a thrifty thursday recap - week one

wow! i'm so floored by the response to thrifty thursdays! thanks to all of those that linked up to the party and for those of you that promised to link up in the future.

i also wanted to send out a ginormous thank you to the queen of junk and new friend, Donna from Funky Junk Interiors. donna is also a writer for FOLK and has quickly become an amazing sounding board, advice giver, and true friend. she even linked up her pallet sofa! you'd be crazy not to check it out.

 thanks donna for your continue support, guidance, and encouragement!! thank you!!

some of my other favorites from the party include the anatomy of a thrifty guest cottage from maple & magnolia. her guest room is just gorgeous!

and it even has an old bed and breakfast sign above the bed! love it. i also love her painted suitcases that double as amazing storage. so stylish. so smart.

head on over and drool over the rest of the room. there are even fabric door pulls on one of the dressers!


another favorite was burlaps and denims barrel shade chandelier.

spectacular, right!? now wait till you here this.... she made the shade with a hula hoop and burlap.

i'm amazed. speech. less. wow.


and finally i simply adore the photo display four corners designs made from some rusty old springs.

seriously!? people literally blow. me. away!

and wouldn't it double as the best christmas card holder!? oh my!

ladies, if you'd like you're welcome to steal the bottom below and tell all your friends you were featured on inspired by charm!

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thanks again to everyone else for parting along! join me again this thursday (same time. same place.) for week two of thrifty thursdays!

sunday at goodwill

no, i didn't spend the whole day at goodwill. but i did make a quick run though and i'm glad i did. and let me tell you, it was a quick run through. for some reason it was packed in there! last minute halloween costumes maybe?

anyway i did make three really good purchases.

first a ton of 'vintage' rick rack and bias tape. all for $2!

i was really excited when i saw this. this year i'm going to attempt to decorate a christmas tree, a pink christmas tree actually, with homemade ornaments. so i'm hoping to be able to use this when making them.

but once i looked at all the packaging i'm not sure if i want to use it. maybe i should frame it? make some artwork? and just buy new stuff for my ornaments. what do you think? help!


also talking about ornaments, i'm participating in the freshlyblended ornament swap this year. i participated last year and it was a lot of fun! you make and mail 8-10 ornaments and then receive the same amount in the mail! it's so fun and who doesn't love to get mail.

if you want to play along too, head on over to sign up. the deadline is november 7th.


back to my finds. more ornaments. i got two boxes of red glass ornaments. $1 per box.

i have a loose plan for these. last year the incomparable matthew mead had a display made with these glass ornaments and a wire tree form. this wire tree form to be exact.

i was so excited to see he is selling them in his new collections online shop this year!! as of now they are currently unavailable, but i'm hoping to scoop one up when they are. cute, right?  


and lastly i found a thrifty find for my mom! an old metal lamp!

she's in the process of redoing her living room and needed a lamp. i'm going to give this one a face lift with some yellow paint, keeping the arm gold. what i really like about this lamp is that a portion of the back (that little bump) is open. so, not only does the light shine down, it shines up, creating a really neat effect! and it was only $2! love it!

so that's it for this haul. what do you think?

just a reminder ... there are a couple more hours to link up any of your thrifty finds in my first thrifty thursday! i'll be doing a little recap here tomorrow. stop back to see my favorites!

everything happens for a reason

via

it looks more like winter here today. it's been snowing since i woke up. it's to early for snow, right?

happy saturday everyone!

painted plate

I have another thrifty project to share! You all inspired me with your amazing projects and ideas that you've linked up at yesterday at Thrifty Thursdays! Thanks to everyone who is participating.  Please keep those links coming. It's so fun to see what you've created!

Anyway, remember that leaf dish I found at Goodwill last week? 

Well, I gave it a facelift! Ta-da!

White, fresh and beautiful! Spray paint is the best!

I started off with three layers of white primer. Then three layers of white high glass lacquer.

Then I let it dry for several hours and filled it with caramel hershey kisses. just in time for halloween!

a trick and a treat! 

Thrifty Thursdays - Week One

Thank you so much for joining me for Thrifty Thursdays! An all new link party!

Thifty Thursdays is every Thursday starting at 7pm until Sunday at 10pm EST.

This week you are welcome to link up any thrifty finds, creations, ideas, etc! As long as it's thrifty, it goes!

For my thrifty project this week, i wanted to share i lamp i restyled. i actually did this awhile ago for my garden suite but never shared it here. I thought this would be the perfect time!

Several years ago, when i was working at this hotel in philelphia they refurbished their rooms and sold the used furniture and accessories to the staff. I purchase two of these lamps.

I think they were $20. I used them as is but never really loved them. When i finally got my room painted and curtains done,  i decided they needed a makeover!

And a makeover they got! I just love these lamps now. Bright and natural with great textures. The perfect addition to this room.

And the process was pretty simple. I just spray painted the base with a cherry red spray paint i found at lowes. I used the same shade and wrapped it with twine i found in the hardware section at wal-mart. Each roll was about $6 and it took about three spools for both shades. I started at the bottom attaching the twine with hot glue and worked my way up the shade hot gluing as i went.

I think the results speak for themselves! beautiful, right?

I do have one small warning. All the twine makes the shades fairly heavy, so be sure your lamp can support the weight or just used a thinner twine.


Alrighty, now it's your turn to share....

but first a couple small guidelines:

• Be sure to link up thrifty projects only. 
• Pretty, pretty please link back to this party on your post with a link or a button (available in the sidebar).
• And, since i get excited with fun new projects, know that i may share your project here at inspired by charm.

That's it! Pretty simple.


And you are more then welcome to follow me at any of the links below for highlights from the party throughout the weekend!

Have fun! Thanks again for joining the party!

a book and my heart are full

in each of my five guest rooms here at my little inn i keep guest books. a place for people to write messages, their thoughts for the day, notes of why they are visiting, etc.

while cleaning a room today, i noticed one of the books was full. i let out a little yelp of excitement and read the latest entries.

i created these books, a recommendation from the previous innkeeper, as a little memory keeper of all my amazing guests and their experiences. i'm beyond humbled at all the amazing and heartfelt comments held within the pages of each of these books. it's beautiful. and a reminder that i'm doing ok.

so, if you don't mind, i thought i'd share just a few meaningful excerpts from this book (as hopelessly self promoting as it sounds) ...

"i truly feel that this experience will be cherished and remembered as a new beginning for you as this establishment takes form into your creations - and, for myself - as an experience in st. marys and the memories created through new friendships."

"our stay here at old charm has been wonderful! this is without a doubt a home away from home. ... i love how you come here, and automatically feel relaxed..."

"it's always great to observe something done right. michael, you define innkeeper." 

"honestly, my favorite place to stay in the world, and, not to sound like a massive douche, but i've been to A LOT of places."

"every morning you created a breakfast sensation that was not only wonderful to the taste buds but also a work of art in your presentation. ... you are a great ambassador for the town of St. Marys." 

"we wish you all the best as you follow your journey in life and we'll always know that we have a home in st.  marys."

wow.
i know! seriously, people are amazing. i'm so grateful to my wonderful guests for choosing to spend their nights with me and then leaving me such amazing notes of thanks. i hope to fill many more books!

i also wanted to remind you one last time about tomorrow! it's the beginning of thrifty thursdays here at inspired by charm! a place for you to link up all things thrifty! woot! woot! here's a little sneak peak of my project!

stop back tomorrow to get the full picture and to share your own thriftiness! the party begins at 7pm est. i literally can't wait to see what you have to share! and don't forget to spread the word! free free to grab a button in the sidebar. the more the merrier!

hope to see you then!

a double dose of progress

is next week seriously the first of november? tell me it isn't so!

this week is kind of a crunch for me, a good crunch though. why? well, october 31st is the deadline for my submission for FOLK, issue III. This month has been a complete blur for me. while i've been working on my projects here and there, i haven't really been able to turn up the music and dive in.

i had a slower day on sunday and finally finished up a big portion of the project this afternoon. phew! feels good. and i'm thrilled with the results. i wish i could share more (and i will after the issue is released), but for now, i'll have to keep you in suspense.

in other news, my bottles arrived today for my vanilla extract making project.

i used twenty-four vanilla beans, 12 8oz bottles, and about 3 liters of vodka. now, all i have to do is practice patience. i guess i'll have to distract myself with more projects.

speaking of projects, do you have some great things to share on thursday? don't forget, it's the first of many thrifty thursdays!

please spread the word. the fun will begin at 7PM!