My share today for Thrift Share Monday was actually purchased a couple months ago. Hope there are no rules to break! We work on a monthly cash budget…and well, it’s the end of the month and our cash is gone. So I’m sharing a sofa we found in May. I brought it home for $65 plus tax.

We recently finished our walk-out basement and all our comfy overstuffed furniture moved down into the new TV/family area. The furniture is nearing 10 years old, slightly outdated 90′s style, but still in great condition. With white slipcovers it works great down in the new space but that left our main floor completely bare of furniture.

I wanted something a little more interesting, eclectic and less matchy matchy. So in came this…good or bad I’m not yet sure!

This bright yellow-green floral print couch is in near perfect condition. I’ve toyed around with the idea of reupholstering it (maybe in a warm grey like this gorgeous before/after example). Or leaving the fabric be and painting the wood frame. If I can figure out a good color that would update the couch. Help!

You can see in the upper left I’ve already started playing around with a creamy color. Hmmm. It’s not working for me and will easily come off (it was just for trial). I may try dark grey next.

Any suggestions?

In case it helps to see the rest of the room. Here are a couple “before photos” as well as a photoshopped “after” photo. I put in a grey wall, dark gray paint on the couch and a bright rug. hmmm. Thoughts?

Photoshopped version:

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It’s Freebie Friday! If you are a sewing guru (especially children’s clothing), this one is for you! I love Ottobre Designs which produces a magazine -style line of stylish children’s clothing patterns. The magazines display numerous photos of the clothing items and includes ALL of the patterns to make them. Though they are more expensive then a pattern you might buy at the local fabric store, they include so many more designs that it is well worth the price. I highly recommend trying them! I especially like the boys pant patterns.

As a nice bonus, the Ottobre website features a nice handful of sewing patterns that you can download for free. Yes free!! I especially love this little mouse. And I may have to try this bag pattern too. There are a good bunch more so check them all out.

Happy Sewing!

Exciting times here! The last couple days we have started packaging which means our scarves are very close to being available to purchase. It feels like a very big day seeing the mound of scarves grow…all bundled up, tied with a bow, and slid into shiny bags.  Ahhh!

But I’ll back up a few months!

This past fall and winter we sure felt blessed with all the wonderful customers purchasing and sending kind compliments regarding my new scarf idea. And shortly after the first week or two sales, it was exciting to have The Today Show interested in featuring them. (It’s hard to say “The Today Show” and not wonder at the same time if it really happened.) And yes, to be sure, it was a tiny humble little clip about holiday shopping on Etsy but that bit of encouragment and all my happy customers kept me churning out scarves at an insane speed through the holiday season.

It was fun…but a bit wild. I’m still trying to figure out how 400 scarves churned through my sewing machine during the Christmas shopping season!

The thing about me is I go all out when I do something. And I’m a people pleaser so knowing that there were Christmas shoppers that were disappointed when my shop was always sold out drove me to the brink. (And getting all the “when will you have more ready?” emails pushed me over!) I quickly realized I’d need help if I was to offer them another season. So since January 1st, we’ve been very busy behind the scenes preparing for this coming fall and winter.

The first order of business was getting help with the cutting. Each scarf is made of a minimum of 20 pieces and up to 70 pieces for the long lengths. That’s a whole lot of cutting! My own mother has been one of my master cutters! Thanks mom! Once the cutting was well underway, I found several wonderful local woman to do contract sewing. It has been terrific to work with them all and get to know them. And it is mutually beneficial. They are able to work out of their homes, on their equipment and at their desired pace…adding a little to their family’s income during a time that jobs are hard to come by. That thrills me to no end.

And I can truly say that the scarves are each made with talent! Though I don’t sew every scarf myself this season each and every one does go through my hands. Several times in fact!

So that brings us back to today. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be photographing and listing many scarves on this site. There will be lots of styles and sizes to choose from!

If it’s anything like last year, they will go fast so if you wish to get a jump start on your Christmas shopping the scarves will be ready for purchase within the next few weeks!

Beautiful Jen, the mastermind behind the children’s clothing line, Eden’s Bouquet, is having a giveaway today! I realize I’m decreasing my chances but it is too good! I just have to share with all of you. Jen and I met up once with a group of friends in CA and she is just as beautiful and kind as you’d imagine. Everything she touches turns to gold…exquisite heirlooms to be sure!

So go on over and check out her giveaway and the entire line!

It’s Monday! And though we didn’t shop much this past week, the kids did manage to drag me to a yard sale put on by the town’s Service League. And yes, the kids literally dragged. My Sweet woke up extra early…she had money burning a hole in her pocket. So out we went, for a rare donut and then hit the sale.

I bought two things. A vintage Vera scarf which I didn’t photograph. I saw the Vera signature and the $.25 price and thought I’d regret it if I didn’t buy it. And then this beauty of a large dutch oven below. Twenty minutes into the sale and it was still on the table. A $200 Le Creuset french oven at a $2 price. Imagine that! And in the color I would have picked to boot. It joins my other 3 Le Creuset pieces.

I’m pretty particular about what I buy (whether at thrift stores, garage sale, grocery stores or the mall). Lots of things call to me but I don’t enjoy having a lot of “stuff” around the house. Especially unnecessary things.

In past years, I helped supplement our income by reselling. And I still do occasionally. But most of what I buy are items we need and/or have been looking for. It’s always neat when God seems to provide exactly what we were needing and beyond if we just wait a bit and watch the sales!

Like a new mirror. We did some remodeling this past winter and the downstairs bathroom was the final room to complete. This past week I hoped to find a mirror to officially complete it and I was happy to see this one for a few dollars at a yard sale. After a quick coat of leftover golden yellow paint (and a little duck tape to hold the mirror in) it is already residing in it’s new spot!

And finally, the kids favorite find. Two packages of shrinky dink-style plastic sheets. It can be a challenge to keep the kids from buying every cheap toy they see at garage sales.  I usually steer them toward more fulfilling and lasting items though now and then they do buy what I call a junk toy. And I secretly smile when it lasts the couple minutes that I told them it would. The process is teaching them how to use good judgement and wisdom when deciding what to spend their money on, or I hope anyway.

The shrink-it kits were a hit and we experimented a lot with them. The kids made all sorts of their own shapes  and pictures (that’s darth vador in the front). And we also tried making a cute little puppet show with some sweet printables found online (I’ll link this up once I search and find the link again!).

Several afternoons worth of frugal creative fun.

Well that’s ours! Any fun thrifting finds for you this week?

Hope all the Dad’s out there had a wonderful Father’s Day! Yesterday was truly the most relaxing ever at our house. After church we had a movie marathon and ended the day with ice cream cones and a walk on the greenway. Ahhh. Our only caveat was Blockbuster not having Swiss Family Robinson (wierd, eh?). We’ve been reading the book to the kids and had wanted to watch the movie yesterday. We’ll have to be on the lookout for it.

The final outcome of the kids’ gift to Jeff (first mentioned here):

And to show just how many photos I have to take to get a handful of great ones. Here are the “get-the-silly-out” shots:

Both the generosity and the creativity around the web amazes me! So I’ve dreamed up Freebie Friday. (Not that I’m the first to use that tagline…I’m sure not!) But it fits and I’m running with it.

Aren’t these little paper dolls just the bee’s knees? So cute. And there are more! Click this link. Then click on RECORTABLES/PAPER DOLLS.

It’s Thrift Share Monday! Inspired by the blog Apron Thrift Girl by Selena Cate, who shares her thrifted finds on Mondays and invites others to do the same.

Must be the week for donating mid-century chairs. Not more than two days after finding the Barcelona style chair (which I shared last Monday), this one turned up.

And yet again, I didn’t buy it right away. I knew what it was but having JUST bought a chair a few days before I walked right by with great will-power. Well, not right by. I first turned it over to look for a label (none).

Two days later I sent my man back to see if it was still there. What great willpower, eh?

Neither is it a real deal Eames chair from Knoll which would be worth a thousand or two, nor is it in perfect shape but still a good find for being in the mountains of North Carolina. Actually, I think our thrifting is better for mid-century  and older items because we are not in or near a city. Current items? Not so much!

Unfortunately it has a significant scratch on the plycraft back, wear around the wood edges, an oddly made button or two, and is upholstered in vinyl (rather than leather which was originally intended for this chair style).

But as you can see, it’s already been used for my pillow business. Happy day.

The first few weeks of summer break have been wonderful. We’ve enjoyed the pool, started tennis lessons, had sleepovers, weeded gardens and more. I’m anticipating there will be some weeks when “I’m bored-itis” will hit though. I wonder if Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has a cure for “I’m bored-itis”.

Side note: if your little one hasn’t read some of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series or watched some of the shows (they are on hulu!), that is a cure in itself!

In my arsenal to beat boredom this summer: a simple recipe for homemade sidewalk chalk paint.
We’ve done it the last couple summers and it is a sure-fire way to keep the kids busy for the afternoon.

You’ll need:
cornstarch
water
food coloring
foam brushes (ours came 4 to 5 in a bag at the dollar tree)
plastic containers (we found yogurt containers to be a nice size)
old T-shirts for art smocks

Put about 1/4 cup cornstarch and a few drops of food coloring in each container. Slowly add water while you stir. It doesn’t take much water. About 1/4 cup. You want the consistency of cheap paint.

The colors will be brighter in the container (and when wet on the pavement) but will turn chalky and very pale once dry. So add food coloring if you’d like them to be a little more colorful when dry.

See that look of sheer concentration? I told you it will keep them busy for the afternoon!

In our experience, this paint does not stain concrete. The first time, we let the rain wash it away within a couple days. And the second time we did it on the garage floor and never had a chance to even hose it down. There’s no trace of it left even though we never bothered to clean it up.

Your turn: Any easy ideas for “I’m bored-itis”? I’d love to hear! We are hoping to fill our summer days with fun things at home…making lots of memories without it being a big production. Except in the eyes of the child of course!

Now that we live closer to the coast we have hopes of a beach vacation each summer. We just made reservations for this summer’s trip and in anticipation I’ve been browsing for crafting ideas using shells. We are sure to come home with a few handfuls to add to our growing collection! Some shell projects get a little too busy for my simple tastes but here are a few ideas that we might try:

This tealight holder is classy though I think I’d scale it down by a few layers. Full instructions here.

Ok, now this next one is right up my alley. These hanging garlands from Country Living are so simple and airy! No instructions were listed though it seems self explanatory.

And leave it to Martha to have a great little idea for some of the bigger bowl-shaped shells. I think these simple candles would be lovely at a beach wedding. Instructions here.

I couldn’t leave out a couple kid-friendly shell projects and this one is perfect. These little guys by Martha (of course) would be fun.

And yet another by Martha, a beachy mobile. So cute.

Finally, we’ll for sure contain the leftovers in large glass vase. This would contain a large collection yet keep the look streamlined.

How about you? Any beach vacations planned this summer? And what will you do with the shells you collect?

Disclaimer: We already know that the beach we are going to allows us to collect shells but it’s always best to make sure!