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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Oh, how I love freezer paper!

I have been using freezer paper so much lately! Remember my bird from my embroidery hoops? Well, I used it there and I have also been using it for lots of other projects too! Most of which I cannot post about yet because they are either Mother's Day surprises or gifts for other occasions! But I will post them once they are given out!

Tonight, I made something using freezer paper for our home and want to share it with you! I recently moved some things around on our kitchen counters and felt like something was missing over our coffee and tea "station." I knew I wanted to do something with a teapot.....So I decided to paint one on fabric and then frame the fabric.

I started by printing an image of a teapot and traced it onto my freezer paper. After cutting out the freezer paper stencil and ironing it onto my fabric (I chose some blue and white striped fabric I had in my stash.), I painted the stencil a light blue. Since it isn't ever going to be washed or worn, I just used my acrylic craft paint.
**If you try this, make sure you iron your freezer paper with the shiny side touching the fabric and iron without steam. Leave the stencil on while you paint and then simply peel it off when the paint is dry! It is SO EASY!**
In between coats of paint on the teapot, I spraypainted 2 coats onto my frame (it was a $2 Walmart frame, happy with the price but not the wood grain.) Once everything was nice and dry, I put everything together. Since this was a cheapo frame, it didn't have any hooks on the back to hang it with, so I hot glued some ribbon on to the back of the frame to use as my hanger.

Ok, enough blabbing, here it is over our coffee and tea area.




The green tray holds sugar, teabags, sweetners, and stirrers and the greenish yellow teapot to the right holds K-cups for the Keurig! I LOVE our Keurig!
More freezer paper projects coming soon!!!

Linking up here:

Cherished Bliss

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Guest post- Telephone Table Redesign!

SO EXCITED! Today, I am guest posting over at...The Adventures of Ordy & Joon, one of my favorite blogs!

Come check it out to see how I transformed this telephone table!
 
Aren't you just DYING to see the after photos?!? :)



Sunday, April 24, 2011

A weekend of thrifty finds...

This weekend, we went to Carolina Beach with my family. It was an amazing weekend! We got to spend time with my brother, who just returned from a 3 month semester abroad to Morocco. We also got to spend time on the beach and just relax and enjoy family time. It was so hard to leave and come home today and go back to the real world.

I am excited to show you my thrifty finds from this weekend! We went to one of my favorite little shops on Carolina Beach, Primrose Cottage. We also visited a new shop on our way home today, Recollections, a shop sista Blair loves and told me I HAD to go to! I am so glad I did! We also stumbled upon a new little thrift shop right next to our condo that I found a few treasures in!

Primrose Cottage Finds:
This large blue crate was one of those finds that I still have no clue what I am doing with it but could not leave it there! It has a real distressed look and I just LOVE it! It was $15, which I was happy with!

I love this green vase! It says "Fleur's" on it but the paint has chipped away and it hard to read. I am going to touch it up. It was in the "half off" room, so I paid $3.50 for it!

Thrift Store Finds:
 This cute little vase was $1, the flowers came with it but i'm undecided on if they are staying in it.

 We LOVED this vintage drink shaker. It has mixed drink recipes printed on it. The shop owners said they found it in a box that had been packed away since the 50's so it was from an even earlier time. We want to do some research on it. It was $7.

I loved this little jar. It looks like the top of my apothecary jars. I am thinking about putting it on a pedestal. It came with an interesting scented flower arrangement in it that was immediately removed! I couldn't handle the smell!

Recollections Finds:
A new bread box!! I LOVE IT! It is a beautiful blue and has a distressed finish! We love our old bread box but I couldn't leave this one behind, we will probably switch them out every now and then! This shop also sold burlap coffee sacks, I wish I could've taken them all but decided to just leave with one for now! I am excited to use it!

We also went to the farmer's market in Carolina Beach on Saturday and we stopped by the booth of a local candle maker. She also has an Etsy shop! I know you can't smell them on the internet but take my word for it: they are amazing! (I am typically a very picky candle buyer but all of these scents were perfect!) I also loved what she used as her candle holders, almost each candle was poured into a different container!
 This one was poured into bamboo! I love it! How creative!

This one was poured into a vintage glass dish! LOVE IT!
If you like these, please go check out her Etsy shop! She is such a nice lady and works hard on these candles! Most of the ones for sale on her site are in mason jars, which I LOVE. She also makes chapstick, my mom got some and it is to die for!

 Happy Easter!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Embroidery Hoop Art and A WINNER!!!

I bought some embroidery hoops from a local thrift store a while back. They were so cheap, I knew that I would use them for something (I think all 3 totaled to 50 cents! wow!) I decided to use some of my scrap fabrics to fill them.....an idea I got out of The Homemade Home (a book my friends Erin and Josh gave me for my birthday!)

At first, I just hung them up but I felt something was missing.....SO, I decided to paint a bird on the largest one. Remember my bird silhouette from my burlap bird bucket? Well, I also traced it onto freezer paper and ironed it onto my fabric scrap.....painted the stencil....and peeled off the freezer paper once the paint was dry.

I am pretty happy with them!
 I used part of a thrift store fabric remnant in the largest one, the middle one has burlap, and the smallest has a scrap from my napkin pillow!
I am DYING to show you the new piece of furniture they are hanging over but you will have to wait til Monday! I am doing a guest post and sharing this new piece! Stay tuned!

OK! So it is now time to announce the winner of my glass cloche giveaway, sponsored by The Boomin Granny! DRUMROLL PLEASE!!

The winner is Britfrintner!
Congratulations! An email is coming your way!

Thank you everyone who entered and helped me celebrate this milestone!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Burlap Bird Bucket

A while back, my mom passed on a wooden bucket (crate? I don't know what to call it) to me, it was originally red with white snowflakes on it and was used in her Christmas decor. She no longer used it so she gave it to me. It has been sitting in my craft closet for a while, waiting for inspiration. The other day, I finally decided what to do to it!

I started by spraypainting the entire thing white as a base coat. Next, a coat of teal acrylic paint (leftover from another project I am posting on soon!). Followed up by a good sanding.....and then a little stain smeared here and there to give it a more weathered look.

 The birds are definitely my favorite part! They just make me think of spring and warm weather!

I found an image of a bird silhouette online. Once I enlarged it to the right size, I printed it out and traced it onto burlap. I didn't want to trace it twice so I just doubled up my burlap and cut two birds at once. Then I used modge podge to attach them to the side of the bucket. (any glue would work fine, I'm just a modge podge junkie!)

I have absolutely no clue what I am going to use it for but I am really happy with the results. I love that the birds are love birds, it makes me smile and think of my hubby. :)

Also, have you been to Target lately? I rarely go because we live 30 minutes away from it and it is just better for our finances that way! BUT, last night, the hubby had a softball game, and lucky for me, we pass it on the way home, so we stopped by and I found these cute buckets in the dollar section...

I am not a huge fan of the bows, they are little large for my tastes, so I will probably trim them or remove them.

If you aren't digging through the dollar section when you shop there, you are missing out!


Lastly, It is already Wednesday! That means in two days, I will be ending my giveaway and announcing the winner! Have you entered yet?! You can do so by leaving a comment on the original giveaway post or on my Thrifty Finds and Redesigns Facebook page!
 This is what you could win....
 Don't miss your chance!!!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

DIY Serving Trays

Back when I first started blogging and exploring the blogging world, I found this great tutorial by Tatertots and Jello on how to make a serving tray out of a pizza pan! I knew instantly that I wanted to try it but never got around to it til this weekend!

I followed Jen's directions pretty closely but made a few tweaks here and there....so here it goes!

Supplies Needed:
Metal Pizza tray- sadly our Dollar Tree didn't have any, I found mine at Dollar General for $3
Decorative paper- preferably the large squares, you will cut it diagonally through the center so that it covers the diameter of the tray.
Modge podge and paint brush
4 knobs- I got mine at AC Moore (the hubs found these cute tiny ones!) but many places sell them, mine are wooden but any material would work- about $3 for all 4 of them
2 handles- I found a pair at Wal-mart for $2
Gorilla Glue
Polyurethane Spray

 First, I started cutting my paper into strips....

 Laid out the pieces to make sure they covered the tray....

 I then used modge podge to attach the paper to the flat center of the tray (modge podge is only inbetween the paper and tray, not on top of the paper yet!) I then started cutting slits in the paper so that it will easily wrap around the edge of the tray.

 I then used more modge podge to glue the slits of paper around the edge of the tray. I also trimmed the excess paper at this point.

 This is the finished product... notice the seam through the middle, I wanted to cover this up...

 I cut a piece of green paper to cover the seam. I also printed an "N" on cardstock, cut it out and used modge podge to attach it to the green paper. After giving the modge podge time to dry, smoothing out air bubbles along the way....apply a few coats of modge podge to the top of the paper. I think I did roughly 3 coats, letting it dry inbetween coats.

 I then used Polyurethane spray to seal the paper so that I can wipe it off after serving food. I did three coats of this as well, letting it dry inbetween coats.

 While I let my tray dry, I painted my knobs black with spray paint.

 I used a ruler to measure the placement of my knobs and marked the location with sharpie.

 I used my gorilla glue to attach them to the bottom of the tray.

 Once the little feet were dry enough to flip the tray over, I attached my handles to the top with gorilla glue.

 Here it is! I love it with this cloche on top!


This was such an easy project and so cheap to make! I am so happy with it! Thanks to Tatertots and Jello for the awesome tutorial that got me started!

ALSO, If you want a chance to win this beautiful glass cloche, go to this post to enter!

Friday, April 15, 2011

GIVEAWAY!!! Celebrating 50 followers!

So I am sooo excited to announce that I have finally reached 50 followers! It may not be a huge milestone for some people but I am so excited about it! In celebration of this milestone, my favorite Etsy shop, The Boomin Granny is sponsporing a GREAT giveaway! I am soo excited to share it with you!

The Boomin Granny has so many great items for sale, tons that I want in my house! Remember my glass cloche? Well, it was a Boomin Granny purchase!


The flowers I used in my spring flower art are also from the Boomin Granny!



So are you ready to see what they are giving one of you!?! Your very own Glass Cloche!!!

Isn't it so cute and unique?! I LOVE IT! It is a really fun cloche that is a good size for displaying or showcasing your treasures!

I love the cute metal top!




You can check out all of the details of the cloche itself here! The accessories used in the display are not included in the giveaway, but the cloche and the metal tray can be yours!!! Read below to see how to enter!

HOW TO ENTER:
FIRST- If you are one of the first 50 followers, you will be given an extra entry into the drawing BUT you still have to at least enter a required entry (details below).

Required Entry:

Extra Entries: (Separate comment required for EACH)
  • Follow me through Blogger or Facebook, leave a separate comment for each method (if you already are doing this, just leave comments letting me know!) (One entry each= two entries)
  • "Like" The Boomin Granny on Facebook, leave a comment here letting me know that you did! (1 entry)
  • Post about this giveaway on your blog! Leave a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog post.(1 entry)

If my blog comment section is giving you problems, you can post your entry comments on the Thrifty Finds and Redesigns Facebook page as an alternate location (but please do not post in both locations!)

Soooo, that makes for 5 entries for those of you who aren't already following me, and 6 entries for those of you who are! If you take the time to do them all, you are looking at some pretty good odds!

Please make sure that your email is in atleast one of your comment posts so that I can contact you if you are the winner!

Good Luck! Be sure to share some love with The Boomin Granny and let them know you like what you see!!!

The giveaway will end next Friday!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Adirondack Patio Chairs

With Spring well on its way, it is hard not to buy lots of fun outdoor decor and furniture so that we can spend more time out there! When I was shopping at Harris Teeter the other day I saw these plastic Adirondack chairs.

They are $20 a piece, I think the colors are lots of fun BUT it was another find that turned me away from them....

For only $10 more than those plastic chairs, you can have these wooden ones from Home Depot! They are only $30! They are unfinished which leaves so many options! You could stain or paint them to your liking! Be sure and read all of the reviews, I know that there is a weight limit on them, one woman said her hubby exceeded the limit but since it was such a good deal, they just attached some reinforcement boards and have had no problem!

We bought plastic ones last year and I am thinking about getting two of these instead of pulling the others out of storage!