Thrifty Art

In the last couple of weeks I've thrifted several nice pieces of art. It got me thinking, the majority of the art in my home has come from yard sales, flea markets or thrift stores. My latest scores have come from the Goodwill. I've sorted through alot of tacky "art" at the Goodwill. Who buys that stuff in the first place ?!? Oddly, our Goodwill seems to have an abundance of duck and palm tree themed pictures (although not on the same canvas, thankfully). Flea markets and yard sales consistently have higher quality pieces but also have higher prices. An often heard line at the flea market is.... "the frame alone would cost you that much new".

Artist signed photograph: Goodwill - $5.25

Poster awaiting frame: Goodwill - $2.25

Artist signed and numbered print: flea market $10

Growing collection of black and white photography

Total cost: $15

Faux wood mirror: flea market - $10

Grand Canyon Lithograph: flea market $5

Today's find: a 1970's 12" Replogle 'World Premier' globe.......and it lights up! I found it at an estate sale down the street. It was their second day so everything was 50% off. I wouldn't have bought it for $28 but I couldn't resist for $14. It's so cool when its plugged it! Maps and globes are great to decorate with. They're cheap, colorful and fun to look at and dream about where you want to go :)

Plugged

Unplugged

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday!

Mod Squad

One of my favorite yard sale finds ever!!! Will spotted this Samsonite Fashionaire suitcase at the first sale we went to on Saturday and I snapped it up immediately for $20. The woman who sold it said it was a Marimekko design from the 60's. Its in awesome shape, just a little musty smelling on the inside. It even has the key still! I wiped it down with warm soapy water and I have baking soda inside to freshen it up.

I'm supposed to be buying things to resell on ebay or etsy.......BUT I really love this suitcase! All I have is a boring black suitcase and suddenly I feel the need to start traveling in style. Although I might be wishing for that boring, rolling suitcase when my arm is dead from lugging this thing through an airport. Maybe I'll just take more road trips :)

I did manage to find a few items that I'll eventually put in my etsy store. I have a nice little inventory now, all I need to do is get motivated and list the stuff! As soon as my store is up and running I'll put a link up.

Im linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday. Go check out the other weekend treasures!

The Times They Are A-Changin'

As we roll on into 2011, I have to stop and reflect on the past year. 2010 was a year full of changes. Good changes! At this time last year, Will and I were living in Los Angeles. Don't get me wrong, L.A. has a lot to offer - just not for me. I need open space and vegetation! I was also hobbling through a horrible commute to go to an equally horrible job. I wasn't feeling like myself anymore. Not good.

Now, a year later we are living in a wonderful place that we look forward to spending many years enjoying. Being surrounded by a beautiful natural setting combined with a great small town atmosphere is the perfect fit for us. Not only do we love where we live but we were also lucky enough to have found full time jobs! As if that isn't enough in these tough economic times - I actually have a job I like! Its a pleasure working with people that I respect and enjoy.

Although 2010 started off rough, it ultimately taught me to pursue what I truly value and to not waste time on anything else. The upcoming year holds alot of potential and I am really looking forward to what lies ahead!

Thanks for coming for Xmas Mom!

My Luck Has Turned!

I finally had some good luck thrifting! I've been hitting up the Goodwill thats close to my work an average of three times a week and this Friday was the first time I've bought something. Although in retrospect I should have bought that pair of Pottery Barn silver plated candlesticks a few weeks ago...... My big score was a small Pelican case for Will. In case you aren't familiar with Pelican, they make incredibly durable, water resistance cases for things such as camera equipment. They are also quite pricey. The case I got Will is perfect taking things like an ipod, cell phone etc. on his motorcycle adventures. It was $1.25 :)

For myself I bought this aqua teapot for $3.25. Its my favorite color and it sort of reminds me of fiesta ware. The houndstooth pot was something I picked up at a rummage sale this summer for 25 cents.

I found the bigger frame on Friday but the smaller was bought at yard sale this summer. I was so excited to find a match! I already have the perfect photos and mats for both frames. They will both get a nice coat of glossy black spray paint as soon as the weather cooperates.

Our Christmas tree! Its decorated with my favorite ornaments collected throughout the years and real pine cones. Someday I may go for a real tree again but for now I love my fake tree.....easy and cheap!

Bathtub Facelift

Yay for four day weekends! I had a great Thanksgiving and hope everyone else did too. It was so nice getting to have some time to relax and get some stuff done around the house. One project I'd been meaning to tackle since I moved in is re-caulking my bathtub. It's just not relaxing to take a nice hot bath with a grimy ring of mildew at eye level. No amount of scrubbing and cleaning products could get it clean so it was time to learn how to caulk! It's a super cheap and easy project and it makes your tub look so good! Here are some tips if you think you would like to try this project yourself....

Here is the before picture of my bathtub. It's actually kind of embarrassing but I swear this is how it looked when I moved in!

The first step is to get rid of the old caulking. Use a putty knife to gently scrape it off the grout, being careful not to scrape the tub or tile.

After all the old caulking is gone, spray the underlying grout with bleach and scrub with an old toothbrush. I gave it a second spray and let it sit overnight to make sure all the mildew was gone. When you are ready to caulk make sure all the bleach is gone and your surface is nice and dry.

The caulking I used is "Tub and Tile" from Ace Hardware. I think it was around $4. You can get it in several different shades and it is supposed to prevent mildew growth. Cut the tip off at a 45 degree angle and run a thin 'bead' where the tile meets the tub. You really don't need alot. Make sure to keep wiping the excess off the tip or it will start getting messy. When you are done run your finger lightly along the bead to flatten it out and take away the excess. Have a cup of warm water and dish soap handy to periodically dip your finger in and the caulking wont stick so much.

The end result!

I also started working on a quilted Christmas tree skirt inspired by this tutorial at Crazy Mom Quilts. It was so much fun picking out the holiday fabrics! There is a really cool fabric store in Morro Bay called The Cotton Ball where I can spend many hours (and many dollars). Hopefully this project will be done and under the X-mas tree before the end of the week!

Blog Guilt

I've been neglecting my blog! These last several weeks have been super busy for me but now things are starting to settle down. Hopefully I can finish up some projects and start posting regularly again! In the meantime, check out The Ebay Life to read the story of a guitar case I sold on ebay for $1200.........

Happy Halloween Weekend!

Lazy Sunday

Between traveling, a crazy week at work and coming down with a nasty cold, I haven't had any time for projects! The plan is to do some ebay listing this afternoon but...... we'll see how that goes.

Last weekend Will and I drove down to LA to meet two new members of the family: Will's new DR-Z 400 motorcycle and our 6 month old nephew who made the trip all the way from Serbia (with Mom and sister in tow, of course)!

This weekend I did a whole lot of nothing and it was wonderful! It's been a long time since I've had a weekend where I let myself totally relax and veg out on the couch all day. I even slept in!

While in relaxation mode I watched two really great documentaries: The Cove and Food, Inc. Before you start thinking too highly of me, I also watched 'When in Rome', and yes its as dumb as it sounds.

'The Cove' documents the capture and slaughter of thousands of dolphins every year by Japanese fishermen. It features Ric O'Barry, the head trainer for the TV show Flipper, who became a leading activist in freeing and protecting dolphins. It is sad and emotional but I am happy there are people like Ric O'Barry out there that are devoting themselves to those beautiful, intelligent animals. Check out their blog!

'Food, Inc.'...... wow. This should be required viewing for every American. Have you ever wondered where your food comes from and the processes involved? This film challenges you stop living in oblivion to the corporate and political control over our food sources and demand a healthier way of life for yourself and our planet. We've already started discussing making better use of our local farmers markets and trying to find a source for locally raised, organic meats.

A small local farm east of San Simeon.

Quickies

Just a quick post of some recent mini-projects. All three are yard sale/ flea market finds that I got for under $3. They were all originally bare wood that got a quick coat of paint for instant gratification.

It was really, really hard to paint this plain white! I wanted my jewelry to be the main focus but I may add some color to the sides later.

In other news.....Ebay did not treat me so well this week. The eggnog set didn't sell! Thats ok though because I am slowly working on setting up my Etsy store! I've read some great articles on what it takes to be successful on Etsy and Im excited to try a mix of handmade and vintage items. Hopefully it will be up in the next couple of weeks!

Who Wants Eggnog?

Yesterday was a beautiful day but we didn't have alot of luck with yard sales. We did go to a couple of interesting ones though. One was in our neighborhood and was what appeared to be the lifetime collection of an elderly couple. There were a lot of his old woodworking tools and her various sewing notions. The sale was big and had so many interesting things to look at. There were several photograph albums of trips to brazil from the 1940's, pharmacist diplomas from the late 1800's, hundreds of old road maps, and lots of treasures collected over the years. Judging from the sale, these people led an interesting life. I purchased a flower pot, some vintage ribbon and was given a cool cigar box with a sliding lid.

Conversely, we went to a sale that left me just feeling sad. It was my first true estate sale held by an outside company. You were allowed to walk around the sparse home of an elderly woman who had passed away. Everything was priced (high) but in its normal place, even the items on the bathroom counters. It was just cold and sterile feeling and I made me wonder where her family was. I didn't buy anything.

Yard sales were a bust, but my luck changed at the Goodwill......

This is a McKee eggnog set from the 1930's or 40's. I bought it for $13. I had no idea what it was when I bought it but I remembered reading this post on The Ebay Life about Fire King glass and thought it looked similar. I did a ton of research (I literally had dreams about pyrex and milk glass last night) and it turns out that, like Fire King, McKee is highly collectible. I am going to put this up on ebay today and Im excited to see how it does. There is alot of McKee on ebay but nothing quite like this set.

This was an innocent little plant that sprouted from some compost in a succulent pot. It has now taken over my garden and is attempting to conquer the neighbors backyard as well. I finally cut these today and have no idea what I am going to do with them. The heaviest weighs 12 lbs!