"Not Everything Goes as Planned..."

So in my last post on birds, I made one bird feeder out of plates and am still figuring out how to hang it.  THEN I found a fabulous plate, very similar in style for 3 BUCKS at TJ Maxx- and put it together with a large unusual pot I already had to fit at the top of the plant stand I got for my birthday~  I thought it would be a great place for popcorn, and that type of thing that we regularly have, and try to catch some pictures of some birdies! So this is how it looked...be prepared-

For THIS is how it looked about 15 seconds later when I bumped it and all the popcorn went on the deck where the DOG gobbled it up!!  SIGH...oh, well... I'll try try again!  Pretty plate combo, though, huh??

 And this!! Such a cute birdhouse! Not one I made, but one I had to get for $9.99 at TJ Maxx!  Check it out... I love it!

How cute is that? 

"Sparkly Glass Garden Mushrooms!"

(Wanted to re-post this one now that the gardening season has started... much better pics)

This idea came from a tutorial on glass totems for your garden I found on "Pinterest"...I'm making a much smaller version of them and playing around with ways to make them sparkle more like glitter!!...

This is a pretty plate and vase I got each for about $1 at the Goodwill...To bond them together, I used Gorilla Glue - love that stuff!  I'll stake them in the ground using plastic pvc pipe...

Absolutely stunning when they're in the garden- even better when the flowers are blooming!!

Here's one I placed awhile back... I'm so excited to get my gardening on!

Here's a much better finished photo- notice the green sparkly mushroom I added later down in front!  

"The Break-Down of a Good Room"

O.k. so here's the thing.  I took a look at a couple of my posts picturing our rooms put together and thought the decorating MIGHT be overwhelming to some of my followers...I remember when I was starting out, (and when we didn't have much), sometimes I would feel that way looking at the pages of a magazine.  And I would think, "It's pretty, but it's way over my budget!"  I strive NOT to decorate that way.  I always want someone to be able to take away some ideas or several over a period of time to put together their own spaces. 
So I wanted to go piece-by-piece and breakdown the most recent room- "my own space" to show you how thrifty we all can be!!  For instance....this chandelier (which my husband now lifted up higher so I wouldn't hit my head! :)  We got this chandelier at the Habitat for Humanity Thrift Shop for $25!!   It came with everything, including the globes!  When we moved in, there was a really UGLY thing hanging that we took down immediately! lol...I did hang these pendants on at Christmas that amount to maybe $10- they are from the trip we took last summer- they're a personal touch that is a reminder of good memories :)

And.... this piece- a wicker bench seat- a well-made one at that.  I've used it all over the house...in our bedroom for awhile, on the sun porch last year... This came from the Humane Society Thrift Shop for $50- and it ALSO came with the well-made white fitted cushion!! (Yes, I washed it :)  The 2 pillows you see in the picture are Wal-Mart specials that I got on a good sale (maybe $4 a piece at the most) a couple of summers ago- I had them outside in my shed for awhile...they have a better home here- this is a much better use for them!  

The windows you see in my space have 4 simple panels.  While I am NOT a sewer, yet, these curtains were made by my mother Marilyn not long after we moved down here for probably $20 for both windows...you can often find window coverings for this price at places like Tuesday Morning, and of course Wally World.  Or there are a lot of tutorials out there to help you sew simple panels on your own...I love the pattern and colors and the fact that one of my moms made them, so I've kept them all this time!  So far, we've spent under $100 on this room!!







 
This "coffee table/work space" in front of the couch that I brought in, I've also kept around for about 6 yrs...it came with an inexpensive 5 piece set I was GIVEN as a birthday present one year...originally white, the dog destroyed the loveseat, so I broke up the set, and had this one upstairs no longer being used.  I had already spray painted it this sage green a couple of years ago, and even though some of it's coming off, I like that it looks "shabby chic"!  So THIS one was a FREE be!! Gotta love re-purposing!!

Now for the couch/chaise...okay, so this was the big ticket item for this room.  At the same time, it was quite reasonable and within our budget- Wal-Mart $399.00  We looked at a lot of different places, both online and in re-sale stores and this was the best fit.  I COULD have purchased a couple of decent loveseats for $200 for the pair, but what I really wanted was something I could lay down across and the loveseats were too small. What I'm saying is, there are lots of options out there!  For the money, I don't expect it to last for decades :)  But it really is a great sofa for the price- and easy to put together! So far, this room is only at about $500.00 total...and we have a lot of great things left!

Every good seat needs an end table- this one is also another re-purposed piece...but with great memories!
Mark's grandpa made this for us on one of our first Christmases together! I need to do a little cleaning up, and maybe another coat of polyurethane, but it's a terrific compliment: :)

My beautiful desk!! Also, a gift from the grandmother of the very first boy I kissed!! LOL- she was our neighbor for quite some time and offered it to me before she moved.  It's a solid wood, very well made desk probably at least 50 yrs old and I will never part with it!  Even though there have been times it's just been in storage, I am happy to have kept it and have another FREE addition to the space...still at $500, and we're almost done!

The CHAIR for my desk- found this at the Good will about 8 months ago! Paid $19!! It's in great condition (and matches our existing furniture well!  Now we're up to $519!! (Oh, yeah, and there's my tie pillow I made for around $8?)  

The RUG was the 2nd most expensive item and I found it BRAND NEW 6X9 for only $66 ONLINE at, once again, Wal-Mart...it's amazing how many things you can find on-line that they will ship to the store for FREE that is not available in store.  In fact, I couldn't find anything with a beautiful pattern the same size for much less than $100 in the store...AND EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!  So now the room total is up to $590-ish with tax, probably $600...not bad at all for an entire room that seats up to 6 people comfortably if I need it to! 

The existing artwork were things I had collected on clearance over the months and used...and then of course the pictures I have hanging over the couch- frames all averaging $3 a piece- all artwork of my own or a family member- so that makes it free and unique!  Something anyone can do! It's amazing how the right frame can set off a picture...although in this picture, a couple frames are a little crooked ;) 

Whew! I think we've covered everything- I know this post was a little long, but I hope it gave a little better understanding, or simplified things for somebody...I love to live in a beautiful world- any way we can make it beautiful is good- even if it's just a smile! 

"If you follow Pinterest..."

I found this terrific, and cheap (or free) idea for holding up a window...just so happens 1 window in my room needs a good prop, and I pulled this out and it works perfectly indeed!! Just wanted to share- not my idea, but a GREAT one!!
Mine was rusty, but I kinda' like the "patina"! ;-)

"The Metal Bucket"

I was given a metal bucket- a very nice one from one of Austin's friends from a trip- with "Corona" beer written all over it...since we're not big drinkers, I wanted to change it to something I would use, possibly in the garden...and Austin's friend didn't mind. So I started by giving it a coat of silver spray paint for metal surfaces, which I already had in the cupboard and it looked really nice!  But I wanted to make it REALLY nice!  So, I went through my large scrapbook of paper and found some beautiful prints to cut out.  I used the spray adhesive to attach it to the metal once it was dry and gave it 2 coats of spray Polyurethane...Presto! Change-o!  This is what my bucket looks like now...rather charming, I think ;-)  Maybe it'll hold some real flowers this spring!

 Super SIMPLE! for a Simple Life...!