Update

Hey!
Yeah, I know... it's been a while. I guess this is one of those days that I'm glad I have only three or so loyal readers. Any more than that, and there might be people who miss me.
So here's what you missed on Glee in the past few weeks: I've helped my parents move into their dream home, I've redone lot of furniture, I've been up and down dealing with my depression, and my father is in the hospital with a broken hip, which led to the doctors discovering what they say looks like cancer.
I know - that's a lot.
Something I've learned in my 25 years is that although there may not be much I can control, I can do my best not to make my misery worse. I can surround myself with things that make me happy. Things like family, music, painting, TV, and Jeremy Renner.
Not the real Jeremy Renner. Just... you know.... fan fiction, movies, pictures, etc.
Anyway, I think things are starting to get better. Yes, I'm still dealing with depression. Yes, I still have those days when I just can't get out of bed, just can't force a smile, just can't have a conversation for the life of me. But sometimes it's okay to escape the real world for a fantasy world. As long as you are able to separate the two, and as long as you know when to be in which, both worlds are acceptable.
Sherlock (BBC) has become my new obsession. I have watched the same six episodes probably ten times now over the past two months. It's always good. And I have fallen in love with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I'm even reading the Sherlock Holmes stories all over again for the first time since I was probably 12 or 13.
Some of you are trying to start a business or you already run one. I am about to start business school with the same goal in mind. Please, PLEASE don't let yourself feel bad when you have days you feel less than adequate, maybe like a failure, maybe talentless. You're amazing. If you see beauty in your work, so do others. Maybe not everyone, but then how boring would it be if everyone had the same taste in art? There would be no variety, therefore no conversation.
True story.
I can't bop you on the head with my magic wand and make you confident in what you do. I wish I could. If I could, I'd bop my own head with it, because believe me, I am far from confident in my work. Every day is a battle, but I fight with my head held high and my mind set on happy thoughts, thoughts of whatever cheers me up... and you know what? It's okay if the things that are "supposed" to make you feel happy don't always. Do what you need to do. As long as you're not hurting yourself, do whatever you must do.
Be happy. Decide to be happy. Try, at least.
You're worth it.
See you soon, hopefully.

What, These Old Things?

Yes. Those old things.
I'm referring to the massive pile of jeans I have bought over the past few years, but that I have only worn a couple of times.
Why?
Well, mostly I outgrew them belly-wise. Or I'm saving them for when I'm back into that size again (probably never). Or they just didn't look great on me the last time I wore them.
And such is the case with one pair of my jeans in particular.
You might not know this about me, but I do almost all of my clothes sopping in thrift stores (sarcasm alert). As it turns out, though, I'm one of those people who hates using the dressing room to try something on before I buy it. If I'm spending a lot on an item (more than 5 dollars. Yes, I know that's not a lot in the real world, but it is in the thrift world - MY world), I'll run in the dressing room and try it on, whatever it is. But $2 jeans? I'll buy now and ask questions later.
They fit great around the waist, which in and of itself is a major accomplishment. But I'm 5 feet tall, and the length on the jean along with the boot cut style just didn't work for me.
Pack rat that I am, however, I folded the jeans and tucked them in a drawer. Maybe I thought I would grow taller or something.
But I'm glad I did that, as it turns out.
Pinterest, that wily minx, has had me addicted for a while now, and I recently noticed a video on how to distress jeans. That got me thinking about making boyfriend jeans. I've always wanted a pair, but they're expensive new and are almost never in thrift stores. So I decided to use my old jeans as a guinea pig. No loss if they didn't work, right? And hey, at least I can say I tried.
This is the link to the video, by the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2maI9roHJzM
So anyway, I followed the instructions and this is how they turned out:

Ok, so they're not exactly making their way down any runways any time soon, but not bad for my first time, right?

Maybe I should have distressed them more. I don't know. Also, my phone camera is crap. You can't really trust the way it makes them look.

So that's it! I hope this helps to inspire you a wee bit if you feel like getting in that DIY sort of mood.

Happy thrifting!

FALLing In Love

My favorite season for a long time was winter. Snow, time off of school, snuggling under the covers - all of those things were very important factors when it came to choosing my favorite season. But ever since my husband has worked an hour away, the snow scares me, and my favorite season has changed to fall.
All that to say, I have been upping my style factor for the season lately. I am about to buy my first pair of ankle boots (never thought I'd wear them!), and an orange dress. But more importantly to me, crafts are sporting those fall colors, as well.
One of my recent finds that I was SO very happy about, were my candlesticks I bought for $2 each.

Cute, right?

I didn't know how to paint them, but I decided on orange, since I knew that was a color I wanted more of.

After I had them painted, I was at my in-laws' home when they laid out a bowl of candy corn.

Bam.

I had yellow and white craft paint at home, so I painted the ends, and I am SO happy with how they turned out!

 

So now I'm set!
By the way, I found that the tops and bottoms unscrew from the wooden stick itself. That made it so much easier than using paint tape. I know it may seem like a dumb thing to note, but if you ever paint something and aren't sure how to paint around certain parts, check to see if they are removable.
I didn't at first.
Woops.
Happy thrifting!

Finally Bit The Bullet...

I opened an Etsy store. Check it out if you're interested, and tell me what you think! I only have 3 things in there now, but adding more soon, hopefully. =-)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheScarlettWren

Comic Book Project 2.0

So last Christmas I discovered Mod Podge. And I fell in love.
My other brother (not the one I made the table for at Christmastime) has a birthday party next Saturday, and I wanted to do the comic book table again. He really liked the one I made my brother last year, and I thought what the heck? I'll be a good sister.
But I did it a little differently.

I found this table at Second Life Thrift store for 8 dollars. Yes, it's outdated - that light colored, heavy, high-gloss wood that was so popular 20 years ago. But as I try to do always, I looked past what it was and saw what it could be.
My original plan when I bought this over a month ago was to finally make that Union Jack table I've always wanted to make. But after a failed attempt, I painted over the top and decided to try again.

Well, two weeks and four sick people in our home later, I got back to it. But this time, I decided to do the whole comic book thing for my brother. If you want to know how to use Mod Podge, see my previous post.
This time, I decided to do less comic book, more comic book graphics. I looked up the templates online, sketched the designs onto the wood, painted the outlines in black, then filled in the rest. Super easy to sketch!

Hope this inspires you to try something new. I'm no artist, believe me. And if I could sketch these somewhat successfully, so can you. I promise.
Happy thrifting!

Perfectly Imperfect

I thought I would just take a little time to talk to you all about something we all have, though it's not the same for any of us: imperfections.
I have always had them, physically, emotionally, in my parenting... parentally? Anyway, we're all imperfect, and anyone who thinks they aren't, well, bless their soul. But they're wrong.
The same goes for our actions. While we try our best to make the right choices every day, we don't always. Not only are we not perfect, but neither are our actions.
Sometimes I get a little too philosophical and I apply my thoughts to my projects. Even the whole reason, or at least one of the main reasons, that I redeem what others have cast aside is that I think it is such a great metaphor for life.
And now there's a project of mine I'd like to show you...

This is my little green table friend. I picked her up from St. Mary's rummage sale a couple weeks ago.
Yes, I've talked about that sale a lot, but I found a lot there to talk about.
Anyway, she was actually in pretty great shape - I even liked her color - but she needed major cleaning. She was full of spiders and ain't nobody got time for that.
After I cleaned her, I just kind of admired her for a while. Someone threw her away, and I picked her up for only $3. Seemed like such a shame, and she deserved a proper makeover.
So this is what I did.... I gave her a gray base with a teal chevron pattern.

Originally, I was going to use painter's tape and get the lines exactly perfect, but I changed my mind. I freehanded it, something I was nervous about doing, but something I was ultimately glad I did.
She's not perfect. Some of her lines are crooked or different sizes from the others, but she takes pride in this.
Enjoy your imperfections. They make you who you are.
Happy thrifting!

On the Road Again.... Again.

So here's the old road marker I picked up at the rummage sale a couple weeks ago for $.50.

When I got it, I had no idea what I would do with it. But I had to have it. I had to. I am really trying to expand my grasp on different types of design, and the road flare I just redid gave me the idea to make a little.... thing.

Ok, so bear with me. Use your imagination, and picture a great console table painted gray, with a double yellow line down the middle. And imagine it topped with these beauties:

And then of course, there should be some great road signs hanging on the wall over it to complete the theme. If I had the table and the signs, I'd post a really great picture, but I don't. But here are some inspirations that might give you an idea of what's in my head:

This would be what the table top would look like, roughly.

And this would be the wall behind.

So I hope you were able to get what's rolling around in my head. I think it would be awesome in an office, or even in a creative entryway... maybe for a family that does a lot of travelling. I don't know. But you get the idea.

Between the flare and the marker, that's a $3.00 tabletop decoration. Doesn't get much better than that, am I right?

 

 

Thrift Store Finds - 8-2-13

I found some great things at Second Life Thrift Store this past Friday, and here they are!

This frame is one I happen to plan on using to frame a piece of art my daughter made, but it is so elegant, it could be used as a simple wall hanging on its own (like in my entry that I posted about a couple months ago). I love gold so much lately, and this has those simple, yet beautiful, designs in the corners, making it perfectly understated and ideal as an accent piece.

If you do plan on using something like this as a frame, as I do, you could go the cheap route and post the canvas in yourself, or you could take it to a professional framer. Yes, those places can be expensive, but the biggest expense is always the frame, and you've got that covered!

This one cost $2.50.

Ok, so a friend of mine from high school (sister of my friends, but same thing, basically) was telling me about an idea she had to make a tray she was given into a picture frame using Mod Podge. Genius! When she finishes, I'll be featuring it in a post, but in the mean time, I thought I'd give it a try.

This small golden tray cost $1.50.

Now, this guy.... I love him. He was in the toy section, but he should have been with home décor. Not a big deal - I got him cheaper as a toy! He is handmade, and I think he's adorable. I thought about painting him, but I don't think I will. The dark wood on it is actually in almost perfect shape, and besides, someone spent a lot of time putting this together. I figure he should be honored as he is.
He only cost $1.50!
So these were my finds. Perhaps you would do something very specific with them if you had them to yourself. Feel free to share what that might be!
Happy thrifting!

Dollar Store Decor

There are all kinds of reasons I don't buy expensive things. Mostly, I can't afford all the designer décor pieces I love, but who can? Of course there's also the fact that I have two small children and two cats who like to break things. So I've had to become creative when it comes to decorating my home.
I guess that's the whole point of this blog.
When I'm not at the thrift stores, I also love the dollar store. Yes, I'm super cheap. Tell me something I don't know. They actually have some really cute stuff that I use around my house, and if it breaks, what's the most I'm out? A couple bucks?
Here are a couple examples of some dollar store décor I worked on today:

First of all, remember that road flare I fixed up? Remember how I said it would be cool as a vase? Well, I bought some dollar store flowers.
Now, I know fake flowers are a big no-no in professional decorating, but in a house with cats and kids and when I need something cute and small to tuck in the corner of a shelf, I think it's ok.
Anyway, I picked some white flowers that I thought were just adorable, and I trimmed down the stems and tucked them in the "vase." Here's how it looks:

Cute, yes?

And just for fun, I paired the little ensemble with a road marker I picked up at a rummage sale a week ago for $.50, but I'll have a post on that later.

 

So, then I grabbed a few things from the craft aisle. And the craft aisle at the dollar store is awesome, by the way.

I grabbed 3 bags of decorative green stones, three clear vases of varying sizes, and a box of small votive candles. At one dollar an item, that's a total of $7, plus tax of course.

 

I split one bag of stones between the two smaller vases, then poured the other two bags into the tall one, then placed a candle in each.

 

 No, it's not museum art, but if my kids or cats break these vases, I'll feel a lot better about that than I did when they broke my designer Mercury glasses last month.

I won't go there.

So there's my dollar store décor. I hope this inspires you to check out your local Dollar Tree (or whatever you have near you) and look for cheap ideas that still add a special touch to your home!

Happy thrifting!

On the Road Again...

A couple months ago when I came back from vacation, I shared some finds with you that were form the peddler's Malls and flea markets in Kentucky. Among those items was this little guy:

He's an antique road flare. I knew when I saw him that he was absolutely perfect and he had to come home.

P.S. I felt like I had to give him a trucker's name, like Big Joe or Bubba or something. SO yea, I went with Bubba.

 Anyway, Bubba needed some work, and today I finally got the chance to give him some much-needed attention.

 The first thing I did was I took him apart. The top unscrews easily, then the wick cover inside, and then I pulled out the wick and threw it away. It is still full of whatever fuel was used to light it, and I thought maybe it was a good idea to, you know, get rid of all the stuff that could blow up in this very combustible home I live in.

Yes, that's my sink.

After all the parts were removed, I sanded off all that greasy, grimey gunk and rust that made it look kinda... well... crappy. What a difference it made!

 

Then, I cleaned it. Since there is some gunky residue, I used soap specifically designed to remove grease, and though I didn't use a Brillo pad, it might have been a good idea. But hindsight is always 20/20, right?
Lastly, I painted it. It would be fun to paint it a really unexpected color like a deep purple or hot pink or neon green, but for the theme I'm working on right now with some of the stuff I'm doing, I just repainted the original red.

Wouldn't this be amazing as a vase? I just love mixing the industrial, rough-and-tough elements with something as soft as a bunch of lilacs or daisies.

Another great idea would be to convert it into a lamp, using a very inexpensive and easy-to-find lamp kit from a hardware store.

Personally, this one I like just as is for now. I really am digging this whole industrial thing lately, and I love it. But I think I'm going to buy more and experiment.

If this is a project you're interested in trying, these are incredibly easy to find online on sites like ebay, where you can get a whole box of them for around $10-$20. Imagine the profit if you fixed up a whole box of these and sold them!

So that was today's project. It was super easy, a lot of fun, and most importantly, incredibly inexpensive.

Happy thrifting!

Get Inspired

Do you ever bring home that gorgeous piece you know has so much potential, but once you want to work on it, you're like... um... now what?
I have those moments almost every time.
Lately, I've been bringing home more and more things, finding things in my home to redo, and getting spray paint galore from ReStore or the hardware store clearance paint section. But still I get home, and I look at my project, and then I look at my paint, and I'm just stumped.
The day I discovered Pinterest, my life became complete. You know, besides the days I had my kids or got married, it was pretty much the most amazing day. Ok, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration. But seriously. It was an awesome day.
Finding inspiration on Pinterest, blogs, and even just Google searches has given me the ideas for some of my favorite projects. And in case you're not on Pinterest, I'm telling you you need to be.
I leave you now with some of my inspirations and the end results. I always put my own twist, never copying exactly. What fun would that be?

Hope you've been inspired.
It's so easy! Go for it!

Owl love you forever...

I love owls. Not necessarily the living, breathing, creepy kind (all though they're ok, I guess), but when incorporated into home décor, I just can't get enough of them. Maybe it's the whole vintage vibe, or maybe it's that they have those whimsically huge eyes, or the fact that they can go with any theme... I don't know. But I love them.
I also love painting. I suppose I might have mentioned this before (wink, wink) but it's true. And when I combined my loves, the result was just... owlsome? Sorry... trying to think of a pun. They were a hoot! That's one's better.
Anyway...
I have been collecting owl figurines and wall hangings since high school. Since then, some have broken, some have been lost in moves, but some, a very fortunate few, have stayed with me. Most of them are gifts, but some I have bought ridiculously cheap at thrift stores.
I don't like to alter gifts. Unless I absolutely have to, or the person who gives it to me tells me they want me to, I don't change the condition I received them in.
But when it comes to the items I bought, anything goes.
I love to shop for paint. Ever since I discovered ReStore, I am there every payday, and sometimes even more regularly, just stocking up on paint, mostly spray paint. And this weekend, I decided it was time. I was going to paint some owls.
Sounds like a euphemism...
Anyway, these are a few guys I've had in my collection over the years. Well, actually this is only two of them. There is a third, but I failed to take a before picture.

Excuse my foot. And the sideways picture. I don't know why it's still sideways even thought I changed it... hmmmm....

So I thought I would look up some trends in home décor, since these guys are gonna be in my shop I'm opening in the future (I think it'll still be a few months - getting a inventory together first). Here's how they looked after a coat of primer and a couple coats of spray paint:

 

Again with the sideways picture... odd.
So these are instantly a great way to add a pop of color to any room. I think they'd be especially great for a nursery or an enclosed porch. Just my opinion, though.
I hope this gives you just a bit of inspiration as to a simple way to fix up items you already have or that can be easily found at thrift stores. I don't think any of those owls cost me more than $2, and that's guessing high.
Happy thrifting!