A few months ago, I stumbled across these light weight wooden beauties for $2 a piece at our local Habitat for Humanity Restore. I don’t shop there often because it’s a good 40 minutes from my house, so when my schedule takes me in that direction, you can bet I detour, U- turn and cross medians to get there.
I knew they would add a pop of something to somewhere when I bought them, so I snatched them up. (Yes, can you tell that I had distinct plans for them in mind?)
When I did my “Pop of Color” Hutch Redo, the space above the hutch seemed so obviously boring against the newly painted blue walls.
Since our ceilings are 9 1/2 feet, I knew that a simple “pop of something” would do the trick, and that’s when I heard the whisper from my neglected $2 beauties.
I grabbed the Rustoleum spray paint, and gave it a quick once over, but when I went to hang it, I realized that the Pure White spray paint clashed against my Old White Annie Sloan, so fortunately, I had a touch of that paint left and just took a rag and quickly wiped that color on top of the spray paint.
When I mention a touch, I mean, I had to add drops of water to the can just to get a little color onto my rag, but it worked. A little was all that I needed.
Typically, I only keep this Believe sign up at Christmas, but I have needed that reminder lately on a number of levels, so it stays, even it’s a bit too much, it’s helping me focus on truth. 🙂
It’s been fun to start finding spots for some of my thrift treasures. I MUST clean out our attic, and this adorable black find was heading to Goodwill. Not any longer. It’s found a sweet corner spot on our porch to fill up a lot of empty spaces.
For those that follow me on Facebook or Instagram (jenschmidt_beautyandbedlam), you’ll remember that I snatched up this table from Goodwill for only $5. I planned on painting it, but I am so glad I held off because it goes perfectly with my new TJ Maxx indoor/outdoor chairs.
My birthday and anniversary was last week and my father-in-law sent some fun money. Just the day before, I saw these at TJ Maxx but passed them up because they were more than I wanted to spend, but fun bday money gave me the green light to go ahead. Now, I am on the hunt for cute, thrifted pillows to brighten up those chairs.
I have no idea of it’s purpose or where I will put it, I just knew that this handcrafted work of art from Africa needed to come home with me. Immediately, I thought to paint it, but as I look at the wear and tear, I think history and stories and I want those with me.
Where would you place this beauty and would you put something on it or let it speak for itself?
Isn’t that bowl so cool? Again, it’s unique and I may paint the base to match my kitchen, but I never have woven items like that and I love layering texture, so for only $2, into my cart it went.
These fun plates will definitely add a pop to the Easter Festivities that I always host, and I used my mad negotiating skills to get them for $0.25.
At Goodwill, plates are all prices a certain amount, but when I pointed out they were small and plastic, she was sweet and lowered the price for me. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
Those were some of my fun, thrifty treasures from this week, what neat finds have you discovered? (And really, by discovering, it could just mean you found them in your attic and finally put them to work. :))
My brother got a KEURIG for $4 (yes FOUR DOLLARS!) at a yard sale this weekend!
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Jennifer Julian Sufficiently declaring him the winner of this weekend’s treasures. LOVE THAT!!!!
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These are some of my favorite posts of yours! Love thrifty treasures!We are moving to a new home this month, and I am actually heading out today to Goodwill in search of some treasures – namely curtains and throw pillows.
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I got a Keurig for $10 last year, it’s a really good one too. Definitely one of my best finds!
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I want to challenge that win. I bought a Kodak 10 Zoom Digital camera for a $1. The lady said it needed reformated. I brought it home, put in new batteries, an extra card we had and it’s working perfectly. My 11 yr. old has a great camera to learn on.
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Cute! I am on the hunt for some patio furniture. I love your chairs! Good job. The table does fit perfectly. Your architectural elements that you hung on the wall are so elegant!
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My husband grew up in Ghana; the item you’re not sure about is a stool–you need to flip it over so that the flat part is on the floor and the curved part is the part upon which one sits. His parents say they’re ceremonial, but over here they’re used for seating/decor in a less serious way.
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Jen Reply:
March 18th, 2013 at 10:48 am
Stephanie, thank you SO very much for chiming in. I would have never, never known that or have imagined that it’s a stool. Off to research it a bit now. 🙂
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Teri Sudduth Sipe Challenge away! That is AWESOME!! WOOT! Jennifer Julian One of the things I’ve learned with second hand throw pillows is look for a great quality filler. I’ve been buying ugly ones that are are high end quality and swapping out the fabric. Happy hunting.
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Ah. You found the path to balance.. now to walk it. Peace to you
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Great finds & great uses! To be honest, I’m having trouble with envy. I don’t seem to find those kinds of things…or maybe they are there but my eyes just don’t see! I know you have done posts before on garage saleing…but could you repeat some of your best advice? Also, do you think the area of the country has anything to do with what you find? Do you opt to go to garage sales in the more “well-to-do” neighborhoods? Country vs city? Any & all tips would be welcome!
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Jen Reply:
March 18th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
I will definitely do a Best yard sale tips post because those finds are out there. My friends here always say they never find anything either, but then they chuckle because they know what I am going to say.
I have thrifted literally across the country and typically always find gems, but yes, there are some areas where I am sure it’s much harder to find. Garage sales in nicer neighborhoods is where you will find your quality items, but they will be higher priced earlier in the day.
With yard sale season starting, I’ll try and get it written up in the next few weeks.
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Thanks for the tip! I saw several great ones today – did you know that Wal-Mart sells 18inch pillow covers? Really cute trendy patterns – I didn’t know that until a couple weeks ago!
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I would take that art piece from ghana and set it on a shelf or table. Then I would set several different sized candles on top of the flat side 🙂 I love different textures and the earth colors mixed into my home decor. It is beautiful!
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Amanda Reply:
March 18th, 2013 at 2:43 pm
@Amanda, I just saw the post about it being a stool…i didn’t realize it was that big! In that case, it would become a table in its own right…with candles on it still 🙂 Or perhaps it would hold a basket by the door full of neccesities….
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Jen Reply:
March 18th, 2013 at 5:58 pm
It’s a stool for those with tiny, cute booties. Mine would NOT fit on it. Well, it would to just give support:) It’s about a foot long.
Ok, since I started writing, I went and gave it a test try. Yes, it does support me fully. Surprising how sturdy it is.
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Some things cry out for paint..others do not. I LOVE the wood..and the wicker. They tell a story. Painting them would be like glueing the pages of a book shut. I think you’ve been wise to hold off on the paint…
-ann
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That wooden piece from Ghana looks like a headrest 🙂 Although you seem to have placed it upside-down.
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My particular passion when thrifting is English stoneware and china, especially the blue ‘willoware’ style ones (however, white ironstone is a close second–followed by all those lovely English flowers… Apparently English china is not ‘in’ anymore in our area so I find quite a bit of it for pennies. We call our rustic home ‘The manor’ and I’m trying to incorporate a bit of ‘Brit’ into my kitchen. However, I have to admit I first fell in love with it as a child when I visited a restored village that had a gift shop that included things that would have come to America by schooner for merchants to sell. Because our house looks like it should be on a rocky beach in Maine (translate weathered wood) I’ve incorporated water-side themes into the place (no lighthouses, tho!). Whatever your passion, thrifting is the way to make it work!
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