What I did on my “Snow Day”

We received a foot of snow last night, which meant a snow day for me, yippee!

Back in November I picked up a large ottoman for $40. Once I removed the fabric, I found that It was in pretty rough shape. It needed some reinforcement on the legs, which I did, and then there it sat in my living room.  I had the most difficult time finding a fabric that I wanted to use. 

I was lucky enough to come upon a great deal for almost 28 metres of fabric from a young man that did an internship at Tonic Living. I got all of this for $100! I worked out what it would have cost me retail and it is $679!

 

I am sure all of you Tonic Living fans recognize many of these. Turns out, not one of them were what I wanted for the ottoman; too busy, not the right shade etc. Today when I went to the basement to reset the modem, I happened to look in my sons closet, and there it was…the fabric I wanted.  It’s a duvet cover that he doesn’t like, so I didn’t feel bad about cutting it up to use. It’s perfect, the right shade of grey/blue and textured.

Before

After

It’s perfect! Oh Happy Day! I replaced the foam, added two layers of batting and sewed down the sides of the fabric before stapling it on.

I finally got around to hanging my curtains too. I bought Ikea drapes and rods, but wasn’t too keen on any of their finials. I had a package of mercury glass drawer knobs, which worked perfectly as I wanted something small.

I replaced the light switch and changed all of the electrical outlets. I used a couple of ceramic plates and this little fish plate that I adore, to hang on the wall between the drapes.

They were hung using picture hangers and lots of hot glue, worked like a charm.

I need more snow days.

Vintage La Barge brass and glass table

Finding great vintage pieces always gives me a thrill. This La Barge coffee table is no exception.

I played around with the idea of cleaning the brass, but after two attempts at home made recipes, I gave up. I realized that it would take more effort than I am willing to put into it, so the patina stays :)  I did give it a good cleaning with warm soapy water, and it made a difference.

Are the hoof feet charming and unique or just creepy? I can’t decide.

When I picked it up, the lady that was selling it realized that she had priced it way lower than she could have got, but was good enough to honour her listed price; otherwise I would have been one ticked off woman.

The glass table top is in pristine condition, which considering that it’s probably from the 60’s is pretty good. The family obviously took good care of it.

And did you notice my carpet? Its the same one, I just got the genius idea to flip it over. Ok, so maybe not genius, but it’s subtler this way and cheaper than buying a new carpet.

I looked around online and found the sale price from $500 to $2400. Mine is for sale and I wonder what this market will handle. I have a couple of designers (one of them works with THE Sarah Richardson) that I have been selling items to this past year, so it will definitely get passed by them first.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Don’t forget to set your clocks back tonight before you go to bed.

More thrifty finds

When I stop at the grocery store, I always take a quick peek into the GW to scope the place out. Yesterday I found this fantastic mirror for $10

I bought a buffet $50, sold it for $100 and purchased another IKEA Markor bookcase for $50, so it was basically free!
I’m still working on creating vignettes, but every single item, including the books were thrift store items. I call it my Junkin’ bookcase :)

After my previous thrift store brass purchase, I found another brass item that was too adorable to pass up at $2
 
I have a question for all of you. If I were to host a linky party (maybe weekly depending on the level of interest), would you be interested in participating?  The party would be a way for you to show off your thrifty finds or how you have put your thrifty finds to use. I would like the focus to be on decor, as that is my area of interest. I know there are other parties out there that have a similar (or the same) theme, and this will be another way for you to show everyone how clever you are :)
Whatchafink? Also, if this were a go, can you come up with a relevant and clever name for the party?

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Recent Thrifty Finds – Brass is Back

I’ve been conscious of my purchases lately; just too much stuff lying about around here :)
But every once in a while I find something that cannot be resisted.

First I found this fabulous cast iron, brass finished partridge for $3. I have to admit that I didn’t know it was a partridge at first and had to look it up.



While looking it up I found an eBay store that has the same vintage bird for $99.!  Theirs has broken toes, while mine is pristine :)

Next I found this fabulous shield shape vintage mirror, for $7. I’m not too keen on the tassels, but they do go with the piece. It’s gold, but close enough to brass :)



I had the perfect spot for it on my gallery wall





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cheap thrills

Last week I picked up some deer antlers, but I couldn’t figure out how to mount them on the wall.
I found this spoon rack at the GW for $1

I removed the spoon rack part and nailed in a few nails and presto, a mounted deer plaque for $5 total.


Joining in on

Curb side find gets dressed up

I found this in my neighbours garbage.
I dressed it up and now it looks fabulous.


participating in:

Burlap motherload

I picked up more burlap yesterday.  There are a few of the bags that I am not too fond of, the weave and texture are a little too rough. 
There are over 100 sacks here

These ones are my favourites

I am making stockings for everyone for Christmas and I am able to get two stockings out of one bag.
I finally figured out how to fold the top over and have the seams on the cuff on the inside. doh! The cuff is made from drop cloth.


I wanted to share my daughters wolf head. She worked really hard on it. Turns out she was sick on Halloween night, so she only went out for 1/2 hour before she wanted to come home. I felt so bad for her ;(  She thinks that she will be too mature for trick or treating next year, so this was (to her) her last chance to get out. 
This is an in the process picture. It is made of foam. Cut and layered. There is no template so she had to figure it out for herself.

Learning more about this side table

Remember this side table that I purchased this summer for $10.00? I absolutely adore it.



Well, I started investigating what it is and it’s origins and have been able to come up with some information.
This is probably from the 1930’s, Italian florentine gilt painted.  I have been able to find a very similar table at the bella cottage for, get ready for it… $1,095.00! My table is actually a little larger. 
Here is another piece that I found at Ruby Lane. This one has the same quatrefoil pattern on the inside as mine does.
This may be the find with the greatest resale value yet. Not that I will be rich any time soon, but my investment of $10 was a good one.
What have you found for a steal and later found out it’s value is much more than you imagined?

I just love when everything comes together

Sometimes I have a vision. Despite the best made plans, my vision doesn’t often come together, but this time, it did!
Earlier I posted about a table that I had found that I loved, but it didn’t have any chairs. So, I found another table with 6 chairs, but I wasn’t in love with the table.
Cue Hallelujah!
I painted the table a dark gray from the Behr Premium Plus line named Pencil Point (and it was free at the recycle centre).  The chairs were spray painted with a flat white then lightly distressed.

My old coffee table turned bench was a little too large to fit under the table so I cut the top down and it now fits perfectly.

The bench is the first thing you see as you come up the stairs to the dining room, so I wanted something that wasn’t going to block the view. Success!
The cushions are made from placemats that I did a while ago. The seat and bench cover are a curtain that I picked up at the GW for $3.00, originally from Ikea. I was happy to be able to incorporate some of the green that I have throughout the rest of my living space.

Just as Sunny predicted, I found a fabulous drum shade at the GW Boutique for $6.99, but I wasn’t so in love with the fabric. I took a piece of black fabric and sewed together a slip cover. Now my little gifted chandy looks so elegant and grown up.

And now for your viewing pleasure, I present my dining room :)


I decided to set my table and realized that I have no clue how to set one up. It’s not something that I’ve paid much attention to so I had to go searching online for some clues :)  Whateva, it will do.

Of course you know, that in about 3.9 days, it will change again, in some way.
Yah, so I’m linking up to the following parties ;)
Decor Mama