The muffin tin will be used to hold some of the clutter in my office/craft room; the door with metal lattice insert will be refashioned in some way and hung on my office wall to hold business cards, etc.; love old license plates so I couldn’t pass these up at $2 each! The metal trays will be re-purposed as magnetic boards for above my daughter’s new desk – that I purchased for $10 at a sale (it’s actually an old sewing cabinet, complete with vintage sewing machine that will eventually be removed)

I love the deco style and funky knobs. The drawers were full of goodies, too…

I’ll share the ‘after’ pictures of the desk make-over shortly. I’ve only gotten as far as the primer but hope to finish it this week.

In other news…it was my daughter’s eleventh birthday and while at the Farmer’s Market she spied something she wanted for her b-day. A kitten. I, of course, caved and said, ‘yes’. Meet Waffle, our new family member!

He’s the sweetest boy – ever! The dogs have adjusted well, but our other male cat isn’t thrilled with the new addition.

To top the week off we watched fireworks at the lake.

Now, back to school and back to the routine!

]]> http://niftythriftygirl.com/2009/09/13/flea-market-yard-sales-new-kitten-and-fireworks/feed/ 3 http://niftythriftygirl.com/2009/05/27/new-items-added-to-etsy-shop/ http://niftythriftygirl.com/2009/05/27/new-items-added-to-etsy-shop/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 03:26:58 +0000 niftythriftygirl http://niftythriftygirl.com/?p=209 Continue reading →]]> I’ve been working fast and furiously to get some cute new summer items into the shop and here is a sampling…

Click on the “SHOP” tab at the upper right to see all the new items. Hurry and get your’s now before they’re sold out!





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As a professional painter I have the luxury of seeing a plethora of colors in each house I”m working in. That makes it so much easier for me to pick and choose colors for my own rooms. I get to spend several days with the new color of someone else’s walls and even though colors look very different in different settings I can get a ‘feel’ for the color I’m working with. I was working in a friend’s house and she chose a lovely shade for her den and kitchen- Benjamin Moore’s Texas Leather (also a featured color in the Pottery Barn catalog). I never would have picked this particular color for my own house, but the more I was around that color, the more I fell in love with it. So, my dining room is now that color! My apologies for the barren walls…I still don’t have my dining room properly put together yet:

In my house the color has more of a green hue. In my friend’s house it had more of a brown hue. I love the white trim and my antique white cupboard against the lush walls.

I also fell in love with another Pottery Barn color (Pine Cone Brown) and decided to paint my bedroom walls. My bedroom has had white walls for 12 years! It was a big change for me but I am so glad I did it. I’m in love with this color. It makes the room so restful and cozy.

I painted the dresser I purchased at an estate sale (for $18!!) white

And one more big change…a kitchen remodel. It’s only a partial kitchen remodel. I have a mishmash of different cupboards in my kitchen – the old built in ones that go from floor to ceiling (which I love) and the newer not-so-great ones that I will have to live with until I win the lottery. I’m adding another set of base cabinets and shelving on one end of the kitchen, getting new countetops, a new sink, and a new stove. I’ll be posting before and after pictures of the progress. It’s going slowly but it will be well worth it when it’s done!

One of my favorite organizing tricks is to make use of the assorted glassware I’ve collected over the years. Most of these pieces were found at thrift stores, flea markets and estate sales. I’ve made a rule for myself to never pay more than $4 or $5 for a particular piece – most of them were actually found for under $2.

I use these pieces throughout my house for organizing; here are just a few tips/suggestions on how to use your collections to your advantage:

- Use small containers to organize bathroom supplies such as cotton balls, Q-tips, makeup brushes

- Use on your dresser top to organize earrings, jewelry, miscellaneous items

- Use on your desk to organize office supplies such as pens, scissors, paper clips

Put your collections to good use, get yourself organized and have fun!

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I also added a piece of chalk tied to a string so it’s easily accessible for writing grocery lists.

Since we’re on the subject of chalkboards, another fun find was this Chautauqua Desk:

I found this piece at an auction for $3.00. It was in pretty rough shape and missing many parts. I was interested in the chalkboard and managed to salvage it. I put a hanger on the back and this lovely piece now hangs on my porch wall to welcome guests.

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Alright, so it’s not “that” kind of rack, but I got your attention, didn’t I? I’m not quite sure what to call this nifty project. I use it to hold my dogs’ leashes but it could be used to hold coats, purses, scarves, you name it!

Project skill level: BEGINNER

You will need:

• Old cupboard door (preferably one with inset panels)
• Large decorative hooks
• screws
• drill
• tape measure
• screw driver

Follow these directions and you’ll have it done in no time:

1. Depending on the condition of your cupboard door you may have to sand it a bit to remove any loose or chipping paint. You may also choose to paint the entire door to match your decor. I wanted mine to look “shabby” so I scraped a bit of the chipping paint and left it mostly ‘as is’.

2. First, put a hanger on the back. Use any type of hanger you’d prefer – I used picture hanger mounts on the back of mine. You could also use eye screws and picture wire.

3. Decide where you want to place the hooks – measure an equal distance between each hook, mark it with a pencil and drill a small starter hole for the screws.

4. Screw the hooks into the cupboard door.

My town has an annual spring clean up. Everyone is asked to put their unwanted household items curbside for pick up. This is a nifty thrifty girl’s dream!! You’d be amazed at all the things people throw away – perfectly good tables, antiques, shutters, etc. If you have something similar in your area, do take advantage – one girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure. I picked up the cupboard door used in this project last year. You’ll see many more of my “curbside” finds projects in the months to come!

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