Thrifty Miss Priss

Little Visitor.......

Today is the first day ofArtist Class!  If you haven't heard all about it...I urge you to rush over to check it out!  Mary had selected a very talented group of people to teach us some really wonderful techniques!  I can't wait to get started on these projects!

Don't forget, if you sign up using my coupon code "thriftymisspriss" you will get $10.00 off which makes it only $4.00 per project!  You will also be entered into my giveaway of one of my Christmas Cottages! (see post below)

This weekend I invited my little friend daughter over for sleepover.  I think she gets the short end of the stick a lot of the time and I wanted to pamper her and make her feel SPECIAL.  It started out with dinner at I-Hop.  Then off to the grocery store for her to pick out lots of goodies for the sleepover.  I even let her scan all the groceries in the self check out...a kids dream job!

We got home late so we painted  pumpkins and got ready for bed.  I drew the face on this white pumpkin and let her pick all the colors.  She is so detail oriented she stuck with this for over an hour!

then it was off to bed.  She wanted Sarah to sleep with her so badly, she doesn't have any pets and she was so excited to have Sarah sleep there.  It lasted all of five minutes though.  Sarah is a mamas girl and wanted to be right by my side.

 
This morning bright and early I got a visitor crawling in bed with me.  My husband turned on cartoons and I got to sleep just a little bit longer.....It's been a LONG time since I had to get up with the chickens on a weekend!

We hit the ground running with crafts and activities!  After breakfast we ran around outside for a long time.  I put her to work raking.  She said she's never raked in her "whole life!"

My dogs just LOVE her and all the attention she gives to them.  They don't leave her side when she is here.

Of course after all that raking she had to do a LOT of running and jumping.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves......

 

after all that fun is was back to business!

She is going to be a black cat for Halloween so she chose the black cat theme for her pumpkin carving.

I really did not think she would be able to do this, and I didn't want to hover to make sure it was "perfect" but after I got the pattern on there she was able to do all the cutting.

  when my kids were little,  pumpkin carving used to stress me out!  The mess, the goo, the screaming and excitement was just TOO much.  I used to make my husband in charge of that activity! 

This time, I was laid back and relaxed.  I just supervised to be sure she didn't cut her thumb off.  I guess I've mellowed out quite a lot in my old age!

It turned out just like the picture on the package!

While she was doing all her craft activities I was working on a gift basket for a baby shower.  I made the little banner for the baby girl who will be born in December.  Her name will be Vera, which I think is so cute!  You don't hear other little girls with that name so I'm sure this little Vera will be quite unique!

Here's the gift basket I put together for her.  Full of little onsies and tights....patent leather shoes and suede boots too!

I hope you have a great week and a fun spooky Halloween!

Halloween Decor-Thriftstore style

I usually don't decorate for Halloween anymore.  My kids are grown and I think my teenage daughter could care less if the house looks like Halloween. 

Yesterday I got in the mood to shake things up a little...like clear all the junk from the dinning room table that had accumulated over a long period of time.  That led to me taking all the stuff off the buffet and boxing it up.  I wondered what I could do with a fall theme, but I knew basically all I had was three white pumpkins I got for 75 cents several months ago.  I dug them out and the wheels set into motion. 

 

I knew I had another one of these glass domes packed away...never been used....found at a thrift store...so I grabbed it.....on the way back up from the basement I noticed the white Christmas lights I got at a yard sale this summer.... then I grabbed the little swiss dotted curtain from the thrift store and headed back up the stairs.

 

I was gathering trash to throw away and found crumbled up tissue from a pair of boots that my daughter had bought.  I put the lights down.....spread the tissue on top of them and then put the dotted swiss curtain on top.  You can just see the glow...not the harshness of each little bulb.

I also balled up the tissue and set the pumpkins on it...to give it some height in the dome.....

I shopped the house and gathered up all the little glass bottles I keep buying here and there and arranged them all on this little mirror I had bought over a year ago and had in the basement......(I noticed it when I went to get the glass dome!)

I couldn't believe all that I had bought....but spread out all over they didn't have the sparkly impact that they  now have.  I topped two of the big bottles off with the bracelets my daughter made for me and my other daughter to wear in her wedding.

Just keeping it real here...see the soap suds in that bottle?  I could not get that out!  I had washed them and that little fluff of suds would not budge. 

I stepped back and admired it.....

I thought it needed more.....

I grabbed a roll of black crepe paper and added some "true halloween" to the decor!

I've been ruffling this stuff like crazy!  I love to see how it ruffles up and I've been using it everywhere!

I found a cute little soup tureen and wanted to put these succulents in it.  I don't know if I can grow these inside...but outside they do great.  These belonged to my husbands Grandmother and they die off each winter and pop back up in the Spring outside.  I just dug them out of their pot and put them in this one.  I had the huge dome in my basement (a thrift store find) so I added that hoping it will keep the warmth inside the pot over the Winter.

just tying the crepe paper on various things made everything pop!  That black and white "runner" is actually a pillow sham that I bought for my daughters bridal shower table (at a thrift store!)

so at this point I have not one NEW thing here...every single item you see is from a thrift store or yard sale...including all the furniture!  But it sure felt new to me...all gathered together looking so happy and Halloweenish (sort of). 

I had to stop what I was doing to play taxi driver and on the way back I noticed these wildflowers growing along the road.  I had nothing to cut them with...but I pulled over and started yanking them out of the ground.  I do have to say I felt really silly....like a gypsy woman digging for taters on the side of the road or something!  I just KNEW at any minute my husband would drive along and think I'd really LOST MY MIND wading through waist high brush on the side of the road. 

I got back and threw them in a big water bucket for my front porch.  So not only was this a great find...just like my thrifty ones...this one was FREE

with enough left over for the inside

and here

see what happens when I try to take a picture?  She actually stood up on her back legs to get in this one.

I swished her away.....tried to focus then Heidi had to get in on it too...

I added a few spooky touches to the buffet...

these free images are from Karen The Graphics Fairy...I also hung a few in front of the mirror....and reversed the image on the back so you could see it in the reflection.....

 and one last little touch.....this frame was 99 cents at Goodwill.  It weighs about one pound..it's SUPER heavy......it's not really my style and I was going to spray paint it.  I decided to keep it like it is for a while and I added this to it.....

my husband brought me those little pink carnations NINE days ago....they last forever......

see the little pearl pins in the flower?  My daughter had those in her bridal bouquets and I saved them to add to fresh flowers.  The add a little sparkle to the flowers!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

A Beautiful Life Journal

I recently participated in an on line journal class hosted by Heather.  Everything she does she pours her heart into...and this was no exception!

The theme was "A beautiful life".  Heather provided a lot of beautiful images and wallpapers for us to download to use in the journals.  I found a few old song books that were small enough for this project.  I used sheet music from these books throughout my project.

 
I won't explain every little detail...but I wanted to use really special things that I've been saving.  The tatting used here was done by my Grandmother who was born in 1895.  A relative sent me her sewing box last year and there are all sorts of treasures in there.

I used a lot of Heathers images that she provided, but also used some of my own.  I ventured off course a little and made a "title page" in my book too.

 
The last page I created a little pocket out of Heathers image...and inserted a little tag.....I wrote on it what a "Beautiful Life" means to me.

I was happy to find the music "Gay Robin Redbreast" in the music book.  Anytime I see anything with the name Robin or bird related I like to use it.  I was born with a red birthmark right above my heart....and I think it's kind of funny that my mom named me Robin.....but then again...she named my brother Brett but the moment she brought him home she thought he looked like a "pete" and we never called him Brett again!  She used to call us Pete and Re-pete.

But back to the journal!  Heather is leaving the workshop open until the end of October I think.  You can work at your own pace.  Anyone can do this.  You can spend as little or as much time as you want on it.  I love my little book I made and will add it to my little growing collection.   Speaking of book collections.....the fat book sign ups were finalized last weekend.  The participants are:  Mary, Cari B., Joyce, Julie Ann, Lynnae, Karen, Kelly, Jill, Judith, Leslie and Carrie.  If you do not see your name listed and you signed up please let me know!  Also if you signed up but did not get an email from me let me know. 

This morning I stepped outside to get some decent daylight pictures of my journal.  I glanced up and saw this.  

 
 
I watch that little lonely sad face every morning as I back out of the driveway to go to work.  When I pull in at night she is there peeking out waiting.  She knows the time line and won't lay there all day...but around 5pm she gets back up on the couch and waits for me.  I can remember watching out the window down the street every night at 5pm waiting for my moms baby  blue mustang to come zipping down the street into the driveway......

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

   

Introducing......

Bella!

My son and his girlfriend adopted one of my sisters Pomeranian puppies.  They have named her Bella and she's a tiny little ball of fur.  She turned 8 weeks old on Saturday, so after the bridal shower Bella got to go home to her new life with my son and his sweetie.  They brought her over the next day to introduce her to her aunties....Heidi and Sarah.

 My dogs have never seen a pup so small and it was quite the excitement at first.  We had to do it very slowly and Bella did not like it one bit.  She was patient and let them get all the sniffing out of their system.

She looks like a little kitten and is as playful as one too.  There were three other pups in the litter and believe me....it's taking every ounce of restraint not to rush back over there and grab one of them!

 Here are a few of them with their daddy, Baxter at the bridal shower. 

this is one of my sisters saying goodbye to sweet Bella

When Bella visited me on Sunday at my house, there were more cameras flashing than a White House Press Conference.  She is so adorable and we just couldn't get enough of her!

I think Heidi is coming in for a taste....at least thats what we thought....so she was sternly told "NO!" and she stopped right in her tracks.

so many new things to explore!

  After a while she got so sleepy.....too much excitement for one day.

I'm sure you will be seeing many more pictures of my new grand dogger!

"I thought of you today......."

A few weeks ago I signed up on Stephanie's blog to be in a one on one swap with another person.  Theme was "I thought of you today".  You know how when you're out searching for treasures you come across something and it reminds you of another blog friend?  Maybe something they collect or create?  Well that was the purpose...to find things you know your partner will love and enjoy.  Stephanie paired me with Lori, who I had the pleasure of meeting and shopping with last month!  So Lori and I exchanged emails about what our favorite colors were etc.....  THE NEXT DAY Lori emails me telling me her gifts are bought, wrapped and on their way!  HOLY MOSES!  I'm the one the week of Christmas STARTING my shopping....so I started sweating bullets a little bit. 

Yesterday I went out at the crack of dawn and started my treasure hunting...and I'm happy to report that Lori's box will be on it's way in a few days......I found the perfect little things that indeed made me think of her!

Here's some pictures I took of Lori's box as I unwrapped.....The lighting is not great because it was evening....you can also see some pictures on her blog too!

This is the first thing I saw.........the return address label!  HOW CUTE IS THAT?

a roll of beautiful papers...including FLOCKED wallpaper!  OH MY GOSH BEAUTIFUL!  and that ledger paper is just wonderful.....don't know if I'll be able to cut that!
Beautiful vintage postcards and cabinet cards wrapped in antique doily secured with a clip earring!
Laces and trims wrapped with a sweet hankie......

I grabbed some images from Lori's blog...hers were better than mine!  Look at that clothespin with the little "R" initial wrapped around antique lace....so sweet!

 

flocked wallpaper!  and that antique flower frog?  Beautiful!  I've got the post cards displayed now that Lori sent me!

this sweet little Limoges plate...matches perfectly!

beautiful vintage bling!

 

This beautiful Vintage Rosary......resting on the glass cloche of Loris little Faerie she made me.

 

I told Lori I was a dog freak and look what she found!  The German Shepherd in the front looks just like my Heidi GIrl

see?

Lori I can't thank you enough for all the sweetness you sent my way! I really enjoyed participating in the swap and it was even more fun doing it with someone I know!

Have a terrific week!  I'll post pictures of what I got for Lori after she receives them in the mail!

More about Project "Beast"

I finally got the beast in the house Friday night, having to take the legs off.....and lots of struggling amongst my daughter and her fiance....we gouged it up a little....and as my daughter said..."it's distressed all right!"

                                                                                         see the german shepherd ears on the bottom right?

It feels so good to have this behind me! After all the wonderful emails and comments...and a few days to recover...I'd say YES it was worth it.  I still don't want to paint anything else for a loooonnnng time.  Unless it's from a spray can.

It occurred to me today that slowly almost EVERYTHING in my house is thrifted.  I told you that I got rid of a perfectly nice set that we bought about 5 years ago to replace it with this one.  My dining room just didn't fit with the look I was trying to achieve and I wanted that old table out of here.  This feels so calm and serene to me now.  Everything on the buffet was from a thrift store (including the buffet) except the sweet little fairy in the glass dome.  That was a gift from Lori (my Faerie window).  All the mirrors, lamps, frames and plaques were from thrift stores.

  My grandmothers scissors

Isn't this cute?  It feels so thin and fragil.....I found it for $1.00 in a thrift store!  I can't beleive there is not a chip on it.  The gold edging at the top is almost completely worn off though.

Yup, everything but the salt and pepper shaker (Target) is thrifted....that wonderful wood dough bowl....it's so soft and worn..... FIFTY cents at a yard sale a month ago.  I have some shells in there now.  I've seen them on ebay for up to $200.00.  I didn't know I wanted it or needed it...but when I saw it, it reminded me of the stories my mom told of having to make bread each day for her family's dinner growing up on the farm in North Dakota in the 40's.  I've never made a loaf of bread from scratch in my life.  (I've done the frozen dough so that half way counts) and using a bread machine doesn't count either!

I also wanted to show this cute little chandelier I found the same day I bought the table and chairs.  The reflection on the walls from this little light is so sweet!  All those little danglie sparkles......I'm going to add a scrunched cord cover at some point...but I just had to get this hung above my sink.  It was 1/2 price that day.....as all household items were so I got it for $4.00.

Yesterday my two girls and I went to the ENORMOUS thrift store that we don't get to very often.  It's 50% off on ALL HOLIDAYS on EVERYTHING.  I found a ton of clothes and several books to use as art journals.. I'll share them another time.

Thanks again to everyone for all your sweet comments and flicr favs!

Thats what I love about Sunday....

I spent all day Saturday yard sailing in the rain....and then I still didn't quite get my fix so I went to my favorite thrift store.  The one that had MY DINNING ROOM set for $250.00 back at the beginning of May.  Yesterday was 50% off furniture so I got there when it opened never even thinking I'd see the table and chairs.  I walked in and there it was.  It had been reduced to $200.00 and still had not sold.  So I got it for $100.00.  I was quite happy.  I'd thought about this set SO MUCH since the first of may...and here it is almost 45 days later

 

 

 

I plan on distressing this and painting it white.  I wanted to start on it SO BAD today but I had to see my mom and have fathers day festivities at my house..so it has to wait.  I picked up a huge bolt of grayish white linen at the thrift store a few weeks ago thinking I'd make a few pillows...now I have the perfect fabric for the seats.    My daughter can not understand why I spent a few thousand dollars on a dinning room set five years ago...but now I want this shabby set from the 70's.......she longs for a Pottery Barn style home...but that's not my style anymore.  Who knows...in five years I'll be wishing for ultra modern....(nah)

So after a wonderful visit with my mom and two sisters..it was back home to get ready for fathers day.  My father in law came over and brought me my usual six pack of Corona...and treats for the dogs....

I went out into the yard and cut some pretty blooms....

 

 

 

My little $8.00 table (from the 50% off sale) and my kids' little silver baby cups....not stuck in a cabinet..but looked at and handled often.....

 

 

Their pop-pop ALWAYS brings them each a bag of treats (along with my Coronas) when he comes.  This one kept doing random stunts all day hoping for more.  Heidi is a little bored with it all (in the background) If we yell out "pop pops here!" the dogs go CRAZY!  One time Sarah ran off like a wild woman and wouldn't come back...my daughter yelled at the top of her lungs....."POP POP's HERE!"  and she turned around and made a bee line towards us at full force!

I also got to end the evening with this one......

 

apparently all day she was beyond excited about "the cook out at Robins"  then she fell asleep...she had to be woken up to come.  I showed her my new "art room" which looks NOTHING like the last picture.....I have totally trashed it.  Can't even see the bed.  She immediately wanted to do art......I felt bad because I had nothing planned for her to do and I was supposed to be out back cooking the steaks......so I showed her my Journal...since she has her own that I made way back when.  She seemed pretty impressed....her favorite pages were the collage...with all kinds of random things.  Watching her run her fingers over everything was so sweet.  Kinda like how I felt when saw Hopes Journal

 

she was itching to get her hands on my journal.  She found a page where I was not finished.  A page I copied almost verbatim from "Journal Bliss" and she begged me to paint the bird.  I'd spent quite a bit of time on it....but I felt so selfish for not indulging her in her creative mood.  I quickly gathered up a few paints and let her have at it...

 

 

She quickly finished that and wanted to keep going (you can see her pink bird in the journal at the top of the photo)  So i quickly drew her one of her own..that she could paint and take home....

 

My daughter came through and said "Uh...are we supposed to be cooking or what?"  OOPS!  I got so involved with Lily that I totally forgot about the steaks!  I promised I'd be there in one more minute!  She snapped a picture of Lily and I working....

 

Lily told me all about "don't forget the peek a boo spots"  (that's areas that are not completely colored in) and she wanted orange...for the beak....I told her I didn't think I had orange...but her solution was "don't you have red and yellow?" DUH!  She was great at mixing and knowing what made what colors....something we forget about 40 years later.....

Then it was out to walk in the woods to find mull berries......picked right off the tree....this little city girl as a little apprehensive to do that....but she saw me do it and guessed it was okay.

 

 

thats what I love about Sundays

Making Progress in my craft room

Making tiny bits of progress.....

 

The bed was lime green...then it went into storage...then I sprayed it pink...I just did not like it...back to home depot...now it's white

 

I'm in the process of making lots of pillows so it will be a day bed.

 

I used the curtain rod I had as a ribbon hanger....so then I was stuck with nothing to hang the curtains from.  I thumb tacked these to the wall...and used the pink tulle to cover up the tacks.

 

See what I mean?  Clever way to store ribbons...not so clever if you need the rod later......

 

The light is really bad in this room.  It doesn't help that these pictures were taken when the sun was setting.

Everything in this room was thrifted at some point...or borrowed.  Rachel Ashwell Curtains were from my daughters old "shabby chic" room....the pink spread is a Bates...found that for SIX DOLLARS!  The white pop corn spread was purchased at a thrift store also, a few years ago.

 

See those two sweet little girl pictures?  Found those at Lucketts last weekend. Loved this little girl!  She looks a lot like me when I was young, and just like my girls when they were about 7.

 

 

This case that hold my little collection of flowers used to be in a restaurant, it held Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

The pink ticking on the table skirt is from my stash.  Then last weekend I found this stretchy elastic ruffle that goes all the way around...I think it was for a bed skirt?  I love the added foof it gives.  It was a whopping $2.50

I just love this room!  Every evening I'm in here listening to music on my Iphone....working on something.  Here's a few pages from my journal that I've been working on lately

 

A page to remember the fantastic time I had at Lucketts, meeting new blog friends....

 

 

  

This one stays right by my side...or on my knee here...and we bounce ideas off each other......

  

We chatted about the cute little gift that Heather and Stephanie gave me last week....and she wanted to see just HOW that flower was made....

 

yes, I think she has it all figured out!

Even Sarah was thrifted!  She was once previously owned and she is second-hand!

Have a great creative weekend!

I got my wish! SNOW DAY!!!

 

 

 

 

 

They are just playing!  There's not a mean bone in their bodies!

 

Here's to hoping your wishes come true today!

Watching for snow.....Ready for Spring....

Wow~  you girls sure know how to make a blogger feel good!  All the comments and personal emails were so sweet regarding my last post.  I had a few people email me with personal stories of family members affected by schizophrenia and shared their personal stories....my little world just got a little bigger....(you know who you are!) Thank you all so much!  I hope it inspires you to help someone the next time you see a rushed mother with young kids....someone in distress...or my all time favorite...old people!

Today I was searching on The Nester's blog because I wanted to copy her plate wall she did behind her master bed.  I've been accumulating white stoneware for a few months to do a whole wall behind my bed.  It involves painting the room first.....but while I was there I saw her ragamuffin garlands.  OH MY GOSH.  They are almost identical to the "scrappy garlands" I thought I made up in my head!  I must have seen the Ragamuffin garlands last year and filed it away in my tiny brain....and it popped out all these months later and I was thinking..."oh...fun idea!"  well I felt awful and emailed her and told her I'd made some...not quite the same as hers...but I had no intention of copying hers!  So I won't be selling them anymore.  That's just wrong in my book!  I'll still make them for fun and for gifts......I did however tell her I totally intended on copying her plate wall!  And when the day comes that it's completed I'll be sure and give her credit.  She has an INCREDIBLE blog.....if you don't know of her I urge you to set aside a few hours and hop over there!

Today was also set aside for a little nesting and cleaning myself.  I got rid of all signs of winter, valentines day...etc...and dug out my birds, nests, and all things Spring.  The entire time I was listening to minute by minute details of how a big winter storm is looming over Virginia and be prepared......

 

 

She followed me everywhere today...back and forth...up and downstairs, got stepped on SO MANY TIMES!  It was quite irritating every.single.time.I.did.it.  I tried to bite by tongue and just say "Sorry Girl!" She's just the most devoted little dog and wants to be right up on my lap...even if I'm not sitting.

 

See what I mean?  She was confused because I was standing on the dinning room chair....not something I do often...and I was taking pictures of my hearts hanging in the window (thanks Rosemary!) (also pay no attention to the packing scraps on the floor...did I mention I was trying to clean today?

So I'm up on the chair...and she wants to try it herself.....

 

  holding onto my leg....

 

Pay no attention to the junk on the table.  I'm supposed to be cleaning remember?  Not standing on chairs taking stupid pictures!

 

 

We did a lot of this too....looking to see if the snow had started yet.....

 

 

These are REAL eggs that have been sugared and glittered!  I found them in the glass case last Summer at Goodwill.  I invested a quarter each for them.  I got four!  They are soooo sweet.  The flowers are plastic so I'm guessing 1970's?

 

You see that sweet little blue bird in the back under the cloche?  I ordered her from Kathy's Cottage last year.  Love her!  The little mini birdhouses were from Karla and Beths "Bling your birdhouse" party last year.

 

   

 

 

This sweet little bunny was the top to a box I think.  I found it thrown in the bin at Goodwill for $1.00.  The crepe paper around the neck is so soft and fragile!  I just plopped it on top of my homemade cake plate....took a thrifted candlestick and a thrifted plate and hot glued them together......

I did the same with these......

 

 

I also got to do some crafting and cleaning!  I wanted to show you some of the costume jewelry I got from my husbands granny when she passed away a few years ago.....

 

 

all of it was so sweetly boxed with little notes like this.......it says "costume jewelery but very precious from my dear daughter in law....on one of her trips to Chicago when vising her father"  It was almost like she intended for someone to go thru it all one day...and she's right there explaining it all.  There are several boxes of this stuff....all neatly marked.  I found a few crowns in there too!  One day while raking the yard...I looked up and my husband had one of the crowns pinned to his sweatshirt!  Just waiting for me to notice!

Well, so far there is barely a dusting of snow.....and the website to our county's public schools says this:

 County public schools will be closed on Monday, March 2.

President Obama doesn't live too far from me.  Once before when this happened he laughed and said this.

My husband and I are doing the snow dance.  We open the door every hour to see the progress.  We have a plan....if it's more than 4 inches we are BOTH calling off work tomorrow!

Keep your fingers crossed!