A Light Touch

I love the look of double lamps. However, one lamp can cost as much as I spend on a week's worth of groceries. To buy a twin lamp would mean my family would be without food for half the month, which isn't a pretty sight when you have growing young men in your house.
The only answer is to hunt for twin lamps at thrift stores. And while I'm hunting for lamps, I keep my eye out for twin lampshades too. If you're a seasoned thrift shopper, you know that when you're looking for something so specific, it takes time and patience. But it can be done! Here's the proof.Remember to look past the obvious and look at the potential. You know by now that a little spray paint can work wonders, so notice the shape, not the color. Also when buying lamps, it's good to look at the wiring. Lamps can be re-wired if they're old, but it adds to the cost. Fortunately, the blues ones were brand new, with the tags still attached, and the pine ones were next to new.

With a little spray paint they look like this.Add the shades, one set purchased at the thrift store and the other set on clearance, and I have two sets of lamps for about twenty-five dollars.Where did I put them?

One set went in the dining room,
because I moved those lamps to the family room.After building the new sofa table,
I had enough room for two lamps. I moved the old sofa table to the stair landing.The other set of lamps will be finding a home soon.

Tip Top Topiary

Welcome to another edition of, "Would you buy it?!?!"

This little topiary stands three feet tall. It only cost two dollars. Isn't it lovely?
Notice the "life-like" flowering vines.

WOULD YOU BUY IT?

Would you take it home and quickly remove those flowering vines, leaving the pretty little berry vines? Would you give the pot a beautiful new coat and color of spray paint, replace the sad looking moss, then add a seasonal bow?

Would you giggle with glee because,
with a little love,
someone's trash is now your treasure?

Sign of the Season

I thought it might be fun to make a little sign of the season, a visual reminder of what we need to be thinking. I started with little manilla tags and then added strips of fall colored scrapbook paper to the bottom. I wanted an aged look, so I took out my craft stain and rubbed it around the edges. (You professional scrapbookers would have probably used a different product.) When I was finished, I didn't really like the look. Luckily, the stain is water based so I gently rubbed a wet towel over the entire tag to even out the stain. Now I had the aged look I was after. You could probably achieve this same look by staining the tags with tea or coffee, if you have those products in your home.
(The left side is the "after" look) I added some self adhesive scrapbook letters. I couldn't find any in black, so I bought some blue ones and spray painted them before taking them off the page. At this point, I could have used ribbon to string all the tags together to make a cute banner, but I had other plans.

I cut a piece of 6" wide wood and a piece of trim molding to the length I needed.
I painted the wood black and the trim red. Once dry, I did a second coat of the opposite colors. Then I sanded both pieces to reveal the original paint. I glued the trim molding onto the wood and then used painters tape to make a straight edge for placing the tags. I adhered the tags using spray adhesive. For the final touch I nailed furniture tacks into the tag holes.

The finished sign looks like this:

I strung some fall colored ribbon through the remaining tags and hung them onto a metal tree that I bought at the thrift store a few years ago. This will be our Gratitude tree. My family is going to write things that they are thankful for onto the tags hanging on the tree. I plan on adding more tags because I know that we have a lot to be grateful for.If you like the idea of a gratitude tree, but you don't have a metal tree, just cut a pretty twig from your yard and plant it in a pretty pot with some Plaster of Paris or styrofoam. It's a wonderful tradition and a great way to record your family's blessings. And it's fun to tuck this years tags away with the Thanksgiving decorations and bring them out next year to read and add more.

Outside of the Cone

If you saw this three foot tall vine covered cone selling for three dollars at the thrift store, would you buy it?Would you take it home and wind tiny lights around it and use it as a rustic Christmas tree?
Or would you turn it upside-down, plop in a bunch of fake fall mums you had lying around, and hang it on your front door?

Isn't it fun to think outside of the cone?

Turkey, Turkey Everywhere!

I've decorated for Thanksgiving.There are plenty of turkeys
and signs of the season!

Seasonal Rearranging

What do you do when you've had the
same white pumpkins up since September,
and you're getting somewhat tired of them, but you want to keep them up through November?!?!

YOU REARRANGE THEM!

Therapy and Clean Up

I had a little thrift shop therapy on Saturday. I thought I'd show you some of my fantastic finds.I must admit that I have a hard time passing up a nice chair. I'm thinking that this will be a good match for my desk, but it will look good almost anywhere in my home. Look at the details on the back.This crock came home with me too. I know it's style is a bit country, but it's a good size for holding just about anything.You know how I love white plates, especially ones that are made in England and have pretty details.And, speaking of details, look at this lovely metal rack. I'm not sure where it will end up hanging in my home, but I couldn't resist the red with black glaze finish. Plus, it was only three dollars! Who could walk away from that?
I'll be spending today putting away my Halloween decorations and bringing out the Thanksgiving stuff. Unlike all of the stores, I don't put up Christmas decorations right after Halloween. I love the Thanksgiving season! It's a time to relax and enjoy the season with family and friends and reflect on our many blessings.