Goodwill Scavenging: A Lonely Table Meets Her Destiny

Here is my latest Goodwill find.

A $20 table that had nice lines but a weird medium wood finish and more scratches than was acceptable. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a strange addiction to tables. I find them everywhere. Or should I say: they find me.

Well, I realized in January that I should've put an electric sander on my Christmas list. When I got this table I decided to take the plunge and bought myself an early Mother's Day gift.

Nice, huh? Who ever said women don't appreciate power tools for special occassions hasn't met me.

I had been looking for a fairly small piece to try out a new painting technique I learned here called dry brushing. This table was the perfect guinea pig. I am luuuving this technique. I want to do it to everything. I am cautiously eyeing things in my house that are thisclose to being hit with my new-toy-the-electric-sander. Look out, furniture!

Because this piece is so small I actually did this project in about 2-3 hours. 45 minutes to sand, the rest to dry brush 2 coats including drying time in between. And I use the term "drying time" loosely. I waited about 45 minutes after the first coat because I can't wait for paint to dry! I want to see the finished product yesterday!

And here she is after her makeover.

I think the pictures don't do it justice because it was so bright outside that you can't see the paint technique very well but I am pleased as punch with the outcome. And she looks just right sitting in the hallway, under all our family pictures. Loverly......

A Klassy Kids Korner

I made another Goodwill purchase recently. A child's loveseat bench for $10. I loved the sweet look of it and instantly had romantic visions of my two darling children sitting on it it together one day, holding hands like two little angels (yeah, right!). Anyways, I bought it and decided to paint and upholster it because the unfinished wood, frankly, wasn't doing it for me.

Here is the before:

And the after:

I'm really into this nailhead trim. I've used it on several projects now. It really dresses things up a bit.

I think this whole project maybe took me an hour to do. To distress the bench I used a french paint technique that I learned over at Centsational Girl that is so stinkin' easy. Now I don't mind that this bench is out it the open with the rest of my things because it looks kinda classy for a kids bench. I was going to do it up really girly for Lady B but then decided to keep it out in the open so I wanted a more neutral, sophisticated, kid's bench (if you've ever heard of such a thing?!)

Lil B was pulling weeds with his dad when I begged him to come sit in his little chair for a picture. I even bribed him with a gummy vitamin if he would just sit in the chair and smile for me. He wasn't really having any of it.

You can see he is wistfully looking to where his dad is pulling weeds. "Don't really want to be sitting here, mom....but you did promise me a gummy vitamin"

Maybe one day you'll appreciate your little bench. One day when your tiny little legs are weary from all that running you do outside and you'll want to take a load off and drink some water from your big boy cup. Yes, that day you'll have just the perfect sized, cushy upholstered bench to rest your tired little body and enjoy a refreshing beverage!

A girl can dream, right?

Doesn't She Clean Up Nice?

This is why I have developed a fondness for the Goodwill. One woman's trash is indeed another woman's treasure.....

I had been looking for some little silver or white cups, pitchers, or vessels that I can use as vases to display flowers from the garden that my hubby maintains for me (thank you, Mr. WF)

I found these little cups at the Goodwill and thought it was a long shot. What if I just threw away money on two old gnarly-looking cups? But I took a gamble at $6 for the pair and just looky what a little silver polish did for them? Beauty-full!

I know my tablescape needs some work but I'm not sure the monster truck is going to make the final cut.

Uh-oh.....it's just started to rain. Let's hope Lil B doesn't wake up screaming that he wants to "see rain, see thunder". I'm not ready for naptime to be over!

From Boring to Bow-Bling!

And she strikes again. Keep me away from the Goodwill store!

So I dragged my mom to the Goodwill store near her house the other day in hopes of finding another treasure and I found this little straw purse. I thought it would be the perfect little summer tote for when I run errands without the kids and the monster-bag they require.

This was another $5 purchase. I'm noting a trend here:

Goodwill + $5 = Fabulous

I made a bow from some pretty paisley fabric that I bought a few weeks ago that I just liked so I bought it. I have a "favorite fabrics" stash. I am addicted to pretty fabrics and I just buy a yard or half a yard when I see something I like...for such a time as this!

As we were perusing the Goodwill aisles my mom came across a blazer she had given away (indeed we were at the Goodwill near her house where she donates her old stuff). "Look! Lori, here's my jacket!" We were actually looking at a blazer that used to be in her closet on the racks of the Goodwill store. I started laughing hysterically. I almost peed my pants, in fact. Anyone else find that funny because I was laughing so hard I was crying.

Before and After

TA-DA! The unveiling of my $5 Goodwill table transformation...

BEFORE

AFTER

Let's do a thrifty recap
Table: $5
Spray paint primer: $4
Under color taupe spray paint: $4
Top color ivory paint from the reject pile at Home Depot: $1
Elmer's glue for the crackling effect: $2
Gel stain for the legs: $5
Stencil for the top design: $10
Total project cost: $31 and a little elbow grease
Not too shabby for a shabby-chic table, huh?

Craftiness Complicates (and Enhances) My Life...Yet Again

What the heck is going on over there, I'm sure you're wondering since you are visiting my blog to see if there is a new post, right? We had a busy weekend...

Family was in town visiting. We had a birthday party for Lil B on Saturday, I attended a big-girl birthday party for one of my friends Saturday night, then on Sunday I helped host a baby shower for my sister in law who is cooking up a playmate for Lady B. She is due in August--YAY!

So since my life isn't complicated enough I've decided to tackle yet another crafty project....

Some background: I'm a devoted fan of some craft-a-licious blogs such as Centsational Girl, Thrifty Decor Chick, and The Shabby Nest. When I read these blogs and see all the crafty goodness that awaits me I am struck silly with inspiration and ideas of grandeur for my home.

The other day I decided to pop into my local Goodwill store to see if there was any furniture that might satisfy my crafty itch so I could try out a painting technique I read about. And just look at what was calling my name.....

I almost missed it because it was sitting on it's side. But her legs were what caught my attention. Those cute little legs. On that trip, I ran into a friend at the Goodwill (random, I know....you know who you are....Lisa!!) and she convinced me to indulge myself on the $5 purchase. Yes, you read that right...this baby was a whopping $5. Which is why I bought it because if I brought home one more table that was worth one penny over that amount I think my husband might put me out on the curb for Wednesday's pick up. However, I billed this as an "experimental craft project" that could be thrown away if it went south....so stay tuned for the transformation....