new prints now available!

New prints are now available in the nifty thrifty girl etsy shop. Several sizes and finishes are available. Great for housewarming, birthday and all-occasion gifts. Please stop by the ‘shop’, check them out and get your original photographic triptych now!

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new camera…new venture

Wow, it’s been quite a while since my last post. Sorry for my absence but all work and no play = no time to post! I’m back for a few seconds to share some of my newest pictures – taken with my new toy…

I am having FAR too much fun with this camera, it’s hard to put it down.  I think I may have found a new business venture. Stay tuned and look for more photos coming to etsy soon!

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side table make-over

A few weeks ago my daughter and I headed out for a little shopping. I had been thinking about a pair of side tables I had seen at an antique store. I’ve been wanting side tables for quite some time and I couldn’t get these off my mind. They weren’t exactly what I was looking for but the price was right, at $36 for the pair. Instead of heading to the antique store I took the chance and headed to the local thrift store. With those side tables still in my mind, I couldn’t believe what was sitting in front of me when I walked into the thrift store. Two perfectly adorable side tables.

They needed some major TLC but at a mere $8.99 (!) each, I knew they would be coming home with me.

I cleaned them up, sanded them lightly and gave them several coats of paint. I also sprayed the handles with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint. And here are the little darlings now:

I just love these little tables and I found the perfect matching lamps for them once they are in place in my living room!

Posted in Accessories, Decorating, Do It Yourself, How To, Living Room, Paint, Project, Trash to Treasure | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

fun with wallpaper

Although I’m not a huge fan of wallpapering the walls of my home, I do find great joy in using wallpaper to decorate ordinary objects. When I found this great deal on wallpaper at Steve’s Blinds & Wallpaper I couldn’t resist. As soon as the wallpaper was delivered I got to work on this project:

Oh, what fun! It only took approximately an hour and a half to wallpaper all of these risers. Now that the steps have a fresh new look I will need to touch up the paint on the treads. (Yes, that is wallpaper at the top of the stairs. It was such a beautiful paper I had to use it on the walls!)

Next project…

This little guy was not as easy as the steps. Once I got the piece of wallpaper cut out, I had to glue the seam and  carefully use clothespins to hold down the paper around the top and bottom rims until the glue dried. It turned out better than I expected but I would still like to perfect the technique.

I have several more wallpapering projects planned that I will share with you shortly. In the meantime, grab some wallpaper and have fun!

Posted in Accessories, Decorating, Do It Yourself, How To, Project, Wall Covering | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

a mini bedroom re-do

My lucky daughter just spent a week vacationing in Florida with her aunt and grandparents. So, while she was away I decided to do what I love best – redecorate. Her bedroom had been painted and redecorated last year but there were still a few things she wanted changed. She decided that the scalloped wooden valances above her windows (that were installed when she was a wee one) were too babyish and wanted them removed. She wanted more modern, ‘adult’ curtains. She wanted her bedroom door painted white (it was a garish green color), she wanted a desk, and she wanted her great, great grandmother’s beautiful, ornate dresser & mirror removed from her room and replaced with something modern. That’s quite a list for someone who’s only eleven!

As soon as her plane took off I scurried home and started tearing her room apart. I have no ‘before’ pictures because the mess that was her room was far too embarrassing to be published. Believe me when I say it looked like a tornado touched down. It took me an entire evening to box up all the things that were scattered around the room. I decided that I would do the decorating and when she got home she could do the sorting.

I knew at some point that I would be redecorating her room so I had previously purchased several pieces at yard sales, IKEA, etc. The major find was the IKEA Knappa pendant light – a mere $2 (!!!) at a yard sale last summer. Her metal swivel office chair was another great find – only $5 at a yard sale…and all I did was clean it up and recover the seat with some Ballard Designs fabric I bought on clearance.

Since a brand new desk was not in my budget I used a small drop-leaf table (that used to be my Mother’s kitchen table) and painted it white.  The one white wall in her room was begging for some decoration so I added a little artistic flair and painted a black floral design.

Desk accessories from IKEA and Walmart:

Next, her bed…

I used a previously purchased Ikea duvet that she had picked out, assorted pillowcases & blankets, an Ikea accent pillow and pink accent pillow that I made out of a recycled sweater. I hung artwork/photos (including the photo of a pink lily that she took at a photography class last year) in black frames.

And the final touches: a new white shag rug, curtains and curtain rod from Target. Notice little Waffle enjoying the view.

Not too shabby for a week’s worth of work, don’t you think?  I have yet to find a dresser so for the time being we are going to store her clothes in a large, white antique bookshelf.

My daughter arrived home safely last night and her response when she walked into her room: “You’re kidding me!”

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Posted in Accessories, Bedding, Bedroom, Decorating, Do It Yourself, Project, Style | Tagged , , | 2 Comments