Nifty Thrifty Girl

I’ve always wanted a fancy bird bath but could never afford one of the lovely vintage cast stone bird baths nor did I want to shell out the cash for a reproduction. And then at an estate sale I stumbled across an old metal ice cream parlor chair. It was rusty and falling apart, but for a mere $1.00 I decided I would purchase it and come up with some clever way to reuse it.

I took the chair home and started to disassemble the various pieces. As I sat and looked at the base an idea came to me. I grabbed an old ironstone platter and …TA-DA!… it rested perfectly on the base of the chair. I now had my very own, unique bird bath.

I do bring the bird bath into the garage for the winter as the platter would surely crack under the extreme NY weather we have. But as soon as spring arrives I always look forward to setting up my bird bath in a quaint little corner of my garden.

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When I couldn’t find the perfect chalk board for my kitchen I decided I would make my own. I had an idea of what I wanted, so I began searching yard sale after yard sale until I found the perfect frame. It was a mere $1.00 Yes…$1.00. I painted the frame, took a thin piece of Masonite and cut it to size, sprayed it with several coats of black chalkboard paint, and mounted it in the frame. Voila…a custom chalkboard.

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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Some windows just don’t need fancy window treatments. I tend to use very simple window treatments such as roman shades or light, airy lace panels. When I have a miss-matched window (one that doesn’t match any of the others in the room) or a single window in a room that I would prefer to let as much light through as possible, I use one of my favorite window treatment tricks – a salvaged stained glass window.

Vintage stained glass windows come in all shapes, sizes and varying colors. My very first stained glass window was purchased at a flea market for only $15. I pulled another window out of my neighbor’s trash! In a few easy steps you can have a fabulous piece of stained glass hanging in one of your windows.

Once you choose a stained glass window all you have to do is bring it home and give it a good cleaning. I like to use Ecover Multi-purpose cleaner - it’s environmentally friendly and has a light, lemon scent. Murphy’s Oil soap also works well. I chose to leave my stained glass windows untouched - just like I found them. If you prefer a cleaner, more polished look you can sand the wood frame, and use a wood stain or paint.

Project Skill: Beginner

You will need:

• Drill

• 2 sets of screw eyes and c hook screws

• Pencil

To hang the stained glass window:

• Drill two holes in the top of the stained glass window frame approximately 3 inches from either edge.

• Insert the eye screws into top of window frame.

• Have someone hold the window so you can mark the appropriate spots to drill for the c-hooks in your window frame.

• Drill holes and insert c hook screws.

• Mount stained glass window on c hooks.

Another creative and inexpensive way to make your home cozy!

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On one of my many trash-to-treasure outings during my town’s annual spring clean up I found several vintage dresser mirrors. These large, framed mirrors that were once attached to dressers make great accent pieces. The frames can be painted to suit any decor. Use them on walls, mantles, or over dressers.

I found several mirrors in very good condition and I grabbed them all. I cleaned them up, removed the hardware used to attach them to the dresser, painted the frames and now use them on my fireplace mantel as a focal point. I chose to paint one mirror frame white, and one black so I can change them out as the mood suits me.

These pieces were free, took only a minimal amount of refurbishing and look great. How can you beat that? You can also find these pieces very inexpensively at flea markets, yard & garage sales and estate sales.

When searching for such pieces make sure they are sturdy, with no chipped frames, warping, or broken mirrors. Also, make sure the backing is sturdy as this is what keeps the mirror in place. If you find a perfect mirror that is missing the backing, by all means grab the piece and have a new back piece cut to fit. Also, if the frame is in disrepair but the mirror is in perfect condition and is a pleasing shape don’t pass the piece up. You can take the mirror to a local hardware store and have holes drilled for mounting it on a wall.

And just a piece of advice when looking for trash-to-treasure items; always take precautionary steps to avoid getting cut by rusty metal or broken glass!

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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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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.