {And on the cheap too!}

 

Linking to:

Centsational Girl 

Tutu Lamp Shade {& tutu-torial}

 I bought a pink lamp at a thrift store for a couple bucks a while back.

I thought it would be cute in my daughter's room.

 It had a cream shade on it that was probably once cute.

The glue was yellowy-orange in places,

there were stains on it,

and it was pretty shabby.

The lamp has sat "AS IS" on my daughter's table for almost a year.

Until yesterday...{note: I did rip that top part...it wasn't sitting in her room that shabby}

I wanted to make her a tutu lamp.

There's something magical and graceful about ballerinas,

I think that's why many girls dream about becoming one...

I have made a couple tutus in the past when my daughter was first born:

They are super super easy!  I first decided on how long I wanted the "skirt" part to be.

I decided on 10 inches because I wanted a little overhang on the bottom of the shade. (plus you can always cut it shorter, but can't make it longer)

I cut strips twice that long (20 inches) because the tulle is doubled up when you tie it.

Last time I made a tutu I bought the tulle that comes in a roll that is already 6 inches wide.

This time, I just cut them 6 inches wide myself.

The great thing about cutting all of these strips is that you don't have to be perfect and precise in your cuts.

I REPEAT, you DO NOT have to be PERFECT!

I'm not sure how many strips I cut, probably around 70ish

It will vary depending on how big and frilly you want it :)

I used a hair headband elastic to tie the strips to. 

It's the perfect size and I didn't have to sew anything together!

It also doesn't matter what color because it gets covered up anyway

You can see I used blue...

 {tip: make sure it's about 2 inches smaller than what you need because it stretches after all the knots!}

NEXT STEP: go to a comfortable place {couch} and watch a TV show {Nate Berkus} and tie the tulle strips to the elastic.

Fold the tulle in half and tie a loop knot. 

{tip: make all of the knots go the same way}

 

It should look something like this:

You can leave them loose if you wish, but I chose to tighten mine quite a bit. This makes a fuller, puffier tutu because you can fit more on.

By the end of the TV show, you should have completed filling the full loop of elastic with tulle strips all the way around.

unless you accidentally got so caught up in said TV show that you didn't "work" the entire time...

then it may take you another show...

I'm not necessarily saying it happened to me, but it could happen...

 Silly me, I was about to go to the fabric store to replace the cream fabric

when it dawned on me to, 

hello, 

SPRAY PAINT it!

I already had a bottle of Krylon Ballet Slipper pink in the garage so I raced outside and doused it a few times.

{after taking off all those pearly beads, of course} 

I covered the top part of the shade with some pink ribbon I had on hand using my glue gun.

I fitted the lamp shade with the tutu skirt, trimmed up some of the edges, 

and finished her off with a purdy pink bow!

It's big and puffy but I like it that way!

 Linking to:

Chic on a Shoestring

Remodelaholic

Finding Fabulous 

The Shabby Nest 

Sassy Sites 

Simple Home Life 

Tatortots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

The Girl Creative

 Under the Table and Dreaming

  Home Stories A to Z 

I Heart Naptime

Coastal Charm 
Not Just a Housewife 
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Someday Crafts 
The 36th Avenue
Blue Cricket Design 
Restore Interiors  
Design Dazzle
Southern Lovely
Todays Creative Blog 
The Crafty Nest 

Long Necklace Storage

Long necklace storage can be a pain.

They get tangled so easily.

My solution used to be an over the door hook rack.

It would clang EVERY. TIME. THE. DOOR. WOULD. OPEN. or CLOSE.

It was annoying (my husband hardly ever complains and he hated it!)

So I came up with a better solution.

You know these things that show up at thrift stores all the time?

These accordian peg racks:

I'm really not sure what they are supposed to be used for...

hats, clothes, towels, mugs, purses, hotpads, coats?

Anybody know?

I picked up one for $1.00 at the thrift store for my necklaces.

All I did to it was stain it to match the wood on my bed and dressers,

then I sprayed it with a clear finish

.

It was soooo easy and fast! 

Next step: Hanging it on the wall & adding necklaces:

Wanna know a secret?  This is what it really looks like after all of most of my necklaces are added...

So I have a lot of necklaces...what's a girl to do?  

At least they're not clanging!

Maybe I need to get rid of some of them.

Maybe I need another holder.

I'm just keeping it real here.

Linking to:

Lil' Luna

Jewelry Stand/Holder/Keeper

I don't know what this is:

 Could be a cake stand, but it's kinda small for that.  And not durable enough.

I think it's a candle holder, like for a big candle, or maybe a few smaller ones?

Whatever it may be, I picked it up at a thrift store by my house

(which is out of business now, boo)

I really love how ornate it is.

But, I'm not a gold person.

I decided I wanted to use it in my bedroom as a jewelry holder.

At night when I'm too lazy tired to hang my jewelry back in place, it works very nicely.

It makes the jewelry feel like it belongs there.

I decided to paint it the same color as my lamps

I love the coral color with the aqua, cream, and brown in the room.

I primed with Kilz,

Spray painted it with Krylon Coral Isle,

and of course had to glaze it to make those ornate details pop.

 

It also accommodates some of my larger odd-shaped earrings that don't fit with my other ones.

Isn't it purdy?

Chandelier Remorse?

If you read my last post you know that I found a fantastic chandelier at a thrift store.

I usually don't ever suffer from "buyer's remorse" but I started to wonder if I was crazy for getting it:

1} We are in Seattle for only the summer while my husband is doing an internship for grad school; we fit    everything we brought in our car, and we used every spare inch of available space, so I have to figure out how to get it back home

2} We are still renting a home at least for the next year until my husband graduates and we know where we are moving to...

3} This means that I don't even have a place I can hang it yet, which means it's going to be sitting in a box in our basement for at least the next year 

4} On top of all this, my husband came home from work and told me that I was a topic of discussion during his lunch break with a bunch of guys from the company.

[I went to the thrift store with 2 of my friends whose husbands go to the same school and are interning at the same company as my husband.]

Quick recap of lunchtime conversation:

 "Soooo, I heard your wife came home with a chandelier..."

Hubby's response, so matter-of-factly: "Yup!"

This caught everyone else's attention..."Wait, your wife bought a chandelier?!?"

Again, "Yup!"

"...And you're okay with that?!?"

Hubby: "Oh yeah."

"So you own a house back home that you're going to put it in?"

"Nope. We're still renting."

"So your wife bought a chandelier that you have to take back home with you and you don't even have a place to put it?!?"

"Yup."

"So...does it look cool? What does it look like?"

"I dunno, I haven't seen it yet." (he got home late)

"Wait, so your wife bought a chandelier and you didn't even ask to see it or care what it looks like?!?"

"Nope. I trust her."

Then he proceeded to tell them about this

 And told them he wasn't worried...and I would eventually do something cool with it.

I was laughing hysterically as he told me this story

He thought it was pretty funny also, and had a great time feeding the frenzy and getting the others all worked up.

I'm pretty sure his coworkers think I'm some sort of crazy...

Side note: How awesome is my husband? It totally doesn't even phase him when I come home with giant chandeliers...

So, I decided to do a little online research.

I set out to see if this chandelier was still available to purchase new.

I wanted to see how much it was, or at least ones similar.

I found it!

 {okay, google found it}

The EXACT same one!!!

Wanna know the price?
Here, let me show you:

That's right, the exact same chandelier I got for only $10 bucks is still selling for $464.20!
Say Whaaaaaaaaat?!?!!!!
I feel great about my purchase again!
{even if I can't use it right away...}


Have you ever felt "buyer's remorse"?

I Knew It Would Be Amazing

I was itching.

Itching to go to a thrift-store before we leave our summer abode in Seattle.

Well, I scratched my itch.

Except, you know how most of the time when you scratch something, it usually itches more?!

{speaking of all this itching is reminding me of some of the nasty skin issues people come and show me at the pharmacy, I once got flashed by a lady attempting to show me her "itchy" rash}

ewwww.

Back on track:

It was FAAAABULOUS! {just like I knew it would be}

And remember how I was scared that I would find something great and not be able to take it home?

Well, if there's something about me you should know;

it's that I'm usually right!

This case was no exception! 

Let me show you just 3 things that I couldn't have:

Exhibit A)

 See this chair right here?  This amazing, sturdy chair with such great features?

I about died when I saw the price:

$3

yes, you read that right...

I didn't take a close-up picture so you're just going to have to take my word.

only THREE DOLLARS!

Next up, we have a gorgeous chandelier:

 Okay, it might not be gorgeous to the untamed eye, but I see great possibilities when I look at this!

Have you seen some of the great chandy makeovers out there?

And, the price on this one?

$10

One more thing about me, I love chandeliers.  

Not brass chandeliers, per se.

I dream of having a gorgeous chandelier in my bedroom, daughter's room and yes, even my laundry room.

Someday...-sigh-

Next up, this cute glass cake stand:

So pretty. 

I don't think I even own a cake stand, but I think I should start collecting them.

I bet you want to know what thrift store I went to.

You want to go snatch these things up?

Well, I can't hide it any longer...I already snatched one!

I just couldn't contain myself.

Sometimes you just can't pass up something so great.

  (now I just have to figure out how to get it back home...hehe)

I left with perma-grin

I couldn't contain my excitement

I had a fantastic day thrifting!

{So did the girl who found that $3 chair as I was leaving} 

Sometimes when you have an itch, you use Cortisone; 

other times, you go shopping!

Confession

I used to be afraid of thrift stores.
Seriously. Like, deathly afraid.
To me, they were smelly, dirty, murky, and repulsive;
I didn't want to rifle through someone else's stuff;  Let alone, buy it and take it home...
I thought it was all just junk.

I was also scared that my image would be marred or something...like, what if someone I know sees me there? I don't want people to think I'm poor.

I'll just say it because I know you're thinking it: Shallow much?

I was raised to be very frugal, but I didn't grow up "thrifting".  (unless you count snooping through my grandma's stuff and asking her if I could have it).

To be fair, I grew up in a very small town and the nearest thrift store was an hour away. The first time I ever remember going there was with a date.  We chose each other's outfits to wear ice-skating.  I wish I had a picture.  We found some extreme clothes there...

I'm pleased to admit that I am now an avid thrift store shopper.
I love the thrill of the hunt.
I love tapping into my creative powers, thinking to myself...what could I DO with that?
I love that you can take something meant for one purpose and change it to serve a totally different purpose.
I love making things new again
I love making them MINE. And knowing that my next door neighbor isn't going to have the exact same table/chair/dresser/etc. as me.
I love not spending a FORTUNE to get what I want.

I don't remember when I changed or why I changed, or even what the first thing I bought was.
But I'm glad I did.
And now, I'm proud to say, "I bought that at a thrift store" and watch people's surprised reactions.

I bring this up, because,
I think I'm going through withdrawals.
I haven't been thrift-store shopping since we moved to Seattle for the summer.  
Not that there aren't great stores here (they have a Goodwill OUTLET for crying out loud)
I'm just scared that I'll find something that I absolutely love and I won't be able to take it back with me.
(we fit everything for the summer in the trunk of our car)

I will go. This week. I hope I find something great! (and small)

Have you found anything great at a thrift store recently?