recent projects and thrifty finds

I love a good thrifty find! For one I like to see the possibility, and another I'm cheap :)

Here is a chair I scored for $2. Don't you just love that orange vinyl seat? A can of red spray paint and some leftover material I had laying around resulted in this cute shabby chic new desk chair for my office.

I also took a little bit of black acrylic paint and rubbed around the edges and crevices to give it a bit of a distressed look.



I finally got around to making a curtain valance holder for the curtain I made well over a year ago.



I took a piece of trim wood, beat it with a chain and spray painted red (I'm getting a lot of use out of this can of red paint), then added these antique knobs I picked up for a quarter a piece. I originally wanted to use vintage door knobs, but all the ones I found were $20+.



My favorite find was this old bread box, circa 1950's. It was dirty, crooked, and only $5.



I whipped out a different color of spray paint this time. Along with a good cleaning, a few whacks on the side to straighten, and a fresh coating of a retro yellow I have a new bread box that looks quite at home on my kitchen counter. Well, it will when I get around to repainting or tiling the back splash.



If I decide to repaint to the back splash, it will be to this brighter tomato red color.



That is the main dining area. It took 6 coats of paint to cover an already red wall with a different shade of red. Who knew? I think I will prime the hallway 1st when I get ready to paint it. I still need to add a few photos to this wall, but I love how it has come together with the wall decal above with our family name!

A couple of weeks ago I came across this ugly chair at the thrift store. It was $12. It was ugly. But, it would be perfect as a photo prop to drag out in the middle of a field. I debated the purchase and ultimately left it behind. I have been on the search for a good ugly chair for quite some time, but most that I found were not the right kind of ugly or they wanted too much money for an ugly chair. After thinking about it I decided $12 was really not unreasonable and if I went back and it was still there 2 weeks later then I was meant to have it. Not only was it still there, but it had been marked down to $1. Score! Here's a sneak peek of Ben and Sylvester hanging out in the front yard.



isn't it gloriously ugly? I can't wait to use it this weekend with my upcoming family session I have scheduled!