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?