Thrifty Shopping & Thrifty Living
Just the other day while on Craigslist I found a pair of plant stands for 15 dollars! these are some solid, beautiful pieces that were made in Thailand. I NEEDED them. I called the sweet old lady who had them and did a happy dance at work when she said she still had them! From the picture I could tell they would need work.... When i got there... I had to look past the circus paint job and see the possibility in these stands.
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I thrift shop a lot. I find things either on Craigslist or at Goodwill and when its a steal... I cant leave it behind.... I have had an adorable mirror next to my entry way for over a year... it was missing paint and just looked to cottage house.
So one of the best things i can suggest is to look at everything you see and that you might need, settle for nothing less then a potential beautiful piece of furniture.
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Pottery Barn Mirror Knock Off With Dollar Store Mirrors... $10.00
I have been watching this craft on Pintrest for a LONG time and couldn't find the mirrors that I needed at any of the dollar tree stores I went to! FINALLY I found some at the dollar tree by my parents house. I was hoping to do it in black, but they only had like 6 of the black mirrors left, so I had to go with brown, but i'm not disappointed.
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You will need:
Mirrors Duct Tape Foam Board Hot Glue Gun and Glue (LOTS) (Directions taken from dollarstorecrafts.com) 1.Unwrap the mirrors. Then, line up three mirrors on your work surface, face down. Make sure they are VERY lined up, as evenly and close together as you can get. 2. Add duct tape over the seams, and across the seams and all the mirrors, as shown. Basically, there is no such thing as too much tape. Repeat for the next two rows of 3 mirrors, until you have three identically taped together rows. 3. Line up two of your rows next to each other. Again, keep them as even and as close as you can. Tape across the seams (as shown by the yellow duct tape), and then over the seams. Attach the third row to the first two in the same way. 4. When all three rows are securely taped together across all seams, add additional reinforcing duct tape. I put a large X across the whole thing (I ran out of silver tape in this photo, but I extended the X all the way across the mirrors. I also put tape all the way around the outside perimeter of the mirrors. Like I said, there is no such thing as too much duct tape. (or hot glue) 5. Trim a piece of foam core to fit the back of the mirrors. I left about one inch around the whole thing, so the foam core wasn't right up against the edges of the mirrors. And Duct tape like crazy around the edges. |
Cord Cover/Protector... $2.00
The iPhone the charger cord isn't known for its strength and hold up after a while of use. So, I decided to wrap it, friendship bracelet style. Not only does my cord feel stronger, it doesn't get tangled and I can now tell mine apart from my family and roommates cords! What you need is colored string (bought mine at Walmart for .30 a piece.) and a cord!
Directions in order of pictures (also taping the cord to a table seems to make it easier and go quicker then having to hold it) 1.Start by tying a knot at the very base of the cord. 2.Make a #4, bringing the string underneath the cord 3.Pull the end of the string back through the #4 4. Pull tight 5. Eventually it will start a spiral effect if you keep the string going under the cord each wrap around. And you can keep it multi color or just one solid. 6. The final piece, looks awesome, one of a kind, very cheap and will keep my cord in working condition for a long long time! |
21 Samples for 21st Birthday
Made this for my roommates 21st birthday.
The picture really doesn't do it justice!
Cost me just under $25... Got all the supplies from the liquor store & Dollar Tree.
What you need:
Platter & bowl (to make second tier higher)
21 Sample Bottles of Liquor
Tinsel
Mardi Gras Beads
Hot Glue Gun
Creativity!
***Be sure to test out the placement before putting the tinsel down/glueing the samples down!***
Id love to see other examples if anyone makes them!!
The picture really doesn't do it justice!
Cost me just under $25... Got all the supplies from the liquor store & Dollar Tree.
What you need:
Platter & bowl (to make second tier higher)
21 Sample Bottles of Liquor
Tinsel
Mardi Gras Beads
Hot Glue Gun
Creativity!
***Be sure to test out the placement before putting the tinsel down/glueing the samples down!***
Id love to see other examples if anyone makes them!!
Solider's Angels
In 2011-2012 I adopted a deployed solider in Afghanistan. Soldiers Angels is a non-profit group that I love. It gives you an opportunity to support those who are fighting for your freedom. Once a week I was to write a letter or send a card. Once a month I was to send a care package. While getting the package itself was more then a welcomed gift, it was more fun for me to decorate they boxes and once in a while, make them themed. At the beginning of 2012 there were ZERO soldiers waiting for adoption... it was a wonderful sight! Now they have new/more soldiers who need support. Usually these are soldiers who left home to join the army and were not supported for their decision by their family, or their family does not have the means to send them letters or gifts. If you are looking for something to keep you occupied and want to give back, I highly suggest adopting a solider. They put EVERYTHING on the line for millions of strangers every day, its the least we can do.
These are just a couple of the boxes I sent over seas. I will be adding a list of items that seem to be appreciated, of course each solider is going to have different preferences and you should always check for allergies and favorites before building your box.
These are just a couple of the boxes I sent over seas. I will be adding a list of items that seem to be appreciated, of course each solider is going to have different preferences and you should always check for allergies and favorites before building your box.
Plastic Bag Storage...
Anyone who made it to middle school, knows how fold a paper football.
The same principal applies to the plastic bag.
I found the directions HERE
I had a XL t-shirt bag filled up with plastic bags.
It is now about 1/8 filled with bags and it makes it easy to pick out 1 bag at a time!
Happy folding!
The same principal applies to the plastic bag.
I found the directions HERE
I had a XL t-shirt bag filled up with plastic bags.
It is now about 1/8 filled with bags and it makes it easy to pick out 1 bag at a time!
Happy folding!
DIY Ornament Wreath.... $8.00
Got Directions from Mrs. Polly Rogers website. Got my inspiration from Pier 1. Made a few changes & am very pleased with the results!