this weeks thrifty finds

Some weeks I find nothing at the thrift stores. Other weeks I find several great things. This was one of the good weeks!

A couple of years ago my sister-in-law bought an awesome white lamp that I totally coveted. I finally found one almost identical to hers! It was only $4.99! I love the shape. I put it in my bedroom replacing the yellow lamp. I was ready for a change so this lamp came at the perfect time!


This $1 box caught my eye. I love the colors and flatware design inside.


At first sight, I wasn't interested in the recipes and cards inside but after flipping through them some of the recipes look really good and the dividers have helpful information like this place setting guide. Plus the cards have a nice clean design with great colors. I couldn't find a name on the box or cards but it looks like something Real Simple would have produced.


-Three wreath forms (I gave one to my sister-in-law Laura. She is going to make this super cute wreath!) $0.50 for the large one and $.025 for the small wreaths.
-I love these vintage red satin Christmas balls- eight for $.025. I am hoping to find more of these before we get a tree.
-The gold sparkle star was a 'splurge' at $1.99 but I really liked it.
-I am hoping that my old friend spray paint will help me transform this sad little tree ($0.99) into a glossy beauty like this.


Last, and one of my favorites, I found these adorable shoes for Ezra. He has very wide, chubby feet and it is almost impossible to find shoes that fit. These shoes give him plenty of room and they were $1.50 and in unworn condition!


Total: $11.72. Not too shabby! Have you thrifted anything great lately?

homemade dishwasher detergent

I have been making my own laundry detergent for 18 months now! It doesn't feel like it has been that long but it has. I can't imagine switching back to the store bought stuff. It is easy, cheap and effective! Earlier this week I made six batches of laundry detergent. I should be set for at least a year or more!

So it probably isn't a surprise that I have been wanting to try my hand at homemade dishwasher detergent. I always buy Finish Powerball tablets at Costco. I usually use a 'buy one get one free' coupon but I am not sure if Costco is doing the coupons less often or if I am running the dishwasher more frequently but the last few times I have had to buy the tabs without a coupon. I really was tired of dropping almost $17 for dish soap so yesterday I decided was the day I would finally make my own!

Since the recipe calls for almost all the same ingredients as the laundry detergent the only thing I had to buy was the citric acid. I was able to get it at a local health food store for $12 or so per pound.

homemade dishwasher detergent
1/2 c. washing soda
1/2 c. borax
1/4 c. citric acid granules
1/4 c. kosher salt

Combine ingredients. Use 1 tablespoon detergent per load. *Use white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment.

I used it last night for the first time and the dishes came out sparkling clean. I will reserve judgment for a couple of weeks though before I decide if it is effective long-term.

How about you? Have you made your own laundry detergent or dishwasher detergent? Did you love it or hate it?

fabric hoop project

Well, it happened. I got what the kids had last week. I am writing this post in between tips to the bathroom. Fun, fun.


I was very productive Friday night. I cleaned and purged my sewing area. I also finally put some fabric into my thrifted embroidery hoops and hung them on the wall. I will add more as I find more hoops. I hope to find some tiny ones so my collection can look more like this.


The bird print is Alexander Henry bought at Hobby Lobby. I had never seen an A.H. print there before. I was really excited! The tiny floral is a 1930's reproduction purchased at my all time favorite, Mary Jo's. I thought the blue/green cotton bud print was Joel Dewberry but I can't find it on his website. The yellow and gray is Amy Butler. The blue is an old night gown with a vintage doily tacked on.

It is so much easier to create when you are not working in a mess. If only creating didn't create such a mess! I really should have taken a before picture so you all could have seen what a horrific disaster it was.

This lady figurine was my Great Grandmothers. I was seven or eight when she died so I don't remember very much about her. I do remember the feeling of being in her home. I remember loving this figurine. Up until a couple of weeks ago I kept it tucked away in my cedar chest. I like having it out where I can see it often. Even though I didn't know Granny well this figurine makes me think of her and what her life was like.

office chair make-over

One nasty $5 vinyl chair...

A couple of hours of work, IKEA fabric and spray paint later...

This chair was in the Los Angeles County General Hospital in the 60's. I wish I new how it got to the Salvation Army thrift store in the tiny town of Monroe, NC in 2009 .

Tools needed: Fabric, staple gun, screw driver and pliers for removing staples, scissors.

Remove staples and vinyl.

Staple new fabric on. I covered the underside of the seat also because it had water damage and was gross.

The chair back, step-by-step- 1) remove staples and vinyl & cut fabric a little larger then chair back. 2) Staple fabric on center of each side, pulling taut. 3) Continue stapling from side to side pulling fabric taut as you go. 4) Cut a square for the back. 5) Fold raw edge under and staple all around. 6) Fin!

Fabric detail.

Linking up to Just Something I Whipped Up at the Girl Creative and DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land and Made it Mondays at the Persimmon Perch and We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado

church bag

When you go to church for three hours every Sunday you end up needing to carry a lot of stuff. Books, quiet toys, drawing paper and colored pencils, a drink and snack for the baby, and so on.

The bag I had wasn't working well. It was a cavernous tote bag with no way to organize it and when I cleaned it out I found approximately 6 pounds of crushed cheerios hiding at the bottom. Lovely.


Luckily, Michael found this bag hidden in the back of his closet. He got it for free at work several years ago. It is made from a heavy duty canvas and has many pockets and compartments. It holds so much with out being big. But, it is UGLY. I am not one to sport logos. So the obvious solution was to cover those unsightly logos!

From my stash, I grabbed some fabric that coordinated with the bag. I folded the raw edges under and topstitched it right on to the bag. Problem solved!

I really didn't dress to match my bag this morning, I swear. I am really drawn to yellow and gray. Did anyone notice that all the giveaway items were yellow and gray? I think I might be obsessed!

ruffle collar t-shirt tutorial

Today in Charlotte it was 60 degrees! I celebrated by wearing some spring clothes. I made this shirt yesterday afternoon, it feels fun and spring-y. I am so excited for warmer weather. I know it has been much colder in other places but I was raised in the desert, I can't help being whimpy when it comes to cold weather!


Before: Two (only one pictured) soft aqua t-shirts from Target. Purchased for $2.48 each.

Oops, I forgot to take a picture of the first step Here is a lovely little diagram. Cut one side seam and shoulder of the shirt. Lay it flat. Trim top (shoulder and neckline end) even. Cut 3.5" strips. Note: I am a sucky artist!

Sew strips together and gather top edge.

Pin ruffle to neckline.

Sew all the way around.

Sometimes the raw edge of a ruffle can look nice but I think it looks a little messy here.

To make the shirt have a more finished appearance, fold the neckband over the cut edge and pin.

Sew very close to the edge.

Much better!

And now more of my awkward modeling...



I am linking up to Made it Mondays at The Persimmon Perch, DIY Day @A Soft Place to Land & Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative

the fifty-cent cardigan make-over

It doesn't get cheaper or easier than this:

One cardigan from Salvation Army (on their 50% off day): $0.50


Remove buttons add sew on some vintage lace trims given to you by a friend (Thanks again Shanda!)


I don't know if I love the gathers right on the bust but for pocket change and less than 15 minutes time spent, I'll take it!


The same day I bought this cardigan, I scored a super cute pair of trouser jeans for $2.50. $2.50!! I could hardly believe it.

Have a great weekend friends!!

hello october!

october really snuck up on me. fall is in full force here in north carolina. which i am excited about because i LOVE fall. it is by far my favorite season. perhaps this stems from growing up in the west where there was no such thing as "fall"? anyway, this season is usually highly anticipated for me but this year i have been dreading it. why? my baby turns one later this month. i am SO sad. i want him to stay my little baby forever but he is persistently growing each day! what's a mom to do? distraction! my distraction of choice is currently decorating for halloween. sadly, it didn't take long. all the decorations were things i made last year with the exception of the TRICK or TREAT pennant and the halloween cat pillow.

(please ignore the tarp covering who-knows-what out on the patio.
it's raining and i am too lazy to go out and move it!)

all the orange accessories (pillows, votive, candlesticks) are always in this room it's just a bonus that they can double as halloween decor.

halloween cat pillow. made with canvas left over from another project, black fabric paint and freezer paper stencils. since i already had the supplies total cost was $0

spooky tree. a dead branch from the backyard spray painted black. the pot was also painted black and filled with rice to hold the branch.

the ghosts, pumpkins and bats were hand drawn and cut out. i used a little spray glitter on each side. in person the glitter is really subtle. then i strung them onto the tree with invisible plastic thread so they appear to be floating.

this little guy (what is he? a ghost maybe?) i picked up on super clearance at hobby lobby. he is kind of like a bobble head, if you touch him his body bounces around. spray painted black candlesticks and black taper candles lend a spooky touch.

on the shelf we have a dried gourd painted as a wacky jack o' lantern, orange candlesticks and a witch silhouette. the little bat hanging from the ceiling was made by Sutton. it is a toilet paper roll painted black with cardstock wings and googly eyes. it slowly rotates and moves around all day long.

after the last freezer paper project i wasn't sure i wanted to ever see the stuff again but i
am so happy with how this pennant bunting turned out it has restored my faith in how
fun freezer paper can be!

this was made with the same canvas as the pillow so again, no cost!

a very happy october to you!!

taking part in DIY Day.

art gallery

tired of having my fridge plastered with the kids artwork i have been on the look out of a creative way to display it. when i saw this on Ohdeedoh i knew had found the solution!


only i didn't use the dignitet rod like the inspiration picture. i used the cheaper
deka rod ($5 including the clips!). deka isn't really made to have the wire come out the side like this but i was determined to make it work. and i did! so this project cost just $15 instead of $90. score!


i plan to rotate through pieces often, which with two kids in school who both love to have art time at home also, will not be a problem! i have bankers boxes for each of the kids where i put their art (and other school work) after it has been displayed. then someday when they are grown i will give them their boxes. my mom did that for me and i get such a kick out of looking at the things i drew 20+ years ago.